Human Rights Law Commons^™

Is Jus In Bello In Crisis?, Jens Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

It is a truism that new technologies are remaking the tactical and legal landscape of armed conflict. While such statements are undoubtedly true, it is important to separate genuine trends from scholarly exaggeration. The following essay, an introduction to the Drone Wars symposium of the Journal, catalogues today’s most pressing disputes regarding international humanitarian law (IHL) and their consequences for criminal responsibility. These include: (i) the triggering and classification of armed conflicts with non-state actors; (ii) the relative scope of IHL and international human rights law in asymmetrical conflicts; (iii) the targeting of suspected terrorists under concept- or status-based classifications …

Reclaiming Fundamental Principles Of Criminal Law In The Darfur Case, George P. Fletcher, Jens David Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

According to the authors, the Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur and the Security Council referral of the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) bring to light two serious deficiencies of the ICC Statute and, more generally, international criminal law: (i) the systematic ambiguity between collective responsibility (i.e. the responsibility of the whole state) and criminal liability of individuals, on which current international criminal law is grounded, and (ii) the failure of the ICC Statute fully to comply with the principle of legality. The first deficiency is illustrated by highlighting the notions of genocide …

Litigating For Justice: Defense Work At The International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda (Ictr), Beth S. Lyons

Beth S. Lyons

Fair trial issues are usually a key part of any defense strategy – at trial or on appeal – but they serve an additional function at the international tribunals. They provide a “lever” for finding the truth. Fair trial guarantees – such as full disclosure of exculpatory material and other principles - make for truth telling; and they mitigate against the writing/re-writing history through judgments. Where there are fair trial violations, the likelihood of an accurate historical account, based on the evidence, is virtually non-existent. Hence, the struggle for fairness is a struggle for the truths.

Foreword, The Future Of International Criminal Justice, Claudio M. Grossman

Claudio M. Grossman