In association with the International Commission of Jurists

January 2009

19 Jan

There is a lively debate going on in the blogosphere about the legal impact of Eric Holder's statement that waterboarding is torture and Susan Crawford's conclusion that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured while in custody at Guantanamo Bay.  Does Holder's statement and Crawford's conclusion require the US to prosecute the interrogators who used waterboarding and the Bush administration officials who approved...

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16 Jan

Barclays Bank v. Franchise Tax Board (1994) was a case that some of us (those who started teaching in the mid 90s) saw as a breakthrough case on foreign relations federalism, a sharp turn from Zschernig and the 'one voice' line of foreign commerce clause cases. As Jack Goldsmith wrote in 1999, for instance, "Barclays Bank marks a return to...

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16 Jan

Regular readers no doubt know that I am obsessed with the media's seemingly congenital inability to grasp the law and politics of the ICC.  My new favorite comes via the BBC, in an article about the impending arrest warrant for Bashir: Two Sudanese groups have formally requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to issue an arrest for President Omar al-Bashir. He...

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16 Jan

ICC silliness doesn't just affect the media.  States and NGOs suffer the malady, as well.  Case in point: the recent, repeated calls for the ICC to prosecute Israel for war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza. First up, Bolivia: "The Andean state says it is intended to make regional allies take a unified stance against "the Israeli political and military leaders responsible...

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16 Jan

It’s an absurd question, of course, to ask why the environment is more important than human rights. But it’s actually true: protecting, say, endangered sea turtles is far more important than protecting against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of individuals. At least that is the conclusion if one is examining the question from an international trade perspective. The...

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15 Jan

Earlier today, the SFRC voted 16-1 in favor of Senator Hillary Clinton's nomination to be the next U.S. Secretary of State.   That result is not surprising, nor was her generally well-regarded performance before the SFRC on Tuesday.  Indeed, it's worth remembering on the second point that Clinton worked not only with transition officials and her own advisers to get ready,...

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15 Jan

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Monday in the terrorism victim asset attachment case of Iran v. Elahi. (Transcript here). The case is extraordinarily complicated but it boils down to a question of statutory construction. Elahi was one of a handful of terrorism victims who received payment from the United States government under the 2000 Victims...

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14 Jan

I have not been following the work of the Cambodia special chambers, which is probably why I found these views by James Bair (blogger, loyal OJ reader and soon-to-be JD from Northeastern Law School) all the more informative and interesting.  Bair is a former legal intern at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and has followed the...

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14 Jan

According to the Guardian, the ICJ may soon have a chance to opine on the numerous legal issues arising out of the current Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.   The UN general assembly, which is meeting this week to discuss the issue, will consider requesting an advisory opinion from the international court of justice, the Guardian has learned. "There is a well-grounded view...

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13 Jan

Here’s a new job posting a colleague just sent along that even Ken might find of interest: The DoD Office of General Counsel is soliciting resumes for multiple attorney term positions. Successful applicants will be part of an interagency team representing the government in over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed in D.C. District Court by individuals detained by DoD at...

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