Der Spiegel reports from Germany (the article is detailed and worth reading in full): In the latest dispute over the European Union's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, lawyers representing two suspects being detained in Kenya have filed suits against the German government. They want Berlin to foot the bill for the suspects' defense and ensure they are given a...
[Michael D. Ramsey is a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego Law School and author of “The Constitution’s Text in Foreign Affairs” (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).] Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer have written a fascinating article on an important and underappreciated topic. I agree with their basic propositions, especially that “political commitments” (as they call non-binding personal pledges...
[This post was jointly authored by Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer] Ed Swaine brings his typical thoughtful (and rigorous) method to our article, and we greatly appreciate his insights, not only for engaging with our ideas but also for suggesting how we might advance them in future scholarship. Since Ed has framed his comments as questions, we’ve endeavored to provide...
Thanks to Opinio Juris for hosting this discussion and to the editors of the Virginia Journal of International Law for their discerning taste in publishing such an excellent article. Duncan Hollis (who has published widely both on the international aspects of treaties and on their domestic significance, and so is expertly situated to address this question) and Joshua Newcomer (already publishing...
I in no way believe that Deb exhibits “virtually pathological level of tribal loyalty and monumental intellectual dishonesty,” and I doubt that Glenn does either. That said, I am not sure that Deb's (clearly initial) thoughts on the Obama administration avoids Glenn's basic critique -- that Obama supporters justify his increasingly Bush-like policies by de-emphasizing substance in favor of personality...
[This post was jointly authored by Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer] We would like to start by expressing our thanks to the editors of the Virginia Journal of International Law, the (other) hosts of Opinio Juris, and especially Professors Edward Swaine and Michael Ramsey for commenting on our article. "Political" Commitments and the Constitution (available on SSRN here) explores the constitutional validity...
In the comments section of an earlier post, GW lawprof Edward Swaine raises a really good point in defense of Koh's CEDAW testimony. Since I highlighted Whelan's very tough post, it is worth highlighting Swaine's very good point in defense (I am paraphrasing, but this is the gist): In the context of a committee hearing where other folks, including Senator Boxer,...
My boss, Dean Ken Starr, has just published this letter expressing warm and hearty support for Harold Koh's nomination to be the State Department Legal Advisor. Here is an excerpt: Harold's background is, of course, the very essence of the American dream. That great story needs no repetition. What I can speak to more personally is Harold Koh...
“That the Obama DOJ has repeatedly embraced the very legal theories responsible for much of the intense progressive rage towards the Bush/Cheney regime is now beyond dispute.” So writes Glenn Greenwald on his Salon blog this week entitled “An emerging progressive consensus on Obama's executive power and secrecy abuses.” I take it Glenn’s blog is much read by the “legal left”...
(Update: At the end of this post, I put a note from Eugene Kontorovich on his new paper on piracy, apparently still a discussion draft and not yet on SSRN, but apparently available from him if you contact him at Northwestern.) In the midst of so much newspaper op-ed, blogosphere commentary on the piracy issue, Ruth Wedgwood - who has been...
The Virginia Journal of International Law is delighted to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris this week in this online symposium featuring three articles recently published by VJIL in Vol. 49:3, available here. On Wednesday, Professor Duncan B. Hollis of Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law and Joshua J. Newcomer, Clerk for the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King of the...
In his new book Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror, Mahmood Mamdani claims that, "in its present form, the call for justice is really a slogan that masks a big power agenda to recolonize Africa." There is more than a grain of truth to that; I think my friend Tony Anghie's seminal work Imperialism, Sovereignty, and...
