As the International Criminal Court (ICC) commemorated over two decades since its establishment, on July 4, 2023, Mr. Karim Khan, the ICC Prosecutor, submitted his thirty-seventh report to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in accordance with Resolution 1593 (2005). Addressing the UNSC nine days later, on July 13, 2023, Mr. Khan emphasized the urgent [...]

The last four or so weeks have been dramatic in Kenyan corridors of power because of the controversial Finance Act, 2023. It is not only one of the first major laws that was pushed through by the new Kenya Kwanza government which came to power in September 2022, but it is also a law that [...]

A shocking video from Manipur, India, has sparked national outrage. It shows a group of men brutally assaulting and parading two women belonging to the ethnic Kuki-Zo tribe, who were stripped naked. The incident occurred in May, following deadly ethnic riots between two communities. At least one of the women, age 21, was a victim [...]

Israel took a significant step closer to a constitutional crisis on July 24, 2023, when the controversial “Reasonableness Amendment” passed its final readings in the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), becoming law by a 64-0 vote that occurred while the opposition left the Knesset in protest. The amendment aims to reshape the grounds for judicial review [...]

“It must not be forgotten that it is perhaps more dangerous for a nation to allow itself to be conquered intellectually than by arms.” —Guillaume Apollinaire, “The New Spirit and the Poets” (1917) Nuclear weapons remain unique in the history of warfare and corresponding international law. Even a single instance of nuclear war-fighting could signify [...]

The US Supreme Court does not want or need an enforceable code of ethics. As I listen to the reasons given by some members of the Supreme Court to support this position, the words sound strikingly familiar. I have heard the same reasons given by judges in several developing democracies, mostly post-communist countries in Central [...]

With the recent resurgence of discussions surrounding digital identification in Kenya, it is time to take a closer look at the potential benefits and associated risks. In October 2021, the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) introduced in January 2019 and popular as ‘Huduma Namba’, was declared illegal by the High Court for conflicting with [...]

July 17 is the Day of International Criminal Justice. This year it also marks 25 years since the adoption of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC). ICC member countries will gather today at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to discuss strengthening political and practical support for [...]

One year after the US-China semiconductor war began and less than two months after the G7 countries decided to de-risk from China in response to concerns about China’s human rights record, its aggressive trade practices, and its military expansion, Beijing adopted a new foreign relations law on July 1 allowing for the punishment of any group [...]

In 2012, I authored a book called “Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court, and its Justices are not Judges.” The thesis of the book was that, due to a perfect storm of factors, the Supreme Court in practice makes all-things-considered decisions, not legal decisions, with the only real constraint on the [...]