Sergey Vasiliev

Sergey Vasiliev vertrok twintig jaar geleden van Rusland naar Limburg en zag zijn vaderland daarna ‘instorten’: ‘Het onbegrip was pijnlijk’ Twintig jaar geleden verruilde Sergey Vasiliev zijn Rusland voor Nederland om zich te specialiseren in het internationaal strafrecht. Hij zag zijn vaderland ‘instorten’, maar voelt zich nu meer Rus dan ooit. Een gesprek over schuldgevoel, afscheid nemen van vrienden en zijn vakgebied, dat zwaar onder druk staat. „Je kunt niet zeggen: Poetin moet je wél arresteren, maar in het geval van Netanyahu komt het niet goed uit.”

Sergey Vasiliev vertrok twintig jaar geleden van Rusland naar Limburg en zag zijn vaderland daarna ‘instorten’: ‘Het onbegrip was pijnlijk’
#delimburger #buitenland

An honour to have Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh join the adjunct faculty of the Irish Centre for Human Rights @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social

A remarkable voice for justice and human rights at a time when it is most needed.

www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre...

Assistant Professor European Human Rights Law Assistant Professor European Human Rights Law Vacancy number: 15807 Leiden Law School is one of the leading European Law Schools, including in the fields of European Law and Public International Law. One of our key aims is to combine cutting edge re…

Vacancy: Assistant Professor European Human Rights Law, Leiden Law School

The Europa Institute is a great place to work. https://www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/353279/assistant-professor-european-human-rights-law/

Threat of US sanctions over Gaza forced me out, says ICC ... Andrew Cayley oversaw the ICC’s investigation into Israel and Hamas. As he gathered harrowing testimonies, he began to receive threatening phone calls

https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/threat-of-us-sanctions-over-gaza-forced-me-out-says-icc-lawyer

Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, “was screaming at us,” recalls Cayley. Other ICC employees who were in that meeting have confirmed...Graham was threatening that they would face sanctions & that the court would be shut down.“Yeah, it was bad”

Threat of US sanctions over Gaza forced me out, says ICC ... Andrew Cayley oversaw the ICC’s investigation into Israel and Hamas. As he gathered harrowing testimonies, he began to receive threatening phone calls

Cayley "began receiving anonymous, threatening phone calls saying “you’re in a very dangerous position”. And last summer, the 🇳🇱 police & security services turned up at the court to warn that he was in considerable danger."
Must-read article on why Cayley quit the #ICC. observer.co.uk/news/interna...

“It's such a nice little brave court you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if its information systems were compromised and sensitive information on potential witnesses were to end up in the wrong hands. Maybe it would do well not to go after our head of state/government! Just some advice!"

A major cyberattack reported against the ICC—the second in <2 years

"The Court considers it essential to inform the public and its SPs about such incidents as well as efforts to address them, and calls for continued support in the face of such challenges." www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-det...

step
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/white-house-wants-major-cut-us-war-crimes-accountability-funding-sources-say-2025-06-26/

"The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine"—an ill-conceived and deleterious

From Sergey Vasiliev’s Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law https://www.ou.nl/documents/40554/10543295/25115_Oratieboekje_Sergey_Vasiliev.pdf#page=21

From Sergey Vasiliev’s Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law https://www.ou.nl/documents/40554/10543295/25115_Oratieboekje_Sergey_Vasiliev.pdf#page=21

Though recent events have robbed some of the ‘leviathans’ of their guise and laid bare their ‘double-standards’, writes @sevslv.bsky.social in Justitia and Leviathans, ‘try telling Ukrainians, Palestinians, Rohingyas, Afghan women, and other victims that international justice is a dead end.‘

"... it is not only totalitarian dictatorships, but also liberal democracies—and states claiming to be democracies—that serially violate international law and promote impunity for themselves and their allies".

Text of the excellent inaugural lecture by @sevslv.bsky.social

www.ou.nl/documents/40...

https://www.coe.int/en/web/cm/-/1532nd-meeting-continued-24-june-2025

Good to see the PASP statement, although it's quite cryptic.
-"When received": Has the report not been submitted? When? Why is it taking so long?
-The external Panel: Will the composition be kept secret? Who are "judicial experts": not judges?
-Will the report ever be published?

Statement by the ASP Presidency concerning the assignment of the OIOS fact-finding report on alleged misconduct by ICC Prosecutor to an external judicial expert Panel The Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties, in consultation with the Bureau, confirms that the fact-finding investigative report into alleged misconduct by the Prosecutor conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), when received, will be assigned to an external Panel of judicial experts. This Panel will conduct an assessment under the legal framework of the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Court and relevant administrative instruments, in assistance of the Bureau’s consideration of the appropriate next steps. The work of the Panel will be conducted on a confidential basis. The Panel will report to the Bureau via the President of the Assembly. The Presidency of the Assembly is confident that the work of the Court in the interests of justice, under the leadership of its Presidency, the Registrar, and the Deputy Prosecutors, continues normally and without any interruptions. The Presidency of the Assembly continues to call for due respect for the privacy and the rights of all parties concerned, as well as for the integrity of the ongoing process. The Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body of the International Criminal Court. It is comprised of representatives of States that have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute. The Presidency of the Assembly is currently composed of H.E. Ms. Päivi Kaukoranta (Finland), President; H.E. Mr. Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone), Vice-President; and H.E. Ms. Margareta Kassangana (Poland), Vice-President. For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int You can also follow the Court’s activities on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Flickr

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-asp-presidency-concerning-assignment-oios-fact-finding-report-alleged-misconduct-icc

Australia’s claim that Israel has a right to defend itself against Iran is inconsistent with our rules-based order | Ben Saul While Australia rightly urges de-escalation, it also fails to condemn Israel’s attack on Iran

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/16/australias-claim-that-israel-has-a-right-to-defend-itself-against-iran-is-inconsistent-with-our-rules-based-order

Excellent op-ed by Ben Saul
"By allowing Israeli impunity for alleged international crimes in Gaza, the world has enabled Israel to feel untouchable and commit ever more severe violations. In the present geopolitical moment, every day we witness international law collapse...

points made.

My inaugural lecture "Justitia and Leviathans" is now available https://ou.nl/oratie_vasiliev (English from p 21 on)

The document reflects developments up to 30 May. All subsequent events—US sanctions against ICC judges, the Cameron revelations, the Israel/Iran war—regrettably only confirm the

Maybe they are expecting better treatment in Ukrainian custody, maybe they expect to be prioritised in a prisoner swap. They could have various incentives to lie."

My 2 cents:

"It is a tricky area: POWs are a particularly vulnerable category of witnesses, [and] any evidence they give should be taken with a grain of salt. There was nothing inherently wrong with POWs testifying but various factors could have affected their decision to appear or the prosecution.

Ukraine war crime trial: A Russian soldier takes the stand for an execution Dmitriy Kurashov is the first Russian soldier to stand trial in Ukraine over a battlefield execution.

Great BBC article by Joel Gunter on the trial of the Russian contract soldier #Kurashov in Zaporizhzhia, UA, on the charges related to the execution of a Ukrainian POW.

This is a peculiar case: the members of Kurashov's unit, POWs in UA custody, testified against him. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hybrid Writing: Authority, Ethics, Agency Though generative artificial intelligence has facilitated the emulation of form, it cannot take responsibility for what is written. Agency remains at the heart of writing once all else can be automated

Great piece by Thomas Skouteris in The Cairo Review of Global Affairs:

"Hybrid Writing: Authority, Ethics, Agency" https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/hybrid-writing-authority-ethics-agency/

... I demand their immediate release.

I honour the memory of heroes like Alexei #Navalny — devoured by the Leviathan but NOT defeated. Their example drives my work. Because every people deserves democracy." 2/2

Dedication from my inaugural:

"I dedicate this lecture to the victims of atrocities in #Ukraine and elsewhere - who are equally deserving of justice - and, secondly, to the political prisoners in Russia and beyond, who continue to courageously resist repressive regimes in their countries...1/2

https://ou.nl/live .

Tune in if you are unable to join in person.

Symposium Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law - Open Universiteit - Open Universiteit nieuws, artikelen, media, onderzoek, kennis, wetenschap, resultaten

This is on today: https://www.ou.nl/en/-/symposium-justitia-and-leviathans-the-struggle-for-the-international-rule-of-law

Symposium "Justitia & Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law" (13.00-15.00) and my inaugural lecture (in Dutch) (16.00-16.50) can be followed live

Symposium Justitia and Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law - Open Universiteit - Open Universiteit nieuws, artikelen, media, onderzoek, kennis, wetenschap, resultaten

This is on today: www.ou.nl/en/-/symposi...

Symposium "Justitia & Leviathans: The Struggle for the International Rule of Law" (13.00-15.00), followed by my inaugural lecture (in Dutch) (16.00-16.50), can be followed live ou.nl/live.

Tune in if you are unable to join us in Heerlen in person.

Could David Cameron be prosecuted for threatening the ICC? Experts say the former UK foreign secretary could be legally at risk for trying to obstruct the International Criminal Court when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

Some thoughts on the potential Article 70 implications of David Cameron’s reported efforts to pressure Karim Khan (although I agree with @sevslv.bsky.social that it’s unlikely such action will be pursued in the current environment):

www.middleeasteye.net/news/could-d...

Day 2 of the @iccsummerschool.bsky.social off to a great start with a lecture on the crime of aggression by Prof Sergey Vasiliev of the Open University in the Netherlands

@sevslv.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social