Search Results for: Hague Convention

In response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks against Israeli civilians, Israel mounted Operation Swords of Iron. Although international law allows for certain limited uses of insurgent force, including uses directed toward “self-determination,” these residual allowances do not include any rights of indiscriminate violence or of deliberate attacks on noncombatants. “Revenge,” of course, is [...]

On October 7th, 2023, the State of Israel was brutally attacked by the terrorist organization known as Hamas, instigating an all-out war. In the early morning of October 7th, Hamas terrorist fighters made their way into Israel from the Gaza Strip, invading and occupying Israeli towns, cities, and military bases. This surprise attack in Israel [...]

Elizabeth Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned on Thursday a Russian airstrike on a village in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv that killed at least 51 civilians. In a press release from Geneva,  Throssell reiterated the importance of “strictly respecting” international humanitarian law. According to an OHCHR press release, [...]

“Each state is expected, perpetually, to aid and enforce the law of nations, as part of the common law, by inflicting an adequate punishment upon the offenses against that universal law.” William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Law of England (Book 4) After January 6, 2021, it was disclosed by the special investigating committee of the [...]

“The existence of `system’ in the world is obvious to every observer of nature, no matter whom.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man (1959)           Whether conspicuous or obscure, terrorism generally presents itself as a systemic challenge. This means, inter alia, that seemingly singular strategic and legal matters may actually be many-sided and interrelated. Regarding legal issues, though [...]

The Conflict Observatory released a new report on Wednesday that found that Russia has promulgated a series of laws to accelerate the application process for Russian citizenship while simultaneously penalizing those who did not apply for citizenship in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The report detailed how Russia’s forced “passportisation” involves two parts: de jure passportisation [...]

UNESCO released a statement Sunday condemning Russian strikes on Odesa, Ukraine, which allegedly damaged several World Heritage Sites, including the first Orthodox Christian church built in Odesa, the Transfiguration Cathedral. Ukraine is home to eight locations on the World Heritage List. UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay stated: This outrageous destruction marks an escalation of violence against [...]

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced charges on Friday against a Russian politician and two suspected Ukrainian collaborators for war crimes related to the alleged deportation of 48 orphans from the Kherson orphanage to Moscow. Their actions were classified as a violation of the laws and customs of war according to the [...]

Vladimir Putin’s multiple crimes against Ukraine include aggression and genocide. But what happens when these two categories of criminality come together? Among other things, this result is not “merely” additive; it is also synergistic. Hence, the cumulative Russian wrongdoing is actually greater than the calculable sum of its component “parts.” What pertinent connections ought to [...]

In jurisprudential matters, whether national or international, precedent remains vitally important. When former (and possibly future) US President Donald J. Trump issued illegal pardons to selected American officials for established crimes against international law, the consequences reverberated in other countries. Now, with still-mounting Russian crimes against Ukraine –  crimes of war; crimes against peace; and crimes [...]