Exterior of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in Leidschendam

Special Court for Lebanon Conviction for Terrorism

On August 20, the Trial Chamber of the Special Court of Lebanon (STL) issued a historic judgment in the case of Ayyash (the Prosecutor v. Ayyash, Merhi, Oneissi and Sabra. Of the four people charged with terrorism related offences under the Lebanese Criminal Code for the killing in a bomb attack of Mr. Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon, namely conspiracy to commit a terrorist act by means of an explosive device, committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device, the intentional homicide of Hariri and of 21 others, the attempted intentional homicide of the 226 people injured in the blast and of being accomplices to these crimes (paragraph 14 of the judgment), only one was convicted, namely Salim Jamil Ayyash (paragraph 6904).
Two fists with mans and womans face are collide

An International Human Rights Perspective on Canada’s Response to Gender-Based Violence Against Women during COVID-19

Pandemics amplify and heighten all existing inequalities. As a result, COVID-19 is exacerbating and intensifying existing gendered, political, and social inequities and impacting women differently than men in a variety of ways. For example, women’s and girls’ exposure to the virus is amplified due to social norms and expectations surrounding their care-giving roles that result in elevated exposure to individuals or COVID-19 itself.
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Protecting Human Rights: Situation of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh during Covid-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a huge global health crisis that has had a deep impact on the way we see our world and our everyday lives. Especially when most governments across the world enforce lockdowns or other restrictions to suppress the spread of COVID-19, there will be a potential economic crisis worldwide. The case of Bangladesh is no different. There will be a negative impact on Bangladesh’s economy due to COVID-19 without doubt, however, the extent of that negative impact will depend on the duration of the crisis.
Kosovo flag on soldiers arm

Kosovo’s President charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes before Kosovo Specialist Chambers

A late June Press Release from the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) announced that the President of Kosovo, Hakim Thaçi and others were charged in April with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including nearly 100 murders, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution and torture within the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
ICC-CPI Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor

Emergency Provisional Arrest at the ICC: A Proposal for Amending the Rome Statute in Cases of Imminent Atrocity

Imagine the following hypothetical: In one of the Rome Statute member States, a rebel group is planning the massacre of an ethnic minority whose people have refused the rebel group access to their land, which has large reserves of precious metals sought by the rebel group to generate revenue.
EOD officials are investigating evidence

The Search for Justice: Military Collection of Evidence on the Battlefield

As we enter into the third decade of this century the quest for international justice has witnessed a number of successes but is also facing a number of challenges. On a positive note States continue to take action to bring perpetrators of horrific crimes to justice including the trial of a former Syrian intelligence officer before a German court for crimes against humanity
Steel grid on the background of the flag

L’affaire Kljajic; les personnes ayant commis des violations de droit pénal international n’ont pas leur place au Canada

Le 30 avril 2020, la Cour fédérale du Canda a rendu son jugement dans l’affaire Kljajic. Les questions en litige étaient de déterminer si M. Kljajic a obtenu sa citoyenneté par fraude, fausse déclaration ou dissimulation intentionnelle de faits essentiels, si en 1992, il détenait un poste de rang supérieur au sein du ministère de l’Intérieur de la Republika Srbpska (RS-MUP) et s’il était complice dans les crimes contre l’humanité commis par ce ministère contre les civils non serbes.
Stock market slump stock chart futuristic

World Trade Organization arbitrator finds that Covid-19 measures justify delay in compliance with WTO obligations

A World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator has ruled that Ukraine can have extra time to bring its illegal anti-dumping measures into compliance with WTO obligations because Ukraine’s measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the conduct of its anti-dumping investigations (Award of the Arbitrator, Ukraine--Ammonium Nitrate).
The latch on the temporary detention cell in the police Department

Immunity and Impunity: Personal Immunities and the International Criminal Court

There are perhaps few greater challenges to the enduring legitimacy and efficacy of the International Criminal Court (ICC) than the issue of personal immunities. While it is relatively settled law that personal immunity of sitting Heads of State cannot serve as a bar to prosecution by international courts, the question of whether personal immunity can prevent national jurisdictions from enforcing arrest warrants issued by the ICC has divided the international community. The stakes in this dispute are not merely academic: since the ICC lacks an enforcement
protest against anti-abortion law forced by Polish government PIS

The Current Landscape and Future of Polish Reproductive Rights

In spite of increased domestic and international attention to the issue, Poland maintains its restrictive stance on abortion in contrast to its European counterparts which embrace more flexible regimes. Typically, countries with strong Catholic traditions willingly adopt restrictive positions on abortion with Poland being no exception (86 percent of the population identifies as Roman Catholic).
Monument The tragedy of the peoples

Combatting Impunity for Cultural Destruction

Genocide has been called the “crime of all crimes”. It stands at the apex of international criminal law. In its broadest sense, genocide is the attempt to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. While there are various elements to genocide, this article is concerned with destruction. Specifically, whether cultural destruction fits within the Genocide Convention (the “Convention”).
The International Criminal Court in Hague, Netherlands

A Framework for detention or conditions for release pending appeal of acquitted accuseds

On May 28, 2020, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court varied conditions that it had earlier placed on the release of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé on appeal from a decision by the Trial Chamber that they were entitled to immediate release after their January 15, 2019 acquittal at trial on charges of crimes against humanity in the Ivory Coast. This article will consider the two decisions rendered by the Appeals Chamber creating a framework for dealing with the issue of continued detention or conditional release of an acquitted accused before appeal after briefly reviewing the Trial Chamber proceedings.
The Hague, The Netherlands

Report on “It’s about time: Revisiting the timing and duration of decision- making at the International Criminal Court”

The 18th Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to International Criminal Court (ICC), which took place from 2 to 7 December 2019 in The Hague marked the beginning of the ICC Review Process. This far-reaching process aims at identifying and implementing measures to strengthen and improve the performance of the ICC and the Rome Statute system.
Nuclear arms question

Canada’s Regulation of Weapons Exports: “Under-implementation” of the Arms Trade Treaty

On 17 September 2019, Canada acceded to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an international convention that has two objectives: establishing the highest possible common international standards in the regulation of international trade in conventional arms, and the prevention and eradication of the illicit trade and diversion of conventional arms. At the time of writing, the ATT has 106 state parties and 130 signatories.
Justice mallet and blank document with Covid-19 red stamp

Can China be sued because of Covid-19?

On April 20, a group of Floridians – individuals and a business – launched a novel class action lawsuit against China, blaming it for the scale and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic is widely agreed to have begun in Wuhan City, in China’s Hubei province. The plaintiffs claim that the ensuing economic and human damage was exacerbated by delays and cover-ups by the Chinese government, its health commission, internal ministries, and local governments.
Loading of iron are on very big dump-body truck

Overseas mining firm insulates itself from tort liability by calling local police

The English and Wales Court of Appeal recently upheld the trial judge’s ruling in Kalma & Others v African Minerals Ltd & African Minerals (SL) Ltd & Tonkolili Iron Ore (SL) Ltd (collectively AML) holding that a UK mining firm operating in Sierra Leone was not responsible in tort for relying on the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) which had used excessive force in quelling two local disturbances that left one local killed and others injured. This article will look at the various theories of liability put forward by the claimants attempting to hold the AML liable in tort in the English courts and how all of them were defeated by the trial judge’s findings that AML had done nothing of a causative nature to bring about the harm.