Sign in

Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰

@kevinjonheller.bsky.social
894 followers 225 following 637 posts

Professor of International Law & Security, University of Copenhagen, Centre for Military Studies. Academic Member, Doughty Street Chambers (UK). Arsenal, Bears, Magpies, All Blacks.

PostsRepliesMedia
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
New @opiniojuris.bsky.social: a long post explaining why, in my view, the IIFFM for Iran's new report fails to adequately justify its conclusion that the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School was a war crime. opiniojuris.org/2026/09/19/t...
opiniojuris.org
The Iran IIFFM’s Unconvincing War Crimes Analysis
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (IIFFM), created by the Human Rights Council, has released a new report. It’s a depressing read, painstaking…
243
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
New @opiniojuris.bsky.social: a long post by yours truly explaining why the OTP should immediately seek to confirm the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, even if the confirmation hearing would be in absentia. #ICC #Israel #Palestine opiniojuris.org/2026/08/26/w...
opiniojuris.org
When Will the OTP Seek to Confirm the Charges Against Netanyahu and Gallant?
This is not a rhetorical question. The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were issued on 21 November 2024, 21 months ago. The next step is to confirm the charges contained in the arrest warr…
0125
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
New by me @opiniojuris.bsky.social: a long(ish) post on whether the OTP could unilaterally withdraw the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Spoiler: formally, no; practically, yes. #ICC #Israel #Palestine opiniojuris.org/2026/08/03/c...
opiniojuris.org
Can the OTP Can Withdraw the Netanyahu and Gallant Arrest Warrants?
In the wake of Prosecutor’s Khan’s removal from office, a number of people have asked me whether the current Deputy Prosecutors or the next Prosecutor could withdraw the arrest warrants…
012
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The Journal of International Criminal Justice has published a new article of mine, entitled "IHL-Compliant Genocide, Indirect (Co-)Perpetration, and Innocent Agents." Abstract below. If you don't have access and would like to read it, send me a message. academic.oup.com/jicj/advance...
094
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Bari Weiss doing what Bari Weiss does best.
1103
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
New from me @opiniojuris.bsky.social: after two years of prurient allegations of nonconsensual sexual conduct, the Bureau says the Prosecutor should be removed solely because of an inappropriate consensual relationship -- which the complainant has always denied. opiniojuris.org/2026/07/03/t...
opiniojuris.org
The Bureau’s “Serious Misconduct” Bait and Switch
For two years, selective leaks of information have led to a deluge of breathless media reports about the serious misconduct the Prosecutor allegedly committed against a member of his staff. I won&#…
022
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
No, it's not "critics" who "have argued that US actions on the soil of signatory countries could result in ICC proceedings." It's. In. The. Rome. Statute. This is not a debatable point. #ICC
010
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
This is a blockbuster by @sondosasem.bsky.social. After two years of reporting on allegations of rape and sexual assault, the Bureau is now trying to remove the Prosecutor solely on the basis of a consensual relationship the complainant herself denies. www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusi...
middleeasteye.net
Exclusive: ICC bureau changes rules to lower threshold for Khan's removal
ICC decision to abandon its own procedures paper would deny its 125 member states an opportunity to determine whether prosecutor committed misconduct
131
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
This is because the constitution that Dan Patrick references is of the Confederate States of America.
48928
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
The Bureau apparently regrets putting on paper that the ASP will decide for itself whether the Prosecutor engaged in misconduct, a vote the Bureau will likely lose. So now FIDH is leading efforts to mislead states and the public about the rules to make it easier for the Bureau to backtrack.
111
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This "Q&A" gets the voting wrong. As I've explained, the new RPE require the ASP to decide for itself whether the Prosecutor engaged in misconduct. A removal vote happens only if they find serious misconduct by a 2/3 vote of states present and voting. opiniojuris.org/2026/06/18/t...
opiniojuris.org
The Bureau Cannot Bind the ASP to a Finding of Serious Misconduct
There is a rumour circulating in ICC circles that the Bureau is having buyer’s remorse about a paper it drafted and adopted earlier this year concerning the procedure that would apply to the …
100
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This article gets the voting wrong. The ASP must decide for itself whether the Prosecutor engaged in serious misconduct, a vote requiring 2/3 of states parties present & voting to vote yes. The ASP is not bound by the Bureau's political determination. See RPE 29, adopted by consensus last December.
113
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Seconded.
034
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
New @opiniojuris.bsky.social: why the ASP has to decide for itself whether the Prosecutor engaged in misconduct, requiring the ASP to hold two votes, not just one on removal. opiniojuris.org?p=52321&prev...
opiniojuris.org
The Bureau Cannot Bind the ASP to a Finding of Serious Misconduct
There is a rumour circulating in ICC circles that the Bureau is having buyer’s remorse about a paper it drafted and adopted earlier this year concerning the procedure that would apply to the …
000
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The new Big Lie is that the Bureau "investigated" the allegations. It did not. It simply decided they were true without ever actually hearing from the witnesses. And it did so for political, not legal, reasons -- hence its decision to disregard the actual judges it appointed.
000
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Bureau did not investigate. The diplomats voted as they were instructed to do so by the governments they represent --- politics, not law. The only investigation was conducted by OIOS and, as the Panel of Judges repeatedly noted, OIOS did not make findings of fact on the allegations.
022
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Janina Dill @janinadill.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The list of countries threatened with U.S. military intervention is growing · Venezuela 🇻🇪 · Iran 🇮🇷 · Cuba 🇨🇺 · Greenland 🇬🇱 · Canada 🇨🇦 …just this year! Do they all want "Liberation"? No, I argue in @foreignaffairs.com
12612
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Trump should have invoked the Hundred Years' War. Unfortunately, that would have required him to know what it is.
020
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Rodrigo Duterte has apparently fired his defence attorney, Nick Kaufman. No official word on who will replace him. #ICC
110
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
@sondosasem.bsky.social interviewed Norway's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs about the ongoing misconduct investigation. He urges the Bureau to proceed with caution in terms of ignoring the unanimous no-misconduct finding of the Panel of Judges. www.middleeasteye.net/news/icc-sta...
001
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I donated to Wikipedia. You should, too. donate.wikimedia.org
donate.wikimedia.org
Make your donation now - Wikimedia Foundation
Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other crucial free knowledge projects. Each year, the generosity of the 2% of readers who donate allows us to expand the reac...
013
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
I've got one -- strangest interaction with a celebrity you have ever had. I will go first: James Gandolfini and I wanted to rent the same movie at the Blockbuster on Beverwil and Pico. There was only one copy. He graciously let me have it.
000
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Devo The Cure Peter Murphy Oingo Boingo Black Flag Beastie Boys David Bowie Gang of Four Shriekback VNV Nation
000
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Insightful @klassekampen.bsky.social article by Yngvild Gotaas Torvik about how politics and political pressure are driving the campaign to convince the Bureau to ignore the Panel of Judges' unanimous no-misconduct finding. Quotes me, Bill Schabas, and Eirik Bjørge. klassekampen.no/artikkel/202...
klassekampen.no
Advarer om rått maktspill i Haag
Mistanken om at dette er en politisk vendetta blir stadig tydeligere.
013
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This is a fantastic primer on when armed conflict starts and when it ends by the inimitable @mikeschmitt.bsky.social.
072
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Check out my first-ever 🤡 emoji @opiniojuris.bsky.social, which I use to describe the US invoking the "unwilling or unable" test for self-defence to somehow legitimise invading Venezuela. opiniojuris.org/2026/05/20/a...
opiniojuris.org
A Truly Bizarre Invocation of the “Unwilling or Unable” Test
I haven’t written about the “unwilling or unable” test for self-defence against non-state actors in a while, largely because I’ve said all I have to say about why the test i…
001
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Really important @sondosasem.bsky.social article for @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social on an expert opinion submitted to the Bureau by Abdul Koroma, a former ICJ judge who has sat on the administrative tribunals of the World Bank and the African Development Bank. www.middleeasteye.net/news/icc-cou...
middleeasteye.net
ICC could be ordered to reinstate prosecutor if it removes him, judge argues
Former ICJ judge says any disciplinary process against Karim Khan would likely be overturned on appeal, with court also required to pay out substantial compensation
163
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
If accurate, this is huge news -- especially the #apartheid charge, which would be groundbreaking.
024
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Note to readers: the ICC spokesperson not denying applications for arrest warrants have been filed means nothing. The Court would not acknowledge that applications had been filed. It would not acknowledge that applications has not been filed. End of story. There are no tea leaves here.
031
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Bryan Based International Order 🇨🇦 @bryanpeeler.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
*stares in 9/11*
011
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Since September 2025, the U.S. military has been carrying out a campaign of premeditated, targeted killings against *civilians*—the boat bombings. So senior U.S. military officers and DoD officials claiming they care about CIVCAS rings a tad hollow.
09419
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
This is an interesting and important post, but it misrepresents the #ICC's territorial jurisdiction. The authors claim the PTC held in Bangladesh/Myanmar "that jurisdiction attaches where at least one element of a crime, or its effects, occurs on state party territory." But that isn't correct.
121
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Naturally, I disagree. @ejiltalk.bsky.social is a wonderful blog. But the range of perspectives and voices we publish @opiniojuris.bsky.social is still unparalleled in the international-law blogosphere. I do regret blogging less. I hope to get back to it soon.
150
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social interview also mentions that Ben Swanson, the former Assistant Secretary-General of OIOS, agrees with the Judicial Panel that the OIOS investigation did not establish misconduct or breach of duty.
041
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
This is a must-read @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social interview with the Prosecutor by David Hearst and Imran Mulla.
062
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Luigi Prosperi @luigiprosperi.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
It’s happening! 🥳 “The European Union has voted to join a Special Tribunal established to try Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. (…) The tribunal will start with a preliminary allocation of €10 million with an estimated annual budget of €30-40 million thereafter.”
1127
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Come to the 2nd Annual Nordic IHL Symposium, May 28-29 at my very own Centre for Military Studies @ucph.bsky.social. Co-organised by @danskrodekors.bsky.social and co-hosted by the Danish MoD and MFA. You can find the programme and link to register here: cms.polsci.ku.dk/events/2nd-a...
010
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
It's not too late for me to do a postdoc, right?
130
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
It is disturbing to see the U.S. military continuing to carry out orders that outside experts (if not the administration's own lawyers) say are blatantly unlawful. If Trump’s hand-picked generals are willing to act so egregiously this instance, what else might they do in the future? wapo.st/4tOygA5
wapo.st
Opinion | The Trump administration ramps up its lawlessness on the seas
U.S. military strikes on suspected drug smugglers spike after a lull following Maduro's capture.
1013345
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
These are two of the most critical questions, because they explain why the political campaign to convince the Bureau to disregard the unanimous conclusion of the Judicial Panel is based on a fundamental misrepresentation of the OIOS report.
010
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
“To cheer on a justice process where political actors cast aside the reasoned findings of impartial and independent judges is to create a monster. It is dangerously naïve to think that one can keep that monster in a box and only unleash it against individuals one has prejudged as guilty.”
061
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
My interview @opiniojuris.bsky.social with @saretaashraph.bsky.social, Lead Counsel for Karim Khan, is up. It provides an important correction to the false narrative being pushed by political actors who want the Bureau to ignore the judges the Bureau itself appointed. opiniojuris.org/2026/05/01/a...
opiniojuris.org
An Interview with Sareta Ashraph, Lead Counsel for Karim Khan KC
What follows is a long written interview I conducted with Sareta Ashraph, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers in London and the co-founder of ATLAS Women, “a global community of female-ident…
041
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Ralph Janik @ralphjanik.com · 01/05/2026
"All [the Ukranians] could do was to hope that over time they would be able to change perceptions inside the Kremlin about whether the war was being won or was even winnable. The fact that this has yet to happen does not mean that the strategy was wrong. Only that it required patience."
3183
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
At 14:30 CET today @opiniojuris.bsky.social will publish a long interview I conducted with @saretaashraph.bsky.social, Lead Counsel for @KarimKhanQC. We explore all aspects of the investigation, including why an avowedly feminist barrister, co-founder of Atlas Women, is representing Khan. Read it!
141
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Völkerrechtsblog @voelkerrechtsblog.org · 01/05/2026
📣Call for Contributions📣 The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine was established in 2025. Whereas its complex constitution and jurisdictional design have been addressed at length, we are launching a symposium on this topic to expand on this matter. Deadline: 14 June 2026 ‼️
voelkerrechtsblog.org
Call for Contributions: Symposium on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine
034
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
He is a terrible candidate so will undoubtedly win.
011
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Really important interview with the Prosecutor. And an important corrective to the dishonest campaign to convince the Bureau to substitute its political judgment for the reasoned analysis of the judges the Bureau chose and appointed.
042
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
We have long since crossed over into crime against humanity territory. The only question whether the relevant crime against humanity is murder or extermination.
0114
Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kevinjonheller.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Important statement by 30 NGOs concerned with #Darfur condemning the possible "departure from the findings of the judicial panel in favour of discretionary ASP intervention as a serious breach of the Court’s foundational commitment to justice." www.linkedin.com/posts/abdall...
linkedin.com
Joint statement | Abdallah Abu Garda
Joint statement
110
Reposted by Kevin Jon Heller 🇺🇸🇩🇰
Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Notably, Trump claims to have ended the 2025 12 Day War between Israel and Iran at the same time his State Department claims that war *never ended* in an attempt to legally justify the February attack on Iran.
06513