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Full-Text Articles in Law
Accelerated Formation Of Customary International Law, Michael P. Scharf
Accelerated Formation Of Customary International Law, Michael P. Scharf
Faculty Publications
This article examines the phenomenon of accelerated formation of customary international law. It argues that in periods of fundamental change (which the author characterizes as "Grotian Moments"), whether by technological advances, the commission of new forms of crimes against humanity, or the development of new means of warfare or terrorism, customary international law may form much more rapidly and with less state practice than is normally the case to keep up with the pace of developments. The article examines several case studies that explore the application and contours of the concept of "Grotian Moments."
Note: Aimed At Protecting Ethnic Groups Or Women? A Look At Forced Pregnancy Under The Rome Statute, Alyson M. Drake
Note: Aimed At Protecting Ethnic Groups Or Women? A Look At Forced Pregnancy Under The Rome Statute, Alyson M. Drake
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
International Decision, International Criminal Court, Judgment On The Appeal Of The Republic Of Kenya Against Pre-Trial Chamber Decision Denying Inadmissibility Of The Kenya Situation, Charles Chernor Jalloh
International Decision, International Criminal Court, Judgment On The Appeal Of The Republic Of Kenya Against Pre-Trial Chamber Decision Denying Inadmissibility Of The Kenya Situation, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Faculty Publications
A fundamental pillar of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is Article 17, which enshrines the complementarity principle – the idea that ICC jurisdiction will only be triggered when states fail to act to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes within their national courts or in circumstances where they prove unwilling and or unable to do so. The problem is that, as shown in this case report in the American Journal of International Law on the first ICC Appeals Chamber ruling regarding a state party’s objection to the court’s assertion of jurisdiction over its nationals, …
Africa And The International Criminal Court: Collision Course Or Cooperation?, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Africa And The International Criminal Court: Collision Course Or Cooperation?, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Faculty Publications
The relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC) was cordial for many years. However, since the decisions of the United Nations Security Council to invoke its special powers to impose the Court on Sudan and Libya, African States acting through their regional body - the African Union - have adopted numerous resolutions claiming that the ICC maybe impeding, rather than assisting, their efforts to restore peace in several ongoing conflicts and transitional situations on the continent. In this invited lecture, given as the first RJR Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture at North Carolina Central University School of Law in …
Special Court For Sierra Leone: Achieving Justice?, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Special Court For Sierra Leone: Achieving Justice?, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Faculty Publications
The Sierra Leone war, which lasted between 1991 and 2002, gained notoriety around the world for “blood" or "conflict" diamonds and some of the worst atrocities ever perpetrated against civilians in a modern conflict. On January 16, 2002, the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone signed an historic agreement to establish the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). In setting up a new type of ad hoc criminal tribunal, the parties sought to achieve two key objectives. First, to dispense credible justice by enabling the prosecution of those bearing greatest responsibility for the wartime atrocities based on international …
International Decision, International Criminal Court, Decision On The Authorization Of An Investigation Into The Situation In The Republic Of Kenya, Charles Chernor Jalloh
International Decision, International Criminal Court, Decision On The Authorization Of An Investigation Into The Situation In The Republic Of Kenya, Charles Chernor Jalloh
Faculty Publications
On March 31, 2010, in its first ever decision authorizing a prosecutorial proprio motu investigation, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) granted the ICC Prosecutor permission to investigate the shocking violence which followed Kenya’s December 2007 Presidential elections under Article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The majority of the Chamber ruled that both the contextual and underlying requirements of crimes against humanity had been fulfilled, including that they were committed as part of a state or organizational policy as required by Article7(2)(a) of the Rome Statute. According to the majority, the latter …
Atrocity Crimes Litigation: 2008 Year-In-Review, Beth Van Schaack
Atrocity Crimes Litigation: 2008 Year-In-Review, Beth Van Schaack
Faculty Publications
This survey of 2008's top developments in these international fora will focus on the law governing international crimes and applicable forms of responsibility. Several trends in the law are immediately apparent. The tribunals continue to delineate and clarify the interfaces between the various international crimes, particularly war crimes and crimes against humanity, which may be committed simultaneously or in parallel with each other. Several important cases went to judgment in 2008 that address war crimes drawn from the Hague tradition of international humanitarian law, and the international courts are demonstrating a greater facility for adjudicating highly technical aspects of this …
From The Exile Files: An Essay On Trading Justice For Peace, Michael P. Scharf
From The Exile Files: An Essay On Trading Justice For Peace, Michael P. Scharf
Faculty Publications
In the spring and summer of 2003, the United States offered exile in lieu of invasion and prosecution to two rogue leaders accused of committing international crimes - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (who declined) and Liberian President Charles Taylor (who accepted). In this essay, the author argues that the offer to Hussein was inappropriate, as it violated international treaties requiring prosecution, but that the offer to Taylor was permissible under international law. The essay examines the costs and benefits of amnesty and exile-for-peace deals and the limited nature of the international duty to prosecute. Where the duty to prosecute does …