Sudan: ICC Prosecutor to Charge a Sitting Head of State

On Monday, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will seek the arrest of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir for crimes committed in Darfur over the past five years. The indictment will be publicly available on the ICC website and will outline the exact crimes charged under the Rome Statute. If charged with the crime of genocide, […]

ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest of Sudanese President Al-Bashir for Genocide and Violations of International Law

Today, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo provided evidence to establish “reasonable grounds” for the issuance of an arrest warrant for current Sudanese President al-Bashir based on violations of international law. Specifically, the ICC Prosecutor detailed 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur since March 2003. The allegations of genocidal […]

Syria Accedes to the UN Mercenary Convention

On 23 October 2008, Syria acceded to the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, becoming the 32nd state party. The treaty, also referred to as the UN Mercenary Convention, entered into force in 2001 in response to increasing concern over the accountability of private military companies providing security capabilities traditionally […]

Comparison of the ICJ and the ICC

This blog post compares the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is part of a series of background material on international law.

60th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention: Impunity No More?

Sixty years ago today on 9 December 1948, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by Resolution 260 (III). Outside in the hallway, an unassuming lawyer from Warsaw sat alone upon the floor in tears. His fifteen years of effort to name and prohibit […]

Inaugural Countdown: Legal Challenge to Inaugural Oath and Prayer

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed a constitutional challenge to the inclusion of religious references and prayer at Tuesday’s inaugural ceremony on the basis that the plaintiffs failed to show “concrete and immediate” harm. Thus, he concluded that the plaintiffs lacked standing to request extraordinary injunctive relief. At issue in Newdow v. Roberts was […]

Dream Alive: “We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt”

Today in the United States, we honored the memory and life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, he said with respect to racial equality: “We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” Although he was referring to civil liberties, the […]

Inaugural Countdown: Treaties Pending U.S. Ratification

With the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama one week away, here is a brief look at 7 major treaties that the United States has not ratified. These treaties have been awaiting the advice and consent of the Senate. They cover topics such as human rights, biodiversity, the protection of victims in armed conflicts, the […]

First Place – California State Bar, International Law Writing Competition

My article, “The Legal Implications of Nearshore Outsourcing to Mexico,” won first place in the International Law Section of the California State Bar Second Annual Law Student Writing Competition! The article is intended for practitioners in international commercial and trade law and cross-border data transfers. The article examines the potential legal advantages and pitfalls of […]

Tech Law: Comparing U.S. and EU Laws in the Digital Age

The second edition of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology 2008-2009 features two articles comparing U.S. and EU laws. My article on wireless broadband devices explores the impacts on U.S. consumers of recent FCC regulatory actions and compares consumer protections in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. The second article by William […]