In an opinion piece article published in the New York Times on 5th February 2014 and titled “Courts Can’t End Civil Wars” Thabo Mbeki[1] and Mahmood Mamdan[2] make an argument about the place of courts in post conflict situations[3]. In the article the writers argue that courts have little, if any role, to play in post conflict situations. Rather than dealing with the messy issue of justice and accountability for the perpetrators, they argue that the international community ought to forget the past and move on to building a better society. Continue reading
Correcting Prejudice in Legal Discourse: Brazil
Written by: Brittany Friedman[1]
Too often, scholarship analyzing child prostitution in Brazil is limited to identifying at-risk groups and evaluating the relationship between sexual exploitation and poverty. This intellectual pigeonhole has consistently prevented lawmakers and activists from fully addressing the damaging effects of child prostitution on Brazil’s socioeconomic equity. Indeed, these types of analyses are necessary for the development and implementation of public policy; however, they overlook how subjective interpretations of the law increase social inequality by imbedding cultural stereotypes into legal discourse. Continue reading
Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Syria
Written by: Regina Paulose
As various parties in and out of Syria prepare for the January 22, 2014 “Geneva II” talks, it is important for the international community to remember that a successful long term peace and transition plan in Syria will require the genuine participation of minority groups in Syria of all backgrounds. While these ideas have been communicated to the parties that will be in attendance, it is important that legitimate mechanisms are in place to ensure the participation of all in the transition and that the participation of all people remains a non-negotiable item during the talks. Continue reading
LGBT Rights: Colonisation and International Human Rights Standards
Written by Garima Tiwari
While 18 countries, home to more than 10 percent of the world’s population, now recognize same-sex marriage, 77 countries still outlaw sodomy.[i] In seven of these countries, same-sex acts are punishable by death! Just recently, the Supreme Court of India reinstated a sodomy law recriminalizing same-sex relationships in a country home to 1.2 billion people. [ii] Max Fisher says that, “That’s more than the combined populations of the next 20 most-populous countries where same-sex acts are criminalized. If we assume that rates of homosexuality are consistent worldwide, then the number of gay men and women who can be jailed for their sexuality may well have just doubled.”[iii] Continue reading
The Rohingya Revisited
Written by: Regina Paulose
Nearly a year ago, I wrote an article outlining reasons why the ICC should take action in Myanmar (also known as Burma) in order to stop continued religious and ethnic violence towards the Rohingya. During 2013, not surprisingly, the anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar has continued.[1] In fact, violence has spread beyond targeting the Rohingya and against the larger Muslim population.[2] Although the majority displaced from the violence are still the Rohingya. Continue reading
A Contrario ICL 