In an age of drones, cyberattacks, insurgents and autocrats, leadership responsibility for illegal war is more crucial than ever. Behind bars in federal prisons is an aging population with increasing health issues, a situation crying for reform to protect their rights. These two issues, both important in the criminal law field, are also the subjects of books written by Queen’s Law scholars. On each of the next two Mondays, students and faculty can delve deep into these topics with the authors and commentators.

Professor Noah Weisbord is up first with his latest book, The Crime of Aggression: The Quest for Justice in an Age of Drones, Cyberattacks, Insurgents, and Autocrats (Princeton University Press), on November 11 at 1:00 pm. As of July 17, 2018, starting an unjust war is a prosecutable international crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Individual leaders are now personally subject to indictment for crimes of aggression – from invasions and preemptions to drone strikes and cyberattacks.  

“The power to try leaders for unjust war holds untold promise for the international order, but also great risk,” he says. At the launch, he’ll provide a behind-the-scenes account of the dramatic legal fight to hold leaders personally responsible for aggressive war. “I’m going to shed light on the motivations of the prosecutors, diplomats, and military strategists who championed the fledgling prohibition on unjust war – and those who tried to sink it.”

Professors Darryl Robinson and Ardi Imseis will be providing commentary and discussing the book with Weisbord. Audience members will also be invited to ask questions and provide comments.

Donald M. Ferencz, a law professor with Middlesex University and the University of Oxford, calls the book “a highly informative, beautifully written, compelling account of what the activation of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression means in a world of evolving technologies and new paradigms of war making.”

Taking centre stage at 4:00 pm on November 18 with her book, Punished for Aging: Vulnerability, Rights, and Access to Justice in Canadian Penitentiaries (University of Toronto), is Adelina Iftene, LLM’11, PhD’15. Iftene, now an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, brings forward the experiences of federally incarcerated people living their “golden years” behind bars through first-hand accounts and quantitative data drawn from extensive interviews.

Illustrating the prison system’s limited ability to respond to intensified needs, she explores the shortcomings of institutional processes, prison-monitoring mechanisms, and legal remedies available in courts and tribunals that leave prisoners vulnerable to rights abuses.

Kim Pate, an Independent Senator for Ontario, says, “Adelina Iftene presents a comprehensive and compelling case for the invigoration and amplification of compassion and common sense when it comes to addressing the myriad issues related to the increasing numbers of aging prisoners in Canada … Punished for Aging should be in the ‘must read’ category for all those who work in, teach, or legislate about criminal law, sentencing and prisons."

Professor Lisa Kerr, who is organizing the book launch and providing commentary, says, “This beautifully crafted book explores a distressing reality: the prison system is increasingly preoccupied not with punishment but with managing the chronic health needs of aging inmates. Adelina Iftene skillfully shows us a world that is rarely seen, and the results are as mobilizing as they are illuminating.”

Both book launches will be held in Room 202 of the Queen’s Law building.