A Peruvian judge approved early release to house arrest for a U.S. citizen jailed since 1995 on terrorism charges of unlawful collaboration with the Marxist-Leninist Túpac Amaru Resistance Movement (MRTA) rebels during Fujimori's Presidency. Judge Maria Jessica León Yarango of the First Supra-Provincial Criminal Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima ordered Lori Berenson's release to house arrest, subject to several conditions, including that she neither leave Peru nor contact or visit inmates still in prison on terrorism charges. Berenson, originally sentenced to life imprisonment by a hooded military tribunal for violating anti-terrorism laws decreed by then-President Fujimori, has served almost 15 years of a 20-year sentence imposed at her retrial in a civilian court. Her conditional release to live in Miraflores, an upscale tourist district of Lima, however, has been greeted with concern by nearby businesses and residents who worry about post-release supervision and public safety, according to Peruvian media. Moreover, Peru's President Alan Garcia, former Justice Minister Aurelio Pastor, and the former president of the Superior Court Marcos Ibazeta, who rendered Berenson's 20-year sentence in 2002, are quoted in yesterday's media questioning whether Berenson, a convicted terrorist who has not made a public declaration of remorse, should have been granted parole. President Garcia called the law allowing her early release a mistake but expressed respect for the judicial decision and the independence of the judiciary. Today, Justice Minister Victor Garcia Toma posted his proposal of an Executive expulsion of Berenson and its legal justification on the Ministry's website. If President Garcia would commute her sentence, she could be immediately deported. Minister Garcia Toma indicated the President's Council of Ministers will consider this legal option next week. More

On this day in 1994, Jean Kambanda became the Prime Minister of Rwanda. During the 100-day campaign, he incited genocide on the radio by announcing, "Genocide is justified in the fight against the enemy." He became the first head of state to plead guilty to genocide since the adoption of the Genocide Convention and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). His sentence was upheld on appeal on October 19, 2000. He currently is in prison in Bamako Central Prison, Mali. In memory of those known and unknown who died . . . More

After dedicating much of his career to the establishment of the International Criminal Court, M. Cherif Bassiouni -- often called the "father" of international criminal law -- startled an audience at an international law conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday when he called some international criminal tribunals shams and declared others to be mired in bureaucratic failures. He asserted that there really is no political will by States to have an independent international criminal justice system. Experience has shown that States can create obstacles to justice and international accountability by intentionally underfunding some efforts, making access to data difficult, supporting tribunals premised on little more than window-dressing, and creating overly bureaucratic international criminal systems. He never blatantly said the ICC will dissolve, but he implied its current overly bureaucratic framework is leading to the Court's irrelevancy. Whereas his quixotic dream has been to build an international criminal system to stop national politicians from determining who gets prosecuted, the hero of international criminal justice now implies that his vision is unachievable, at least within any foreseeable future. As such, Bassiouni predicts that there will be a transformation of international law and its institutions. "International criminal justice will take another turn," he said. "And maybe it's a turn for the best." Specifically, we likely will see a shift from supranational criminal courts to national courts, which he said will be more successful in prosecuting the guilty. The challenge he put forth to the lawyers and soon-to-be international lawyers in the room is how to use international law both to connect the national courts and to provide for effective domestic prosecutions of international crimes. More

The American Society of International Law 104th Annual Meeting will be held March 24-27, 2010 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, D.C. This year's theme is "International Law in a Time of Change." The two keynote lectures will be delivered by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada and Harold Hongju Koh, the Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State. Additional featured speakers include: Georgetown University Law School Professor Edith Brown Weiss; International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes Secretary-General Meg Kinnear, and George Washington University Law School Professor Dinah Shelton. Onsite registration will be available. Select sessions will be available by live webcast. More

One year ago, I wrote a small booklet, "The Evil Dictator's Guide to Genocide: Deliberate Infectious Disease Spread," to accompany a presentation I gave on possible criminal culpability for intentional infectious disease spread. "The Evil Dictator's Guide to Genocide" provides Machiavellian guidance on the benefits, risks, and possible legal consequences of using infectious diseases as weapons against targeted or vulnerable populations. The recent swine flu outbreak, along with my post yesterday discussing the lack of the World Health Organization's enforcement authority, reminded me again of the ease by which an evil leader could take advantage of this latest disease outbreak. Back by popular demand, you can download a copy of the booklet for free. Circulation to evil dictators is prohibited by law. More