Stephen Rapp, an American lawyer and diplomat, has been a leading figure in international criminal law and human rights. He was appointed as the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues in 2009, overseeing investigations and prosecutions of war criminals worldwide. Rapp’s commitment to justice and ending impunity was evident during his tenure, supporting [...]
Search Results for: 2003-05-13
Reimagining the ICC's Role in Delivering Justice to Darfur: A Reflection of Its Agenda in Sudan
As the International Criminal Court (ICC) commemorated over two decades since its establishment, on July 4, 2023, Mr. Karim Khan, the ICC Prosecutor, submitted his thirty-seventh report to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in accordance with Resolution 1593 (2005). Addressing the UNSC nine days later, on July 13, 2023, Mr. Khan emphasized the urgent [...]
Toward the Turkish Presidential Election: A Constitutional Question
A critical presidential election is scheduled to take place on May 14 in Turkey. Nonetheless, there have been heated discussions over the constitutionality of President Erdogan’s candidacy. Erdogan was elected president for the first time in August 2014, following his role as prime minister beginning in 2003. In June 2018, Erdogan was elected as president [...]
Picture a swarm of drones entering a village programmed to fly without a human operator with instructions to shoot or immobilize anyone it deems to be holding a weapon. While this might sound like a scene from Lana Wachowski’s latest Matrix film, the technology to build these killer robots is already here. Unless states act [...]
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 [...]
After Afghanistan: Taliban Power, Palestinian Terrorism and Islamist Sacrifice
“History is an illustrious war against death.” – José Ortega y Gasset, Man and Crisis (1958) Afghanistan and “Palestine”: Newly Emerging Linkages At first glance, there are no obvious connections between the Taliban victory over the United States in Afghanistan and Palestinian terrorism against Israel. Upon closer inspection, however, the recent Taliban triumph reflects more [...]
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, [...]
An American President's Perilous Misunderstanding of War, Strategy and Survival
“It must not be forgotten that it is perhaps more dangerous for a nation to allow itself to be conquered intellectually than by arms.” – Guillaume Apollinaire, “The New Spirit and the Poets” (1917) In his commencement address at West Point on June 13, 2020, US President Donald J. Trump presented a narrowing view of [...]
A Comparative Understanding of "Lockdown" Frameworks in the Time of the Coronavirus Pandemic
As COVID-19 spreads in different parts of the world, many countries have resorted to “national quarantine” or lockdown. Travel bans and closure of activities has resulted in a complete halt of society. Different countries are using their own set of domestic laws for planning action against the spread of Coronavirus. After declaring it a “pandemic”, [...]
In April, the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) refused to authorize an investigation into alleged war crimes that have been committed in Afghanistan since 2003. The Prosecutor’s 20,000-page request, issued in November 2017, would have opened a broad investigation, including a probe into possible war crimes committed by U.S. military personnel. [...]