Search: unwilling or unable
15 Feb Habeas Relief Precludes Transfer of American to Iraqi Court
...to the Iraqis suffers from a second defect. If the district court ultimately rules that the U.S. military lacks authority to transfer Omar, the military will be unable to transfer him either directly through a formal handoff or indirectly by “releasing” him with a wink-and-a-nod to the Iraqis. The United States may certainly share information with other sovereigns, but it may not do so in a way that converts Omar’s “release” into a transfer that violates a court order. The district court has jurisdiction to hear Omar’s habeas petition, see...21 Jul Guest Post: Jurisdictional Aspects of the Article 12(2) Rome Statute Vessel Provision: Some Thoughts on the Provision’s Dogma and Implementation in light of the Comoros Referral
...of any member state at a time of its choosing and its discretion as to a situation to intervene, irrespective of any domestic, regional or third-party understandings. This would lead to chaos and mistrust in international relations. Rather it should be conceded that any state referral discretion should relate to cases where the state which has the primary obligation of doing so, has appeared unable to perform such function. As such, judicial comity where courts hold back from adjudicating in cases other judicial bodies are seized with a case, could...
01 Nov Third Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law: “Guns for Hire” – Mandalorians’ “Status” in the Star Wars Universe
...The Mandalorian quote is: “I have spoken”. “Do not self-destruct. Cover me!” is our Force Quote.] In a Galaxy Far, Far Away, in the turmoil of the Galactic Civil War, the planet of Mandalore, once home to legendary warriors, fell in ruins. The Galactic Empire, unable to fully control it during the conflict, decided to launch a full-scale attack against its population, killing millions in the so-called Great Purge of Mandalore and almost destroying it by heavy shelling during the Night of a Thousand Tears. Shortly after the defeat of...
02 Oct We’ll See You in Court: How the Netherlands May Finally Bring Syria to The Hague
...have since travelled outside Syria for diplomatic and medical purposes, respectively). Various European States have put accused Syrian war criminals on trial within their domestic courts on the basis of universal jurisdiction, including the first trial underway against a former Assad regime intelligence official in Koblenz, Germany. While these cases are being widely (and rightly) celebrated, it must be stressed that: (1) They are unable to bring to justice most or even many Syrian war criminals; and (2) They will not necessarily bring to justice those bearing the greatest degree...28 Aug Guest Post: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17–Possible Legal Avenues for Redress (Part 2)
...will to make such an additional declaration. In addition to an Article 12(3) declaration, the ICC would also require its jurisdiction to be triggered under one of the three mechanisms outlined in Article 13 of the Rome Statute. According to Article 13(a), a state party to the Rome Statute, for example The Netherlands, could make such a referral; Ukraine would be unable to do so itself because it is not a state party to the Rome Statute. If such a referral is made, its temporal and territorial breadth could be...
14 Jul Behind Enemy Lines: The Protection Gap Between POWs and Captured Nonstate Actors Under International Humanitarian Law
...frequently leaving nonstate fighters labeled as “captured opposing forces,” which leaves these fighters vulnerable to abuse against the backdrop of war animosity. The history of POWs begins with the history of war itself. In primitive times, captured combatants became the personal property of the captor and were forced into indentured servitude. This lasted until the Middle Ages when the concept of ransom was developed, which allowed POWs to be exchanged for money, gold, or other valuable assets. POWs who were unable to secure their freedom through payment were frequently killed....
13 Apr One Word for the PTC on the Interests of Justice: Taliban
...But that is a counterintuitive interpretation — and even if it is the correct one, it hardly makes sense for the PTC to base its authorization decisions, which can trigger investigations that last years, on the shifting winds of politics in any individual state, even a powerful one like the US. The PTC’s failure to explain why the OTP would be unable to investigate Taliban crimes is, in my view, fatal to its decision. How could it not be in the interests of justice for the OTP to investigate the...
01 Aug Symposium on Ljubljana – The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance: Critical Reflections – A Giant with Feet of Clay? Victims’ Right to Reparation in the MLA Convention
...cannot be redressed through other measures. Guarantees of non-repetition consist in the prevention of the continuation or recurrence of the violation. Under international law, reparations should ideally be awarded to victims in combination rather than in isolation, as they are complementary (see Basic Principles). During the negotiations of this provision, some States were reluctant to include satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition in the list. Their reasoning was that they feared being unable to provide such redress to victims and did not want to be bound to cooperate on such measures,...
15 Jul Algorithmic Refereeing at the 2026 World Cup: Compatibility with International Football Law and the Integrity of Competition
...be sufficiently transparent for stakeholders to evaluate — not merely to observe outputs on stadium screens, but to assess whether the underlying system is free from systematic bias and applied consistently across all matches. If all three conditions hold, AI makes refereeing better. If any one fails, football has not achieved better officiating. It has achieved the appearance of better officiating, and that appearance, as the 93rd minute in Seattle demonstrated, can alter World Cup fates and leave an entire nation unable to say, with any confidence, who exactly made...03 Apr Can We Stop Arguing About Whether a “Genocide” Occurred?
...of individuals who have taken part in mass atrocities — not for passing judgment on history. Even if it were capable of this, the law is likely to provide some support for both sides and might therefore contribute to grinding the process of healing historical wounds to a slow and divisive ethnic or religious standstill rather than to help resolve anything. The debate surrounding the use of the word “genocide” has made the nations involved hostages of a legal issue that they seem unable to resolve. Better, it seems, for...