EJIL

Harnessing Military Investigations as a Tool for Civilian Protection in an ‘Era of Rearmament’ – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

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Harnessing Military Investigations as a Tool for Civilian Protection in an ‘Era of Rearmament’ – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

Civilians today face unprecedented risks in armed conflict, with compliance with the laws of war in crisis. UN figures show civilian deaths rising since 2019 and skyrocketing in 2023, with the number of women and children killed doubling and tripling from the previous year. As Cordula Droege has argued, international humanitarian law (IHL) is ‘under … Read more

The First General Comment of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

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Harnessing Military Investigations as a Tool for Civilian Protection in an ‘Era of Rearmament’ – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

The Optional Protocol to the UN Torture Convention (OPCAT) is unique amongst the UN human rights treaties and their Optional Protocols. Unique as it is not normative because it does not set out a new right which would be additional to those elaborated in the Torture Convention itself. Nor is it purely procedural as it … Read more

The Historic Case of Novaya Gazeta and Others v Russia – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

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Harnessing Military Investigations as a Tool for Civilian Protection in an ‘Era of Rearmament’ – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

Born into a Jewish family in Ukraine, Vasily Grossman’s monumental account of totalitarian Stalinist Russia, Life and Fate, which included a remarkable portrayal of the battle of Stalingrad during World War II, was banned by the KGB before it could be published in the Soviet Union. In response, Grossman wrote to the then Soviet leader, … Read more

Ingrid Jonker’s Poem and the Atrocity Crime Without a Name – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

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Harnessing Military Investigations as a Tool for Civilian Protection in an ‘Era of Rearmament’ – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

The child is not dead not at Langa nor at Nyanganot at Orlando nor at Sharpevillenor at the police station at Philippiwhere he lies with a bullet through his brain…the child is present at all assemblies and law-givings… The reprise of South African place names at the heart of Ingrid Jonker’s poem, a poem recited first … Read more

What can UNCITRAL Working Group III learn from the ECtHR? – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

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What can UNCITRAL Working Group III learn from the ECtHR? – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro

The ISDS reform process at UNCITRAL Working Group III provides a unique opportunity to consider new institutional dispute settlement designs. As EJIL:Talk! Readers will know from earlier blogs on this reform process, a standing mechanism to resolve investment disputes is one of the key proposals in the strengthening of the institutional design, with a Draft Statute for the mechanism up for discussion in this month’s session.

Previous debates on the standing mechanism touted enforcement as a “key feature of any system of justice” and essential to ensure the effectiveness of the standing mechanism (see [62] of the Report on the 38th session). Early work on enforcement options for the standing mechanism suggested limited concerns with compliance, commenting anecdotally that “most decisions by ISDS tribunals were voluntarily complied with” (see [74] of the Report on the 38th session). Consequently, the current Draft Statute for the standing mechanism continues the arbitral tradition of enforcement proceedings in domestic courts as a means to ensure compliance (see Articles 25 and 36). Domestic court enforcement proceedings were considered appropriate “to maximise the chances of having [the standing mechanism’s] decisions enforced” (see [102] of the Report of the Singapore Intersessional).

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