In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Search: Affective Justice: Book Symposium: A Response

17 Sep

[Valeria Vegh Weis is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin an Associate Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History and a Professor of Criminology at Buenos Aires University .] Introduction Re-reading Ruti Teitel’s Transitional Justice makes for an even more moving experience than expected. The book, written nearly 20 years ago, set the basis for a ground-breaking field of study, bringing to light important legal, political, and ethical dilemmas such as truth versus justice and reparations for victims versus structural inequality, and even suggesting possible ways...
17.09.20 | |

16 Sep

ecological thinking. Academics across diverse fields are also coming to recognize the critical importance of inter-disciplinary scholarship, especially when we are trying to address wicked problems like institutionalized violence and injustice (even as academic structures continue to impede inter-disciplinary collaboration). Transitional Justice (the book), in this regard, prefigured transitional justice (the field), as one formed through multilateral conversations between scholars of history, political science, literature, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, law, and of course the communities of activists, writers and artists who were building the field in practice all along. Although...
16.09.20 | |

24 Aug

be sustainable peace, nation-building, and social cohesion without justice and accountability. Numerous case-studies illustrate the point, including in ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member.  A colleague recently talked to me about the 2019 Indonesian elections, which were contested between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto.  I asked her why Subianto, who as a former Lieutenant General in the Army had been implicated in alleged serious human rights violations, including the enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activists, was so popular?  She replied that, because he had never faced justice, this had contributed...
24.08.20 | |

26 Aug

activities with the affected communities”, reliable information is anything but regular, and rumors run rampant through the camps. The possibility of holding international criminal hearings closer to victims is not a new one, yet its serious consideration – for both the ICC, and for other institutions pursuing justice for the Rohingya –  is long overdue. The cottage industry established in The Hague around international criminal justice is a pleasure for practicing international law professionals, who can move between institutions as their careers advance, but is failing to serve those for...
26.08.20 | |

05 Nov

recent report (Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe), the authors of this blog have examined how, across the EU, courts and legal processes are being used to defend judicial independence. The report followed a two-year process of consultation with lawyers, judges, and civil society engaged in this litigation across 8 EU Member States. It maps myriad ways in which judicial independence is under attack, but also the remarkable array of litigation that has been employed in response. Unsurprisingly, practice reveals many obstacles that impede resort to the courts...
05.11.25 | and |

03 May

...offences.” This is why Rodrigues stands charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice. He is seeking a stay of prosecution with regard to the murder charge alleging that the it would infringe his constitutional rights including his right to dignity given that he is 80 years old and that the crime occurred 48 years ago. From the perspective of the Timol family and other families in a similar position, this argument adds insult to injury and is yet another attempt to evade justice. Be that as it may,...
03.05.19 | |

11 Mar

This week, we are hosting a symposium on Curtis Bradley’s new book “International Law in the US Legal System“, published last month by Oxford University Press. OUP has kindly agreed to offer Opinio Juris readers a 20% discount, which you can access by clicking on the ad at the right. According to the abstract, the book explores the dynamic intersection between international law and the domestic legal system within the United States and covers both settled principles as well as unresolved issues and areas of controversy. Curtis Bradley considers all...
11.03.13 | |

01 Aug

[Michael Ramsey is a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego. He will be posting today and tomorrow on his new book: The Constitution’s Text in Foreign Affairs. Please stay tuned for his posts, as well as for comments by our other symposium participants.] Thanks to Opinio Juris for organizing this symposium and inviting me to participate. Here are a few opening thoughts. The Constitution’s Text in Foreign Affairs (Harvard University Press, 2007) attempts to describe the distribution of foreign affairs powers among the branches of U.S. government...
01.08.07 | |

17 May

...words, it appears that the PTC could order the OTP to open a full investigation into the attack on the flotilla if it disagreed with the OTP’s conclusion that the interests of justice required declining to investigate. Art. 53(3)(b) raises two difficult questions. The first is substantive: what does “interests of justice” mean? That is a very difficult issue, one beyond the scope of this post. Let me simply note here that the primary issue in the debate is whether Art. 53(3)(b) would permit the OTP to decline to investigate...
17.05.13 | |

04 Apr

The new Constitution incorporates a Bill of Rights which significantly strengthens fair trial rights and procedural guarantees within the Kenyan criminal justice system, The Constitution gives effect to a comprehensive range of judicial reforms which fundamentally transform the administration of justice in Kenya. Deficiencies and weaknesses from the past have been specifically targeted to guarantee the independent and impartial dispensation of justice. National courts will now be capable of trying crimes from the post-election violence, including the ICC cases, without the need for legislation to create a special tribunal, thus...
04.04.11 | |

31 Mar

Is Justice Kennedy a treaty lawyer? Listening to him yesterday during his speech to the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, you would think he’s at least been studying up on the subject. As Peggy pointed out, Justice Kennedy’s wide-ranging talk focused most closely on the problem of genocide, and his comments in that regard were forceful and impassioned. But, I also found Kennedy’s remarks interesting for his discussion of treaties generally, which he used to bolster his larger arguments about the need for states to...
31.03.06 | |

20 Nov

One of the most interesting jurisprudential aspects of The Power and Purpose of International Law is its explicit use of Hans Kelsen. I am among those Americans for whom Kelsen is a mostly forgotten figure in jurisprudence – and I realized reading this book that, while I have probably read much more than most American legal scholars of his jurisprudential work, I am almost completely ignorant of his work in international law. It was therefore quite interesting to read this book, and then do a little searching around to see...
20.11.08 | |