Occasionally alarming drones stories cross my desk. Up until this morning, this one ranked as #1 most alarming: “‘Flesh-eating robot’ is actually a vegetarian, say inventors.” In an attempt to reassure the reader, the inventors add this gem of a quote: “The … Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot – known as Eatr for short – does [...]
Archive | David Akerson
You want to shoot our drones down now, Iran?
Posted on 11 April 2012.
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The Comparative Cost of Justice at the ICC
Posted on 26 March 2012.
On March 14th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered it first judgment, finding Thomas Lubanga guilty of three child soldier war crimes offenses. The verdict is a welcome victory in the fight against impunity and it is some measure of justice for the 60,000 persons killed in the Ituri province in Eastern Congo. But the judgment highlighted [...]
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More on the problematic sentencing at International Tribunals
Posted on 11 January 2012.
Last Wednesday Judge Meron at the Rwanda International Criminal Tribunal lowered the sentence of the leader of Rwanda’s genocide. Here is a link to an article on the decision. Colonel Theoneste Bagosora was alleged to be the person who made the decision to commit genocide against the Tutsis and set about planning and preparing for [...]
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What Really Matters in an ICC Prosecutor
Posted on 01 December 2011.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the midst of a process to select a successor to its first prosecutor, Luis Moreno O’Campo. The governing body of the ICC, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), is seeking to elect a candidate by consensus vote. The list of candidates has apparently been paired down to two candidates: [...]
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The False Equivalency of Balanced Prosecutions
Posted on 22 November 2011.
One of the biggest criticisms of the WWII Nuremberg Tribunal was that it was victors justice: the statute only authorized prosecution of crimes committed by the Axis. In addition, both the prosecutors and judges were comprised of nationals from the victorious powers: American, British, French and Soviet. In subsequent tribunals, international justice has sought to [...]
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Kudos to Amnesty Int’l for Holding Non-State Actors to Task
Posted on 15 November 2011.
I was pleased to see an article in which Amnesty International calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes by the Taliban in Afghanistan. I have long felt that non-state actor groups that wage military style campaigns that intentionally target civilians get more lenient treatment in international criminal law circles. For example, many [...]
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Kudos to Senegal for ending female circumcision. Now, ICC, prosecute the remaining offenders…
Posted on 25 October 2011.
Kudos to Senegal for ending the horrific practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) as reported by the New York Times last weekend. Leadership on this issue needs to come from Africa and so it is very encouraging to see Senegal act so decisively. However, in places like Sudan and Somalia 90% of the girls are [...]
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Criminal sentencing – The tale of two Taylors
Posted on 10 October 2011.
As previously blogged, former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sitting in jail awaiting judgment for his involvement in the egregious crimes committed by rebel forces in Sierra Leone. His son, Chuckie Taylor, has already been convicted by a Miami Federal Court for acts of torture committed while running a squad of henchmen for his dad [...]
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Breaking news – acquittals at the Rwanda Tribunal
Posted on 30 September 2011.
A fairly significant development this morning — the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda delivered its judgment in the “Government II” case, an important case involving four ministerial level officials. The Trial Chamber convicted Justin Mugenzi and Prosper Mugiraneza of conspiracy to commit genocide and direct and public incitement and sentenced to 30 years. But, in [...]
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Should the ICC prosecute the Pope?
Posted on 29 September 2011.
Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) along with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests filed a complaint urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate their allegation that the three top Vatican officials committed crimes against humanity in covering up rape and sexual assault committed by priests around the world. There [...]
Posted in David Akerson, TVFA Posts3 Comments
