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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Australia Considers ICJ Genocide Case Against Iran
by Julian Ku
I have thought all along that bringing an ICJ case against Iran for "incitement to genocide" against Jews in Israel is a useless gesture (and one with a weak legal footing to boot). But former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney seemed attracted by the idea, and now, new Australian Prime Minister Paul Rudd is saying that Australia is seriously considering such a case.

The Australian government is mulling over a decision to haul Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the International Court of Justice for inciting violence against Israel and denying Jewish holocaust, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Wednesday.

I vaguely recall that this was a campaign pledge of some sort during the recent Australian elections. And Australia definitely has all the legal resources to bring a respectable case (unlike Iran's flirtation with Professor Boyle). In any event, it is odd that Australia would be able to bring such a case given that there is no incitement against Australia, but as a number of commenters have reminded me, suffering an injury doesn't seem to matter for a genocide claim. The relevant article seems to be Article 9 of the Convention Against Genocide:

Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfilment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in article III, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.


And I suppose the key article will be Article 3(c) ("The following acts shall be punishable: (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;")

I just don't think there is the factual basis for such a case (yet). But I'm no expert. Luckily, we have recently had some experts, namely Professor Susan Benesch, weigh in during our recent VJIL symposium. Under her six part approach, I don't think Australia has a case (yet) (see pp. 527-28). But in any event, I do hope that the Australian government is consulting her.
05.17.2008 at 12:36am 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Thursday, May 15, 2008

New Blog About the Trial of Alberto Fujimori
by Kevin Jon Heller
I have blogged from time to time about the trial of Alberto Fujimori, the former President of Peru. Interested readers now have a new — and far better — source of information about the trial: Fujimori on Trial, a new bilingual Spanish/English blog sponsored by the Praxis Institute for Social Justice. Here is the blog's self-description:
Praxis Institute for Social Justice invites you to visit our bilingual liveblog and follow current developments in the ongoing human rights trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.

Fujimori served from 1990-2000, and is suspected of committing innumerable human rights violations during his decade in office. These allegations have been documented by the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in its Final Report, published in 2003, and the trial against the former president marks the fulfillment of one of the TRC’s most important recommendations for preventing future human rights violations by the state.

This precedent-setting trial began on Human Rights Day (December 10, 2007) soon after Fujimori’s extradition from Chile, making him the first head of state to be extradited to his home country to stand trial for human rights violations. The trial holds great importance for the development of both human rights and international criminal law. The liveblog seeks to expand coverage of these proceedings and see that Fujimori receives a fair trial, while also ensuring that he is held accountable for any crimes he committed.

The Fujimori on Trial blog is one component of our Trial Monitoring Project funded by the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) and in collaboration with the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP). It includes frequent posts by our expert national and international observers, news summaries, links to relevant documents, and observations and analyses by experts, students and victims of human rights violations in Peru. It is intended to be a resource for journalists, students, academics, human rights victims and the general public.

We invite English and Spanish speakers to join our dialogue and share their ideas and perspectives. Please share the blog with others!
As one of the directors of the Praxis Institute pointed out to me, the lack of international attention to Fujimori's trial may embolden the current Peruvian government to risk pardoning him if he is convicted. With luck, this blog will help raise the trial's international profile, making such a move far more politically costly.
05.15.2008 at 6:38am 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks