Justice is not relative in the global community

WRITTEN BY Jafar Javan, UNICRI Director a.i.

What does really justice mean? Is there a justice for all? The etymology associates the word justice to righteousness, equity and just behaviour. Over the centuries, justice has been always considered as a central virtue to both the moral and political dimensions of societies.

Is Italy facing a migration emergency? Italy’s challenge and its new legal framework

WRITTEN BY Clarissa Spada

This essay aims to analyse the new 2017 Italian law established for the improvement of both the asylum procedures and the contrast of illegal migration in a context in which Europe is required to improve procedures` efficiency without undermining the rights of people in need of protection.

On SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

WRITTEN BY David M. Malone United Nations University

When the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted, Goal 16 was seen as truly transformative, formally linking, for the first time at the United Nations, development, peace, justice, and good governance. Some of its more ambitious targets include significantly reducing all forms of violence, ending abuse and violence against children, promoting the rule of law, reducing illicit financial flows and corruption, and developing accountable and transparent institutions.

The truth in international criminal trials: a chance to write history?

WRITTEN BY Andrés Felipe Morales Arias

Since it was first addressed as the right to know the fate of missing and dead persons under international humanitarian law,(1) the idea of a ‘right to truth’ has gradually expanded into other fields of law such as human rights law and international criminal law.(2)

Preventing crime and violent extremism by strengthening youth resilience: Implementation of the BOUNCE resilience tools in 10 European cities

WRITTEN BY Christiaens, E., Hardyns, W., Pauwels, L & Klima, N.

A new trend in prevention policies is the focus on resilience, which particularly for youngsters is said to lower their susceptibility to criminal behaviour and radicalization. To that end, the “BOUNCE programme” aims to strengthen youngsters’ resilience by means of a 10-session group intervention. Over the past year, ten European pilot cities have been introduced to the BOUNCE resilience tools and are now left to implement the youth training on their own. The case of BOUNCE confirms the need for integrated implementation strategies to obtain effective early prevention of youth delinquency.

Equality of arms: the continued development of due process rights at courts of international character

WRITTEN BY Bradley Alan Fuller, J.D.

Audi Alteram Partem, the Latin phrase meaning, “the other side shall be heard as well,” enshrined on the walls in City Hall of The Hague.

A fundamental principle of any fair and civilized criminal justice system is that the accused be given the opportunity to meaningfully respond to and attack the allegations against them. This idea of equality to both sides of a legal matter before a tribunal, dates back at least as far as the ancient Greeks, and can also be found in traditional Islamic law texts.(1) Though this basic due process guarantee of the right to mount a defense has been generally accepted throughout the civilized world in domestic settings for centuries, defeated war criminals have only recently begun to enjoy such protections on the international stage. Though there have been several ad hoc military tribunals throughout world history such as the Leipzig War Crimes Trials following the First World War, those tribunals are largely regarded as having been insufficient or even farcical.(2)

Is there a unique perspective to transitional justice?

WRITTEN BY Golriz Moezzi

Is there a unique perspective to transitional justice? Ordinary justice and transitional justice are significantly and distinctively different. As many studies will show, the qualities of ordinary justice assume there is in place a reasonable democratic system. This paper will identify the features of ordinary justice compared to transitional justice. The focus will be on: definitional perspective, timing arguments, and limitations of transitional justice both substantive and procedural. The general hypothesis is: a level of uncertainty makes transitional justice unique because it requires a fresh perspective every time. There is indeed something unique that arises from uncertainty.

THE ART OF CRIME New models of governance, compliance and accountability for the art world

Issue 29/2005 of German magazine Der Spiegel announced that, according to German Police findings, terrorist Mohammed Atta possibly tried to finance the attacks of 11 September 2001 through illegal art trade. According to the publication, Atta had offered antiques to a Professor of the University of Göttingen, who suspected the origin of the artwork and declined. Despite the world’s astonishment at such revelation, Al Qaeda was not the first terrorist organization to use the art and antiques market to finance their criminal operations, a market that only in 2016, handled an officially reported amount of 45 billion dollars, according to the TEFAF Report 2017 on the global art market.

The return of hybrid courts: omen or promise?

WRITTEN BY Davide Brunone

According to Greek mythology, chimeras were monstrous hybrid creatures made up of the parts of different animals, usually a lion, a goat and a snake. These monsters were regarded as nature’s abortions and their appearance was considered an omen for disaster.

Drawings from the border

WRITTEN BY Francesco Piobbichi

See Lampedusa and live

If I had not lived in Lampedusa, I would have never found the inner resilience to narrate these stories of migration through drawings. Moreover, at the age of 40-something, I would have never depicted the emotions making me able to describe these last four years spent on working along this European-Mediterranean border.

The use and abuse of the ‘clash of civilizations’ rhetoric

WRITTEN BY Alessia Vedano

For well over two decades, and particularly in the aftermath of 9/11, public perception of terrorism has largely been dominated by its seemingly inherent link with the Islamic faith. From al-Qaeda to the more recently-born Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), - perhaps better known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - today’s terrorist narrative revolves to great extents around the contraposition of Islamic against Western ideals and values. It is safe to claim that today, should a Western citizen be asked what he or she associates “terrorism” with, the reply would quite surely make reference to the Islamic State, and probably to the State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Interfaith dialogue as a means to address incitement to violence based on religion or belief

WRITTEN BY Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

In age of rising incitement to violence based on religion or belief it would be useful to examine the great potential of interfaith dialogue to prevent and mitigate the advocacy of religious hatred. In fact, this type of dialogue can play a positive role on several fronts.

Restoring dignity and hope for refugees

WRITTEN BY Valentina Tamborra

A photographic journey into an unprecedented migration crisis

Valentina Tamborra is a 35 year-old photographer born in Milan, Italy, where she currently lives and works. Her photography, largely consisting of reportages and portraits, is a successful attempt to combine storytelling with pictures.

Enforcement of international sentences in light of the ICC decision in Lubanga and Katanga cases

WRITTEN BY Filip Vojta

Introduction On 19 November 2015, following two specially-crafted agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the International Criminal Court (ICC) has transferred two of its convicted defendants, Congolese nationals Thomas Lubanga Dylio and Germain Katanga, to serve the remainder of their sentences in a national prison facility in DRC.(1)

Illicit trade: the worldwide, multi-billion dollar funding stream

WRITTEN BY Sharon A Melzer, PhD

Somewhere in the world, there is a national health crisis. Doctors quickly receive the life-saving pharmaceuticals. However, the “pharmaceuticals” are counterfeits containing a combination of toxic chemicals and are powerless against the pandemic.

A legal response to today’s reality: economic crimes as crimes against humanity

WRITTEN BY Sunčana Roksandić Vidlička

“…Those who use weapons and resources and violate human rights are as guilty as those who collaborate in business with them. Both groups should face tangible sanctions, investigations and criminal trials.”(1)

Whether in times of peace or during armed conflict, trade occurs, which sometimes leads to serious, systematic and widespread economic crimes.

The questionable ethics of civil forfeiture

WRITTEN BY Dick M. Carpenter II, PhD

On a cool, sunny November day, Mark Brewer - a disabled decorated U.S. Air Force veteran - was driving through the state of Nebraska on his way to Los Angles to visit his uncle. While there, Brewer planned to make a down payment on a house. To that end, he was carrying more than $60,000 in cash, that he had saved during his military service and from disability payments.

“Pennies from heaven” Three case studies on civil forfeiture

WRITTEN BY Dilia Marcela Ortiz Fonseca

Colombia, 19th June 1991: Pablo Escobar turns himself in, a few hours after a Constituent Assembly overturned the extradition of Colombian nationals. Seven years of terrorism and political murders perpetrated by the Medellin Cartel and “The Extraditables”, whose motto was “we prefer a tomb in Colombia, than a dungeon in the US”, were over. That day, Colombia knelt down to the narcos: with no extradition law, no money laundering legislation, no international judiciary cooperation and a level of corruption that had reached the highest instances of power.