We here at Opinio Juris are thrilled to welcome Jan Klabbers as our latest guest blogger. Professor Klabbers is professor of international organizations law at the University of Helsinki, and Director of the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Global Governance Research. This semester he's also a Fellow in residence at NYU's newly established Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law &...
The current issue of Foreign Affairs has an article called A Few Dollars at a Time: How to Tap Consumers for Development, which describes the "innovative financing" movement in which private companies find ways for their customers to contribute to international development. This morning, I came across an example that I guess you could call "innovative aid" as it isn't...
There are an estimated 45,000 US citizens in Haiti, and there's an assumption that they should be first in line to receive US assistance. As Hillary Clinton said yesterday, "They are our principal responsibility, to make sure that they're safe, to evacuate those who need medical care." In his remarks this morning, President Obama stressed that "We will not rest...
The Trial Chamber has granted certification to appeal its decision upholding the Registry's selection of Richard Harvey as stand-by counsel. Here are the relevant paragraphs: 10. With regard to the first limb that must be met before certification to appeal can be granted under Rule 73(B) of the Rules, the Chamber notes that the Decision Denying Motion to Vacate concerned the...
Back in 2008, I flagged the great service being done by the Squire Law Library at the University of Cambridge in compiling oral histories from some of the more eminent figures in international law. At the time, I focused on the recorded interviews with Sir Elihu Lauterpacht QC (although they'd also done one with Sir Derek Bowett, who passed away...
The transcript for the oral argument in Abbott v. Abbott is out, raising the difficult question of what constitutes a right of custody within the meaning of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The treaty grants a parent the right to have a child returned to the child’s country of habitual residence if...
I've been writing Chapter 3 of my book on the Nuremberg Military Tribunals, which traces the evolution of the Office of the Chief of Counsel's trial program -- how it selected the twelve cases, why it abandoned others, which suspects it included and which it excluded. It's a fun chapter to write, both because no one has ever done it...
The National Journal has a two part cover story, January 9, 2010, on Predator drone strikes — required reading for those following the targeted killing and Predator drone developments, and although it is behind a subscription wall, no question that this National Journal issue is making the rounds of Washington and the agencies. If you follow this topic, you’ll want...
With all the talk about the environment and climate change and the with success of eco-themed TV show Life After People, I was struck by this blog post/ photo essay at BLDGBLOG on the degradation of Biosphere 2, the experiment in building a self-contained ecological biosphere in a set of buildings in the Arizona desert. (You can see it in better condition here, with the cheery...
The New York University Law Review has just published an issue in tribute to Thomas Franck. It includes reflections by Richard Revesz, Thomas Buergenthal, Normen Dorsen, Michael Glennon, Harold Koh, Miriam Shapiro, Chris Borgen, Peter Gutherie, and Michael Mattler. Here is a taste from Harold Koh: As I write this today, from the Legal Adviser’s chair, I realize that...
At Greg Shaffer’s invitation I’m joining the discussion to make a couple of small points about some of the concepts used in Greg and Mark’s very interesting and carefully researched book. The first concerns the GMO case as an example of a “regime complex.” When David Victor and I first proposed the concept of a regime complex, we used the...
My friend and IntLawGrrl contributor Beth van Schaack has asked me to post the following call for papers: Call for Papers: Women & International Criminal Law Special Issue of the International Criminal Law Review Dedicated to Judge Patricia M. Wald The International Criminal Law Review invites submissions for its 2010 special issue entitled "Women and International Criminal Law," to be guest-edited by...
