In association with the International Commission of Jurists

March 2006

31 Mar

This morning at the ASIL Annual Meeting Ruth Wedgwood of Johns Hopkins and Philippe Sands of the University of London debated the legality of the War in Iraq. They gave 25 minute presentations before a bench of “judges” comprised of (real life) Judge Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit, Christine Chinkin of the London School of Economics, and Yoram Dinstein...

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31 Mar

Is Justice Kennedy a treaty lawyer? Listening to him yesterday during his speech to the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, you would think he’s at least been studying up on the subject. As Peggy pointed out, Justice Kennedy’s wide-ranging talk focused most closely on the problem of genocide, and his comments in that...

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31 Mar

On Thursday the members of the American Society of International Law voted by a significant majority to adopt a resolution concerning jus in bello and jus ad bellum. The full text is available here. During the discussion, approximately twelve persons rose to urge the membership to pass the resolution and four urged that the resolution be voted down. ...

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30 Mar

In his keynote address to the ASIL Annual Meeting today, Justice Kennedy focused on the international crime of genocide, all but calling on the world community to do something to stop the ongoing atrocities in Darfur. It was a stunning -- and I thought compelling -- speech for a sitting justice. As reported by the AP,...

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30 Mar

I am blogging from the ASIL centennial Annual Meeting where we have just hosted the very successful (and fun!) Opinio Juris wine and cheese reception on international law blogging. A special thanks to ASIL Executive Director Charlotte Ku and Research and Outreach Director Andrew Solomon for helping make it happen. By my estimate, over 100 guests were in attendance, including...

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30 Mar

I mis-blogged yesterday when I suggested the Security Council had agreed on a "resolution" threatening Iran about its nuclear program. Technically, the Council's President (currently held by Argentina's U.N. Rep) issued a presidential "statement." I assume the Council's statement took this kind of odd form to remove any lingering concerns that it would be seen as legal authorization...

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30 Mar

The international arbitration community is abuzz with the news that Dr. Wang Sengchang, one of the top officials at the China International Economy and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) was arrested. CIETAC has a virtual monopoly on arbitrations that occur in China and it has had a checkered history of success in securing investor confidence in the dispute resolution mechanism. ...

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30 Mar

In a strange game of "pass the war criminal", the Sierra Leone Special Court is now requesting that the International Criminal Court in the Hague provide a venue for the trial of alleged war criminal Charles Taylor. This request comes one day after the Sierra Leone Court acquired custody of Mr. Taylor from Liberia, which had only minutes before...

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30 Mar

Yesterday the Executive Council of the ASIL passed the following resolution for consideration by the full membership at its annual general meeting later today. As a member of the Executive Council, I am privy to the details of the meeting yesterday. But I will refrain from providing the back story about a meeting that is not open to...

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29 Mar

Any of us who have lived long enough know those rare moments when you are part of an event that is unusually special. I had that strong sense today as I watched the opening ceremony of the ASIL annual meeting. It featured Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, ICJ Judge Rosalyn Higgins, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,...

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29 Mar

John Bolton is at it again. After getting Security Council agreement on a resolution threatening Iran, he is preparing to push a plan to change the formula for paying U.N. dues. It would base U.N. dues on Purchasing Power Parity rather than gross national product. This sounds complicated, but it would essentially require Russia and China to start...

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