Revolution in the Air - 9BRi Annual Conference

On 2 November 2012, 9 Bedford Row International, Middlesex University and BCL Burton Copeland held a conference – Revolution in the Air – at Chatham House, London, to discuss important issues regarding international criminal and humanitarian law, policy and the role of third party states, the EU and the UN, and the rise of new legal principles such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

The conference was moderated by Mark Ellis, the Executive Director of the International Bar Association (IBA) and legal advisor to the defence team of Nuon Chea at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Opening the day, Sir Tony Baldry MP discussed recent developments of international criminal law within a historical context, addressing the various topics to be discussed throughout the day. For him, the fundamental question facing the international community today had regard to the role of the UN Security Council: “How can one have a system of international law which is based on the UN Charter and based ultimately upon UN Authorisation for Intervention, if the key body within the United Nations – the Security Council – has become completely dysfunctional and where members of the Security Council put their own national interests, such as Russia and Syria, before their global responsibilities?”

Tim Stew addressed the UK’s Response to the Arab Spring, discussing specifically the various policies that his department is adopting and attempting to implement in the MENA region. Gillian Higgins and Sir Tony Baldry MP sat on the panel.

Shannonbrooke Murphy, one of the few legal scholars specialising in the positive law of the human right to resist, gave a thorough exposé of the right to rebel and its interpretation under various legal instruments including Article 20(2) and the right to resist in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The panellists were Sir Tony Baldry MP; Professor Joshua Castellino, the Dean of Middlesex School of Law; and Gregor Guy-Smith, defence lawyer at the ICTY.

Mouaz Moustafa gave an impassioned account of the situation in Syria, which he has witnessed with his own eyes in his capacity as Senior Political Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force.. The panellists were Sir Tony Baldry MP; Michael Drury of BCL Burton Copeland; and Shannonbrooke Murphy.

Clive Baldwin discussed one of the newest concepts of international criminal law, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in his talk, Revolutions, Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect. The panellists on his talk were Colleen Rohan, defence lawyer at the ICTY, and Professor William Schabas of Middlesex University, one of the leading academics in international criminal law.

Professor William Schabas considered the meaning and concept of “revolution” in his talk on Proportionate Responses in Revolutions. Panellists on his talk were General Sir Jack Deverell who addressed the difficulties relating to Command Responsibility and Toby Cadman, 9BRi, who discussed proportionate response in relation to Syria.

Dr Amrita Mukerjhee, Leeds University, discussed the role of UN and regional bodies monitoring in Syria by the UN Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN-OHCHR), and the offices of special procedures of the Human Rights Council in her talk on Monitoring Revolutions. The panellists were John Cammegh from 9BRi and Brian Spiro from BCL Burton Copeland.

In Revolutions and New Constitutions, Professor Joshua Castellino addressed the difficulties and intricacies attached to the drafting of constitutions. The panelists were Clive Baldwin and David Young, 9BRi and Defence Counsel at the STL.

Steven Kay QC, the head of the International Practice Group at 9 Bedford Row, wrapped up the conference touching upon all the talks which preceded in his speech After the Revolution Comes Justice. The panellists were Shannonbrooke Murphy and Robert Murtfeld, who is currently researching his Ph.D at SOAS in London.

Two films were shown during the afternoon, Law of the Jungle and The Magnitsky Files. They were followed by lengthy Q&A sessions with Michael Christoffersen, director of the former, and Bill Browder, the director of the Hermitage Fund who employed Sergei Magnistky.

For further photos and info, please see the ICLB and 9BRi FaceBook pages.

Video material from the event will be available on the 9BRi YouTube channel soon.

ICLB and 9BRi Contribute to 100 Series Rules on Use of Force at Sea

Yesterday, Quadrant Chambers Barrister David Hammond, speaking on the global shipping community website Lloyd’s List, stated that the advanced draft of the 100 Series Rules for the Use of Force (100 Series Rules) provides a legal basis for acts of self-defence in respect of acts of piracy in territorial waters.

Steven Kay QC and Peter Glenser contributed to the development of the 100 Series Rules, providing a detailed advice on the issue of self-defence in the context of international law. Gillian Higgins further assisted with the review by taking part in the Rules for the Use of Force Conference at Quadrant Chambers, London.

The 100 Series Rules are currently under consideration by the International Organisation for Standardisation.

Steven Kay QC Visits Bahrain

Steven Kay QC Addresses the European Academy of Law

Post by Kathryn Hovington

Steven Kay QC will speak today at the European Academy of Law (ERA) in Trier, on the topic of ‘Liturgy or Rites? Defence rights in the international context: some lessons learned before the International Tribunals’.

He will detail defence issues including restrictions placed on the defence when challenging the prosecution case. Such restrictions have included those faced by the Kenyan Defence teams at the ICC, who received disclosure only 30 days before the commencement of the confirmation of charges hearing; an inadequate timeframe within which to properly respond to the case. The Milosevic trial similarly displayed restrictions on the Defence. Unrealistically narrow time limits for proceedings were imposed and the quantity of witnesses was restricted, despite the constant flood of disclosure by the Prosecution and the extensive factual matrix of the case.

Mr Kay will also highlight the lack of impartiality of the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal. The President of the tribunal’s Trial Chamber 1 participated in the compilation of a report in 1993 documenting crimes from the war and urging prosecutions of certain individuals, one of whom he is currently trying. A Defence request for his recusal led to Counsel being reported to the Bar Standards Board, which dismissed the complaint.

Steven Kay QC will present a lecture on the International Criminal Court and International Justice at the offices of the leading London law firm Field, Fisher, Waterhouse LLP, 35 Vine Street, London at 17.30 on Tuesday 10 July 2012.

9BRi to Host Conference at Chatham House

REVOLUTION IN THE AIR

Presented by 9 Bedford Row International, Middlesex University and BCL Burton Copeland

Chatham House, London

2 November 2012, 09:00

Conference Moderator: Dr Mark Ellis
Executive Director International Bar Association

Keynote speech: Ambassador Stephen Rapp
US Government War Crimes Ambassador-at-Large

The Right to Rebel: Shannonbrooke Murphy
University of Middlesex and National Director of Policy for Sinn Féin

Proportionate Responses in Revolutions: Prof. William Schabas OC
Middlesex University

Revolutions and New Constitutions: Prof. Joshua Costellino
Dean of Middlesex University

Monitoring Revolutions: Dr Amrita Mukerjhee
Leeds University

In a Revolution: Dr Mouaz Moustafa
Syrian Emergency Task Force

Revolution Through the Eyes of the Media

After the Revolution comes Justice:
Steven Kay QC

Obligations of the State

CPD 6.5 TBC v Tickets: £60 (Students £30)

julian.bradley@9bedfordrow.co.uk

Academy of European Law Annual Conference on EU Criminal Justice 2012

The Academy of European Law will host its annual conference from 11-12 October in Trier.

The objective of the conference will be to facilitate the exchange of experiences and ideas among legal practitioners on current developments and future initiatives in the field of EU criminal justice.

Topics will include:

- Update on current developments

- The way ahead for the rights of the defence

- Strengthening victims' rights

- The increasing impact of new technologies and social networks in EU criminal justice

Speakers:

Vincent Asselineau, Partner, Farthouat, Asselineau & Associés, Paris

Laviero Buono, Head of Section for European Criminal Law, ERA, Trier

SÅ‚awomir Buczma, Judge, Judicial Assistance and European Law Department, Ministry of Justice, Warsaw

Antoine Cahen, Head of Unit, Secretariat of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), European Parliament, Brussels

Vincent Cambier, Head of Criminal Records, Directorate General for Judicial Organisation, Ministry of Justice, Brussels

Marco Gercke, Professor of Criminal Law, University of Cologne, Director, Cybercrime Research Institute, Cologne

Alexandra Jour-Schröder, Head of Unit, Criminal Law, DG Justice, European Commission, Brussels

Urszula Aurelia Karkowska, Legal Officer, DG Justice, European Commission, Brussels

Steven Kay, QC, Defence Lawyer, Founder Member of The International Criminal Law Bureau, London

Justin Louman, Prosecutor, Cybercrime and Lawful Interception Unit, Prosecutor‚s Office, Amsterdam

David McKenna, President Victim Support Europe (VSE), Chief Executive, Victim Support Scotland, Edinburgh

Hans Nilsson, Head of Unit, Fundamental Rights and Criminal Justice, General Secretariat, Council of the European Union, Brussels

Professor Joachim Vogel, Chair of the European Economic Criminal Law Department, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich

For further information and to register, please see here.

Ratko Mladic Trial Starts

The trial of Ratko Mladic, former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), has begun at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

General Mladic faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including two counts of genocide. He is charged on the basis of individual criminal responsibility and superior criminal responsibility.

The indictment alleges that:

• From 12 May 1992 until 30 November 1995, General Mladic participated in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) to permanently remove Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat inhabitants from the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina claimed as Bosnian Serb territory.

• Between 12 May 1992 and November 1995, Mladic participated in another JCE to establish and carry out a campaign of sniping and shelling against the civilian population of Sarajevo, the primary purpose of which was to spread terror among the civilian population.

• Commencing in the days immediately preceding the 11 July 1995 implementation of the plan to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica and continuing until 1 November 1995, Mladic participated in a JCE to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by killing the men and boys and forcibly removing the women, young children and some elderly men from the area.

• During May and June 1995, Mladic participated in a JCE to take United Nations personnel hostage in order to compel NATO to abstain from conducting air strikes against Bosnian Serb military targets.

The indictment alleges that, additionally, Mladic is individually criminally responsible for planning, instigating, ordering and/or aiding and abetting the crimes charged in the indictment.

The indictment states that, as Commander of the Main Staff, Mladic was the most senior officer of the VRS. In this capacity Mladic was the superior of, and had effective control over, members of the VRS and elements of Serb forces integrated into, or subordinated to, the VRS that participated in the crimes alleged in the indictment. It is further alleged that Mladic knew or had reason to know that crimes were about to be committed or had been committed by members of the VRS and/or elements of Serb forces under his effective control and that he failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent the commission of crimes and/or to punish the perpetrators thereof.

The counts read as follows:

1. Genocide – against a part of the Bosniak and/or Bosnian Croat national ethnical and/or religious groups
2. Genocide – against Bosniaks in Srebrenica
3. Persecution (Crime against Humanity) – against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats
4. Extermination (Crime against Humanity)
5. Murder (Crime against Humanity)
6. Murder (Violation of the Laws of War)
7. Deportation (Crime against Humanity)
8. Inhumane Acts (forcible transfer) (Crime against Humanity)
9. Terror (Violation of the Laws of War)
10. Unlawful attacks on civilians (Violation of the Laws of War)
11. Taking of hostages (Violation of the Laws of War)

Mladic was arrested in May 2011 after years in hiding.

At a hearing at the ICTY in June 2011, he stated: “I defended my people, my country… now I am defending myself.”

Further information on today’s proceedings is available here.

STL Defence Teams Challenge Legality of the Court

Defence teams for the accused in the case of Ayyash et al have filed preliminary motions challenging the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

The Defence Team for Assad Sabra, led by David Young of 9 Bedford Row International, challenged the jurisdiction of the STL on the basis that it violates: the Lebanese legal and constitutional order; the core principles of the United Nations Charter, including respect for State sovereignty and the rule of law; and important human rights safeguards as a result of the displacement of Lebanese jurisdictions by an international special court.

The Defence teams argue that Lebanon did not properly consent to be bound by the “agreement” with the UN as the agreement was negotiated, adopted and signed by persons acting without the requisite legal capacity, the agreement was never ratified in compliance with the Lebanese Constitution, and the agreement therefore never entered into force.

The Defence teams also argue that UN Security Council Resolution 1757 illegally bypassed the law of treaties in contravention of the UN’s intention to establish the STL on a conventional basis.

The motions further argue that the UN Security Council acted ultra vires in adopting Resolution 1757 under its Chapter VII powers as the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri could not be considered a threat to international peace and security.

As an unlawfully and unconstitutionally established body, the Defence teams submit, the STL therefore fails to meet the minimum requirement that it be “established by law”. Consequently, the STL is unable to meet basic fair trial standards.

Read the Ayyash motion here.

Read the Badreddine motion here.

Read the Oneissi motion here.

Read the Sabra motion here.

Beslan Case Communicated to Russian Government for Observations

Steven Kay QC and Eeva Heikkila of 9 Bedford Row International have received notification that the European Court of Human Rights has communicated the case of the siege at the school in Beslan by Chechen terrorists in September 2004 to the Russian Government for observations.

This landmark case has taken its first step in seeking justice for the victims against the Russian Government which now has to explain why it stormed a school full of children and civilians using tanks, flamethrowers and grenades on the third day of the hostage crisis. Many of the children were burned alive in the school gym, as the roof caught fire under the attack by the security forces. The case Steven and Eeva put to the Court is that the deaths of the 334 hostages were as a result of the excessive and indiscriminate use of lethal force by the Russian security forces.

After the storming of the school, the hospitals in the area were sealed-off by the Government and the victims’ families denied access and information. Many parents still don’t know how their children died. Many parents have also not been told where the remains of their children are located.

The complaint to the ECHR also charges the Russian Government with failure to investigate where the responsibility for the deaths lies and for the failure to bring those responsible to justice. The case they will present to the ECHR is not only that the assault upon the school violated the rights of the children and innocent civilians inside the school, but also that the persistent denial of justice and lack of accountability for this crime constitute individual breaches by the Russian Federation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The need to fight for justice in Russia is pressing. As justice cannot be achieved in Russia, it must be pursued abroad. It is therefore imperative for the international community of lawyers, state authorities and other officials to tackle the culture of impunity in Russia together and ensure that justice for serious crimes is at last delivered. The parents of the children who died in the siege have sought justice for many years. Their courage and perseverance in the face of hostility and impunity remains unwavering. Now they have a chance of obtaining recognition of the failure to protect them and the failure to account for the harm they have suffered.

Steven and Eeva have undertaken this work on a pro-bono basis. They have received some 300 powers of attorney from villagers in Beslan who are victims, and have filed these claims at the Court with Russian lawyers. They would be pleased if an organization or wealthy Russian individual, who is prepared to help them in this fight for justice, could help with the funding of translation and investigation projects.

For video news coverage of the hostage crisis please see here.