Netherlands

Palestine

Dutch high court blocks lawsuit over Gaza air-strike

The Supreme Court of the Netherlands affirmed that Palestinians are precluded from bringing legal action against Israeli military officers for their involvement in a deadly air-strike on the Gaza Strip in 2014. The high court upheld the decisions of lower court judges, ruling that former Israeli chief of staff Benny Gantz and former Israeli Air Force commander Amir Eshel are shielded from prosecution due to their immunity status. The court ruled that this places them above legal reproach, regardless of the seriousness or nature of the alleged actions. The case was initiated by Gaza resident Ismail Ziada, who lost his mother, three brothers, a sister-in-law and a nephew in the July 2014 air-strike. In his suit, Ziada sought compensation under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which permits the pursuit of legal action for grave crimes committed in other countries. (Image: Ismail Ziada)

South Asia

UN court to rule on Indus River dispute

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague dismissed India’s objections concerning its authority to address the ongoing Indus River disputes between India and Pakistan. The ruling reinstates a case that had been impeded for several years. Pakistan asserts that India’s proposed hydroelectric energy projects will substantially diminish the Indus’ flow, negatively affecting Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan initiated legal proceedings against India in 2016, seeking arbitration to address the issue. India raised objections regarding the jurisdiction of the PCA. (Photo: Heartography/Pixabay via Jurist)

Europe

Hague prosecutors prepare case against Russia

A Hague-based international prosecutorial team launched preparation of case materials against Russia for the crime of aggression—an offense that is notoriously difficult to prosecute. The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA) was established within Eurojust, the European Union’s agency for judicial cooperation. The new office will draw together prosecutors from various European countries, as well as from the International Criminal Court (ICC), to gather evidence of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The center will collect evidence with the awareness that it remains unclear where the crime of aggression will ultimately be prosecuted—in national courts, a dedicated international tribunal, or before the ICC. (Photo via Twitter)

Europe

Politics, neglect hobble Italy’s migration system

The number of asylum seekers and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Italy has surged this year, according to EU officials. More than 56,000 people have made the journey–almost double the total over the same period last year. The increase prompted Italy’s government to declare a six-month state of emergency in April, in part to address overcrowding at a center for those who arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa. But experienced aid workers say the focus on numbers is distracting from the real issues: dire conditions in North Africa—most recently Tunisia—pushing more people to take dangerous journeys at sea; and an Italian migration reception system near collapse due to years of politicization and neglect. (Photo: Sara Creta/TNH)

Syria

Seek World Court ruling on Syria torture claims

The Netherlands and Canada jointly submitted a case against Syria to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Damascus regime of committing numerous violations of international law, including torture, since the start of the country’s civil conflict in 2011. The primary objective of the application is ICJ action compelling Syria to desist from any future use of torture. If the ICJ finds that it holds authority to rule on the matter, it will mark the first instance of an international court judging Syrian torture allegations. (Photo: ICJ)

Europe

Zelensky: send Putin to The Hague

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told international jurists that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be brought to justice for his war in Ukraine. Zelensky was addressing The Hague during a visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling for a new international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression. Zelenski stressed: “We all want to see Vladimir here, in the Hague… and I am sure we will see that happen when we win. And we will win.” The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March over the forced deportation of children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Revelations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine have continued to mount since then. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Central Asia

Kazakhstan: environmental suit against Caspian consortium

The government of Kazakhstan has brought a legal action for violation of environmental protection laws against the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), the consortium leading development of the country’s massive Kashagan oil field, seeking $5.14 billion in fines. In the complaint, the Ministry of Ecology & Natural Resources cites storage of sulfur on site in excess of permitted limits, burning of crude gas on flares without a permit, improper discharge of wastewater, and other violations. Kashagan is one of the largest oil-fields discovered on Earth over the past 40 years, with recoverable reserves estimated at up to 13 billion barrels. The consortium includes the Italian Eni, French Total, US-based ExxonMobil, Anglo-Dutch Shell, Chinese CNPC, Japan’s Inpex, and KazMunayGas, the Kazakh national operator. (Map: US Energy Information Administration via Jurist)

Europe

ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber also issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights. Both stand accused of the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied territories of Ukraine into Russia. While Ukraine is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, the country accepted ICC jurisdiction for purposes of “identifying, prosecuting, and judging the perpetrators and accomplices of acts committed in the Territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014.” (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Europe

Ukraine: over 18,000 war crimes documented

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with other rights defenders from the region earlier this month, reports that it has documented 18,000 war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory since the conflict began there in 2014—with the number skyrocketing since the Russian invasion of this year. Instances of torture and rape by Russian occupation forces are particularly emphasized. The Center is stepping up its investigative work in response to a fast-growing caseload. Ukraine’s law enforcement system is already overloaded with war crimes cases, and the International Criminal Court is focusing on only a few cases. The Center’s leader Oleksandra Matviychuk is calling for creation of a special tribunal to try Vladimir Putin and Russian war criminals. (Photo via Twitter)

New York City

Podcast: political geography of the Lower East Side

In Episode 141 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg defends the notion that he lives on New York’s Lower East Side, repudiating those who would insist that his neighborhood is actually the East Village or (worse) NoHo. Weinberg traces the nomenclature controversies going all the way back to the Lenape indigenous villages of the area, Dutch and English colonial settlement, the riots and uprisings of the “Gangs of New York” era, the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican identity as Loisaida, the origin of the name “East Village” in the hippie explosion of the 1960s, its cooptation by the real estate industry in the gentrification of the 1980s, and the resultant last gasp of anarchist resistance. Weinberg counts himself among a surviving coterie of old-timers who still consider the entire area to be the Lower East Side. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: Carmen Pabón del Amanecer Jardín)

Europe

Netherlands asylum center conditions bashed

The Council of Europe published a letter criticizing conditions at the Netherlands’ Ter Apel “registration center” for asylum seekers. According to the Council’s findings, more than 700 asylum seekers are forced to sleep outside at the center, and many lack access to clean water, food and sanitary facilities. The Council said these conditions “fall short of even the minimum standards under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.” Article 3 of the ECHR establishes the right to absolute freedom from torture and inhumane treatment. (Photo: Refugees in the Netherlands)

Europe

Dutch citizen detained in Suriname war crimes case

A Netherlands court set aside a bid for amnesty and ruled to continue the pre-trial detention of a Dutch ex-army member suspected of war crimes, including the murder of civilians, during Suriname’s internal war. The 55-year-old Suriname-born Dutchman was arrested in Amsterdam on the basis of an investigation indicating that he murdered several Surinamese civilians in 1987. The Surinamese Interior War was a conflict waged in the inland rainforest of the South American nation and former Dutch colony between 1986 and 1992. During the war, the Surinamese National Army fought the Jungle Commando guerillas, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing thousands. The Jungle Commando won a base of support among the interior’s Maroon population, giving an ethnic cast to the conflict. (Map: University of Texas)