Jurisdiction and Admissibility

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The ICC, Arrest Warrants, and Peace Negotiations

August 18, 2026

Introduction On 9 June 2026, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued a decision in response to a request by a State for consultations under Article 97 of the Rome Statute. Article 97 provides an avenue for State Parties to consult the Court where it ‘identifies problems which may impede or prevent the execution of the request’ for cooperation, including arrest and surrender. The decision itself frames the issue at stake: a State, whose identity is not disclosed, requested consultations relating to ‘the avenues available to States Parties to allow the organisation of peace talks on their territory involving a person subject to a warrant of arrest issued by the Court’ (para 4). The person concerned is Vladimir Putin; the cooperation request relates to the issuance of an arrest warrant in 2023 for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.  In short, the Court accepted that there may be circumstances which justify non-execution of a…

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Location, Location, Location: The UK Supreme Court’s Judgment in Shehabi v. Bahrain

August 7, 2026

In August 2022, I co-authored a post on the English case of Al-Masarir v. Saudi Arabia [2022] EWHC 2199, where Knowles J held that Saudi Arabia had no immunity under Section 5 of the UK State Immunity Act 1978 (‘UK SIA’) for its use of Pegasus spyware to hack the devices of Mr Al-Masarir,…

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Process-oriented Review in German Arms Export Litigations: Beyond Victories and Defeats

May 5, 2026

The ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza presents complex legal and ethical challenges. As the ICJ considers Nicaragua v. Germany, the international legal community is examining how German courts have assessed the legality of arms exports to Israel. This article aims not to present generalizable judicial principles but to demonstrate that procedural governance is key to navigating…

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Once Again in Belgium: Prosecuting a Colonial Crime – The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba

April 22, 2026

In December 2024, a Belgian Court of Appeal recognised the civil liability of the Belgian State for a colonial crime committed in the Belgian Congo between 1948 and 1953. In the Métis case, as already addressed by scholars, the Court held that the Belgian policy of systematically removing children born to a Black mother and a…

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After Intervention: The Persistent Absent Third Party Issue in the Sapodilla Cayes Case

April 8, 2026

On 19 March, the ICJ delivered a judgment allowing Guatemala to intervene as a non-party in Sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes/Cayos Zapotillos (Belize v. Honduras). In this case, Belize is seeking a declaration that, as opposed to Honduras, it “is sovereign over the Sapodilla Cayes”, a number of islands off the shores of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras…

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