By Otto Spijkers

The Hague presents itself as the city of Peace, justice and Security. With the proliferation of international courts and tribunals in The Hague, it seems almost impossible to keep up with all the legal developments (or lack thereof: yesterday we celebrated the 12th anniversary of the indictment against Mladi? and Karad?i?, both still at large). Fortunately, there’s the Hague Justice Portal, which keeps us up to date on all the developments. One of these developments is the acquirement of a new criminal tribunal: the Hariri Tribunal. Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

The European Court of Human Rights published its judgment in the case Jorgic vs. Germany on 12 July 2007. Nikola Jorgic, a Bosnian Serb with a permanent residence status in Germany from May 1969 until the beginning of 1992, was the leader of a paramilitary group that took part in acts of terror against the Muslim population in the war in Yugoslavia in the early nineties. He was tried and convicted for genocide by the German courts. He filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights. Jorgic argued that the German courts had not had jurisdiction to convict him of genocide. He further argued that he had not enjoyed a fair trial (Article 6 of the Convention), and he argued that his conviction for genocide was in breach the legality principle (Article 7.1) because the national courts’ wide interpretation of that crime had no basis in German or public international law. Continue reading →

By Richard Norman

For those outside of New York, Rudy Giuliani is best known as "America’s Mayor" for his sturdiness during the 9/11 attacks. Before that day he was known as a hard-headed and controversial leader. Supporters say he did a great job cleaning up crime and unsightliness; detractors believe his policies were excessively mean and the man himself short-tempered and unpleasant. For the benefit of those who are interested in learning a little more about the personality and dedication that Mr. Giuliani brings to all of his endeavours, including his front-running presidential bid, I’ve posted the above video. The cartoon illustrates a real radio phone-in conversation from May 2001. More info below. Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

This is the last of three posts on the human right to development. In the first part I introduced this human right and the way it should be implemented into global policy. In Part 2, I tried to find out whether the international community actually agreed on this interpretation of the law and the method of implementation. In Part 3, the current post, I will look at future developments. Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

In Part 1 of my triptych on the human right to development, I sketched the legal argument and pointed out the relevant international law. In Part 2, I will try to find out whether the interpretation of the law proposed in Part 1 is actually the interpretation embraced by the international community. Continue reading →

The former Chief of Staff to Dick Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby faces imprisonment in the coming weeks after being found guilty of lying to a grand jury, making false statements to the FBI, and obstruction of justice. His sentence is thirty months, very near the maximum demanded by the prosecution. The grand jury was empaneled by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to find out who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, to a reporter [timeline and more details]. It has been claimed by some that such an act may have been part of a deliberate plot to undermine Plame’s husband Joseph Wilson, a critic of the Bush Administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein was actively seeking uranium for a nuclear program in the years before the American invasion in 2003. Speculation and politics have shrouded the investigation since its beginning.
Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

Following in the footsteps of Nick and Richard, I will write a series of posts on one and the same issue, in my case the human right to development. In the first part I will introduce this human right and the way it must be implemented into global policy, using some of Thomas Pogge’s ideas (as I interpret them). In Part 2, I will find out whether Pogge’s views and interpretation of the law have in fact been embraced by the international community, and in Part 3 I will look at future developments. Continue reading →

By Maarten den Heijer

In an earlier post, I commented on some of Dick Marty’s investigations into the morbid human rights consequences of the war on terror. (I still have the feeling that all was doomed to go wrong the moment people started talking about a war). Now, Marty has presented his second report on Europe’s involvement in the US Secret Detention Program. Because that report has been widely covered elsewhere, I would like to turn our attention to another report on the US-led ‘disappearances’, which was made public last week and didn’t receive that much media coverage. The name of the report is ‘Off the Record’ and was drawn up by six ngo’s, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch. Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

Relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide have started a case against the United Nations and the Netherlands. All peacekeepers present at the time of the genocide were Dutch; this explains why the "Mothers of Srebrenica" have started the case in the district court of The Hague, the legal capital of the world. A very interesting case, worth keeping an eye on… Continue reading →

By Otto Spijkers

This is the kind of story that will probably appear all over the blogosphere. Mr Justice Peter Openshaw, a UK judge overseeing the trial of three alleged Muslim "cyber-terrorists", suddenly said, in the middle of the trial: "The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a website is." And thus a computer expert was brought in to give the judge a brief Power Point introduction to the internet. Continue reading →