Author Archives: Dov Jacobs

The ICC authorizes first use of OTP proprio motu powers in Kenya: Opening a new Pandora’s Box of legal difficulties (and revisiting some old ones too…)

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By Dov Jacobs 

On the 31 March, Pre-Trial Chamber II issued its Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorization of an Investigation into the Situation in the Republic of Kenya. The decision was reached by a majority of two, with a strong dissent from Judge Kaul. It is an important decision, because it is the first one to be based on a request from the OTP to open an investigation based on its proprio motu powers under Article 15 of the Rome Statute. Until now, all the investigations opened had been in situations either self-referred by States or referred by the Security Council, in relation to Darfur. The Prosecutor had refused to request the opening of an investigation in Iraq and Venezuela in the past. This practice had, in hindsight, made a joke of the fears of the opponents of Article 15 because they thought it might lead to a politicization of the work of the OTP who might use his powers to go after western powers. These fears remain unfounded today, with a further investigation opened on African territory.

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Letter in Support of Professor Weiler and Academic Freedom of Expression

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By Dov Jacobs 

Cross-post at Spreading the Jam 

Sorry for the non-francophone readers of this blog. Below is the letter I have just drafted for the board of the European Journal of Legal Studies, of which I am an editor, in support of Professor Weiler who is being sued by Karin Calvo-Goller for a book review of Professor Weigend he published online. You can read the full details of this extraordinary affair, as made public by Professor Weiler himself in the recent edition of the EJIL. In a nutshell, the letter denounces this attack on academic freedom of expression. It also hopes that the Court will refuse to go as far as to consider the defences of "truth" and "good faith" which are allowed in French law, because it means that it will have accepted that there was indeed an affront to the honor of the author. And it is a sad day when academic criticism is deemed as such. A judge should not be brought in to decide the "truth" in the world of ideas. Finally, the letter suggests that Mrs. Calvo-Goller has more certainly tarnished her honor as an academic by filing this lawsuit than any book-review possibly could. The whole academic community should unite behind Professor Weiler.

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Dov Jacobs

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For a start, i’d like to thank Otto and Lennert for inviting me to join this blog. Despite having never studied in Leiden, I feel like i’ve been sort of been adopted by the Dutch academic community, given the many years I’ve now spent coming to the The Hague for courses, lectures, summer schools and conferences, and I’ve even moved here since last summer. It is during my very first such visit some time ago that I met Otto and Lennert. I’m currently trying to finish my PhD on hybrid courts and transitional justice and am a Research Fellow at the Asser Institute in the Hague. I studied law in France and the UK, and did Sciences Po in Paris, before going into exile to Florence at the European University Institute. I’m really glad to be part of this blog. I created my own blog on international law, Speading the Jam, several months back and quite enjoy the informal exchange of ideas that this mode of expression allows. I will be mostly posting on issues of International Criminal Law, a field I have been publishing in for the past few years. I try to identify the limits and ambiguities of the process of international justice. I also tend to often have a "legalistic" approach (you can thank my French education for that…) and regularly strive to identify the legal inconsistencies and problems that arise from conflicting policy decisions.