Author Archives: Patrick Wegner

About Patrick Wegner

PhD student at the University of Tübingen and the Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Working on the impact of International Criminal Court investigations on ongoing intrastate conflicts.

The Habré Case at the International Court of Justice – Belgium versus Senegal

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

A couple of months back I wrote a post on the efforts of international and Chadian human rights advocates to prosecute the former President of Chad, Hissene Habré. Habré is accused of killing and torturing thousands during his stay in … Continue reading →

Posted in African Union (AU), Belgium, Chad, Crimes against humanity, Exile, Justice, Universal Jurisdiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Peacekeeping and International Criminal Law: The Abduction of 50 Peacekeepers in Darfur

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

According to several news agencies the Darfurian rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has taken about 50 peacekeepers of the joint UN/AU Mission UNAMID hostage in Darfur on Sunday, 19 February 2012. The speaker of the movement, Gibril Adam … Continue reading →

Posted in African Union (AU), Darfur, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Sudan, UN Security Council, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Kwoyelo Trial: A Final(?) Roundup

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

Last summer Justice in Conflict regularly reported on the trial of former LRA Commander Thomas Kwoyelo. After being arrested by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2009, the Ugandan Department of Public … Continue reading →

Posted in Complementarity, International Criminal Court (ICC), Kwoyelo Trial, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Uganda, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The ICC as a Network Actor

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

Since the Rome Statute was surprisingly adopted by an overwhelming majority of the states present at the Rome Conference in 1998 (120 against 7 votes with 21 abstentions) the Court has time and again been described as a civil society … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC) | Leave a comment

ICC Charges Four of Six Suspects in Kenya Situation

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

Yesterday, on the 23rd of January 2012, the Pre-Trial Chamber II (PTC II) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its long awaited decisions (here and here) whether or not it would confirm the Prosecutor’s charges against six suspects allegedly … Continue reading →

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Deterrence, Elections, International Criminal Court (ICC), Kenya, Ocampo Six | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Lack of Context in Discussions of Justice in Conflicts

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

International criminal law and transitional justice are highly dynamic fields. 2011 has yet again demonstrated this by its sheer eventfulness. The year started by the extradition of Callixte Mbarushimana to the ICC in January. A sealed arrest warrant had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, International Criminal Court (ICC), Ivory Coast / Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast and the ICC, Kwoyelo Trial, Libya, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Peace Negotiations, Peace Processes, Ratko Mladic, Sudan, Transitional Justice, Uganda, UN Security Council, Uncategorized, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond Darfur: The ICC and Sudan’s Converging Regional Crises

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Patrick Wegner

If everything had gone according to script in international politics, Sudan would have been on the top of the international agenda for most of the first half of the year 2011. The independence referendum in Southern Sudan took place from … Continue reading →

Posted in Darfur, International Criminal Court (ICC), Southern Sudan, Sudan, UN Security Council, Uncategorized, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Universal Jurisdiction in Germany: The FDLR Trial in Stuttgart

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Patrick Wegner

Last week I wrote a post on the role of universal jurisdiction in dealing with atrocities committed during armed conflicts or dictatorships. The idea of universal jurisdiction is grounded in the notion that there are some norms in public international … Continue reading →

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Democratic Republic of Congo, Europe, France, Germany, International Criminal Court (ICC) | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

No Limits for Justice? Universal Jurisdiction and the Case of Former Chadian President Hissene Habré

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Patrick Wegner

When we talk about justice in conflicts there is a potentially unlimited array of transitional justice mechanisms that could be brought to use in order to deal with atrocities committed during armed conflict. The first measures that come to mind … Continue reading →

Posted in African Union (AU), Democratic Republic of Congo, Exile, Israel, Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Crime of Aggression: A Step into the Wrong Direction?

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Patrick Wegner

This is the third piece of a short series of posts on the provisions concerning the crime of aggression which were passed at the Rome Statute Review Conference in Kampala in May 2010. You will find the first post by … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime of Aggression, Iraq, Kuwait, Nuremberg Trials, UN Security Council | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment