Following on the heels of last week’s chemical weapon attack in Syria, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bob Corker (R-TN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Todd Young (R-IN) have introduced the Syria War Crimes Accountability Act of 2017, which authorizes the United States to provide technical and other forms of assistance to investigations and other credible transitional justice efforts, including a potential hybrid tribunal.  …   continue »

With power comes responsibility. In their new duties, Trump administration officials will need to consider the legal hazards associated with supporting foreign military partners who commit international crimes. Perhaps most alarming to some officials will be the risk of personal criminal liability.…   continue »

I have been honored to serve on a bipartisan Experts Committee on Preventing Mass Violence—convened by a coalition of human rights, religious, humanitarian, and peace organizations—for the purpose of generating a set of concrete recommendations around the atrocities prevention imperative for the next administration.…   continue »

The appalling announcement of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines that he would like “to slaughter” three million drug addicts in his country, much as “Hitler massacred three million Jews,” (never mind that it was in fact six million), requires an immediate response from the International Criminal Court (ICC).…   continue »

This is Part II of an International Justice Day Top-10 Round Up.  Part I—which discussed the recent judgment against Hissène Habré in the Extraordinary African Chambers, the consequences (vel non) of recent travel of President Al-Bashir to ICC States Parties, and the Open Society Justice Initiative’s finding that crimes against humanity have been committed in Mexico—is here.…   continue »

The field of international criminal justice has witnessed a number of important developments this spring and summer—enough to merit a proverbial top-ten list. In honor of International Justice Day on July 17^th (whose official tag is #JusticeMatters), this three-part series provides background and analysis of some key judgments, jurisprudential developments, and events.  …   continue »

On March 21, the ICC rendered the long-anticipated verdict in the Bemba case. Just three days later, the ICTY rendered its own long-awaited legal trial judgment in the Radovan Karadžić case. The coinciding of their delivery might invoke either conspiracy theories or (finally) an alignment of celestial bodies.…   continue »

Last Monday, Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former military commander from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was convicted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for murder, rape, and pillaging committed by Bemba’s soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-2003. He will be sentenced in a separate proceeding in the next few months.…   continue »

Last week, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Radovan Karadžić, the former President of the Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb army. Specifically, he was found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1991 to 1995.…   continue »

Secretary of State John Kerry announced on March 17 that, in his judgment, ISIL is committing genocide against a number of minority groups in Syria and Iraq, including Christians:

Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims.