On August 21, 2023, Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv hosted a large international conference Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine: Justice to be Served. The conference gathered key figures behind Ukraine’s push to launch a special tribunal. The event was aimed at reinvigorating global efforts to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine, [...]
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The War Crimes of Hamas: Hostage-Taking in International Law
On October 7th, 2023, the State of Israel was brutally attacked by the terrorist organization known as Hamas, instigating an all-out war. In the early morning of October 7th, Hamas terrorist fighters made their way into Israel from the Gaza Strip, invading and occupying Israeli towns, cities, and military bases. This surprise attack in Israel [...]
ECHR hears landmark lawsuit brought by youth climate activists against 33 governments
In a nearly five-hour long hearing on Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard a landmark case brought by six youth plaintiffs against 33 European governments to spur stronger climate change mitigation measures. Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others featured six plaintiffs from Portugal: Catarina, 23, Cláudia, 24, Martim, 20, [...]
Norway arrests ex-Wagner commander under suspicion of illegally crossing Russia border
Norwegian police arrested former commander of the Wagner Group, Andrey Medvedev, on Friday under suspicion of attempting to illegally cross the border into Russia, according to local Norwegian news site the Barents Observer. Earlier this year, Medvedev sought asylum in Norway. Norwegian police in Finnmark confirmed they had arrested a man attempting to cross the [...]
US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will begin to help Ukraine with its ongoing Russian war crime investigations and assist the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is a major policy reversal, as the Department of Defense (DOD) previously blocked cooperation with the ICC in relation to its [...]
Belarus dispatch: two political prisoners died in Belarusian prisons last week
Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania. On the night of July 11, Belarusian political prisoner artist Ales Pushkin died in the intensive care unit of a hospital in [...]
Ukraine receives cluster munitions from US amid international criticism
The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed Thursday they received cluster munitions sent by the US. Tavria Region defense spokesman Valery Shershen confirmed the delivery to Radio Free Liberty in Ukraine amidst international condemnation of the US’s decision to provide the weapons. Following US President Joe Biden’s July 7 announcement that the US would provide Ukraine with [...]
Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania. During the period of June 23-24, the private military company Wagner, headed by Prigozhin, attempted an armed rebellion in Russia. Alexander Lukashenka [...]
Estonia Parliament passes bill allowing gender-neutral marriage
Estonia’s Parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a bill Monday to allow gender-neutral marriage in the country. The bill was sent to President Alar Karis for approval on Tuesday. Estonia is the first Baltic nation and the first former Soviet Union nation to legalize gender-neutral or same-sex marriage. The bill defines marriage as being between two people [...]
UN alleges human rights violations against Guantanamo Bay Prison detainee
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report alleging that Afghanistan, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US all participated in human rights violations against Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri, a man accused of assisting in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Al-Nashiri is currently held in [...]