An Islamic legal scholar as judge at the ICC: In conformity with Islamic law?
On 6 July 2020, Juliette Rémond Tiedrez wrote a fantastic article on Völkerrechtsblog titled Time for an Islamic legal scholar at the ICC? She suggested that there should be an Islamic law expert (faqih) sitting as judge of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) based on a few reasons. First and foremost, the Islamic legal tradition is widely used yet usually forgotten and not represented, thus raising questions towards the ICC’s …
Time for an Islamic legal scholar at the ICC?
On the International Criminal Court’s lack of Islamic law representation
2020 will be a busy year for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Assembly of State Parties (ASP) as three elections are coming up in December: The elections of six judges, one prosecutor and six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance. The ASP should take this opportunity to bring an Islamic legal scholar, a Faqih, to the Court. The Court is an international court. It should therefore represent the …
Germany’s commitment to international justice
On the groundbreaking first trial addressing genocide against Yazidis
Part I Six years after the so-called “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) began persecuting and annihilating the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority group in Northern Iraq, the first trial of its kind addressing genocide against the group commenced in Frankfurt am Main on April 24, 2020. While the world is focusing its efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the Frankfurt judges are avidly going forward with the case against …
Internationales Recht und kapitalistische Verwertungslogik
Zur politischen Ökonomie der Unternehmensverantwortung
The Corporation, Law and Capitalism: A Radical Perspective on the Role of Law in the Global Political Economy ist ein lautes Buch. Die Autor*in verspricht, auf “radikale” Weise unseren Blick auf das Verhältnis von Wirtschaft, Unternehmen und der Entwicklung des Internationalen Rechts zu verändern; neue Kritik vorzutragen, die sich unter anderem auf bisher ungesichtetes Archivmaterial stützt. Vielleicht bedarf es einer derartigen Ansage, um im ohrenbetäubenden Rauschen des “Corporate Accountability” und …
International law and capitalist logic of exploitation
On the political economy of corporate responsibility
The Corporation, Law and Capitalism: A Radical Perspective on the Role of Law in the Global Political Economy is a loud book. The author promises to “radically” change our view of the relationship between the economy, business, and the development of international law; to present new critique based, among other things, on previously unseen archive material. Perhaps such an announcement is needed to be heard in the deafening noise of …
“Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake”
Legal fragmentation in the context of the Rohingya proceedings before the ICJ and ICC
The parallelism of different international proceedings examining atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar has been welcomed by many commentators. Indeed, international law (IL) appears to be showing its strength, pursuing individual as well as state responsibility for the repelling wrongdoings committed against the Muslim group of Rakhine State. Nonetheless, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) simultaneously dealing with legal questions embedded in …
A puzzle coming together
The henchmen of Assad’s torture regime on trial in Germany
Today marks a historical event in international criminal justice. Two former members of the Syrian General Intelligence Service will stand trial before the Oberlandesgericht Koblenz (Higher Regional Court). It is the first time that former members of the Assad regime will be held responsible for state-run torture before a criminal court. While the German coverage of the trial is quite extensive (see the excellent editorial in Süddeutsche Zeitung, episode 8 …
A missed opportunity at the ICC
How (not) to use the VCLT to give meaning to the ‘interests of justice’
On 5th March 2020, the Appeals Chamber (AC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) unanimously authorized the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to commence an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan. This decision reversed the controversial Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) decision which, citing the ‘interests of justice’ (IoJ) clause, had refused to authorize the investigation requested by the OTP. However, the ACs decision failed to shed any light on the problematic reading of the …
Denying juveniles’ agency role: truly in their best interest?
How is it possible that thus far the agency role of juveniles in international law appears to be diminished and underestimated, even though they constitute a large number of the world´s population? Yet, instead of being treated as responsible agents who deserve to be involved in decision-making processes concerning international law issues, juveniles are being victimized and paternalized. This is well shown in the Preamble of the Convention on the …
Human rights, criminal law: pas de deux ou faux amis?
Why international law acknowledges crimes without criminals
International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Criminal Law (ICL) may be historically entwined yet are unduly conflated. Teleologically, the division is clear: IHRL primarily deals with state responsibility, while ICL seeks to establish individual criminal liability. But as aptly illustrated by the standards of evidence respectively applied by human rights and criminal law tribunals, the disciplines’ shared vocabulary blurs that distinction. The IHRL-ICL divide is thus a tale of …