[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention, and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week]
News
"Libya Sets Trial Date for Gaddafi`s Son", Al-Jazeera English
Despite a warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity and repeated calls from human rights groups and some governments to try him at the Hague, the Libyan government has set a trial date in September for Saif al-Gaddafi in the Libyan town of Zintan.
"UN Finds Both Sides Guilty of War Crimes in Syrian Conflict", Cindy Galway Buys
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has reported that both the Syrian Government and opposition forces have engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the ongoing conflict. While finding that both sides engaged in, among other crimes, extrajudicial killings, torture, and a litany of sexual violence, the Commission concluded that the crimes of the Government were of a far greater magnitude in both frequency and scale than those of the opposition.
"Hollande says action needed in ICC on Syrian Regime`s Crimes", Kuwait News Agency
French President Francois Hollande has called for the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute the Assad government`s "crimes against humanity" during the conflict in Syria, hoping to get backing for an official procedure against Assad during an upcoming ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council meeting to be presided over by France.
"Jewish Settler Attacks on Palestinians Listed as `Terrorist Incidents` by US", Harriet Sherwood
The US State Department has included for the first time violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian targets in the West Bank on a list of "terrorist incidents". Such attacks have increased rapidly in Israel, up by nearly 150% since 2009.
Commentary
"A Decade On, Some Justice for Rachel Corrie`s Family", Ben White
In light of an upcoming verdict in the civil lawsuit brought against Israel by Corrie`s family, Ben White writes for Al-Jazeera English that, regardless of the verdict on 28 August, the trial has exposed a "culture of impunity" in the Israeli Defense Forces.
"A New Generation of International Prosecutors Brings New Challenges", Mohamed A. Lejmi
Lejmi, the current senior diplomatic advisor for the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) discusses recent trends in international criminal justice. Noting that a strong international body of law requires strong support from the international community, Lejmi calls on new regimes emerging in the Arab Spring`s wake and all Arab countries to consider ratifying the Rome Statute and "building professional relationships" with the International Criminal Court.
"Targeted Killing`s `Flexibility` Doctrine that Enables US to Flout the Law of War", Amos Guiora, Laurie Blank
Blank and Guiora criticize the United States` approach of targets killings as indicative of "guilt by association" in The Guardian`s Comment is Free section, writing that the Obama Administration`s "flexible understanding of imminence" in deciding who to target amounts to a "kill all the bad guys" approach. This approach, they conclude, seriously undermine the program`s moral credibility.
Blogs
"South Africa Is Right. Labeling Israeli Settler Products is Truth in Advertising.", Bradley Burston
Burston praises South Africa`s recent decision to label goods produced in Israeli-occupied territory as originating from such rather than labeling them as Made in Israel, writing that the plan "strikes with elegant nonviolence" at the Israeli government`s "annexation of the mind" in the West Bank. Burston goes on to attack the Israeli government`s response to South Africa`s decision, which compares the plan to Apartheid, as tone-deaf.
"Negligence Road Traffic Accident Cases Must be Paid by Insurers", Jim Loxley
A blog on law in the United Arab Emirates relaunches, opening with a discussion of insurance claim law with regards to automobile accidents in Dubai.
"Did the Thuwar Persecute and Commit Genocide Against the Tawerghans?", Kevin Jon Heller
For Opinio Juris, Heller argues that much of the evidence examined by the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya suggests that "more likely than not", the Tawerghans were victims of genocide. Heller suggests that the COI should have indicated this in their final report, which, while potentially angering the new Libyan government, would send a strong message that the crimes of one group won`t go ignored because those of another (in this case, the Gaddafi regime) were worse.
Reports
"Settler violence against Palestinians raises alarm in Israel", Karin Brulliard, Samuel Sockol
Brulliard and Sockol report a litany of recent racially-motivated attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel recently, including the mob beating of an Arab teenager and a firebombing of a Palestinian taxi. Incidents such as these, they write, have prompted "arrests, condemnation, and soul-searching about the depths of ethnic hatred in Israeli society"
Conferences
"The International Rule of Law"; 14-15 March 2013; Amsterdam Center for International Law (University of Amsterdam); Register/Submit Papers here.
"International Law Association Annual Conference"; 26-30 August 2012; Sofia, Bulgaria, Register here.
On Jadaliyya
"Imposition of National/Civil Service Requirement on Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel: An Overview of Political Party Positions", Salah Mohsen
"الفيّاضيّة الجديدة", Hani Masri
"Divesting from All Occupations", Stephen Zunes
"Seam Zones Turn 50,000 Palestinians into "Internally Stuck Persons", Simon Randles & Amjad Alqasis
"Case Review: Pardoning Protestors against the Disengagement from Gaza", Keren Michaeli
"عندما يصبح تسييس القضاء ضمانة لاستقلاله: أفكار حول التجربة المصرية 1967-2012", Samer Ghamroun