Legalization of soft-drugs: views from the U.S. and Italy

On June 14, 2017, legal experts from the US and Italy gathered at the Law School of the University of Naples “Federico II” to discuss the challenges and perspectives of soft-drugs legalization, in the context of the inaugural colloquium of the international convention set up between the nearly 800-year old Italian law school and Denver … Read more

Critical Analysis: Retrial begins in Italian murder case; defendants do not appear in court

The retrial of American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito began in Florence, Italy on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, and continued on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. Knox and Sollecito were convicted in 2009 for the murder of Knox’s roommate Meredith Kercher; their conviction was overturned in 2011. The Italian Supreme Court overturned this … Read more

Critical Analysis: Italy Responding to Domestic Abuse

Earlier this month Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta announced new harsh measures to respond to the persistent problem of domestic violence.  He calls this problem “femicide” which is the “killing of women because they are women, often at the hands of current or former husbands or boyfriends.”  The new measures, which are effective immediately, set … Read more

Critical Analysis: Judge Overturns Acquittal in Amanda Knox Murder Trial

The Amanda Knox saga is far from over, as Italy’s highest court overturned a judgment of acquittal and has ordered a new trial. The initial conviction, which came in 2009 in Perugia, Italy, followed a highly publicized and sensationalized trial. After deliberating for 12 hours, a jury convicted  Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, for … Read more

The Enrica Lexie and Unintentional Terrorism

Cross-posted at piracy-law.com An interesting exchange took place at the High Court of Kerala on Friday between presiding Justice PS Gopinathan and VJ Matthew, counsel for the owner of the Enrica Lexie. Regardless of the level of significance one attributes to Justice Gopinathan’s remarks, the dialogue sheds light on the tension and deep mistrust surrounding … Read more

Revisiting jurisdiction over the Enrica Lexie incident

In my last post about the Enrica Lexie incident, I stated that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Italy had excusive jurisdiction over the Italian military personnel who allegedly killed two Indian fishermen mistaking them for pirates. Roger Philips at Communis Hostis Omnium rightly pointed out that the Convention … Read more

Armed Maritime Security and the Enrica Lexie

A dramatic story of death at sea has recently ignited both the Indian and Italian press. The story has yet to reach the United States, but it has all the makings of a headline-maker. Two Italian military personnel, operating as armed guards aboard the merchant vessel Enrica Lexie, are being investigated for the murder of … Read more