Topic 1

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

On June 15, 2016, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, after decades of laborious negotiations.[1]

Introduction

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

Introduction

Unlike in the United States, in the United Kingdom the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) for targeted killings has generally been “under the radar” due to the British government’s longstanding refusal to admit that any such policy exists.

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

Introduction

“Legal professional privilege,” or “attorney-client privilege,” as it is often called in domestic legal systems, includes the right of noninterference in communications between clients and their legal advisers, as well as the right of confidentiality of such communications. They are essential conditions for the legal profession and well-protected principles in national, regional, and international legal orders, which only allow for exceptional restrictions.