Tag

International Criminal Law

Cour pénale internationale

Un quart de siècle de lutte contre l’impunité: quelles perspectives d’avenir pour la Cour pénale internationale?

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À quelques semaines du 25e anniversaire de l’adoption du Statut de Rome de la Cour pénale internationale, la première juridiction internationale permanente ayant pour mandat de lutter contre l’impunité des crimes internationaux a déjà parcouru une longue route, non sans difficulté.

Les chemins qu’elle empruntera à l’avenir ne s’annoncent pas sans écueils. Pourra-t-elle offrir une justice aux victimes des crimes commis en Ukraine ? Osera-t-elle jouer un rôle pour protéger l’environnement et responsabiliser les personnes morales ? Réussira-t-elle à convaincre suffisamment pour incarner l’universalité tant souhaitée tout en préservant son indépendance à l’égard des puissances d’aujourd’hui et de demain ? Comment devra-t-elle innover pour s’adapter aux défis du prochain quart de siècle ?

Cette conférence est l’occasion de discuter avec les personnes intervenantes des défis que la Cour pénale internationale devra relever à court et moyen termes.

Personnes intervenantes

Organisations responsables

Clinique de droit international pénal et humanitaire 
Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la justice internationale et les droits fondamentaux 
Partenariat canadien pour la justice internationale

Inscription obligatoire gratuite (lien à venir)

 Heure: 11h30 à 13h
Lieu: DKN-2419 (et par Zoom)

Cour pénale internationale

Un quart de siècle de lutte contre l’impunité: quelles perspectives d’avenir pour la Cour pénale internationale?

By Upcoming Events

À quelques semaines du 25e anniversaire de l’adoption du Statut de Rome de la Cour pénale internationale, la première juridiction internationale permanente ayant pour mandat de lutter contre l’impunité des crimes internationaux a déjà parcouru une longue route, non sans difficulté.

Les chemins qu’elle empruntera à l’avenir ne s’annoncent pas sans écueils. Pourra-t-elle offrir une justice aux victimes des crimes commis en Ukraine ? Osera-t-elle jouer un rôle pour protéger l’environnement et responsabiliser les personnes morales ? Réussira-t-elle à convaincre suffisamment pour incarner l’universalité tant souhaitée tout en préservant son indépendance à l’égard des puissances d’aujourd’hui et de demain ? Comment devra-t-elle innover pour s’adapter aux défis du prochain quart de siècle ?

Cette conférence est l’occasion de discuter avec les personnes intervenantes des défis que la Cour pénale internationale devra relever à court et moyen termes.

Personnes intervenantes

Organisations responsables

Clinique de droit international pénal et humanitaire 
Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la justice internationale et les droits fondamentaux
Partenariat canadien pour la justice internationale

Inscription obligatoire gratuite (lien à venir)

Date: 19 mai 2023
Heure: 11h30 à 13h
Lieu: DKN-2419 (et par Zoom)

Victim of a massacre; the Canadian government ignores his call for help

By Communiqués de presse, News

May 30, 2022, Ottawa – The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti, today refused to meet with Ramiro Osorio Cristales, one of the only survivors of a terrible massacre in Guatemala. Mr. Osorio Cristales, a Canadian citizen, has long demanded that Canada try  Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes, an alleged war criminal who actively participated in the massacre and who now lives in Canada, having obtained Canadian citizenship.

Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWBC), which is accompanying Mr. Osorio Cristales and the Guatemalan association of relatives of the victims of the massacre (Familiares de desaparecidos de Guatemala – FAMDEGUA) in their quest for justice, was also present in Ottawa, on his behalf and as a representative of the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ), to call on Minister Lametti to act. The Minister has the authority – indeed the duty – under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, as outlined in a statement supported by 18 organizations, which was prepared by LWBC in collaboration with CPIJ.

In 1982, the special unit of which Mr. Sosa Orantes was an officer entered the Guatemalan village of Las Dos Erres and massacred almost the entire civilian population, systematically exterminating men, women, children and newborns. Ramiro Osorio Cristales, then five years old, was one of only two survivors of this massacre.

In the statement, LWBC, CPIJ and the 18 supporting organizations call on:

  • the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program to review and document all allegations against Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes and to submit a request to the Attorney General of Canada to authorize a prosecution under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act;
  • the Attorney General of Canada to consent to the prosecution of Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the massacre of Las Dos Erres;
  • the Canadian government to assume its responsibilities towards alleged war criminals in Canada by activating its Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program and ensuring that it has the necessary means to implement Canada’s obligations to fight impunity for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Between June and August 2021, LWBC and CPIJ made numerous calls to the government to take action on this issue. These calls went unanswered.

Canada was one of the first countries to support investigations into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. This strong commitment to international criminal justice must be equally strong in Canada. It is time for the Canadian government to act with courage by taking concrete steps to bring Mr. Sosa Orantes to justice. It is not acceptable that Mr. Sosa Orantes – who Canada itself says has committed crimes against humanity – continues to live freely on Canadian soil without being held accountable for these crimes.

Quotes

“I fled to Canada to live in safety, which I have been able to do for the past twenty years. This is no longer the case, one of the criminals who massacred my family, my friends, my village, lives freely in the country. Today, I am confident that the Canadian government will do the right thing: I ask the Minister of Justice, Mr. David Lametti, to initiate criminal proceedings against Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes.”

– Ramiro Osorio Cristales, survivor of the Las Dos Erres massacre

“Last June, we asked the government to act on the case of Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes. Almost a year later, we are still waiting for the government to act. Today, 18 organizations are joining Lawyers Without Borders Canada in calling for the same thing. Simply revoking citizenship is not enough. To truly fight impunity, Canada must take its responsibilities and bring Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes to justice to face charges of crimes against humanity.

– Pascal Paradis, Executive Director of LWBC

View the complete press record here.

2022 Katia-Boustany Conference «Faire et quitter son nid: retour vers le futur du droit international pénal et humanitaire»

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On February 22, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the SQDI’s 2022 Katia-Boustany Conferene invites you to travel back in time with professors William A. Schabas and Eric David!

Moderated by Professors Julia Grignon and Fannie Lafontaine, the lecture will revisit the most significant developments of the last 40 years in international criminal and humanitarian law, and will consider the different challenges that these fields of international law will face in the next 4 decades.

The conference is the work of a broad partnership, co-organized at Université Laval by the SQDI, the Canada Research Chair on International Criminal Justice and Fundamental Rights, the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, the Osons le DIH! partnership development, the research project on the extraterritorial application of international human rights law, and the Canadian Partnership for International Justice, in collaboration with Quid Justitiae.

The conference will be presented online on the Zoom platform. Free admission.

Certificates of attendance will be issued to registered participants only.

Register here : https://www.fd.ulaval.ca/formulaire/inscription-conference-katia-boustany-2022 

2022 Katia-Boustany Conference «Faire et quitter son nid: retour vers le futur du droit international pénal et humanitaire»

By News, Upcoming Events

On February 22, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the SQDI’s 2022 Katia-Boustany Conferene invites you to travel back in time with professors William A. Schabas and Eric David!

Moderated by Professors Julia Grignon and Fannie Lafontaine, the lecture will revisit the most significant developments of the last 40 years in international criminal and humanitarian law, and will consider the different challenges that these fields of international law will face in the next 4 decades.

The conference is the work of a broad partnership, co-organized at Université Laval by the SQDI, the Canada Research Chair on International Criminal Justice and Fundamental Rights, the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, the Osons le DIH! partnership development, the research project on the extraterritorial application of international human rights law, and the Canadian Partnership for International Justice, in collaboration with Quid Justitiae.

The conference will be presented online on the Zoom platform. Free admission.

Certificates of attendance will be issued to registered participants only.

International Criminal Law Works-in-Progress Workshop

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The International Criminal Law Works-in-Progress Workshop was held in London (Canada) at Western University and was organized by the Faculty of Law at Western University.

Professor Joanna Harrington gave a paper presentation on “Providing for Victim Redress within the Legislative Scheme for Tackling Foreign Corruption”.

Roundtable on “Exploring Justice in Extreme Cases: Criminal Law Theory and International Criminal Law”

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The Roundtable on “Exploring Justice in Extreme Cases: Criminal Law Theory and International Criminal Law” was held in Philadelphia (USA) at Temple Law and was organized by Temple Law’s Institute for International Law and Public Policy.

The roundtable discussed Darryl Robinson’s book manuscript: Exploring Justice in Extreme Cases: Criminal Law Theory and International Criminal Law. Participants contributed a 5-10 page reaction paper prior to the event in order to have a substantive (although unstructured and informal) discussion of the book. Temple’s Journal of International and Comparative Law will publish the papers. Among the participants were Mark Kersten, James Stewart and professor Darryl Robinson.

Panel on the Rohingya crisis

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The Panel on the Rohingya crisis was held in Montreal (Canada) and was organized by the McGill International Law Society and Criminal Law McGill.

Professors Payam Akhavan and Frédéric Mégret served as moderators, with Saifullah Muhammad, Co-founder and director of the Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative, Yuriko Cowper-Smith, PhD Candidate, University of Guelph and Bob Rae, Special Envoy to Myanmar as panelists.

This event offered students an opportunity to learn more about the case and international criminal law more generally, as well as highlighted the expertise relating to international law and human rights that exists within the Faculty.

Histories of Transnational Criminal Law

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The conference “Histories of Transnational Criminal Law” was held in Hannover (Germany) at Schloss Herrenhausen. The event was organized by the University oF Hamburg in collaboration with the Wolkswagen Foundation.

Professor Joanna Harrington gave a presentation on “The Historical Roots of International Extradition”.