Israel, Counter-Terrorism, and International Law: The Analytic Challenges of 'System'
“The existence of `system’ in the world is obvious to every observer of nature, no matter whom.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man (1959) Whether conspicuous or obscure, terrorism generally presents itself as a systemic challenge. This means, inter alia, that seemingly singular strategic and legal matters may actually be many-sided and interrelated. Regarding legal issues, though [...]
UN tribunal declares Rwanda genocide suspect unfit to stand trial
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), a United Nations (UN) tribunal, declared Wednesday that Félicien Kabuga, one of the last fugitives of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, is unfit to stand trial due to dementia. IRMCT considered the opinion of medical experts, who said that the “consequences of dementia deprive Mr. Kabuga of the [...]
Natural Law and the United States Constitution: Still Vital Connections
Abstract: Ideas of Natural Law were crucial in drafting the US Constitution. These seminal ideas were made known to document “framers” largely by way of William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. The Commentaries represent the truest philosophic origins of America’s legal system. In these dissembling times of recurrent political manipulation, Blackstone’s work warrants [...]
Law and Strategy after Afghanistan: The United States, Israel and Iran
Abstract: Following US withdrawal from Afghanistan, America’s security focus will turn more expressly to Iran. The core problem with America’s Afghanistan withdrawal was not one of timing or tactics, but of original misconception. In essence, the “Afghanistan Problem” stemmed from an initially underestimated and misunderstood military operation. Looking ahead, Afghanistan’s incoherent conclusion means, inter alia, [...]
France court agrees to transfer Rwanda genocide suspect to UN tribunal
The Paris Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed a lower court decision to transfer Felicien Kabuga to Arusha, Tanzania, to be tried for his role as the primary financier of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Kabuga will be handed over to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), which is primarily based out of The [...]
France court denies Rwandan genocide suspect's request for release on bail
The Paris Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Felicien Kabuga’s request to be released on bail pending his trial for his alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. Kabuga is accused of financing and arming the Interahamwe militia, the militia responsible for the massacre of approximately 800,000 members of the Rwandan Tutsi [...]
When considering the comments in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with the perspective of thirteen years since their landfall, I’ll paraphrase Mark Twain’s comment about an erroneously pre-mature 1897 obituary: “the reports of death are greatly exaggerated.” The perspective of time and the restoration of many services to the Hurricane Katrina and Rita-stricken Gulf Coast reveal that matters [...]
Thousands of people in Belarus on Wednesday gathered to protest a labor law that fines people if they do not work enough days during the year. President Alexander Lukashenko enacted Ordinance No. 3 ...
Argentina court dismisses Iran cover-up charges against president
An Argentinian appeals court on Thursday dismissed charges against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner for conspiring to insulate Iranian officials' from prosecution over their alleged participation in the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center....
JURIST Guest Columnist Fred K. Nkusi of the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali and Mount Kenya University in Rwanda argues that the twentieth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide is a period of mourning for those lost as well...
