To British ministers, the role that the International Criminal Court played over Libya was key – it made clear that Colonel Gaddafi's actions were unacceptable and would be subject to international law. Tory MP Dominic Raab even wrote a piece in The Times about the need for Libyans to rely on the ICC in The Hague, rather than seek retribution and revenge against Gaddafi and his loyalist...

Bulgarian authorities announced that an expected visit today (31 October) of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had been postponed, indicating ongoing friction between the countries over the Netherland's recent veto of expanding the Schengen zone to Bulgaria and Romania.  More »

The dock at the International Criminal Court in The Hague was hijacked this week by Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister to stump for the presidency of the East African country.

Tory MP Dominic Raab has a piece in The Times today (£) about the need for Libyans to rely on the International Criminal Court in the Hague, rather than seek retribution and revenge against Colonel Gaddafi and his loyalists in Libya. A former Foreign Office lawyer, Raab knows his subject well. But I can’t help but quibble with a few of his points. For the history of the International Cr...

Fresh from her removal from American X-Factor Cheryl Cole is to take up a new position at The Hague as a judge in the trial of alleged war criminal Ratko Mladic. ‘I have already proved my judging ability on The X Factor,’ said Cole, ‘so it’s a natural career progression for me to move into the realm of international jurisprudence. I’m no expert but I think these war c...

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the leader of the National Transitional Council, has indicated his hope that Colonel Gaddafi will be tried in Libya. But the far reaching tentacles of the International Criminal Court may claim Gaddafi from the Libyan people. Judge Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor at The Hague, told the BBC World Service earlier this afternoon that those who capture Gaddafi “wi...

As Ratko Mladic faces his accusers at the Hague, it’s instructive to revisit the fallout from one of the atrocities he is alleged to have committed. The Srebrenica massacre was both a horrendous tragedy and a horrendous failure of internationalism – a point the Spectator made cautiously as news of the war crime emerged. No End of a Lesson, The Spectator, 22 July 1995 The tragedy in Bos...

It’s a sleepy morning in Westminster. Fleet Street is exercised by the arrival of a new strain of e-coli in Britain and there’s also the promise of a sweltering day’s Test cricket at Lords. The Hague, by contrast, woke to the prospect of seeing Ratko Mladic, the Butcher of Belgrade, arraigned before the international court. Mladic was in hospital over night, getting treatment for...

After the arrest of General Ratko Mlandic, the message from the UN War Crimes Prosecutor, and the International Criminal Court at the Hague to all of those who are accused of crimes against humanity, is that you may run, and you may hide for a time, but in the end ‘we shall find you.' A vainglorious statement to say the less, especially as these war crimes prosecutors are very selective...

The arrest of General Ratko Mladic for atrocities committed during the Bosnian war is a very welcome development. Undoubtedly his defence team have an incentive to exaggerate his health difficulties, to seek to avoid or delay extradition to the Hague; but he may genuinely be seriously ill. We need to hope that his trial can proceed, and