The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine: Implications for the Prosecution of Religious Leaders

Michelle Coleman is a senior lecturer in law at Swansea University.

There is no doubt that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was an act of aggression by the Russian State. In international law aggression is generally understood as when a country either starts a war against another country or engages in actions that drive another country to go to war. It is grounded in the idea that attacking another country goes against the peace and security and victim states’ own sovereignty and right to self-determination.

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Advocating for Religious Freedom—An Inextinguishable, God-Given Human Right

His Eminence Archbishop Anba Angaelos is the first Coptic Orthodox archbishop of London. The following post is based on his remarks during the panel “Religious Perspectives on Religious Freedom and Peace” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 8 October 2024.

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And to open the prisons for those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). This is not just the role of religious leaders; this is the role of every person.

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Legal Restrictions on Names of Religious Groups in Australia

Jeremy Patrick is a senior lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice.

In Australia, religious groups are largely able to operate with autonomy and with very little government oversight—including over the names they wish to operate under. This is not to say that the government imposes no limitations whatsoever but that any limitations will arise only in very specific contexts, and for the vast majority of religious groups the vast majority of the time, these hypothetical limitations are of no real concern. In this brief post, I canvas the contexts of denominational trademarks, incorporation, charitable registration, marriage ordination, direct legislative protection, and schism. This brief overview shows that, apart from church property disputes after a schism, judicial and legislative restrictions on religious group names are rare and scattered.

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