Vol. 8, Issue 2 — April 22, 2013

 

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Central African Republic & Uganda

• BembaTrial.org: Bemba Trial Resumes Next Week
• BembaTrial.org: Bemba Had “Elementary” Military Knowledge but Troops Were Well-Trained
• BembaTrial.org: Witness Says Locals Offered MLC Fighters ‘Heartfelt Thanks’
• BembaTrial.org: Witness: Bemba Formed Commission To Probe Soldiers’ Conduct
• BembaTrial.org: Insider Says Media Reports About MLC Crimes Were Unverified
• BembaTrial.org: Bemba ‘Lost Authority’ Over Troops Deployed In Car
• BembaTrial.org: Insider Tells ICC Bemba Lacked Capacity to Command Alone
• BembaTrial.org: Bemba Hearings Cancelled For The Week

Darfur, Sudan

• Associated Press: Official: Sudan Leader not Traveling to Kenya
• AllAfrica.com: Sudan: Militia Leader Charged by ICC ‘Leading’ Darfur Tribal Clashes- Sources
• AllAfrica.com: Sudan: Central Darfur Fighters ‘Close to Catching ICC’s Ali Kushayb’

Democratic Republic of the Congo

• CapitalFM News: ICC Prosecutor Wants Congo Ex-Militia Boss Retried
• KatangaTrial.org: What Next for Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui? 

Kenya 

• AllAfrica.com: Kenya: Ruto Applies to Skip ICC Hearings
  

Libya

• Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Whether or Not Saif al-Islam Goes to the Hague, Libya’s Legal System Will Struggle to Deal with the Many Other Cases Likely to be Brought
  
• Reuters: In Jail Eight Months, Gaddafi Spy Chief Hasn’t Seen Lawyer: HRW

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 

• Human Rights Watch: Soldiers on Trial for Abuses – Important Step, but Politically Sensitive Cases Unaddressed

AFRICA

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

• AllAfrica.com: ICTR Betrayed Rwanda, Justice Minister Tells UN
  
• The Province: At UN Security Council, Rwanda Kkeeps International Criminal Court out of African Affairs
  

 

EUROPE

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber 

• Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina: Pronouncement of the Trial Verdict in the Case v. Milorad Zivkovic et al.
  
• Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina: Zoran Milic Pleads Not Guilty
  
• Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina: Osman Brkan and Ibro Macic Plead Not Guilty
  
• Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina: Trial Verdict Handed Down in the Case v. Milorad Zivkovic et al.
  
• Justice Report: Verdict Against Six Herceg-Bosna Leaders on May 29
  
• Justice Report: Zoran Milic Pleads Not Guilty
  
• Justice Report: Srebrenica Witness Changes Line on Executions
  

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

• Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Bosnian Serb Leader says Karadzic was Peacemaker
  
• Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Mladic Ejected after “Lying” Comment
  
• Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Seselj Judgment Date Set for October

Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia

• Balkan Transitional Justice: Macedonia’s Tarculovski Freed Early by Hague Court
  
• Balkan Transitional Justice: Serbia Sends Kosovo Guerrilla For Retrial
  
• Balkan Transitional Justice: Serbia Charges Soldier With 18 Murders in Bihac
  
• Balkan Transitional Justice: Bosnian Serb Police Chief Jailed for Cajnice Expulsions

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia 

• VOA Khmer: International Side of Tribunal Loans Funds to Cambodian Side
  
• The Cambodia Daily: After Much Debacle, Witness Returns to Stand at KR Tribunal
• Bangkok Post: Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge Court to be ‘Downsized’
  
• The Phnom Penh Post: Ponchaud Testifies at the KRT
  
• The Phnom Penh Post: Samphan Believes in Justice, Says Ponchaud
  
• The Cambodia Daily: Khieu Samphan Pleads for Release on Bail
  
• VOA Khmer: Given Difficulties, Tribunal Observers Worry Over Exit Strategy
  

Syria

• New York Times: Military in Syria is Accused of Massacre 
• Globe and Mail: Syria’s Assad Regime Accused of War Crimes 
• Al Jazeera: Russia Backs Future Syria War Crimes Probe

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

• The Daily Star: New STL Trial Date Unlikely Before Last Quarter 2013
  
• The Daily Starr: STL: Alleged Witnesses List Aims to Undermine Court 
• Agence France-Presse: Lebanon’s Hariri, Court Condemn Publication of Witness List 
• The Daily Star: Leaked STL Witness List ‘Inaccurate’: Spokesman
  
• The Daily Star: Al-Mustaqbal, STL Take Action Over Hacking Incident 
• The Daily Star: Judiciary to Act After ‘Witness List’ Exposed
  
• The Daily Star: STL Head in Lebanon for Regular Meetings: Youssef
  
• The Daily Star: Baragwanath’s Visit Not Connected to Leaks: STL
  
• The Daily Star: State Prosecutor Denies Office Behind STL Witness Leaks
  
• The Daily Star: Victims Want STL ‘Witness List’ Publishers Held in Contempt
  
  • • • • •  

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

• GlobalPost: G Azam Committed No Offence Hobnobbing with ’71 Junta: Defence
  
• Bangladesh News 24: ICT Hears War Crime Charges Against Mobarak
  
• Bangladesh News 24: Tribunal’s Apr 15 Deadline on Azam’s Defence
  
• GlobalPost: War Crimes Trial: Prosecutor Suffers Blow for Making Half Truth
  
• Gulf Times: Govt Firm on Executing War Tribunal Verdicts: Minister
  
• Daily Mail: NHS Boss Faces Death Penalty Over Charges of Torture and 18 Murders in Bangladesh
  
• Bangladesh News 24: Kamaruzzaman Verdict ‘Any Day’
  
• The Daily Star:Verdict Any Day: Prosecution Seeks Death, Defence Claims No Charges Proved
  

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

• Shan Herald: Shan Rebels-Burma Army Clash, Thousands Flee
  
• Radio Free Asia: Refugees Fear Fighting, Forced Labor in Burma’s Shan State
  

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
United States

• Organization of American States: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Wraps Up its 147th Session
  
• The New York Times: Targeted Killing Comes to Define War on Terror
  
• Organization of American States: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2012 Annual Report
  
• The Miami Herald: U.S. Troops Detail Skirmish with Guantánamo Captives
  
• Human Rights First: Pressure Mounting for White House Transparency on Drones
  
• The Orlando Sentinel: Florida to Be First State to Regulate Drones
  

South & Central America
Chile

• The Santiago Times: Pablo Neruda Exhumation Moves Forward, Answers May Prove Elusive
  

Colombia

• Colombia Reports: International Court Visits Colombia to Review State Crimes
  

Guatemala

• Fox News Latino: Otto Pérez Molina Implicated in Trial of Former Guatemalan Strongman Ríos Montt
  
• CNN: Guatemala Confronts a Dark Chapter
  
• UN News Centre: Prosecuting Past Crimes Provides Hope to Survivors in Guatemala – UN Envoy
  
• Reuters: Judge Suspends Genocide Trial of Guatemala’s Rios Montt
  

TOPICS

Terrorism

• Associated Press: Turkish Lawmakers Change Anti-Terror Laws to Boost Freedoms, But Critics Say Move Falls Short
  
• Reuters: U.S. Condoned Torture After 9/11, Must Close Guantanamo: Report
  
• ABC News: Iraq Executes 21 Men Convicted of Terrorism
  
• Yahoo News: Vanishing Files Delay Guantanamo Hearings in 9/11 Case
  
• Hindustan Times: German Bakery Blast Case: Himayat Baig Gets Death
  

 

Piracy

• The Japan Times: Government to Let Ships Carry Armed Guards
• Marine Log: Total Cost of Piracy: $5.7 Billion to $6.1 Billion
  

Gender-Based Violence

• The Independent: Justice for Ruth Berry Peal, Who Was Forcibly Mutilated in Liberia, But Still No Ban on FGM
• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics: Australia Signs National Compact to End Female Genital Mutilation
  
• UN News Centre: New G8 Initiative a Beacon of Hope for Victims of Sexual Violence – UN Envoy
  
• AfriqueJet: Gender-Based Violence Hits Criminal Dimension in Mali
  

REPORTS

UN Reports

• UN News Centre: Assembly Stresses Role of International Criminal Courts in Fostering Reconciliation
• UN News Centre: Prosecuting Past Crimes Provides Hope to Survivors in Guatemala
  
• UN News Centre: Ban Marks Rwandan Genocide with Call for Arrest and Prosecution of Remaining Fugitives
  

NGO Reports

• Human Rights Watch: Syria: Aerial Attacks Strike Civilians
• Amnesty International: Indonesia: Time to Face the Past: Justice for Past Abuses in Indonesia’s Aceh Province
  

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS

Nepal

• International Justice Resource Center: Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Nepal Continues to Face Criticism
  
• The Himalayan: German Delegation Raises TRC Concern
  

Ivory Coast

• The Economist : Will the Guilt Be Shared?

Liberia

• AllAfrica: Liberia: Disabled Press for Reparation from Government

United States

• WCSH6 Portland: Reconciliation Commission Hires Executive Director

COMMENTARY AND PERSPECTIVES

• Opinio Juris: NYU JILP Symposium: New Thoughts About Barayagwiza: Reactions to Policing International Prosecutors
• Opinio Juris: NYU JILP Symposium: The Rhetoric of Remedies
  
• Opinio Juris: NYU JILP Symposium: Response to the Commentary on Policing International Prosecutors
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: Explaining and Justifying International Courts as Agents and Actors: Comments on von Bogdany and Venzke’s ‘On the Functions of International Courts
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: A Consideration of ‘On the Functions of International Courts: An Appraisal in Light of Their Burgeoning Public Authority’
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: A Reply to the Comments of Andreas Follesdal and Ruti Teitel
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: Where to Find Liberal Principles of Criminal Law
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: International Criminal Law and Moral Agency
  
• Opinio Juris: LJIL Symposium: The Idea of Justice in International Criminal Law
  
• EJIL: Talk!: Progressive Development of International Human Rights Law: The Reports of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
  
• Justice in Conflict: Transitional Justice as Politics
  
• Opinio Juris: Bensouda on Palestinian Ratification of the Rome Statute
  

WORTH READING

• Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals – Volume 43 : When National and International Substantive Criminal Law Overlap: Decision on Appeal Against Closing Order Indicting Kaing Giel Eav aka ‘Duch’
• Chicago Journal of International Law: Jurisdiction, Immunity, Legality, and Jus Cogens
  
• University of Minnesota Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series: Gendered Harms and Their Interface with International Criminal Law: Norms, Challenges and Domestication
  
• Source: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Declines to Review UN Security Council Action: Retreating from Tadić’s Legacy in the Ayyash Jurisdiction and Legality Decisions
  
• International Center for Counter Terrorism Research Paper : Boundaries of the Battlefield: A Critical Look at the Legal Paradigms and Rules in Countering Terrorism