{"title":"The Referral of the Situation in Venezuela to the International Criminal Court: The Office of the Prosecutor Should Not Step In… Yet","authors":"I. Garfunkel","doi":"10.1163/18781527-BJA10028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-BJA10028","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000On 26 September 2018, six American States Parties to the Rome Statute referred the Situation in Venezuela to the Office of the Prosecutor (‘OTP’) of the International Criminal Court, regarding crimes against humanity. Those States rested on Article 14 of the Rome Statute to proceed. That referral – namely, crimes committed outside the territory of the referring State(s) – was the second of its kind received by the icc in its more than 15-year working history. The otp is currently considering the referral under the so-called ‘Preliminary Examination’ stage, wherein the admissibility test is likely to be addressed within the complementarity principle, according to Article 17 of the Rome Statute. Despite the duty to exercise their criminal jurisdiction, as the Preamble to the Rome Statue stipulates, and the fact that those six American States recognize some sort of extraterritorial jurisdiction, those States remained inactive. What should the otp do when six democracies, who are able to act, do not even try to launch an investigation for crimes they have expressed concerns about, without providing an explanation for their inactivity? This article will analyse how the otp should deal with this referral in terms of the complementarity principle, having regard to the positive approach to complementarity. Accordingly, it will be argued that the Prosecutor should refrain from intervening until those States attempt to act and/or, in case of legal or factual inability, justify the referral.","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"12 1","pages":"5-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46162084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prolonged Occupation and Exploitation of Natural Resources","authors":"Emilia Pabian","doi":"10.1163/18781527-BJA10029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-BJA10029","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000During recent years, natural gas reserves have been located off the coast of Cyprus and their possible exploitation has drawn the attention of Turkey, which has been in occupation of Northern Cyprus for decades. This contribution explores whether the law of occupation could provide a legal basis for the exploitation by Turkey of Northern Cyprus’ natural gas, specifically considering the prolonged nature of the occupation. It argues that Turkey is obliged to comply with the restrictive rules governing the use of natural resources in occupied territories. Furthermore, this contribution discusses the argument that during prolonged occupations an occupying power should be granted more leeway in imposing wider ranging initiatives to prevent the local population’s developmental stagnation, including more extensive natural resource exploitation. However, this contribution argues that granting such leeway has the potential to entrench the authority of the occupant into a state of permanency under the guise of legitimacy.","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45708014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Applying Humanitarian Law: A Review of the Legal Status of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers’ Party (pkk) Conflict","authors":"Deniz Arbet Nejbir","doi":"10.1163/18781527-BJA10026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-BJA10026","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article assesses the applicability of the criteria for non-international armed conflict to the situation in South-Eastern Turkey. It demonstrates that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (also known as the pkk), as a party to the conflict, fulfils the three main criteria laid down in conventional international humanitarian law and developed by indicative factors in international jurisprudence for assessing the existence of a non-international armed conflict in the context of Common Article 3 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions: being an organised armed group, having the ability to engage in ‘protracted violence’, and complying with law of armed conflict. It establishes that the pkk qualifies as an organised armed group under responsible command and has the operational ability, structure and capacity to carry out ‘protracted violence’, to respect fundamental humanitarian norms of international humanitarian law and to control territory. The article also ascertains that Turkey is clearly bound by the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, including Common Article 3, and customary international humanitarian law. Accordingly, it concludes that the conflict between the pkk and the Turkish security forces qualifies as a non-international armed conflict within the meaning of both Common Article 3 and customary international humanitarian law.","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47431189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fact-Finding in Situations of Atrocities: In Search of Legitimacy","authors":"P. Parisi","doi":"10.1163/18781527-BJA10027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-BJA10027","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000While international inquiries have long been used by states and international organisations to address situations of human rights violations, it is only since the turn of the millennium that they have increasingly become the focus of academic reflection. Harwood’s book is unique in that it represents the first effort at systematically surveying and systematising the practice of atrocity-related UN inquiries. In this essay, building on both the arguments set out in the book and other relevant scholarship, I propose three lenses to read through Harwood’s meticulous review of the practice of UN inquiries: legitimacy, juridification, and roles and functions. While Harwood makes a largely critical-descriptive argument that positions atrocity-related UN inquiries in the liminal space between principle and pragmatism, I contend that any discussion about the roles and functions of international inquiries should be informed by a reflection on their legitimacy.","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44181407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Noelle Higgins, The Protection of Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict: The Changing Paradigms","authors":"A. Jakubowski","doi":"10.1163/18781527-12010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-12010001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42942635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nicholas Tsagourias and Alasdair Morrison (eds), International Humanitarian Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary","authors":"D. Turns","doi":"10.1163/18781527-12010002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-12010002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45157897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peer Reviewers of Volume 11","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/18781527-01102016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-01102016","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46384184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disputed Territories and International Criminal Law: Israeli Settlements and the International Criminal Court, written by Simon McKenzie","authors":"H. Jöbstl","doi":"10.1163/18781527-bja10019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-bja10019","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"11 1","pages":"461-463"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41936510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Classifying Non-International Armed Conflicts","authors":"M. Bradley","doi":"10.1163/18781527-bja10011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-bja10011","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In terms of Additional Protocol ii to the Geneva Conventions ‘territorial control’ is a requirement in order to determine whether, as contemplated by the provisions of the Protocol, a non-international armed conflict exists. Complex situations in which conflict is not confined to the territorial borders of the State where the non-international armed conflict originated increasingly present a challenge to those responsible for conflict classification under the conventional law of non-international armed conflict. In situations such as these, a non-international armed conflict is no longer restricted to the territory of a single State. Multiple non-international conflicts involving numerous actors can co-exist in a single territory at the same time or lead to fighting across borders. The complex conflict situations in the Central African Republic, Mali, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo serve as examples. Attaining legal certainty is pivotal with respect to conflict classification because the category of conflict determines the applicable rules of the conventional law of armed conflict. Even though Additional Protocol ii remains the only comprehensive treaty dedicated to the regulation of non-international armed conflict, there is a paucity of literature which analyses its scope of application, and specifically the territorial control requirement. This article offers an in-depth examination of the territorial control requirement.","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":"11 1","pages":"349-384"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48113709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contents","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/18781527-01102018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18781527-01102018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41905,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47202342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}