International Criminal Law

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir attends a meeting with his new 20-member cabinet as they take oath at the presidential palace in the capital on March 14, 2019.

Head of State Immunity is Too Important for the International Court of Justice

If the United Nations General Assembly, or another competent U.N. organ, simply requests an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, then its member States would…

Feb. 24, 2020 Adil Ahmad Haque

Sudanese protesters wait at a train station in Khartoum to board a train to Atbara on December 19, 2019 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their protest movement that brought down Omar al-Bashir last April after a thirty-year rule.

Sudan Takes Two Big Steps toward Normalizing Relations: USS Cole and Bashir

Sudan’s transitional government took two significant steps toward improving its international standing and normalizing relations with the United States by first agreeing for…

Feb. 21, 2020 John Hursh

Demonstrators holds up placards and banners while demonstrating, asking for Yahya Jammeh, the former President of the Gambia, to be brought to justice, in Banjul on January 25, 2020. One of the signs says, "No Place for Enforced Disappearance in Gambia."

Senators Call for Prosecution of Gambian Paramilitary Fighter in US Custody

Rare opportunity to criminally prosecute a person implicated in extremely grave human rights abuses in a U.S. court.

Feb. 21, 2020 Randle DeFalco

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (C) along with Army Commander Shavendra Silva (L) and Navy Chief Piyal De Silva stand to attention during Sri Lanka's 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2020.

U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Sri Lankan Military Leader

The U.S. State Department’s announcement of a travel ban on Sri Lankan Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army and acting chief of the Defense…

Feb. 20, 2020 Randle DeFalco

Sudan's deposed military ruler Omar al-Bashir stands in a defendant's cage during the opening of his corruption trial in Khartoum on August 19, 2019.

Sudan Announces Intention to Have al-Bashir and Others “Appear” Before the ICC

Sudan's transitional government said al-Bashir and others indicted by the ICC for atrocities in Darfur must "appear" before the Court, but whether extraditions will occur remains…

Feb. 13, 2020 Randle DeFalco

Members of the 7th Armoured Brigade, who have recently returned from service on operations in Iraq, march through Parliament Square towards the Houses of Parliament on February 23, 2009 in London.

U.K. Proposes to Limit Accountability for Violations by Armed Forces

The British government is considering an unprecedented and comprehensive package of measures designed to shield both individual members of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of…

Jan. 30, 2020 Nadia O'Mara

International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda sits at the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the closing statements of the trial of former Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda in the Hague, the Netherlands, on August 28, 2018.

International Criminal Court and the Question of Palestine’s Statehood: Part II

Ambassador (ret.) Todd F. Buchwald dissects the most vexing issues as to whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to hear Palestine's case.

Jan. 23, 2020 Todd Buchwald

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda looks on before the start of the trial of former Ivory Coast president and former youth minister at the International Criminal Court of The Hague, on January 28, 2016.

International Criminal Court and the Question of Palestine’s Statehood: Part I

Ambassador (ret.) Todd F. Buchwald dissects the most vexing issues as to whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to hear Palestine's case.

Jan. 22, 2020 Todd Buchwald

People protest at a Uyghur rally on February 5, 2019 in front of the US Mission to the United Nations, to encourage the State Department to fight for the freedom of the majority-Muslim Uighur population unjustly imprisoned in Chinese concentration camps. A child holds a sign reading, “Justice.”

The United States Finally Has a New War Crimes Ambassador

Considering the past, current, and threatened atrocities across the globe and the U.S. position on the ICC, Ambassador Morse Tan will have his hands full.

Jan. 10, 2020 Beth Van Schaack

Exterior View of new International Criminal Court building in The Hague on July 30, 2016.

ICC Holds Historic Hearing on U.S. Torture and Other Grave Crimes in Afghanistan

While “high crimes and misdemeanors” dominated the news cycle in Washington this month, the focus in The Hague was on grave crimes and mistreatment. Just days before the International…

Dec. 23, 2019 Katherine Gallagher and Nikki Reisch

Sudanese protesters stage a demonstration on December 3, 2019 calling upon authorities to deliver justice to those killed in demonstrations against the now ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir and during the weeks long sit in outside the military headquarters after Bashir's fall.

“Freedom, Peace, and Justice”: The Surprising Success of Sudan’s Glorious Revolution

What a difference a year makes. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the first protests that would eventually topple the brutal dictatorship of Sudanese President Omar al Bashir.…

Dec. 19, 2019 John Hursh

US President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands in the Oval Office of the White House March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Why the Settlements are a Problem for Benjamin Netanyahu

Despite the new U.S. position that West Bank settlements are not "per se" illegal, international accountability for Israeli settlement activity remains a real possibility.

Dec. 19, 2019 Victor Kattan