Written by Margaret Owen (pictured), International Trial Observer and Barrister Friday 8th June I have returned to Istanbul in order to observe the fifth hearing of the trial of former HDP co-chair: Selahattin Demirtas. Given that Turkey’s presidential election is only two weeks away, we the international observers, anticipate a final verdict. Selahattin Demirtas has… Read more »
On Friday 8th June the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court decided to acquit Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo from the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. To learn more, click the following links: https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=PR1390 https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/record.aspx?docNo=ICC-01/05-01/08-3636-Red https://www.icc-cpi.int/RelatedRecords/CR2018_02987.PDF https://www.icc-cpi.int/RelatedRecords/CR2018_02989.PDF https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/180608-bemba-judgment-summary.pdf https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/180608-bemba-qa_Eng.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoqXAcsi_c8&feature=youtu.be https://www.flickr.com/photos/icc-cpi/sets/72157652364795253 https://www.icc-cpi.int/car/bemba … Read more »
Steven Kay QC spoke at the ABA (American Bar Association) conference in Paris on 8 June in the session “Improving the Practice of Law Before the ICC and International Criminal Tribunals”. Other panellists were Ambassador Stephen Rapp and Kip Hale. The panel was chaired by Lucian Dervan and focussed upon the work of the ABA… Read more »
On 15th and 16th March 2018, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Turkey and the Kurds convened in Paris for an intensive two-day meeting on the treatment of Kurdish people living in Turkey by President Erdogan’s government. The tribunal views the actions of the Turkish state as “Denying the Kurdish People its right to self-determination, by… Read more »
The legal chief of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Brigadier-General Sharon Afek, has said that the IDF should be wary of taking advice on international law from, as he described it, the many law-breaking nations which routinely hijack the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to turn it against Israel. Afek was responding to the… Read more »
Written by Joshua Kern (9 Bedford Row) In the field of international criminal law, international human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) are hugely influential. Time and again, litigation at the ICTY, ICTR and ICC has shown that NGO reporting forms the legal and factual building blocks of prosecutions at the international criminal… Read more »
Public meeting organised by Peace in Kurdistan and Kurdish People’s Assembly UK Thu 17 May 2018 18:00 – 20:00 BST SOAS University of London Room B111 (Brunei Gallery) Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square London WC1H 0XG Click below to book a place at this free event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-trial-of-selahattin-demirtas-observations-on-the-trial-and-the-future-of-democracy-in-turkey-tickets-45971173016?aff=ebdssbdestsearch The prosecution and trial of Selahattin Demirtas has been… Read more »
Written by Joshua Kern (9BRi) and Natasha Hausdorff (Six Pump Court) The High Level Military Group today published a report, “Smoke & Mirrors: Six Weeks Of Violence On The Gaza Border”, on the recent violence along the border with Israel. The report provides an in-depth assessment of the evolution of what is argued to be… Read more »
The Wall and the Gate – Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights, is a book written by Michael Sfard which chronicles Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories from both a legal and human rights perspective. Here is a synopsis from wallandgate.nif.org: A farmer in the West Bank, cut off from his fields by… Read more »
Dear Michael, As you know I am now serving as Co-Chair of the IBA Human Rights Institute. In that capacity I have received and studied the outstanding report of the IBA War Crimes Committee. I wish to express thanks to Hogan Lovells Lawyers in London and to Counsel’s Chambers, 9 Bedford Row, whose members Steven… Read more »
The Global Rule of Law Exchange (of The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law) is hosting a conference on 2nd May 2018 at Jones Day in London (21 Tudor Street, EC4Y0DJ). Registration for the event will open at 8:30, with the conference itself starting at 9:00 and finishing at 18:00. A reception is to… Read more »
Written by Margaret Owen, International Trial Observer and Barrister Monday 30th April Myself and other international observers have returned to Istanbul to observe what is meant to be the final trial in the Silivri prison court of the former co-chair of the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party)… Read more »
Steven Kay QC is to moderate a session titled “Is Truth the First Casualty of War?” at the IBA War and Justice Conference on 21st April in the Peace Palace, The Hague. It will be a panel discussion on recent international incidents such as the Syrian sarin gas attacks in 2015 and the chlorine attack… Read more »
Written by Margaret Owen, International Trial Observer and Barrister Sunday 15 April My last blog on 13th February reported that the case of Selahattin Demirtas, the former co-chair of Turky’s HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), had been adjourned until 11th April. With his parliamentary immunity removed, Demirtas faces many separate indictments and trials under Turkey’s Anti… Read more »
Jens Dieckmann, German Lawyer and Associate Member of 9 Bedford Row International, is to attend a conference organised by German Federal Government (Federal Ministry of Justice as well as Foreign Office) at the German Judicial Academy in Berlin. Jens will be speaking as part of a panel on procedural challenges in international criminal proceeding from… Read more »
A piece for the Independent website features a case currently being worked on by Steven Kay QC. It concerns a woman called Tamar Perry, who is involved in legal proceedings against a trust company based in Liechtenstein: the Lopag Trust. The article itself focuses on Liechtenstein’s role as a tax haven. Ms Perry and her… Read more »
A recent US Congressional resolution relies extensively on passages from the IBA’s Political Prisons Inquiry report in which 9 Bedford Row’s Steven Kay QC and Kirsty Sutherland acted as counsel for the Inquiry. Pages 3-6 are devoted to a lengthy, verbatim recitation of Inquiry findings. Please see the following link for further details: https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1291 … Read more »
Yola Verbruggen, a Multimedia Journalist for the International Bar Association (IBA) has written a piece that has been included in the February edition of the organisation’s journal: ‘IBA Global Insight’. Titled ‘Bringing ISIS to justice’, Verbruggen’s article explores the methods and advantages of a coordinated, legal effort against the terrorist group, as well as the… Read more »
At the end of last year an article was published by Dutch Reformed Daily, marking 25 years since the launch of the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia). The piece attempts to answer whether the high expectations for the court when it was initially launched in 1993 have been met over two decades… Read more »
Last year Jens Dieckmann, Co-Vice Chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) War Crimes Committee, was interviewed for an article about the Rohingya refugee crisis. The piece was written and compiled by Yola Verbruggen, a Multimedia Journalist for the IBA, and can be accessed by clicking… Read more »
