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Commanders’ Motivations in Bemba

June 15, 2018

Introduction No doubt there is much to be written about Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s acquittal by the Appeals Chamber – on its implications for the ICC, for politics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and for the standard of review in future appeals. In this post, I will focus on a single issue addressed by the Appeals Chamber: the relevance of a commander’s motivation in taking measures to prevent or punish the crimes of his subordinates. This may seem a narrow issue – it was, initially, but one aspect of one element of the test for superior responsibility that formed part of one ground of appeal. However, this issue turned out to play a critical role in the majority’s decision to acquit the defendant. Background A majority of the Appeals Chamber - Judges Van den Wyngaert, Eboe-Osuji and Morrison – held that the second ground of appeal and part of the third ground of appeal were determinative of the appeal. The second ground averred that the…

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UNCITRAL and ISDS Reforms: What are States’ Concerns?

June 5, 2018

What are states’ concerns about investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)? To help answer that question, we have put together four posts that compile the most relevant quotes from the first two meetings of the UNCITRAL Working Group sessions. To facilitate discussions about the desirability of reforms and their potential nature, we have organized these quotes into key themes that…

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Reflections on the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement

June 5, 2017

Ending months of fevered speculation, President Donald Trump fulfilled his campaign promise and announced US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement last week. He did so because in his opinion the Paris Agreement inflicts ‘severe energy restrictions’ on the United States and ‘punishes’ the United States ‘while imposing no meaningful obligations on the world’s leading polluters.’ This…

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Grand Chamber Judgment in Al-Dulimi v. Switzerland

June 23, 2016

This week the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered a major judgment in Al-Dulimi and Montana Managment Inc. v. Switzerland, no. 5809/08. This is the latest in a long and complex line of cases dealing with the negative human rights impact of sanctions mandated by the UN Security Council, raising inter alia…

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European Court Decides that Israel Is Not Occupying Gaza

June 17, 2015

Yesterday the Grand Chamber of  the European Court of Human Rights delivered judgments in two blockbuster cases regarding the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Chiragov and Others v. Armenia and Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan. These are very rich judgments raising many important issues, and I will be writing up more detailed comments…

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