Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]
Search Results for: Military Commissions Act
Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, does not shy away from tough questions. Though many in a position such as his might shy away from argument, Rae seems to relish the opportunity to engage in some intellectual sparring. It was in this context that I requested an interview as Canada grapples with multiple [...]
Peru Congress commission advances bill protecting alleged perpetrators of crimes against humanity
The Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress approved Tuesday the report of Bill No. 6951/2023-CR, which establishes that no one can be prosecuted, sentenced or punished for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before July 1, 2002. As a result, emblematic cases from the period of internal violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000, [...]
Nicaragua launches ICJ proceedings against Germany for aiding Israel in ongoing Gaza war
Nicaragua filed an official application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday instituting proceedings against Germany. Nicaragua claimed that Germany has been complicit in the genocide of Palestinians by Israel in Gaza during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, contrary to the Geneva Conventions. Nicaragua also applied for provisional measures. Nicaragua’s application was made on [...]
Lessons from Oppenheimer: The Imperative of Nuclear Conflict Avoidance
“Where there were great military actions, there lies whitening now the jawbone of an ass.” Saint-John Perse (French poet, 1887-1975) As film, the core importance of “Oppenheimer” lies in its messages on human survival. The personal, emotional and romantic aspects of the film are captivating, to be sure, but they are less consequential than any [...]
The Legal Framework of Extradition and the Case of Julian Assange
Julian Assange is among the most polarizing public figures of the 21st century thus far. In the nearly two decades since he established WikiLeaks, a website that gained infamy in the aughts for its release of millions of classified documents and related analyses, Assange has galvanized free speech advocates, incensed national security stalwarts, and fostered [...]
Pakistan dispatch: unraveling the fallout of political turmoil after the general election
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Mashal Asim Khan is an LLB student in the University of London External Programme at The Institute of Legal Studies (TILS). She files this from Islamabad. Pakistan conducted its 12th general election on 8th February in [...]
Kentucky Senate passes bill to move certain juvenile defendants to adult court
Kentucky’s Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would automatically transfer children charged with certain violent felonies to adult court. The bill passed the chamber by a vote of 25-9. Senate Bill 20 stated that children age fifteen or older charged with a “Class A, B, or C felony” will face trial as adults if [...]
On December 6, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, acting under Article 99 of the UN Charter, formally warned the UN Security Council of a looming global threat from the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. This is the first time that Guterres has invoked Article 99 since becoming Secretary-General, and only the fourth [...]
Explainer: The Legal and Practical Impacts of the ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel
On Friday, Jan. 26, a panel of 17 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its ruling on South Africa’s request for the indication of provisional measures submitted in the landmark case: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). Although [...]