Tag Archives: International Law

Event: Legal Diversity and the Universal Vocation of International Law

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Court HammerDate: 2 June, 2016 - 9:30 to 17:00

Venue: Schouwburgstraat 2, 2511 VA Den Haag, Netherlands

McGill University’s Faculty of Law and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University, invite you to a one-day Symposium on the theme of legal diversity and the theory and practice of contemporary international law.

The speakers will be:

  • The Ambassador of Canada to the Netherlands, H.E. Sabine Nölke
  • Professor Daniel Jutras, Dean, Faculty of Law, McGill University
  • Judge Hisashi Owada, International Court of Justice
  • Hans van Loon, former Secretary General, Hague Conference on Private International Law
  • Alex Mills, Reader in Public and Private International Law, Faculty of Laws, UCL
  • Norman Farrell, Prosecutor, Special Tribunal for Lebanon
  • Justice David Baragwanath, Special Tribunal for Lebanon
  • James Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
  • Justice Bertram Schmitt, International Criminal Court
  • Payam Akhavan, Associate Professor, McGill University Faculty of Law (and Counsel at PCA, ICJ, ECtHR, ITLS, ICC, ICTY)
  • Silke Studzinsky, Trust Fund for Victims, International Criminal Court (previously Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC))
  • Sergey Vasiliev, Assistant Professor in Public International Law, Grotius Centre, Leiden University

The speakers will be asked to address one or more of the following themes:

  • Legal pluralism, legal diversity and international law: retrospective and prospective views; experiences from the practice of various Hague legal institutions; traditions of multiculturalism and legal pluralism (including the McGill Law Faculty educational method);
  • Human rights, peremptory norms, international legal standards and legal /cultural diversity;
  • “Cosmopolitan attitudes, methods & officials” in the practice of international law;
  • “Harmonious coexistence rather than obligatory universality” & universality through diversity;
  • The enrichment of international law through principles and approaches of diverse traditions / legal systems ;
  • Envisioning future pathways for international law / institutions in the light of global legal diversity.

Conference proceedings will be inspired in part by the works of the late Professors Patrick Glenn and Roderick Macdonald of McGill University, Faculty of Law, including their study of legal traditions of the world and legal pluralism, interlinked with Canadian traditions of multiculturalism.

For registration or additional information please email: [email protected]

The Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Sabine Nölke, will host a post-conference reception that evening, at the Canadian Official Residence (Groot Haesebroekseweg 44, Wassenaar), from 18:30 to 20:30.

Call for Papers: 25th Annual SLS-BIICL Conference on Theory and International Law

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BIICLTitle of the Conference: “Beyond our comfort zone? Situating the authority of international lawyers, institutions, & other international actors”

By the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the European Society of International Law’s Interest Group on International Legal Theory

Date: Monday 25th April 2016, 14:00-19:00

Venue: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5JP

The 2016 theme reflects an enduring question: the concept of authority in international law. That the international legal system is a legal system properly socalled should by now be an accepted fact: even if not always and universally enforced, the validity of international legal rules functions itself as a reason for compliance, quite independently of the nature or character of the actions to be done. The legitimacy of international law, therefore, derives from more than the consent to be bound.

The conference convenors welcome contributions on the concept of authority in international law, including, but not limited to:

  • Theorising about the nature of authority, its relationship to legitimacy and power, and how authority serves to justify the validity of international legal rules;
  • The responsibility of international legal officials (judges, legal officers in international organisations, State legal representatives, international legal practitioners) in upholding the international legal system;
  • The role of international lawyers in performing functions not necessarily linked to their expertise in international law, in particular political, diplomatic or advisory functions, serving on commissions of inquiry, etc;
  • The interaction between international lawyers and experts in other fields, in particular those of a scientific or technical character, and the nature of that interaction in, for example, disputes concerning the environment, cyber, surveillance, etc; and
  • The role of amici curiae in international legal proceedings, the risks and rewards of inviting non-legal expertise into the courtroom.

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Event: International Legal Aspects of Countering Piracy

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TMC logoDate and Time: 15 October 2015, 09.00 - 17.15 hrs, followed by a reception
Venue: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22, The Hague
Registration: Please register for this free event on the website of the Asser Institute

Countering maritime piracy by repressive means evokes important international legal questions: what is the responsibility and still evolving role of states and other actors like Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs)?

Is the use of repressive means by states already exhausted or eroding in the face of the emergence of PMSCs?

Which legal frameworks apply when countering piracy and how do they correlate?

What is the role of soft law? And which human rights challenges can be identified when arresting, detaining, transferring and prosecuting piracy suspects?

These are only a few pertinent questions that will be addressed during an international conference, organised by the public international law cluster of the Asser Institute (The Hague) and the Antonio Cassese Initiative (Geneva).

This international conference will also provide an opportunity to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and this year’s establishment of the Antonio Cassese Initiative Foundation in the Netherlands, thereby underscoring the increasing collaboration between these two organisations and between The Hague and Geneva, two of the most important legal cities in the world. Continue reading →

Hissene Habre’s Trial Suspended Until September

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BEL<HISSEIN HABRE EN CONFERENCE DE PRESS E A LA CEEToday, the trial of Chad’s former ruler Hissene Habre was suspended until September after the court named new lawyers because his defense team shunned the session.

The session was suspended after a few minutes when his lawyers did not show and the presiding judge appointed three lawyers to represent him. The new lawyers were given 45 days to prepare and the trial is due to resume on September 7.

The first day of the trial had been suspended after Habre started shouting slogans against the court and had to be forcibly removed.

Habre, who has refused to recognize the Extraordinary African Chambers trying him in Senegal, had to be forced to appear at the second day of the trial.

William Bourdon, a lawyer for the victims, said Habre’s refusal to cooperate with the court meant he had effectively taken the proceeding hostages. “He is spitting on the Extraordinary African Chambers,” Bourdon said.

Habre, who faces charges of war crimes, torture and crimes against humanity, could face a maximum of life in prison.

The Extraordinary African Chambers, an internationally backed court, was set up by Senegal and the African Union in February 2013 to prosecute “the person or persons most responsible” for international crimes committed in Chad during Habré’s eight-year rule.

After a 19-month investigation, a four-judge panel revealed that there was sufficient evidence that serious breaches of international law were committed during Habré’s presidency, which lasted from 1982 to 1990.

According to a 1992 Chadian Truth Commission, Habré’s government was responsible for conducting 40,000 political murders and systematically torturing more than 20,000. The government periodically targeted various ethnic groups such as the Hadjerai and the Zaghawa, killing and arresting group members en masse when it was perceived that their leaders posed a threat to Habré’s rule.

MH17 Crash: Russia Against a UN Tribunal

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MH17 CrashRussian President Vladimir Putin has rejected calls for the establishment of a UN tribunal to prosecute suspects in the MH17 air disaster over Ukraine.

Mr Putin made the remarks ahead of the first anniversary of the crash yesterday. The crash killed 298 people.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Mr Putin had “explained Russia’s position regarding the premature and counter-productive initiatives of several countries, including the Netherlands, on the establishment of an international tribunal”. Russia also criticised what it said was politicised media coverage of the disaster.

For Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, the establishment of a tribunal would help secure justice and would also constitute “the best guarantee of co-operation from all countries” in trying to secure justice.

The airliner was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed on 17 July 2014.

Western nations believe there is growing evidence that the plane was hit by a Russian-supplied missile fired by pro-Russian rebels in the area. However, Russia blames Ukrainian government forces.

The Netherlands is leading the criminal investigation into the disaster. It is being assisted by Belgium, Australia and Ukraine.

The Dutch Safety Board will release a final report on the cause of the crash in October.

Leiden Summer School on International Children’s Rights

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by Leiden University and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies

Venue: Leiden and The Hague

Date: 6-10 July 2015

Summer School 2015 International Children Rights

The Leiden Summer School on International Children’s Rights offers a great opportunity to engage with eminent professors, children’s rights experts and colleagues from all over the world and acquire state of the art knowledge of the most important global children’s rights themes.

The one week programme offers insight in highly relevant and topical issues including migration and children’s rights, children and digital technologies, children in armed conflict and conflict situations, child justice and child protection. In addition, you will be challenged to engage with experts in strategic litigation, monitoring of children’s rights and the role of civil society in implementing children’s rights.

The summer school is held in the beautiful cities of Leiden and The Hague and includes excursions to the Leiden Children’s Rights House, a youth institution and the International Criminal Court, as well as social activities. Previous editions have attracted professionals and advanced students from all over the world

The course will be coordinated by Professor Ton Liefaard, UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights at Leiden University, and by Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen, Professor of Children’s Rights in the Developing World at Leiden Law School

Guest speakers  will include Human Rights experts and academics.

Tuition fees for professionals are: €1100, and for students: €900.

A limited amount of applicants will be admitted to this summer school. The course is mainly aimed at professionals, but advanced students are invited to apply as well.

If you wish to apply, click here.

The deadline for applications is 1 June 2015.

Can International Law Change the World?

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By Shehzad Charania

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice

This week, at the Residence of the British Ambassador to the Netherlands, Ambassador Sir Geoffrey Adams opened the British Embassy Annual Lecture Series on International Law.  The guest speaker for the Inaugural Lecture was Judge Sir Christopher Greenwood of the International Court of Justice.

Ambassador Adams explained that the lecture marked the occasion of the Global Law Summit, which took place this week in London, as well the year in which we commemorate 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta of 1215.

Judge Greenwood’s lecture was entitled “Can International Law Change the World?”.  He began by referring back to the Magna Carta itself.  He explained that Magna Carta had changed “a world”: the law of England, albeit slowly and tentatively.  It established equality before the law; in particular, that even the King was subject to the law; and that justice was not to be sold or denied to anyone.  These principles form the foundation of the rule of law.

So could international law change the world in a similar way, Judge Greenwood asked.  He used as his point of reference the First and Second Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907.  The inspiration for those conferences had been a belief that international law could indeed change the world.  Specifically, the hope was that these conferences would legislate on the way war was conducted, including the reductions of certain armaments and prohibition of others, and set up an international court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which would enable States to settle their differences by law rather than war. Continue reading →

Event: Alliance Française - International Conferences

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alliance-françaiseThe Alliance Française in The Hague is hosting a series of conferences in French on “International Law and European Questions”.

The first one will take place on 20 February at the Alliance Française and will be given by Mr. Gregory Mounier from Europol. The focus will be on the combat against organised crime and terrorism in Europe - the role of Europol.

The second will take place on 29 May and will feature Ms. Heleyn Unac, deputy head of the defence office at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The lecture will focus on the defence of accused persons before the international criminal courts.

For further information, click here.

Event: “Customs Investigations at the crossroads between National and Community law”

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Godin Associés law firm will be organizing a seminar on “Customs Investigations Law” on 18 December 2014 at La Maison du Barreau in Paris.

OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office

OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office

Date: 18 December 2014, 9am to 1pm

Venue: Maison du Barreau, Hôtel de Harlay, 2 rue de Harlay – Paris

Speakers: Thierry Fossier, Judge at the Cour de Cassation, will be moderating the debate.

Jean-Luc Albert, Professor of Public Law at the University of Auvergne, and author of Customs Service and Customs Law [PUF, coll. Questions judiciaires 2013], will be discussing whether Customs Law has shifted towards becoming more safety-oriented. Continue reading →

International Criminal Courts: Progress Made, Progress Needed

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By Samuel Linehan

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court

On 29 October 2014, Chatham House and Doughty Street Chambers hosted the Sir Richard May Memorial Lecture. The speakers were Lord Justice Adrian Fulford and Judge Howard Morrison. The chair was Elizabeth Wilmshurst. The speakers discussed the major steps made in the trial of international crimes and addressed the challenges that still remain.

Sir Richard May was the first British judge at the ICTY, and as such the first British judge on an international criminal tribunal since the IMTs. He presided in Miloševi? and made a significant contribution to international criminal procedure as a member of the Rules Committee. His Memorial Trust aims to raise awareness of international humanitarian law by supporting interns from developing countries. So far it has sent more than 40 interns to the international criminal tribunals.

Lord Justice Fulford

Speaking on the theme of the evening, Judge Fulford was wary of the ‘miasma of legacy’ that surrounds such discussions. He spoke frankly on the fate of his ‘brainchildren,’ the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (‘OPCV’) and the Office of Public Counsel for Defence (‘OPCD’). In this connection he noted that castles built in the air tend to go up in smoke. His intention had been that these offices would provide professional and independent specialist in-house counsel and that self-employed counsel would be the backup option. The representation of victims and the accused is central to the ICC, which is at a crossroads. The outcome of the ReVision project to restructure the Registry (which includes these offices) is critical. Continue reading →