On June 3, 2015, Catherine Samba-Panza, the then transitional president of the Central African Republic (CAR), promulgated organic law 15/003 establishing the Special Criminal Court (SCC).[1] A hybrid tribunal integrated into the Central African justice system, the SCC will employ international and national staff and apply a mix of Central African and international law.
The chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria, reported on April 4, 2017, produced 86 deaths and more than 300 injuries according to the initial reports.[1] The Fact-Finding Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was able to deploy in less than twenty-four hours, and later confirmed the incident,[2] even though Syria “categorically reject[ed] the false accusations and allegations of the Syrian Arab Army’s use of toxic chemical substances a
In 2008, the United Nations Security Council acknowledged the need to establish a mechanism to carry out essential functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after their closure.[1] The Security Council underscored that impunity for individuals indicted by the Tribunals and still at large would be unacceptable, recognized the critical importance of continuing witness protection, and stressed that the archives of the Tribunals are UN pro
On July 17, 2014, the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) voted to move the topic of a new treaty on crimes against humanity to its active agenda and appoint Professor Sean Murphy as Special Rapporteur.[1] Over the past two years, the Rapporteur has made significant progress, and the Commission has now approved ten draft articles—four in summer 2015[2] and six additional articles in August 2016.[3] T
On April 17, 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) rendered its resolution in the monitoring of Chile’s implementation of the reparations ordered in García Lucero v. Chile.[1] The IACtHR had ordered Chile to grant Leopoldo Guillermo García Lucero reparations on August 28, 2013.[2] The Court had found Chile responsible for not investigating the torture of García Lucero.
More than ever, the United Nations relies on armed peacekeeping to promote peace and security. Currently, more than 120 member states contribute about 90,000 troops (peacekeepers) on a voluntary basis to fourteen peacekeeping operations around the globe.[1] Unfortunately, some of these troop contributing countries (TCCs) continue to violate their international obligation to hold their peacekeepers accountable whenever they commit crimes against the local population, whom they are supposed to protect.
On August 3, 2015, the Assembly of Kosovo amended its Constitution[1] and passed the Law on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (the Law).[2] These two judicial institutions were established within the justice system of Kosovo to investigate, prosecute, and try “international crimes committed during and in the aftermath of the conflict in Kosovo, which relate to those reported in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Report Doc 12462 of Ja
On December 12, 2014, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda appeared before the UN Security Council to report on the situation in Darfur. She indicated that she would “hibernate investigative activities in Darfur,”[1] a statement widely reported as a suspension of the Court’s work, and celebrated by Omar Al-Bashir as a victory against the Court.
Introduction
The increasing conviction that the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has used chemical weapons in an attack with many civilian casualties raises the question: what military response may the outside world legally take without the authority of the UN Security Council?
