Crimes Against Humanity

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The Responsibility of Syria under the Convention Against Torture before the ICJ

October 6, 2023

With the oral proceedings and marathon round of interventions over the past two weeks on the preliminary objections in the Allegations of Genocide (Ukraine v Russia) case (on which, see the excellent summary here), one might forget that the International Court of Justice will be in session again from 10 October to hear pleadings in yet another case concerning an ongoing armed conflict. This time, it will be to hear the pleadings of the parties in relation to Canada and the Netherlands’ request for the indication of provisional measures following their joint Application in the summer against Syria, alleging violations of the Convention Against Torture. The applicants assert that, since the start of the civil war in 2011, Syria has committed, and continues to commit, a range of violations of the CAT, including through acts of torture and inhuman treatment attributable to the State itself, as well as through its failures to meet the various positive obligations of prevention and investigation under the CAT. The case,…

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Territorial Jurisdiction at the International Criminal Court for Deportation Across the High Seas

September 25, 2023

There is a lacuna in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisprudence on jurisdiction for the transboundary crime against humanity of deportation. The issue is whether the deportation of victims across the high seas into the territory of a Rome Statute state party falls within the ICC’s territorial jurisdiction. The ICC’s leading decisions —arising from Bangladesh/Myanmar— appear to point…

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On the rape of men in the context of forced marriages at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

April 1, 2023

On December 23rd, 2022, the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) published its full appeal judgment in the Samphân KHIEU case. The Supreme Court Chamber mostly upheld Samphân KHIEU’s conviction, including for forced marriages as crimes against humanity of other inhumane acts. The Supreme Court Chamber, however, reversed…

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New universal jurisdiction case filed in Germany for crimes committed in Myanmar before and after the coup: On complementarity, effectiveness, and new hopes for old crimes

March 7, 2023

A few days before the second anniversary of the ‘failed coup’ in Myanmar, a case was filed in Germany against senior Myanmar military generals and ‘other actors’ identified in the complaint for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It was filed under universal jurisdiction enshrined in the German Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch…

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Nicaragua: Expatriation as an Aggravated Form of Political Persecution

February 27, 2023

In an unprecedented move in the modern history of international law, Nicaragua has stripped more than 300 dissident citizens of their nationality in the last two weeks. 222 of these citizens were deported to the United States on 9 February (see here), with the Managua Appeals Court (Tribunal de Apelaciones) removing their nationality the day…

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