Profile of Invited Expert “Newton”

Profile

Full Name

Professor Michael A. Newton

Position

Professor of the Practice of Law and Political Science

Organization

Vanderbilt University Law School

URL

https://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/michael-newton

Biography

Mike Newton is an expert on accountability, transnational justice, and conduct of hostilities issues. He came to Vanderbilt after teaching at West Point. He helped negotiate the Elements of Crimes for the International Criminal Court as part of the U.S. delegation, and coordinated the interface between the FBI and the ICTY while supporting the Milosevic indictment. Professor Newton served in the Office of War Crimes Issues, U.S. Department of State during both the Clinton and Bush Administrations. As the Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, he shaped a wide range of policies related to the law of armed conflict, including U.S. support to accountability mechanisms worldwide. He was the U.S. representative on the U.N. Planning Mission for the Sierra Leone Special Court and serves on the Advisory Board of the ABA International Criminal Court Project. After helping establish the Iraqi High Tribunal, he served as International Law Advisor to the Judicial Chambers from 2006 to 2008.

He is a highly sought after speaker on post conflict accountability, having published over ninety articles, editorials, and book chapters. His interdisciplinary work entitled Proportionality in International Law was groundbreaking. He co-authored the award winning history of the Dujail trial entitled Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein. His work on the DoD Law of War Manual is the most comprehensive treatment of this complex topic in the field. At Vanderbilt, he teaches courses relating to terrorism, international criminal law, and the laws of warfare. He has supported governments, NGOs, and international organizations around the world. He has also been involved with litigation around the globe to include internationalized tribunals as well as domestic accountability efforts and human rights cases. He has argued in the International Criminal Court and remains on the counsel list.

Selected Citations to Published Materials

Michael A. Newton, Ed., The United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual: Commentary and Critique (Cambridge U. Press Mar. 2019), paywall, doi.
Michael A. Newton, A Synthesis of Community Based Justice and Complementarity, in Contested Justice: The Politics and Practice of International Criminal Court Interventions 122 (Christian De Vos, Sara Kendall & Carsten Stahn eds., Cambridge U. Press Dec. 2015), available online, doi.
Michael A. Newton & Larry May, Proportionality in International Law ( OUP 2014).
Michael A. Newton, Charging War Crimes: Policy & Prognosis from a Military Perspective, in The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court: A Critical Account of Challenges and Achievements 732 (Carsten Stahn ed., OUP Feb. 2014), paywall.
Michael A. Newton, Reframing the Proportionality Principle, 51 Vand. J. Transnat’l L. 867 (2018), available online.

History

Member for: 5 years 6 days

Home Page Index of Issues

Current Issue Main Page

Issue Background Materials Page

Featured Comments

michelleg30: Transitional Justice as an Alternative to Prosecution in the Israel–Palestine Conflict I. Introduction War is not “pareto optimal.”1 According to the “bargaining theory of war,” a sustainable peace agreement is more beneficial to both sides than continued conflict.2 Transitional justice, the “processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempt to come to terms with a legacy of... (more)
huangz2024: The Matter of Statehood on the Palestine Issue I. Introduction In 2021, the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) received a request from the Prosecutor related to territorial jurisdiction over Palestine and issued its response and decision to the request. The main conclusion of the decision was to extend the jurisdiction to “the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank,... (more)
Katharina Schapfeld: Preventing Genocide: What Are the Duties of State Parties Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and How Could They Be Fulfilled in the Current Situation? I. Introduction “There can be no more important issue, no more binding obligation, than the prevention of genocide.”1 The year 2023 doesn’t only mark the 75th anniversary of the... (more)
freyaschmidt: How Can Israel Ensure Proportionality in its Response to Hamas’ Attacks? I. Introduction With Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the situation that has been smoldering for decades has entered the next round. It is accompanied by countless legal questions that revolve around the legal classification of Palestine and thus the admissibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the role of international (... (more)
Jordan Murphy: The Claim of Genocide Filed Against Israel: The Elements of a Genocide Charge and its Application to the Situation in Palestine Speaking on the claim of genocide filed against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2023, Palestine representative Gilles Devers asserted that the requisite criteria having been established in Gaza is not an opinion but “a reality of law.”1 Such a claim is a strong one: only two cases have... (more)
AA375: The Israel/Hamas Situation Through the Lens of the ICC Introduction The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to investigate, prosecute, and try individuals for the most serious crimes, namely the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.1 The ICC has a responsibility to tackle situations of high gravity affecting the interests of the international community... (more)
Pilgrim: Palestinian Statehood Under the Montevideo Convention: An Unconventional Approach I. Introduction For the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have jurisdiction over the situation in Gaza and Israel after the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, Palestine must be a State.1 The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (Montevideo Convention) provides a four-element test for Statehood.2 To be a State under... (more)
Kellan Grant: I. Introduction On October 7, 2023, a widespread surprise attack on Israel was launched by Hamas leaders, commanders, and militants in which they invaded Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip. Since then, an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has ensued. Devastatingly, many civilians in both Israel and the Palestine area have lost their lives as a result. Since October 7, 2023, there have been numerous assertions made that various crimes are being,... (more)
Joan Komolafe: What is the Threshold of the Right to Defend Oneself? An Analysis of the Current Israeli–Palestine Conflict, Under the Legal Definitions of the Rome Statute I. Abstract Few hostilities have consumed the international psyche and caused as much polarization as the Israel and Palestine conflict. In particular, the intensification of violence between Israel and Gaza in October of 2023 has caused a global re-examination of... (more)
MelissaHernandez: The October 7th attacks launched what appears to be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the last decades. With more than 1,200 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, killed in a single day, and about 240 hostages, this day is being characterized as “the deadliest day for Jews since the holocaust.”1 On the other hand, the Hamas attack triggered an Israeli response that has resulted in more than 11,000 deaths in Gaza, which would surpass the total number of... (more)
msperling: Palestine at the International Criminal Court: Overzealous Jurisdiction Preventing Peacemaking Introduction On October 7, 2023, fighters affiliated with the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip attacked Israel, raping, torturing, and kidnapping Israeli men, women, and children. Around 1200 people, a vast majority of whom were civilians, were killed, and 240 were taken hostage. More than 130 of the hostages are still in captivity or have since been... (more)