On February 14th, Professor Milena Sterio delivered a presentation at the International Criminal Law Forum, hosted by several Ukrainian organizations, focusing on “The Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) in Accordance with International Humanitarian Law.” The event was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, with Professor Sterio joining remotely.

Professor Milena Sterio recently presented at a conference at Florida International University Law School in Miami, FL, on the topic of “Prosecuting the Crime of Gender Persecution at the ICC” on February 2, 2024. Her presentation was part of FIU Law School’s Symposium entitled “Perspectives on the International Criminal Court and International Criminal Procedure: A Symposium in Memory of Megan Fairlie.”  Additionally, Professor Sterio will author a law review article on the same topic, which will be published by FIU Law Review.

Professor Milena Sterio participated as a panelist in an upcoming episode of the “Talking Foreign Policy” radio show, discussing the topic of “Ukraine Endgame.” The episode will behosted by Dean Michael Scharf from the CWRU School of Law, and other panelists included Daniel Bilak, Partner at Kinstellaw Law Firm in Kyiv, Ukraine; Kevin Nealer, former State Department official; Major General (retired) Darrell Guthrie; and Professor Paul Williams from American University Washington College of Law.

The episode is scheduled to air live on WCPN on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm, with on-demand access available on www.ideastream.org

On Feb. 7, Business Insider interviewed several legal experts about the impending Supreme Court case relating to Clause 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Insurrection Clause. Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court held that former President Trump is disqualified from appearing on the ballot in light of that Clause. Trump appealed, and the Supreme Court heard oral argument on Feb. 8, 2024. In the article, Professor Kalir predicted that the Court will reverse the decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, and will allow the former President to appear on the ballot.

Access the full article here: https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-need-know-trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot-case-2024-2

In his thought-provoking guest column, published in The Plain Dealer on February 4, 2024, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Cleveland State University College of Law, Steven H. Steinglass, explores a broad coalition of Ohioans working to “Slay the Gerrymander” by placing a proposed constitutional amendment to bar partisan gerrymandering on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot. Steinglass notes the continued influence of gerrymandering in recent elections and emphasizes the upcoming opportunity for Ohioans to vote on the “Citizens Not Politicians” amendment in November 2024. The proposed amendment aims to eliminate partisan gerrymandering by removing politicians from the redistricting process

To read more on this topic, check out the full column here: https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2024/02/what-is-the-gerrymander-and-will-it-be-slain-steven-h-steinglass.html

On January 30th, Professor Milena Sterio participated in a training of Sudanese women’s groups coordinated by UN Women. This initiative focused on the topic of prosecuting atrocity crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Professor Milena Sterio recently published a blog post entitled “The ICJ Provisional Measures Order in the South Africa v. Israel Case: Unsurprising; Politically and Legally Significant” on Opinio Juris.

In this blog post, Professor Sterio provides a concise analysis of the Court’s decision, highlighting the unsurprising, surprising, and particularly significant elements of this decision. Although the determination of whether genocidal acts have occurred in the Gaza Strip remains uncertain in the merits stage, the provisional measures phase undoubtedly stands as a victory for South Africa.

The blog post is available here:https://opiniojuris.org/2024/01/27/the-icjs-provisional-measures-order-in-the-south-africa-v-israel-case-unsurprising-politically-and-legally-significant/

Professor Milena Sterio (co-authored with Professors Leila Sadat and Patrick Keenan) recently published “The International Criminal Court in a Nutshell.” This publication – part of West’s Nutshell series – focuses on the International Criminal Court and addresses issues such as the Court’s jurisdiction, its operations, its most fundamental case law, etc.

This publication is available here: https://www.westacademic.com/Sadat-Keenan-and-Sterios-The-International-Criminal-Court-in-a-Nutshell-9798887869643

Last year, a Franklin County Municipal Judge presiding over a case between the City of Columbus and Greyhound Bus faced an unusual situation when the Mayor of Columbus contacted her directly on her private cell phone to express his opinion on the case. The Judge promptly disclosed the communication to both parties but kept the caller’s identity secret, only revealing that it was “an elected official.” Eventually, she disclosed the Mayor’s name, recused herself, and a new judge from outside Columbus was assigned. Despite the incident, the Mayor (whose identity was still unknown) easily won reelection. 

The question presented to several ethics-law professors was whether the Judge’s decision – to refuse to disclose the identity of the ex-parte communicator – was in line with the Judicial Code of Conduct. Professor Kalir opined that it was not. Insisting on hiding the identity of the ex-parte communicator runs flatly against the main tenets of Judicial Ethics, which includes impartiality, integrity, and independence of the Judiciary. In particular, such refusal violates Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct 2.9, which prohibits ex-parte communications with Judges.

The Columbus Dispatch article can be found here: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/01/25/scholars-say-judge-mingo-should-have-disclosed-ginther-made-call/72273272007/

Professor Milena Sterio has contributed as a co-author to a White Paper addressing “Seizure of Russian Corporate Assets: Prosecution of Russian Corporations for War Crimes in Ukraine as a Precursor to Seizure of Frozen Corporate Assets in Foreign Jurisdictions.” Other authors include Professor Michael Kelly (Creighton University), Federica d’Alessandra (Oxford University), Dmytro Koval (National University of Kyiv-Mohla Academy and Stanford University), and Lydia Korostelova (Harvard University).