International Law Prof Blog

UN Relief Official Says that Israeli Punitive Demolitions of Palestinian Homes Violates International Law

While recognizing Israel’s “serious security challenges,” a senior United Nations official today called its punitive demolition of the homes of alleged attackers “inherently unjust” and against international law, noting that 20 Palestinians, eight of them children, were made homeless in the past three days.

“I am distressed by reports of punitive demolitions carried out by Israeli security forces of five homes in the Jerusalem, Nablus, and Ramallah governorates in the last few days,” Robert Piper, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said in a statement, noting that two Palestinians were reported killed and nine others injured in clashes today protesting against the demolition.

In operations to “deter others,” the family homes of five alleged perpetrators of attacks against Israelis in 2015 have been demolished by Israeli security forces since 14 November. At least nine additional adjacent apartments have been damaged and rendered unsafe. The deaths and injuries occurred during the most recent operation this morning in Qalandiya refugee camp.

“We recognize Israel’s serious security challenges today, but any law enforcement response must be consistent with international law,” Mr. Piper said. Punitive demolitions are inherently unjust, punishing innocent people for the acts of others.”

According to the statement, punitive demolitions are a form of collective penalty as they effectively punish not only the alleged perpetrators but also relatives, neighbours for acts they have not committed. Collective penalties are prohibited under international law.

The policy was suspended by the Israeli Government in 2005 after a military committee deemed it ineffective as a deterrent. Such actions have restarted since mid-2014, with the exception of one case in 2009.

Since 1 June 2014, the Israeli authorities have demolished, sealed or destroyed with explosives 16 structures, displacing 90 Palestinians, including 51 children, according to UN. In addition, at least 12 adjacent apartments were damaged, temporarily displacing at least 55 people.

In a related development, two UN experts today voiced grave concern over continuing violence in the Occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, noting individual Palestinian attacks against Israelis and reported excessive force by Israelis when apprehending Palestinian suspects “including some which appear to amount to summary executions.”

They called on Israeli authorities to carry out “independent, thorough, prompt and impartial investigations into all suspected cases of extra-judicial, arbitrary and summary executions, and to provide compensation to the victims or their families.”

Since the beginning of October over 80 Palestinians and some 15 Israelis have reportedly been killed, while thousands of Palestinians and more than 100 Israelis have been injured.

Makarim Wibisono and Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and on summary executions respectively, called for strict compliance with international law, noting the alleged shooting death of a Palestinian during an undercover arrest operation in a Hebron hospital last week.

“The current escalation of violence with individual attacks by Palestinians against Israelis, excessive use of force by Israeli forces when apprehending Palestinian suspects of alleged attacks and in the context of clashes, as well as violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians, is occurring within the existing context of policies and practices under the longstanding Israeli occupation which entail violations of Palestinian human rights and raise tensions,” the experts noted.

“In such a climate one would expect the leaders to make public calls to stop the carnage.”

Mr. Wibisono voiced particular concern at the high level of clashes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, where Palestinians live in close proximity to a large settler population.

“It is sadly a predictable flashpoint, but I strongly reiterate that Israeli security forces must abide by international standards on use of force,” he stressed. “In addition, there must not be impunity for settler violence”.

The experts welcomed the reported clarification by Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to the effect that Israeli security forces are prohibited from firing at a suspected assailant unless an immediate danger to human life cannot otherwise be prevented and that the use of fire must be proportional to the threat.

“This is an important statement as the rhetoric used by certain Israeli politicians and senior members of the police seems to suggest otherwise,” Mr. Heyns said. “International law allows the use of lethal force only where it is absolutely necessary - a last measure - to protect life. All uses of firearms should be considered potentially lethal.”

(UN Press Release)

UN Secretary-General Condemns Attacks in Paris and Demands Release of Hostages

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the “despicable terrorist attacks” carried out today in various locations in and around Paris and demanded the immediate release of the numerous individuals reportedly being held hostage in the Bataclan theatre.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General condemned the multiple attacks that took place in the French capital.

Though the situation remains fluid, media reports have suggested that a national state of emergency has been called in the wake of multiple shootings throughout Paris, including at the Bataclan arts centre in the 11th arrondissement, which appears to be one of four venues attacked and where dozens of people are reportedly being held hostage.

“The Secretary-General trusts that the French authorities will do all in their power to bring the perpetrators to justice quickly,” said the statement.

Extending his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to those injured, Mr. Ban said in his statement that he stands with the Government and people of France.

(UN Press Release)

Obama: Terrorist Attack in Paris is "An Attack on All of Humanity and the Universal Values that We Share"

The New York Times and many other media outlets are reporting that France has closed its border following terrorist attacks and hostage takings today in Paris. Dozens of persons are reported dead and many more have been reportedly taken hostage.  U.S. President Barack Obama expressed sympathy and solidarity with the people of France, stating: “This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”

 

(mew)

AALS Field Trip to the United Nations

The Association of American Law Schools Section on International Law has organized an impressive lineup of presenters for its one-day field trip to the United Nations on Thursday, January 7, 2016 as part of the AALS Annual Meeting in New York. The event is open to all law professors attending the AALS Annual Meeting and you need not be a member of the AALS Section on International Law (although if you're a U.S. law professor reading this blog, why wouldn't you be a member of that section?).

The day-long program includes a briefing, a luncheon, a tour of the United Nations, and time to visit the U.N. bookstore and gift shop.

Speakers for the program have just been announced. It is an impressive lineup organized by Dean Claudio Grossman of the Washington College of Law at American University. The speakers are:

• His Excellency Cristian Barros, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, speaking on challenges facing the U.N. Security Council.
• Andrew Gilmour (to be confirmed), Director of the Political, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian, and Human Rights Unit of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG). Topic: “Peace, Security, and the Secretary General’s Human Rights Up Front Initiative to Prevent and Respond to Serious Human Rights Violations.”
• Claudio Grossman (confirmed), Chair, United Nations Committee Against Torture and Dean of the American University Washington College of Law. Topic: “The Human Rights Treaty Bodies of the United Nations – Challenges for the Future”
• Katarina Mansson (confirmed), Human Rights Treaties Division, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Topic: “Partnering for Peace and Rights: The Evolving Relationship Between the United Nations and Regional Organizations.”
• Craig Mokhiber (confirmed), Research and Right to Development Division, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Topic: “Development and the Post-2015 Development Agenda.”
• Salil Shetty (to be confirmed), Secretary-General, Amnesty International. Topic: “Amnesty International’s Efforts”
• Moderator: Prof. Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School--Chicago)

When you register for the AALS annual meeting, you can select the field trip as a separate option. The cost for the day-long event is $90.00, which includes the luncheon and tour. Tickets are still available.

(mew)

New Books Noted: Jus Cogens

Hart Publishing has a new book on jus cogens -- that special kind of rule of law that is simply so important and fundamental that the international community will reject any derogation from it. Although the international community agrees on the effect of a jus cogens rule, there's always been a question about what is or isn't a rule of jus cogens. 

This new book by Professor Robert Kolb (University of Geneva) is called "Peremptory International Law: Jus Cogens," and it may help scholars and advocates who need a deeper understanding of the jus cogens. The book begins with a section that defines jus cogens and its functions, followed by critiques of the doctrine (for example, a political argument that "Jus Cogens is dangerous for international law and is a tool for political manipulation."). That section is followed by others that discuss theories of jus cogens, legal construction, special issues, sources of jus cogens, effects of jus cogens, and conflicts between norms of jus cogens.

I've had a chance to see only the table of contents for this book, but its treatment and coverage seem to add something to our understanding of jus cogens.  I can imagine the delight of  moot court teams competing in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court competition when they discover this title.

Further information about the book can be found by clicking here. And if you have a chance to see the book, let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section.

(mew)

 

Legislative Updates

On November 5, 2015, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the following bills:

• HR 2241, the Global Health Innovation Act of 2015;
• HR 2845, the African Growth and Opportunity Act Enhancement Act of 2015; and
• HR 3766, the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will mark up foreign aid legislation and tax treaties on November 10, 2015 at 9:45 am, 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Hat tip to the ABA Governmental Affairs Office

(mew)

 

Reminder for Nominations for the Pether Award

A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary scholarship in law, literature, and language, Penelope J. Pether was Professor of Law at Villanova University School of Law and former Professor of Law and Director of Legal Rhetoric at the American University Washington College of Law. Her own scholarship focused not only on law, literature, and language, but also on constitutional and comparative constitutional law; legal theory, including constitutional theory; common law legal institutions, judging practices, and professional subject formation. 

Beginning in November 2013, the Penny Pether Award for Law and Language Scholarship has been given annually to an article or essay published during the preceding year (September 1 to September 1) that exemplifies Penny’s commitment to law and language scholarship and pedagogy. 

The Committee selecting award recipients from among the articles and essays nominated will look for scholarship that not only embodies Penny’s passion and spirit but also has some or all of the following characteristics:

1. “[S]cholarship concerning itself with the unique or distinctive insights that might emerge from interdisciplinary inquiries into ‘law’ grounded in the work of influential theorists of language and discourse.” 

2. Scholarship that “attempts to think through the relations among subject formation, language, and law.”

3. Scholarship that provides “accounts of—and linguistic interventions in—acute and yet abiding crises in law, its institutions and discourses.”

4. Scholarship and pedagogy, including work addressing injustices in legal-academic institutions and practices, that is “[c]arefully theorized and situated, insisting on engaging politics and law, [and that] charts ways for law and its subjects to use power, do justice.”

More explanations and descriptions of these characteristics can be found in Penny’s chapter from which these quotations are drawn: Language, in Law and the Humanities: An Introduction (Austin Sarat et al. eds., Cambridge U. Press 2010).  

Nominations should be sent by November 13, 2015 to Jeremy Mullem at [email protected].  You are free to nominate more than one work and to nominate work you’ve written.  Please provide a citation for each work you nominate.

The Selection Committee includes Linda Berger, David Caudill, Amy Dillard, Bruce Hay, Ian Gallacher, Melissa Marlow, Jeremy Mullem, Nancy Modesitt, and Terry Pollman.  Members of the Selection Committee are not eligible for the award.

Hat tip to Professor Jeremy Mullem of Duke University Law School in Durham, North Carolina

(mew)

Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, and Libya as Targets of Genocide

Representative Rohrabacher (Republican of California) has introduced HR 3942 to recognize that Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, and Libya are targets of genocide, and to provide for the expedited processing of immigrant and refugee visas for such individuals. The bill was sent to the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees. CR 11/5/15, H8150.

Hat tip to the ABA Governmental Affairs Office.

(mew)

Lauterpacht Centre Lecture: Judicial Law-Making at the International Criminal Courts

LCIL Friday Lecture 'Judicial Law-Making at the International Criminal Courts: Experimenting with General Principles of Law' by Dr Neha Jain, Friday, 13 November 2015 - 1:00pm

Dr. Neha Jain, a professor at the University of Minnesota, will speak on how reliance on general principles of law as the primary gap-filling mechanism in the arsenal of international criminal courts is deeply problematic. Far from yielding a consistent, clear rule, the interpretation and application of general principles has been fitful, contradictory, and often misguided. She will argue that reliance on comparative surveys of municipal legal rules to derive general principles is incoherent and does not satisfy the criteria of formal or material validity. She will urge tribunals to pay greater attention to other sources of international criminal law, especially treaties, to help alleviate the problem of gaps in international criminal law.

The event is at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. Call 01223 335 358 for more information about how to attend the program.

(mew)

 

TRIPS Council Agrees to Extend Flexibilty for Least-Developed Countries on Pharmaceutical Product for At Least 18 More Years

Least-developed country (LDC) members of the World Trade Organization will be allowed to maintain maximum flexibility in their approach to patenting pharmaceutical products until at least 2033, following a decision taken on November 6th by the WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Click here to read more.

(mew)
 

Legal Education: New U.S. Policy Guidance on Student Loans

On November 2, 2015, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a Policy Guidance relating to its Joint Statement of Principles on Student Loan Servicing, released in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Education. FR67389

Hat tip to the ABA Governmental Affairs Office.

(mew)

United States Global Development Lab

Federal legislation was introduced to establish in the United States Agency for International Development an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab. The bill [HR 3924 (Castro, D-TX)] was assigned to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Cong. Rec. H7741 (Nov. 4, 2015).

Hat tip to the ABA Governmental Affairs Office.

(mew)

New Books Noted: International Health Law -- "Litigating the Right to Health in Africa"

Ashgate has published a new book called "Litigating the Right to Health in Africa: Challenges and Prospects," edited by Ebenezer Durojave of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Here's a description of the book from the publisher:

Health rights litigation is still an emerging phenomenon in Africa, despite the constitutions of many African countries having provisions to advance the right to health. Litigation can provide a powerful tool not only to hold governments accountable for failure to realise the right to health, but also to empower the people to seek redress for the violation of this essential right.

With contributions from activists and scholars across Africa, the collection includes a diverse range of case studies throughout the region, demonstrating that even in jurisdictions where the right to health has not been explicitly guaranteed, attempts have been made to litigate on this right. The collection focusses on understanding the legal framework for the recognition of the right to health, the challenges people encounter in litigating health rights issues and prospects of litigating future health rights cases in Africa. The book also takes a comparative approach to litigating the right to health before regional human rights bodies.

After two introductory chapters the book has individual cases studies from Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya, and Mozambique. It finishes with two chapters on comparative health law, "Litigation as a Strategy to Concretise the Right to Health in Africa" and "The Protection of the Right to Health through Individual Petitions before the Inter-American System of Human Rights."

(mew)

New Books Noted: Arbitration Concerning the South China Sea

Ashgate has published a new book on "Arbitration Concerning the South China Sea," a topic of recent interest now that the Permanent Court of International Arbitration has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear a dispute between the Philippines and China (even if China elects not to participate in those proceedings." The book is 259 pages long and was edited by Shicum Wu (National Institute for the South China Sea Studies, China) and Keyuan Zou (Lancashire Law School of the University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom). Here's a description of the book from the publisher's website:

On 22 January 2013, the Republic of the Philippines instituted arbitral proceedings against the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with regard to disputes between the two countries in the South China Sea. The South China Sea Arbitration is a landmark case in international law because of the parties involved, the legal questions to be decided and the absence of one of the parties. As revealed in its official statements, the PRC will neither accept nor participate in this arbitration nor present written and oral arguments in the tribunal room. Such default of appearance makes applicable certain procedural rules. According to Article 9 of Annex VII, the Tribunal, before making its Award, is obligated to satisfy itself not only that it has jurisdiction over the dispute, but also that the claims brought by the Philippines are well-founded in fact and law. Therefore, it is necessary for the Tribunal to look into all the claims brought forward by the Philippines and all the disputes constituted by the claims in the procedural phase. The possible arguments the PRC could make should be explored during this process.

This book brings together chapters selected from well-established scholars in Asia, Europe and North America addressing the issues arising from the South China Sea Arbitration. It contains five easy to read parts: origin and development of the South China Sea dispute; the jurisdiction and admissibility of the case; international adjudication and dispute settlement; legal issues arising from the case such as the legal status of the U-shaped line and islands, rocks and low-tide elevations; and the Arbitration case and its impact on regional maritime security.

(mew)

Related articles

Tribunal decides it has jurisdiction to hear Philippines challenge to Chinese activities in South China Sea

New Books Noted: Human Trafficking

The University of Pennsylvania Press has published a book by Alicia W. Peters on "Responding to Human Trafficking: Sex, Gender, and Culture in the Law." We are told that this 272-page book provides useful insights into the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (a U.S. federal statute).

(mew)

International Law Association will Meet in South Africa in August 2016

The 77th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association will take place from August 7- 11, 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference theme will be 'International Law and State Practice: Is there a North/South Divide?' The official conference website address is www.ila2016.com.

Hat tip to the South African Branch of the International Law Association (SABILA)

(mew)

AALS Field Trip to the United Nations

The Association of American Law Schools Section on International Law has organized an impressive lineup of presenters for its one-day field trip to the United Nations on Thursday, January 7, 2016 as part of the AALS Annual Meeting. The event is open to all law professors attending the AALS Annual Meeting and you need not be a member of the AALS Section on International Law (although if you're a U.S. law professor reading this blog, why wouldn't you be a member of that section?).

The day-long program includes a briefing, a luncheon, a tour of the United Nations, and time to visit the U.N. bookstore and gift shop.

Speakers for the program have just been announced. It is an impressive lineup organized by Dean Claudio Grossman of the Washington College of Law at American University. The speakers are:

• His Excellency Cristian Barros, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, speaking on challenges facing the U.N. Security Council.
• Andrew Gilmour (to be confirmed), Director of the Political, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian, and Human Rights Unit of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG). Topic: “Peace, Security, and the Secretary General’s Human Rights Up Front Initiative to Prevent and Respond to Serious Human Rights Violations.”
• Claudio Grossman (confirmed), Chair, United Nations Committee Against Torture and Dean of the American University Washington College of Law. Topic: “The Human Rights Treaty Bodies of the United Nations – Challenges for the Future”
• Katarina Mansson (confirmed), Human Rights Treaties Division, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Topic: “Partnering for Peace and Rights: The Evolving Relationship Between the United Nations and Regional Organizations.”
• Craig Mokhiber (confirmed), Research and Right to Development Division, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Topic: “Development and the Post-2015 Development Agenda.”
• Salil Shetty (to be confirmed), Secretary-General, Amnesty International. Topic: “Amnesty International’s Efforts”
• Moderator: Prof. Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School--Chicago)

When you register for the AALS annual meeting, you can select the field trip as a separate option. The cost for the day-long event is $90.00, which includes the luncheon and tour. The number of tickets is limited.

(mew)