The Holodomor and the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia

Envisioning an Improved Hypothetical Tribunal

By Justin Aragosa

Justin Aragosa, a 2024 graduate of Albany Law School, did his undergraduate studies in criminal justice and philosophy at SUNY Oneonta. Additionally, he completed an associate’s degree in Intelligence Studies from Cochise College, Arizona, while stationed at the Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca.
In law school, Justin twice served as a Competition Chair for the Anthony V. Cardona Moot Court Program, and he was active in the school’s Veterans’ Pro Bono Project and served on several Committees for the Student Bar Association.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Justin has served in the Army National Guard since 2015 in military intelligence. He recently graduated from Warrant Officer Candidate School and is currently back at the Army Intelligence Center for more training. In 2020, while deployed to the CENTCOM Area of Operations, he led an intelligence fusion center section, coordinated Special Forces reconnaissance missions, and supervised a team of over 20 soldiers in military intelligence operations. He earned numerous awards, including the Army Commendation Medal (x2), Army Achievement Medal (x2), Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
In his free time, Justin enjoys hiking, sports, and recently, photography.

This paper juxtaposes the Holodomor, a catastrophic famine in 1930s Soviet Ukraine, with the formation and impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  It delves into the Holodomor's historical context and scholarly debates over its classification and assesses the ICTY's role in shaping international criminal law.

 Additionally, the study explores a theoretical tribunal for the Soviet Union's actions during the Holodomor, providing insights into the complexities of historical redress in international justice.

_________________

To read the paper, open HERE.

What Is To Be Done About International War Crimes?

By Ian Steele Pulz

Ian Pulz is a 2021 Albany Law School graduate born and raised in New Jersey. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in 2016 and went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Conflict Studies in 2018.

Ian’s interests include immigration and criminal defense law as well as jurisprudence. He will be working as a public defender in Virginia, and he was just notified that he passed the Virginia bar exam! 

In his free time, Ian enjoys hiking, reading, and activism.

 If a crime occurs with no presiding coercive power to collectively enforce it, has a crime occurred? If a country passes legislation enabling any and “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any person…who is being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court,” or if a country has dropped an average of twenty-two bombs on Syria and Iraq on September 21, the UN International Day of Peace, over the span of 2014-18, is it not reasonable to adopt a cynical approach to acts of war and the crimes that oftentimes accompany military conflict?

This paper will discuss the difficult concept of international war crimes. First, this paper will analyze the history of efforts to codify a standard system of law for war crimes. Second, this paper will shift to modern analysis of war crimes, drawing on sources such as President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, continental philosopher Immanuel Kant, and legal philosopher Hans Kelsen. A major focus in this paper is the legitimate implementation of standardized law for war crimes, and why that is so difficult.

Third, this paper will discuss the ineptitude of bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. Lastly, this paper will discuss the continued practice of war racketeering, the historic blind eye that the International Criminal Court has turned toward this practice, the International Criminal Court’s racial disparity, and the importance of community in the context of war crimes.

_____________________________ 

To read the paper, open HERE.

International Ecocide: Criminalizing the Widespread Destruction of our Global Habitat

By Corey James Benziger

Corey James Benziger is a member of the Albany Law Class of 2021 from Upstate, New York. He graduated from the University at Albany with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a minor in History. In Law School, his studies have included working as a student intern for Albany Law’s Justice Center and Immigration Law Clinic, as well as working as a Research Assistant dealing with a myriad of International Law issues.

This paper, on the international movement to criminalize ecological harm to the planet, was written for Professor Bonventre’s International Law of War and Crime Seminar at Albany Law School.

International ecocide has long been at the heart of legal debates. As a broad concept, it refers to the destruction of the environment caused by human activity. Polly Higgins, a leading proponent of the movement to criminalize ecocide on an international scale, has defined ecocide as the “extensive damage to, destruction of, or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.” Higgins’ work has brought ecocide to the forefront of international discussion, though the act of ecocide is not yet criminalized on an international scale.

Despite increasingly credible scientific findings on the effects of climate change, as well as a broadened view of the importance of global-humanitarian efforts and long-term sustainability, the acceptance of criminalizing ecocide remains a significant obstacle in the consciousness of the international legal community.

The beginnings of the modern ‘ecocide movement’ stem from the early 1970s and are inherently related to anti-Vietnam war efforts. The term ‘ecocide’ was first recorded at the 1970 Conference of War and National Responsibility by bioethicist and scientist Arthur Galston. 

____________________________

To read the entire paper, open HERE.

The Expressive Necessity of Gender-Based Violence Prosecutions

By Allison Wells Zuckerman
Allison Wells Zuckerman, a 2010 graduate of Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law, is a practicing member of the Pennsylvania bar. A former policy researcher and United Nations intern, she developed an interest in international gender issues while researching the mail order bride industry for a high school history class.

Ms. Zuckerman continues to work on women’s issues through the American Bar Association’s International Model Project on Women’s Rights and ongoing research on gender violence as a tool of war.  She currently resides with her husband in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Despite the recent prominence of the Rome Statute’s stance against gender-based violence (“GBV”), many view international anti-GBV prosecutorial powers as ineffective and unenforceable. While acknowledging such pitfalls, this note opts to focus on the broad expressive value of landmark anti-GBV measures.

Although their case-by-case tangible benefits may be unclear, anti-GBV prosecutions are an expressive necessity for several important reasons. They (1) support the further development of international criminal law; (2) represent and reiterate broad support for the international shift in views on sexual violence; and (3) help solidify new public norms regarding GBV as a reprehensible tool of war.

In discussing the history of anti-GBV measures, as well as the expressive value of new GBV prosecution, this note concludes that GBV prosecutions are an imperative to reinforcing new international legal norms and making permanent progress in the global social conscious. 

_____________________________

To read the paper, open HERE.

Rape in War [the paper]

By Julia Steciuk
Julia Steciuk prepared this paper for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, summer 2012, in conjunction with the associated presentation which was previously published on ILS.
As noted then, Julia Steciuk, a second year student at Albany Law School, studied English as an undergraduate at Siena College. During her first year at Albany Law, Julia became Co-Director of Albany Law’s Animal Pro Bono Project, as well as President of the school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Julia is a Research Assistant for Professor Vincent M. Bonventre, as well as an Associate Editor for the Center for Judicial Process. She spent her summer interning with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

Where there is war there is rape. Throughout history, rape has been used as a tool for a variety of purposes during war. However, it was not until after World War II that rape within the context of war gained the attention of the international legal community and when developments began to be made towards improving the abilities of prosecutors to charge and try rape offenders in the context of war.

Part I of this paper discusses the prosecution of rape in war within the context of the Nuremburg and Tokyo Trials. Part II examines developments in international law towards an increased recognition for victims of rape during such national trials. Parts III and IV discuss how these improvements have been implemented during the Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Tribunal for Rwanda, while also examining drawbacks that occurred for the prosecution of rape. Part V discusses further developments and limitations in prosecution of rape in war and Part VI concludes this work.
_____________________________
To read the paper, open HERE.

Rape in War [presentation]

By Julia Steciuk
Julia Steciuk, a second year student at Albany Law School, studied English as an undergraduate at Siena College. During her first year at Albany Law, Julia became Co-Director of Albany Law’s Animal Pro Bono Project, as well as President of the school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Julia is a Research Assistant for Professor Vincent M. Bonventre, as well as an Associate Editor for the Center for Judicial Process. She spent her summer interning with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.
She prepared this presentation for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, summer 2012. (Her associated paper is forthcoming on ILS.)

(click to enlarge on all slides)

 

 

_____________________________

For the entire presentation, open HERE.
(It is then best to download the presentation and view it from there.)

African Union: Current Issues

By Gizem Basbug

Gizem Basbug, a third year student at Albany Law School, is a Senior Editor of International Law Studies. A native of Turkey, she is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

She prepared this presentation for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, Fall 2011.

(click to enlarge on all slides)

_____________________________

For the entire presentation, open HERE.
(It is then best to download the presentation and view it from there.)

The International Criminal Court: A Primer [presentation]

By
Daniel M. Bernstein and Alyssa E. Conlin
Dan Bernstein is a third year student at Albany Law School and a senior editor for the Albany Law Review.
Alyssa Conlin is a third year student at Albany Law School and the Selections Editor of the Albany Law School Journal of Science and Technology.


Originally prepared for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, Fall 2011, this slide presentation summarizes the composition and powers of the International Criminal Court, and briefly explores the Court’s early investigations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

(click to enlarge on all slides)

_____________________________
For the entire presentation, open HERE.
(It is then best to download the presentation and view it from there.)