Decisions and Revisions: Israeli Nuclear Deterrence and War With Iran
“In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute/will reverse” —T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Though much has been published about both military and legal elements of Israeli nuclear deterrence, not much has been written about the specific ways in which these core elements could conceivably intersect. [...]
How Democratic Sharia May Help Curb the Influence of Corrupted Interpretations of Islamic Law
What makes someone qualified to rule? One way to answer this question might be to approach it from the Islamic perspective, that is, by considering the criteria required for someone to become a mujāthid, a person accepted as an authority in Islamic law. The criteria include knowledge of the Shārīe‘ā essential objectives – ‘religion, life, [...]
Explainer Part II: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Court of Justice
The ongoing conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine continues to raise significant issues of international law and policy. My earlier contribution focused on the jurisdiction and substantive law of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Here I address the ongoing litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court). Because the crime of genocide can be [...]
Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, does not shy away from tough questions. Though many in a position such as his might shy away from argument, Rae seems to relish the opportunity to engage in some intellectual sparring. It was in this context that I requested an interview as Canada grapples with multiple [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking Russian military commanders, finding there were “reasonable grounds” to believe they committed war crimes amid Moscow’s ongoing war on Ukraine. According to a Court announcement, Sergei Kobylash, a Lieutenant General in the Russian Armed Forces, and Viktor Sokolov, a Navy Admiral, are [...]
Israel claims Hamas tunnels found under UN agency headquarters in Gaza
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that it discovered a tunnel in Gaza linking two buildings belonging to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNWRA). The IDF claims that the tunnel was used by “terrorist” in the ongoing war with Hamas. The 700-meter tunnel [...]
Explainer: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Criminal Court
The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II). With both courts located in [...]
Mengele-Like Logic Underpins Alabama’s Plan to Gas a Man to Death
Barring the unlikely success of last-minute litigation, today, at 6 p.m. CST, Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to become the first person in history to be executed by forced nitrogen gas inhalation. In Smith’s final minutes, personnel at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama will strap an industrial-grade mask to his face. Secured [...]
The US government has again desecrated the memory of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the latest example of the Biden administration having broken its promise to work to end the death penalty, it announced its intention to seek a federal death sentence against Peyton Gendron, the 19-year-old who horrifically murdered 10 [...]
A UN expert condemned on Tuesday a new wave of Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine. The recent attacks targeted densely-populated cities and towns across Ukraine as the war between the two countries rages on. In her statement, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown said: For the people of Ukraine, the new year started with loss, pain, [...]
