Jus cogens: Recent Developments in International Law

International Courts & Tribunals at a Glance (No. 19)

International Courts & Tribunals at a Glance, a juscogens.net feature, aims to provide timely notice of recent happenings and trial developments in an organized, central location and an unbiased, objective manner. For comments or suggestions, please contact editor@juscogens.net.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Speech by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, to the General Assembly of the United Nations (26 October 2006)

Speech by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, to the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly (27 October 2006)

Address by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, on the occasion of the visit by their majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (31 October 2006)

Cases currently being heard/under deliberation:

• Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)
  

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Overview of Court Proceedings

Overview of Court Documents

Court Schedule

ICTY Weekly Press Briefing (2 November 2006)

Appeals Chamber Affirms Decision To Join Cases Against Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak And Mladen Markač (26 October 2006):

From the ICTY: "The Tribunal's Appeals Chamber yesterday confirmed the Trial Chamber's decision of 14 July 2006 to join two cases involving Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač in one indictment and accepted the proposed amendments to the indictment. The three are charged with the crimes committed against Serbs in 1995, during and in the aftermath of the Croatian military offensive known as "Operation Storm", conducted in the Krajina region of Croatia. At the time, Gotovina and Čermak were senior military commanders on the ground, while Markač was the commander of Croatian Special Police. The Appeals Chamber upheld the earlier decision by reasoning that the alleged crimes took place in the same geographic area, in the same time period and in the course of the same military operation and that they were committed pursuant to the same joint criminal enterprise of which all three accused are alleged to have been members....The accused are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise the purpose of which was the permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region of Croatia by force, fear or threat of force, persecution, forced displacement, transfer and deportation, appropriation and destruction of property or other means. Specifically, Gotovina, Čermak and Markač are charged with murder, persecutions, deportation and forcible transfer, plunder of public and private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages and inhumane acts and cruel treatment."

The Trial Chamber Grants Prosecution's Motion To Amend The Indictment In The Haradinaj Case (26 October 2006):

From the ICTY: "The Tribunal's Trial Chamber II yesterday granted the Prosecution's motion to amend the indictment against Ramush Haradinaj, former senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, former members of the KLA . The accused are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise the purpose of which was the consolidation of total control of the KLA over its operational zone of Dukagjin by attacking and persecuting certain sections of the civilian population there, namely by unlawfully removing Serb civilians from that area, and forcibly and violently suppressing any real or perceived form of collaboration with the Serbs by Albanian or Roma civilians there. The criminal purpose included the intimidation, abduction, imprisonment, beating, torture and murder of targeted civilians. The specific charges against the accused include murder, rape, harassment, inhumane acts, destruction of property, unlawful detention, deportation or forcible transfer of civilians, cruel treatment and other inhumane acts. The amendments are contained in counts 35, 37, 38 and 39 of the indictment and refer specifically to several additional ways in which the alleged mistreatment of a witness is said to have occurred, as well as an event in which two other persons were mistreated, and a small group of individuals was forcibly displaced. In allowing the amendments, the Trial Chamber ruled that the changes will not cause prejudice to the accused or delay proceedings unduly. Due to the fact that the amendments constitute new charges, a further initial appearance will be scheduled in due course."

• Full-Text of Decision

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Daily Journal

Daily Case Minutes

Judicial Calendar
ICTR Newsletter (September 2006)

Latest Decisions:

• Nahimana et al ., Office of the President, "DECISION ON REQUESTS FOR REVERSAL OF PROHIBITION OF CONTACT," 25 October 2006 (denying request of Hassan Ngeze to lift restrictive measures on "contact with the outside world," which were imposed after Ngeze previously violated a witness protection order)
• Bagosora et al., "DECISION ON KABILIGI MOTION FOR COOPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE AND SUBPOENA OF FORMER OFFICERS," 31 October 2006 (requesting the Government of France "to comply immediately with its commitment to provide written answers to the questionnaires to each of the four prospective witnesses" and "to complete the procedures prescribed by its own law as expeditiously as possible, in light of the calendar described in the present decision" and denying the request for subpoenas and a specific hearing schedule as premature)

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)

Court Schedule

Court Summary, Week Ended 3 November 2006

Case Developments & Resources:

The Civil Defence Forces (CDF) Accused

• Decision on Fofana request for full review of Prosecution evidence to identify Rule 68 material for disclosure (6 November 2006)
  

The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) Accused

The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (ARFC) Accused

• Defence Testimony Ends in AFRC Accused Trial.(27 October 2006)

Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor

• Decision on urgent Prosecution motion for immediate protective measures for witnesses and non-public disclosure (3 November 2006)
  

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Hearing Schedule

ICC Newsletter (October 2006)

Chad and Montenegro become the 103rd and 104th States Parties to the Rome Statute (7 November 2006)

Situations & Cases [All documents ]:

Situation in Dafur, Sudan

• Prosecutor's Expedited Application for Leave to reply to Ad Hoc Counsel's "Conclusions Aux Fins D'Exception D'Incompétence et D'Irrecevabilité" (27 October 2006)
• Decision on the Prosecutor's request to file a reply (30 October 2006)
• Décision relative aux "Conclusions aux fins d'in limine litis sursis à statuer" déposées par le conseil ad hoc de la Défense (2 November 2006)
• Requête sollicitant l'autorisation d'interjeter appel à l'encontre de la décision rendue le 02/11/2006 sur les conclusions in limine litis sursis à statuer (6 November 2006)
• Prosecutor's response to "Requête sollicitant l'autorisation d'interjeter appel à l'encontre de la décision rendue le 02/11/2006 sur les conclusions in limine litis sursis à statuer" (7 November 2006)

Situation in Central African Republic

Situation in Uganda

• The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen
• Statement by the Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on the confirmation of the death of Raska Lukwiya (7 November 2006)

Situation in Democratic Republic of Congo

• The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (Pre-Trial Phase)
• Defence Appeal Against the "Décision sur la demande de mise en liberté provisoire de Thomas Lubanga Dyilo" (26 October 2006)
• Defence Appeal against the Decision on the Defence Challenge to Jurisdiction of 3 October 2003 (26 October 2006)
• Prosecution's Response to Defence Appeal Against the 'Décision sur la demande de mise en liberté provisoire Thomas Lubanga Dyilo' (1 November 2006)
• Décision sur la demande d'autorisation d'appel de la Défense relative à la transmission des Demandes de participation des victimes (6 November 2006)
• Decision concerning list of issues on jurisdiction, admissibility or proper conduct of the proceedings (7 November 2006)

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

Pending Cases and current status

Developments:

• Statement by Mr Rüdiger Wolfrum, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations, New York (20 October 2006)
• Statement by Mr Rüdiger Wolfrum, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to the Informal Meeting of Legal Advisers of Ministries of Foreign Affairs, New York (23 October 2006)
• The Tribunal holds its first regional workshop in Dakar (6 November 2006)

This Week in Public International Law Scholarship (No. 26)

This Week in Public International Law Scholarship, a juscogens.net feature, highlights new and notable books and articles concerning public international law. For comments or suggestions, please contact editor@juscogens.net.

Books:

Catherine Brolmann, The Institutional Veil in Public International Law: International Organisations And the Law of Treaties

Richard Burchill, The European Union, International Law And The Promotion And Protection Of Democracy

C. Chatterjee, International Law and Diplomacy

Matthew Craven, Malgosia Fitzmaurice & Maria Vogiatzi (eds.), Time, History and International Law

Wolfgang Kaleck, Michael Ratner, Tobias Singelnstein & Peter Weiss (eds.), International Prosecution of Human Rights Crimes

Adam LeBor, "Complicity With Evil": The United Nations in the Age of Modern Genocide

Karen Lee (ed.), Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal Reports

Oliver James Lissitzyn, The International Court of Justice: Its Role in the Maintenance of International Peace And Security

Vaughan Lowe, International Law

Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, Global Justice: The Politics of War Crimes Trials

Richard Plender (ed.), Basic Documents on International Migration Law: Third Revised Edition

Martin Reichard, The Eu-nato Relationship: A Legal And Political Perspective

Stephen Tierney & Colin Warbrick (eds.), Towards an International Legal Community?: The Sovereignty of States And the Sovereignty of International Law

Zoe Wilson, The United Nations and Democracy in Africa

Articles:

International Journal of Human Rights (United Kingdom), Volume 10, Number 4, December 2006

• Andrea Boggio, The Global Enforcement of Human Rights: The Unintended Consequences of Transnational Litigation
• Michael Levine and Saul Newman, Sacred Cows and the Changing Face of Discourse on Terrorism: Cranking it Up a Notch
• Omer Elagab, Fighting with the Enemy: The Case of Three British Muslims in Afghanistan

Boston University Public Interest Law Journal, Volume 15, Number 2, Spring 2006

• Berta Hernández-Truyol and Justin Luna, CHILDREN AND IMMIGRATION: INTERNATIONAL, LOCAL, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Journal of International Law and International Relations (Canada), Volume 2, Number 2, Fall 2006

• David Malone and James Cockayne, The UN Security Council: 10 Lessons From Iraq on Regulation and Accountability
• Adrian Di Giovanni, The Prospect of ICC Reparations in the Case Concerning Northern Uganda: On a Collision Course With Incoherence?

Human Rights Law Review (United Kingdom), Volume 6, Number 2, 2006

• M. Cherif Bassiouni, International Recognition of Victims' Rights
• Jo M. Pasqualucci, The Evolution of International Indigenous Rights in the Inter-American Human Rights System
• Brian D. Tittemore, Guantanamo Bay and the Precautionary Measures of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: A Case for International Oversight in the Struggle Against Terrorism