Lost in translation
Varying German-language versions of international treaties and documents
“Of course, international law is the same everywhere, so it’s not a problem, right?” is the response I often get when talking about my transition into German academia. Anthea Roberts prominently made the case that this is not necessarily true. Surprisingly, I discovered that some of it differs even between Austria and Germany. Teaching international law courses at a German University, I expected to simply draw from my previous years …
Neues Tribunal, neues Glück?
Überlegungen zur völkerstrafrechtlichen Aufarbeitung des „Islamischen Staats“
Im Februar drohte U.S.-Präsident Donald Trump per Twitter an, Kämpfer der Terrormiliz „Islamischer Staat“ (IS), die sich im Gewahrsam kurdischer Milizen in Syrien befinden, freizulassen. Viele der Kämpfer sind Staatsangehörige westlicher Staaten und möchten möglicherweise in ihre Heimatländer zurückkehren. Vor diesem Hintergrund verstärkt sich die Debatte, wie der militärisch ausgetragene Konflikt mit dem IS juristisch aufgearbeitet werden soll. Sollte hierzu ein gesondertes Tribunal eingerichtet werden? Es steht außer Frage, dass …
Centenary struggles: climate change & informality at ILO 100
One of the most disruptive new realities transforming the contemporary world of work is that of climate change. Escalating dislocations, disasters, floods, extreme heat, and other ‘exceptional’ catastrophes are on the horizon, globally. As a further matter, the social and economic burdens of climate change will most severely impact individuals and communities living and working in situations of informality, broadly meaning, in the absence of rights and social protection. The …
The charm of jurisdictions: a modern version of Solomon’s judgment?
From a perspective of international law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) pioneers particularly in terms of its (extraterritorial) application. Whereas in international law, which is based on the Westphalian notion of exclusive state sovereignty, this sovereignty is usually restricted to the state’s own territory and allows for an extraterritorial application of human rights only in exceptional circumstances, the GDPR prominently standardises the domestic-market principle in Article 3(2) GDPR. The …
The GDPR and algorithmic decision-making
Safeguarding individual rights, but forgetting society
In algorithmic decision-making systems (ADM systems) machines evaluate and assess human beings and, on this basis, make a decision or provide a forecast or a recommendation for action. Thus, it is not only the data processing as such, but above all the automated decision resulting from the data processing that contains risks for the user. The current international legal framework encompasses such risks by guaranteeing privacy, data protection, personality rights …
The internet on its way back to a future of human dignity?
One year EU General Data Protection Regulation
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come a long way since it was first tabled as proposal by the European Commission on 25 January 2012. Probably, it will be remembered as the biggest achievement of the outgoing Juncker Commission. Despite the fact that Europe plays a second-tier role when it comes to the development and production of data-driven technology and services, research shows that of 132 countries which have …
Ukrainische Matrosen bald auf der Heimreise?
Zur Entscheidung des ITLOS zu vorläufigen Maßnahmen in der Sache Ukraine v. Russia
Russland muss drei ukrainische Kriegsschiffe und 24 inhaftierte Crewmitglieder unverzüglich freilassen. Das hat der Internationale Seegerichtshof (ITLOS) am 25. Mai 2019 in einem Verfahren zum einstweiligen Rechtsschutz im Case concerning the detention of three Ukrainian naval vessels (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) entschieden. Diesen vorläufigen Maßnahmen („provisional measures“) ging ein Zwischenfall im Schwarzen Meer am 25. November 2018 voraus, bei dem Russland die ukrainischen Kriegsschiffe Berdyansk, Nikopol und Yani Kapu angriff und samt …
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Designed to serve mankind?
The politics of the General Data Protection Regulation
The collection and processing of our personal data is changing sense-making of the world and ourselves, as are projects of governance surrounding it. In the year since it has become effective, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come to represent a global standard for privacy and data protection. Yet, the idea that the GDPR represents a global standard assumes a uniform cultural and political context globally and overlooks broader questions …
Us & them
On xenophobic policies and human rights
On 21 May 2019, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe published a report following her visit to Hungary from 4 to 8 February 2019. The report inter alia deals with the human rights situation of migrants and refugees in Hungary and discusses five points in this regard: inaccessibility of protection, violence and ill-treatment in connection with removals from the territory, detentions, treatment of unaccompanied minors under …
Retaliatory Strikes as a Reaction to Cyber-Attacks?
The recent Israeli Airstrike against HamasCyberHQ from an IHL perspective
Between Friday (3 May 2019) and Sunday (5 May 2019) violence erupted again between Israel and the Palestinians led by governing Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the course of a severe exchange of violence between the two conflict parties, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a physical attack countering an offensive cyber operation by Hamas. According to IDF, the air strike was conducted against the Hamas Cyber Headquarter and …
The climax of the Al-Bashir saga
The ICC’s Jordan judgment
In the judgment of 6 May 2019, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found that Jordan had failed to comply with its obligation to arrest and surrender the (at that time sitting) Sudanese President Al-Bashir during the summit of the Arab League in Jordan. This may be the legal climax of the frustrating Al-Bashir saga, the saga of the wanderlust of an allegedly criminal president of a …
Controversies in Caracas
Diplomatic asylum: regional customary law or treaty application?
After the failure of the uprising of the Venezuelan opposition, prosecuted politicians and military members are seeking refuge in the diplomatic representations of Brazil, Spain, Argentina and Italy. One might wonder if these incidents give reason to reconsider the existence of a regional customary rule on diplomatic asylum in Latin America. Diplomatic circumstances – controversial interests Diplomatic asylum is not codified, as it was left aside when the International Law …
Can German courts stop “Hellfire” from Ramstein?
Being a Saarbrücken-based legal scholar traveling regularly to Frankfurt, the sight of the American Ramstein Air Base (or “Ramstein” for short) approaching just before Kaiserslautern is nothing unusual. Most of the time, the high fences on the left side go unnoticed, unless perhaps one of the US Airforce “Globemasters” is casually floating over the highway. This was different on my last trip to Frankfurt – when spotting Ramstein triggered my …
Where the Kaiser meets Pinochet
Some thoughts on the role of museums in memorialising international crimes
I recently visited a rather dubious location in Santiago de Chile. A restaurant, owned by a German, designed like a Bavarian beer house, praised by the local press as an ‘authentic German enclave’ in Santiago. There is nothing dubious to this as such of course. But when I entered the place, saw the fence surrounding it and the Prussian flag in its logo, I could not help the feeling that …
Judge Ozaki’s Case
Moonlighting at the International Criminal Court?
On March 19, 2019, seventeen of the eighteen judges of International Criminal Court (hereinafter ‘the Court’) sat to decide on the fate of Judge Ozaki as a judge of the Court. Back in January this year, Judge Ozaki had requested the Presidency to change her status from a ‘full-time judge’ to a ‘non-full-time judge’ of the Court. The request was granted. Later, in February, Judge Ozaki informed the Court that …
Setback for the descendants of the Nama and Ovaherero indigenous peoples
A New York Court declines jurisdiction in Rukoro et al. v. Germany
Almost two years after members and descendants of the Nama and Ovaherero indigenous peoples filed a class action complaint against the Federal Republic of Germany in a United States District Court, the New York Court dealing with the case dismissed the complaint on March 6, 2019 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiffs have filed a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March …
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