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 [...]
45 journalists killed in 2023, marking lowest toll since 2002: RSF report
In its annual report, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed that 45 journalists were killed in line with their work in 2023, marking the lowest total since 2002. The report also revealed that 54 journalists were held hostage, 84 remain missing and 521 are currently detained. The report identified varying trends contributing to these numbers, such [...]
Explainer: The Philippines-China Maritime Dispute and International Law
Through 2023, tensions in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines have escalated, marked by such significant escalations as the removal of a floating barrier by the Philippines near the Scarborough Shoal and the deployment of its Coast Guard amid increased activity by the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) near Julian Felipe Reef (or [...]
Red Cross delegate: Guantanamo inmates show signs of 'accelerated aging'
A top International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate Friday said that inmates held by the US at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center are experiencing “symptoms of accelerated .” Patrick Hamilton, the head of the ICRC’s US and Canada delegation, visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in March and says that the inmates’ symptoms are consistent with [...]
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Violations of International Law
On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russian forces have attacked different parts of Ukraine using both ground troops as well as air strikes. So far, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have died as a result of Russian attacks. By so blatantly attacking Ukraine, another sovereign country, Russia has [...]
More than two years after gunman Gabriel Wortman went on a shooting spree that killed 22 people in rural Nova Scotia, questions of why and how this atrocity happened still weigh heavily on Nova Scotian hearts. Families of the victims and the citizens of Nova Scotia have demanded accountability from the authorities under whose watch [...]
Pakistan challenges release of man accused of beheading US journalist
The Pakistani government appealed the decision to release Ahmad Omar Seed Sheikh, who was accused of beheading Daniel Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, to its Supreme Court Friday. Sheikh and three others were originally convicted of the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Pearl, but their sentences were commuted in April 2020. Friday’s [...]
In the late 1920s scratch farmers and loggers were facing an unseen threat in the isolated forests of the inland Pacific Northwest of America. Crops were scarred and charred. They had stunted timber yields. The culprit turned out to be a huge zinc smelter In Trail, British Columbia that bellowed sulfurous fumes from across the [...]
US President Donald Trump vetoed senate Joint Resolution 68, commonly known as the Iran War Powers resolution, on Wednesday. The resolution came in response to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in early January. In a statement released by the White House, Trump called the resolution “insulting” and characterized it as a political attack by Congressional [...]
Guantanamo detainee files suit against psychologists who devised interrogation tactics
Attorneys for Guantanamo detainee Abu Zubaydah have filed a lawsuit against the two psychologists, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who developed the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA, including waterboarding and sleep deprivation. The UK human rights group...
