Search: Affective Justice: Book Symposium: A Response
25 Jul Missiles and Messages: Characterizing the Use of Force between Iran and Israel
...from the flexible interpretability of the self-defense doctrine and the customary uncertainty surrounding the precise boundary between lawful self-defense and unlawful reprisals. As has been acknowledged, “on several occasions, force was used in response to past events, rather than current or imminent armed actions, sometimes with considerable delay” (p. vii). The timing and purpose of a forcible response are closely interconnected, aiming to ensure “that the right to use force in self-defence is protective in nature”, rather than punitive (p. 255). Still, it has been argued that “[s]ome level of...
26 Jul Article 63 Intervention Before the International Court of Justice: New Developments and the Way Forward
[Ton Nu Thanh Binh is an LLM student at Trinity College Dublin and a recipient of the Ireland Fellows Programme] The opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of any institution the author might be affiliated with. On 28 June 2024, Spain became the sixth country to submit a declaration to intervene in the case between South Africa and Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Previously, seven states intervened in The Gambia v Myanmar, and 32 states intervened in the...
23 Feb Pathways to Justice for the Downing of Flight PS752
we fight for and what unites us is justice, justice, justice.” In the early hours of January 8, 2020, Iran carried out missile strikes against US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force. The IRGC expected US retaliation within minutes and therefore added air defense systems to the Tehran vicinity. Despite the immediate risks, Iran kept its airspace open to civilian aircraft. Hours later, an IRGC Air Defense Unit (ADU) stationed near Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA) fired two missiles approximately 30 seconds apart...02 Mar Fighting for Freedoms: Supreme Court In 21st Century (Part 1)
A lecture by ICJ Commissioner Justice Ajit Prakash Shah at LC Jain Memorial Lakshmi Chand Jain would have been a young man when Mahatma Gandhi passed away in 1948, but he embodied the spirit of Gandhian values in the best possible way. Indeed, he has been described as “an impassioned crusader of what Gandhi called the second freedom struggle for a just and equitable India”. Mr. Jain’s autobiography, titled Civil Disobedience is a fascinating book, especially, and very revelatory. In that, he makes extensive observations on the Emergency years. Recall...
11 Feb Myanmar Coup d’état – Implications for International Justice
...human rights and sliding back on any of the gains that may have been made in the ‘transition’ to democracy thus far. The focus of this post however is to assess the implications in relation to the international justice processes that have been set in motion in the last two years, relating to the atrocities committed against the Rohingya. There are two ongoing legal proceedings before international courts – the International Criminal Court (ICC) situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to the application of...
01 Feb Reproductive Violence in Palestine: The Need for a Feminist Approach to Justice
of sterilisation than the rest of the population. This dehumanisation and ‘other’-ing of oppressed women’s bodies in disparate situations and across history highlights that reproductive justice will always lack under the framework of occupation, colonisation and genocide. Unless Palestine is liberated, there is no possibility for reproductive justice. Ultimately, as international lawyers it is incumbent on us to ensure our analyses understand and unpack the gendered impact of the Israeli occupation and apartheid across occupied Palestine, and the most recent military assault on Gaza, to reveal the full panoply of...09 Dec Transitional Justice and Judicial Activism Symposium: International Courts and Tribunals Should Have Discretionary Review
...motivate the decision not to take on a case; and so on. Granted, discretionary review has some disadvantages, too. It reduces access to justice and leaves the parties (mostly victims of human rights abuses) at the mercy of the discretion of the court. However, if we can trust the wisdom of these judges on the merits of the case, why can’t we trust them also on weighing the costs and benefits, writ large, of hearing the case? It is exactly the conundrums of transitional justices detailed in Teitel’s article that...
14 Jun In Serbia, Justice Overruled: 25 Years after NATO Intervention, a Pass for Atrocity Crimes
[Fred Abrahams covered the Kosovo conflict for Human Rights Watch . He wrote the book Modern Albania and co-wrote A Village Destroyed: War Crimes in Kosovo . Marija Ristic covered Serbian war crimes trials as a journalist for local and international media.] This April, a modest courtroom in Belgrade, Serbia, offered a lens into the global debate on justice for atrocity crimes. The case dealt with mass killings in Kosovo committed 25 years ago but the topic has relevance for Sudan, Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and other conflicts today. In the dimly...18 Feb A Bigger Transitional Justice Role Recommended for the AU
to place transitional justice issues at the center of a new continental legal architecture, which would include promoting ratification of existing legal instruments such as the African Charter on Human and People’s rights and the new African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 2) The AU should develop a Transitional Justice Policy Framework and strengthen instruments for justice and reconciliation on the continent. The text provides general background on the ICC’s role in Africa, but of particular note are the recommendations in the Annex that, if implemented, would alter the...02 Jan The ICC and Saif: After International Intervention, Avoiding Victor’s Justice
of international criminal justice. But an equally compelling goal is to prevent a post-conflict free fall into vengeance, vendetta, or victor’s justice. Moreover, the ICC Statute is a treaty, and standard rules about interpretation of treaties in international law require that its complementarity principle be read along with other international obligations. So when the Statute refers to whether a state is able or willing to prosecute, that should include all that holding trials imply—that is, able and willing to respect the human rights of the criminal defendant. Even those charged...