Tag Archives: criminal law

The International Rule of Law

On the 15th of November, I had the chance of assisting to a viewing of the Canadian documentary “Prosecutor”[1] with the said Prosecutor (Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (the ICC)) at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. The documentary was interesting to watch; it outlined the determination and perseverance of Mr. Moreno-Ocampo and the inherent difficulties of being the chief prosecutor of an international court. I recommend it if you are interested in the ICC and international criminal justice.

What was even more interesting was the discussion that followed. One of the students in the audience asked what would be the Prosecutor’s next career move (Mr. Moreno-Ocampo’s mandate is ending soon). He mentioned that he was very interested in educating the international relations crowd about the rule of law and international ethic. I found his answer particularly interesting because the notion of international ethic is something that has wondered inside my central nervous system for a while.

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When Death is Racist

I have been traveling quite a bit lately, for fun and for work. Although I enjoyed it – being the travel addict that I am – it gave me little time to finish my post on the recent Supreme Court decision of Insite. I expect it will be done by the end of this week. In the meantime, I have an interesting reading suggestion for you. It’s a short article written by Sonya Nigam, executive director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa published online by Canadian Lawyer. The article follows the execution of Troy Davis, a black man, in Georgia. It’s a pretty gruesome case and shows the barbarity, in my opinion, of the American legal system and its use of the death penalty. What’s really interesting, however, is the level of racism of that system as outlined by the article. Also worth nothing is the little parallel at the end with Bill C-10. Not so light reading, but insightful nevertheless.

Here’s the article, enjoy:

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/3898/reflections-in-the-wake-of-troy-davis-execution.html

Why Bill C-10 is wrong

I was thinking about writing a blog on Bill C-10, the omnibus criminal law bill of the conservative subtly named Safe Streets and Communities Act (I don’t know why, but it doesn’t make me feel safer at all…). However, with my schedule it is sometimes hard to read all the material and draft a post. Thankfully, I came across what Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, said in the House of Commons, and I thought it summarized what I thought perfectly and in an eloquent manner. So here is the 2 minutes she got in the House (she was the last one to speak) as the debate was cut short by a radical and usually last resort parliamentary procedure on September 28, 2011.

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