05 February 2025
The Baltic Politics of Post-War Accountability for Russia
Will the Russian war against Ukraine prove to be a watershed moment for the implementation of international criminal law on the aggressor? This contribution focuses on the Baltic states’ accountability-seeking for Russia as the politics of deterrence by legal means and a struggle for historical justice. Continue reading >>
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24 February 2023
What can(’t) international criminal justice deliver for Ukraine?
One year ago, Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, committing an act of aggression in violation of the UN Charter. Many more incidents of international crimes followed, adding to an already large number of unaddressed crimes going back to 2014. While investigations are underway, the failures to pursue accountability for international crimes committed by Russia in the past still need to be addressed in this context. Continue reading >>11 November 2020
LawRules #8: We Need to Talk About the Penal System
We need to talk about the Penal System. In European Criminal Law, there is consensus that criminal law should be ultima ratio, that is, the last resort when the law is applied and executed. However, criminal law and the penal system at large have also proven to be an efficient way to silence political opponents and citizens turning against the government by literally barring them from raising their voice in public. We have seen examples for this in Europe, and we’ll have to talk about that today. But there are more aspects to this topic: How are prison systems being used as a tool by autocratic-leaning governments? And how is the relationship between the penal system and the rule of law in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice that the European Union aspires to be? Continue reading >>
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