Karina Theurer | Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (original) (raw)

Papers by Karina Theurer

German Law Journal 24 (7), 2023

In 2021, the German and Namibian governments published a Joint Declaration as a result of their n... more In 2021, the German and Namibian governments published a Joint Declaration as a result of their negotiations on reparations. Ovaherero and Nama representatives strongly criticized the violation of their participation rights during the negotiations and the reproduction of colonial racism. In 2023, a lawsuit was filed with the Namibian High Court. This litigation could become a milestone in the history of legal struggles for reparations for colonial crimes worldwide. In addition to the litigation, several United Nations Special Rapporteurs were contacted and published their joint communication in April 2023, essentially confirming the lack of effective participation and the obligation to grant reparations. This Article gives an overview of the most important historical events during German colonial rule and the most significant efforts to legally come to terms with it since 2006. It analyzes the main legal issues in this context: Have the acts committed by German colonial troops violated the laws in force at the time? Is the current application of the doctrine of intertemporal law by the governments a reproduction of racism? Might it be a new act of racism? What challenges and limits do courts face when they attempt to retrospectively reconstruct legal systems and legal norms in force 100 years ago? Does the German state have a legal obligation to enter into negotiations over reparations? What participation rights do affected communities have in processes of legal reappraisal of colonialism? In view of the growing demands for reparations worldwide, it is timely to deal with the underlying legal issues in an exemplary manner. The legal intervention of the German-Namibian reappraisal could set a precedent. The Article aims at establishing minimum legal standards for reparations processes for colonial crimes worldwide.

Völkerrechtsblog, 25.01.2023. online: https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/de/litigating-reparations/, 2023

Throughout the world, indigenous populations are in a renewed push, demanding reparations from fo... more Throughout the world, indigenous populations are in a renewed push, demanding reparations from former colonial powers. On 19 January 2023, the Namibian lawyer Patrick Kauta filed an application to the Namibian High Court. In it, he challenges the lawfulness of the Joint Declaration that the German and Namibian governments initialed in summer 2021. This case has the potential to be a historic turning point in the process for reparations for the German state's crimes in its former colony. It could also contribute to establishing minimum legal standards for reparations processes worldwide.

Völkerrechtsblog, 2.05.2023. Online: https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/de/germany-has-to-grant-reparations-for-colonial-crimes/#, 2023

On 24 April 2023, several United Nations Special Rapporteurs started publishing their joint commu... more On 24 April 2023, several United Nations Special Rapporteurs started publishing their joint communication with the German government (AL DEU 1/2023) and the Namibian government (AL NAM 1/2023), on violations of international law during their interstate negotiations on reparations for colonial crimes and by their final agreement, their Joint Declaration. They clearly state that both governments have violated participation rights and that reparations are to be granted in accordance with international law. The legal intervention of the Special Rapporteurs is timely as both governments continue to negotiate details of execution although a court case is pending (Case-Number: HC-MD-CIV-MOT-REV-2023/00023), there are severe doubts about the lawfulness of the negotiations and politically the Joint Declaration adds fuel to the fire rather than contributing to reconciliation. With regard to transnational norm-generating processes, their legal assessment contributes to the establishment of minimum legal standards in processes of reparations for colonial crimes worldwide and the decolonization of international law. Civil societies and legal scholars now need to demand that basic principles of transitional justice, rule of law and international law are to be respected, meaning that the negotiations on reparations are to start anew.

Femina Politica, 2022

This article deals with the prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence as crimes against hum... more This article deals with the prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence as crimes against humanity in Germany. In January 2022, in the world’s first criminal trial on torture in Syrian detention centers, a former intelligence officer was convicted of sexual violence as a crime against humanity by the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz. From a feminist legal perspective, this trial is a milestone: for the first time, the relevant criminal legal norm of the German Code of Crimes against International Law (Section 7 (1) No. 6 CCAIL) was successfully introduced into an ongoing trial and the defendant was convicted of the crime. In addition, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office adopted a decidedly pro-international-law interpretation of the criminal offense of “sexuelle Nötigung” (sexual coercion) contained in Section 7 (1) No. 6 CCIL. Until then, this interpretation had been advocated for in this clarity and unambiguity only by a minority of feminist and intersectional lawyers. If law is understood as a condensation of societal power relations, the Koblenz proceedings could represent a turning point: Away from criminal liability gaps in the German Code of Crimes against International Law (CCAIL) towards a German criminal law that enables the investigation and punishment of all sexual and gender-based crimes that can be investigated and prosecuted under the statute of the International Criminal Court.

In: Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik

En: Julio Ortega (Editor): Adiós Ayacucho, FCE (2018)

Eine Übersetzung in Auszügen der Entscheidung des IAGMR in der Sache Gelman vs. Uruguay vom 24. F... more Eine Übersetzung in Auszügen der Entscheidung des IAGMR in der Sache Gelman vs. Uruguay vom 24. Februar 2011 vom Spanischen ins Deutsche: Konventionswidrigkeit von Amnestiegesetzen auch dann wenn sie durch Referenden bestätigt wurden; gewaltsames Verschwindenlassen, Wegnahme von in Haft geborenen Kindern und Gewalt gegen Frauen

Books by Karina Theurer