Sergey Vasiliev
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sevslv.bsky.social
Sergey Vasiliev
@sevslv.bsky.social

International courts, accountability, transitional justice; 🚮 fascist dictatorships

I profess international law | Open University https://research.ou.nl/en/persons/sergey-vasiliev

TG по-русски https://t.me/nuremberhague

🐘 https://mastodon.social/@sevslv .. more

Political science 68%
Law 14%
Pinned
International law should apply to everyone, be it one's 'enemies', 'friends', or those making that very distinction.

Otherwise, international law would not be law in the proper sense, but its simulacra instead, called variously 'the rules-based international order' 🇺🇲 or 'the multipolar world' 🇷🇺🇨🇳.

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

@sevslv.bsky.social & I spoke to Middle East Eye about the potential/challenges for the #ICC to take action against individuals in UAE for atrocities in Darfur, Sudan. It’s complicated! #intLaw www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-c...
Could the ICC pursue Emirati complicity for RSF crimes in Sudan’s Darfur?
The International Criminal Court has investigated Sudanese nationals for Darfur atrocities. But how about the RSF’s main providers of arms?
www.middleeasteye.net

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

An honour to have Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh join the adjunct faculty of the Irish Centre for Human Rights @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social

A remarkable voice for justice and human rights at a time when it is most needed.

www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre...

Reposted by Dana Schmalz

Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, “was screaming at us,” recalls Cayley. Other ICC employees who were in that meeting have confirmed...Graham was threatening that they would face sanctions & that the court would be shut down.“Yeah, it was bad”

Cayley "began receiving anonymous, threatening phone calls saying “you’re in a very dangerous position”. And last summer, the 🇳🇱 police & security services turned up at the court to warn that he was in considerable danger."
Must-read article on why Cayley quit the #ICC. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Threat of US sanctions over Gaza forced me out, says ICC ...
Andrew Cayley oversaw the ICC’s investigation into Israel and Hamas. As he gathered harrowing testimonies, he began to receive threatening phone calls
observer.co.uk

“It's such a nice little brave court you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if its information systems were compromised and sensitive information on potential witnesses were to end up in the wrong hands. Maybe it would do well not to go after our head of state/government! Just some advice!"

"The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine"—an ill-conceived and deleterious

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

Though recent events have robbed some of the ‘leviathans’ of their guise and laid bare their ‘double-standards’, writes @sevslv.bsky.social in Justitia and Leviathans, ‘try telling Ukrainians, Palestinians, Rohingyas, Afghan women, and other victims that international justice is a dead end.‘

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

"... it is not only totalitarian dictatorships, but also liberal democracies—and states claiming to be democracies—that serially violate international law and promote impunity for themselves and their allies".

Text of the excellent inaugural lecture by @sevslv.bsky.social

www.ou.nl/documents/40...

Good to see the PASP statement, although it's quite cryptic.
-"When received": Has the report not been submitted? When? Why is it taking so long?
-The external Panel: Will the composition be kept secret? Who are "judicial experts": not judges?
-Will the report ever be published?

Statement by the ASP Presidency concerning the assignment of the OIOS fact-finding report on alleged misconduct by ICC Prosecutor to an external judicial expert Panel
The Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties, in consultation with the Bureau, confirms that the fact-finding investigative report into alleged misconduct by the Prosecutor conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), when received, will be assigned to an external Panel of judicial experts. This Panel will conduct an assessment under the legal framework of the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Court and relevant administrative instruments, in assistance of the Bureau’s consideration of the appropriate next steps. The work of the Panel will be conducted on a confidential basis. The Panel will report to the Bureau via the President of the Assembly. The Presidency of the Assembly is confident that the work of the Court in the interests of justice, under the leadership of its Presidency, the Registrar, and the Deputy Prosecutors, continues normally and without any interruptions. The Presidency of the Assembly continues to call for due respect for the privacy and the rights of all parties concerned, as well as for the integrity of the ongoing process. The Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body of the International Criminal Court. It is comprised of representatives of States that have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute. The Presidency of the Assembly is currently composed of H.E. Ms. Päivi Kaukoranta (Finland), President; H.E. Mr. Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone), Vice-President; and H.E. Ms. Margareta Kassangana (Poland), Vice-President. For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int You can also follow the Court’s activities on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Flickr
www.icc-cpi.int

Excellent op-ed by Ben Saul
"By allowing Israeli impunity for alleged international crimes in Gaza, the world has enabled Israel to feel untouchable and commit ever more severe violations. In the present geopolitical moment, every day we witness international law collapse...

points made.

My inaugural lecture "Justitia and Leviathans" is now available https://ou.nl/oratie_vasiliev (English from p 21 on)

The document reflects developments up to 30 May. All subsequent events—US sanctions against ICC judges, the Cameron revelations, the Israel/Iran war—regrettably only confirm the

Maybe they are expecting better treatment in Ukrainian custody, maybe they expect to be prioritised in a prisoner swap. They could have various incentives to lie."

My 2 cents:

"It is a tricky area: POWs are a particularly vulnerable category of witnesses, [and] any evidence they give should be taken with a grain of salt. There was nothing inherently wrong with POWs testifying but various factors could have affected their decision to appear or the prosecution.

Great BBC article by Joel Gunter on the trial of the Russian contract soldier #Kurashov in Zaporizhzhia, UA, on the charges related to the execution of a Ukrainian POW.

This is a peculiar case: the members of Kurashov's unit, POWs in UA custody, testified against him. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Ukraine war crime trial: A Russian soldier takes the stand for an execution
Dmitriy Kurashov is the first Russian soldier to stand trial in Ukraine over a battlefield execution.
www.bbc.com

Great piece by Thomas Skouteris in The Cairo Review of Global Affairs:

"Hybrid Writing: Authority, Ethics, Agency" https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/hybrid-writing-authority-ethics-agency/
Hybrid Writing: Authority, Ethics, Agency
Though generative artificial intelligence has facilitated the emulation of form, it cannot take responsibility for what is written. Agency remains at the heart of writing once all else can be automated
www.thecairoreview.com

... I demand their immediate release.

I honour the memory of heroes like Alexei #Navalny — devoured by the Leviathan but NOT defeated. Their example drives my work. Because every people deserves democracy." 2/2

Dedication from my inaugural:

"I dedicate this lecture to the victims of atrocities in #Ukraine and elsewhere - who are equally deserving of justice - and, secondly, to the political prisoners in Russia and beyond, who continue to courageously resist repressive regimes in their countries...1/2

This is on today: https://www.ou.nl/en/-/symposium-justitia-and-leviathans-the-struggle-for-the-international-rule-of-law

Symposium "Justitia & Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law" (13.00-15.00) and my inaugural lecture (in Dutch) (16.00-16.50) can be followed live
Symposium Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law - Open Universiteit - Open Universiteit
nieuws, artikelen, media, onderzoek, kennis, wetenschap, resultaten
www.ou.nl

This is on today: www.ou.nl/en/-/symposi...

Symposium "Justitia & Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law" (13.00-15.00), followed by my inaugural lecture (in Dutch) (16.00-16.50), can be followed live ou.nl/live.

Tune in if you are unable to join us in Heerlen in person.
Symposium Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law - Open Universiteit - Open Universiteit
nieuws, artikelen, media, onderzoek, kennis, wetenschap, resultaten
www.ou.nl

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

Some thoughts on the potential Article 70 implications of David Cameron’s reported efforts to pressure Karim Khan (although I agree with @sevslv.bsky.social that it’s unlikely such action will be pursued in the current environment):

www.middleeasteye.net/news/could-d...
Could David Cameron be prosecuted for threatening the ICC?
Experts say the former UK foreign secretary could be legally at risk for trying to obstruct the International Criminal Court when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders
www.middleeasteye.net
Day 2 of the @iccsummerschool.bsky.social off to a great start with a lecture on the crime of aggression by Prof Sergey Vasiliev of the Open University in the Netherlands

@sevslv.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social

Reposted by Sergey Vasiliev

Dutch intelligence report says Russian hacker group stole data on 63,000 police officers, targeted NATO government systems

The espionage activities of “Laundry Bear” have been ongoing since at least 2024.
Dutch intelligence report says Russian hacker group stole data on 63,000 police officers, targeted NATO government systems
A previously unknown Russian hacker group that has been given the moniker “Laundry Bear” has spent roughly a year targeting government and commercial entities in the Netherlands and other NATO and EU ...
theins.press