Donald Trump's Immunity Argument From the Standpoint of International Law
The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible Government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal (1950) (Principle [...]
In the Halls of Brazil's Senate: Unpacking the Legacy of the US Constitution
To date, America’s greatest contribution to the world has been its Constitution. The importance of this document far surpasses such other cultural achievements as the Moon landing, the telephone, GPS, rubber vulcanization, and Henry Ford’s mass production lines. It is more important, even, than Gone With the Wind, and the hamburger — even though this [...]
Explainer: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Criminal Court
The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II). With both courts located in [...]
For Israel, a Two-State Solution Would Be a 'Final Solution'
The evidence is clear. The true aim of all authoritative Palestinian leaderships is not a sovereign and independent state of Palestine – a diplomatic option these leaderships have willfully rejected again and again – but elimination of the Jewish State. In this urgent matter, history deserves immediate pride of place. To begin, there has never [...]
Trump's Wrongful Pardons for Crimes Against International Law
“So far from it being unjust to punish him, it would be unjust if his wrongs were allowed to go unpunished.” Nuremberg Tribunal (1946) At the beginning of 2024, former President Donald J. Trump’s most conspicuously unsupportable legal claim has been his personal immunity from criminal prosecution. With this claim, Mr. Trump and his lead [...]
Palestinian Statehood and Demilitarization: A Falsifying Conjunction
“For by wise counsel, thou shalt make thy war.” Proverbs 24:6 Though one might think otherwise, there is no Palestinian state at present, nor has there ever been such a state in the past. Still, once the current Gaza War comes to an end – and whatever the tangible correlates of any war termination agreements [...]
Peru Constitutional Court orders immediate release of ex-president Fujimori
The Peruvian Constitutional Court ordered the immediate release of former President Alberto Fujimori on Monday, disregarding a resolution from the the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) that the release should be blocked. Despite Peru being bound by IACHR decisions, the Constitutional Court now asserts that the IACHR exceed its supervisory jurisdiction by ordering the [...]
Love, Suffering, Pity, and Death: The Tragic Sense of World Politics
“The most tragic thing in the world and in life, readers and brothers of mine, is love. Love is the child of illusion and the parent of disillusion; love is consolation in desolation; it is the sole medicine against death, for love is death’s brother.” Miguel de Unamuno, Tragic Sense of Life Looking Beneath: World [...]
Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel who held key roles in government, including serving as Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005. Wilkerson played a role in preparing US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s presentation in 2003 at the United Nations in making the case for [...]
Israeli prosecutors resumed the corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israeli Minister of Justice Yaris Levin lifted the country’s state of emergency on December 1. The trial had been on hold since September 20, when the courts adjourned for Rosh Hashanah. The trial was then again postponed due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas [...]
