November 2009

[Marc Limon is Counsellor of the Mission of the Government of the Maldives to the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland] As Professor Knox recognises in his paper, international human rights law is essentially concerned with the relationship between an individual and his or her own State.  This makes it difficult to usefully leverage human rights law in the context...

[John H. Knox is a Professor at Wake Forest University School of Law] My Essay tries to answer a simple question (simple to state, anyway):  What duties, if any, does human rights law place on states to address climate change?  At first, the answer may seem equally simple.  It may seem evident that climate change already violates human rights, including rights...

My friends David Sloss, Michael Ramsey, and Bill Dodge are the editors of a remarkable forthcoming book on The U.S. Supreme Court and International Law: Continuity or Change?. They have gathered an all-star cast of scholars to address the role of international law in Supreme Court jurisprudence from 1860 to the present. The book will be published by...

Let me thank Mark Drumbl once again for taking the time to provide his thoughtful response to my Article. As Mark and I agree on many points, I will focus on what appears to be the clearest point of difference between us:  our respective answers to the practical question of how the ICC should instantiate its complementarity principle.   Absent contrary guidance...

[Mark A. Drumbl is a Professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law] In Complementarity in Crisis:  Uganda, Alternative Justice, and the International Criminal Court, Professor Alexander Greenawalt strikes a cautionary note.  He underscores that the ICC cannot on its own effectively serve transitional justice interests.   It needs help.   In the end, Sasha concludes that "the Ugandan peace process reveals...

[Daniel Bodansky, University of Georgia School of Law and OJ guest blogger, sends this dispatch on the state of the Climate Change talks leading up to the Copenhagen Conference.  Professor Bodansky will also be blogging from Copenhagen here at Opinio Juris in December.] Barcelona, 4 November 2009 The UN climate change negotiations resumed on Monday in Barcelona, after only a three week...

[Alexander K.A. Greenawalt is an Associate Professor at Pace University School of Law] Let me start by thanking Opinio Juris and the Virginia Journal of International Law for hosting this online symposium.  I am also honored that Mark Drumbl has graciously agreed to be my respondent. In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader...

The Virginia Journal of International Law is delighted to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris this week in this online symposium featuring three pieces recently published by VJIL in Vol. 50:1, available here. On Wednesday, Professor Alexander K.A. Greenawalt, Associate Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law, will discuss Complementarity in Crisis: Uganda, Alternative Justice, and the International Criminal Court....

As both Julian and Ken (at VC) have indicated that they believe Arar was rightly decided by the Second Circuit, it's worth noting that Guido Calabresi -- hardly a flaming liberal -- is dissenting in the case, describing the majority's decision as "extraordinary judicial activism."  Scott Horton discusses Calabresi's dissent -- and notes that the majority decision is based on...

Niamh Hayes, a PhD candidate the Irish Centre for Human Rights and an intern on the Karadzic case, has a very useful guest post at the International Law Bureau about how the Trial Chamber might respond to Dr. Karadzic's boycott.  The entire post is well worth a read, but I was particularly struck by Niamh's suggestion that Dr. Karadzic's actions...

Maher Arar, a Canadian who was detained by the U.S. and the subject of an "extraordinary rendition" to Syria, has lost his bid to maintain his lawsuit in U.S. courts.  By a 7-4 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting en banc, has voted to dismiss his suit against U.S. government officials for alleged violations of...