Laws of war Part 5

 

Justice John Cooke: Impressions on White Paper
Geoffrey Robertson, QC
Hibernian Law Journal
Volume 5, 2004/2005 p.1

The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson QC is the first account of the extraordinary life and appalling death of John Cooke, Chief Justice of Munster, 1650 54 and then a member of the Upper Bench until his arrest for treason in 1660. Cooke was the Gray’s Inn barrister who represented John Lilburne in the case the established the right to silence and who was the first to advocate many radical reforms in law, including the establishment of a national land registry and a national health service, the abolition of imprisonment for debt and courtroom latin, fusion of law and equity and restrictions on the use of the death penalty. He was the first to argue that poverty was a cause of crime and to urge probation for those who stole to feed starving families. In 1649 he was one of the few barristers willing to accept the brief to prosecute Charles I; he circumvented arguments for the sovereign’s immunity by charging the crime of tyranny and calling evidence to prove that the King bore command responsibility for ordering the torture of prisoners of war for commission of war crimes such as pillage and plunder. Cooke served the commonwealth in the role of Solicitor General, drafting the laws which abolished the monarchy and the “useless and dangerous” House of Lords” . However, he turned his back on honours and profitable appointments in England in order, at Cromwell’s behest, to bring Justice to Ireland. At the restoration, he was arrested by Sir Charles Coote and sent to the tower of London to await trial with the other regicides. In the Tyrannicide Brief, Geoffrey Robertson QC explains how the regicide trials were rigged by a secret agreement between Judges and prosecutors to secure Cooke’s conviction despite his defence that the “cab rank rule” of his profession had required him to accept the prosecution brief. On 16th October 1660 Justice Cooke was disembowelled at Charging Cross in the presence of Charles II.

The Laws of war : Past, Present, and Future
Virginia Journal of International Law
Volume 46, Number 1, Fall 2005

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later: Double-Tapping Under the Laws of War
Stephen W. Simpson
West Virginia Law Review
Volume 108, Number 3, Spring 2006 p.751

WHEN COURTS MAKE LAW: HOW THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS RECAST THE LAWS OF WAR
Allison Marston Danner
Vanderbilt Law Review
Volume 59, Number 1, January 2006 p.1

The Failure of the International Laws of War and the Role of Art and Story-Telling as a Self-Help Remedy for Restorative Justice
Susan Tiefenbrun
Texas Wesleyan Law Review
Volume 12, Number 1, Fall 2005 p.91

International legal war on the financing of terrorism: A comparison of Nigerian, UK, US and Canadian laws
Andrew I. Chukwuemerie
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Volume 9, Issue 1, 2006 p.71-88

Property Restitution Laws in a Post-War Context: The Case of Mozambique
Jon Unruh
African Journal of Legal Studies
Volume 1, Number 3, Fall 2005 p.147-165

Government Contractors: Above the Laws of War?
Adelicia Cliffe Taylor
Public Contract Law Journal
Volume 35, Number 2, Winter 2006 p.281

Time For Congressional Action: The Necessity Of Delineating The Jurisdictional Responsibilities Of Federal District Courts, Courts-Martial, And Military Commissions To Try Violations Of The Laws Of War
Christopher C. Burris
Federal Courts Law Review
2005

2005 Fed. Cts. L. Rev. 4 (May 2005)

Torture, criminality and the war on terror
Rodney Allen
Alternative Law Journal
Volume 30, Number 5, October 2005

Ever since September 11 the US and its key allies have been enacting harsh new security laws that threaten established civil liberties. But at least these new laws are laws (although of course subject to judicial review). Ever since the post-September 11 invasion of Afghanistan, the US has also been torturing foreigners, in clear violation of its own laws, military rules and codes, and the provisions of international Treaties it has signed. This article discusses the moral contours of the crime of torture.

REPRESENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAWS IN THE FILM THE PIANIST: ON THE CURATIVE ROLE OF THE ARTS DURING GENOCIDAL WAR
Susan Tiefenbrun
Thomas Jefferson Law Review
Volume 28, Number 1, Summer 2005 p.43

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Laws of war, Treaties.