In early May I discussed the OPCD's motion to disqualify Moreno-Ocampo for making a number of inflammatory statements to the press concerning Saif Gaddafi's guilt. On June 12, just four days before the end of Moreno-Ocampo's tenure as prosecutor, the Appeals Chamber rejected the motion -- but not without emphasizing that he had, in fact, acted unethically. The decision focused...
The Lotus Case is a pillar of international legal education. Generations of international law students have studied the PCIJ's opinion that Turkey had not acted in conflict with principles of international law in prosecuting a French national -- Lieutenant Demons -- for his role in the collision of a French steamer -- the S.S. Lotus -- with a Turkish vessel --...
[Craig H. Allen is the Judson Falknor Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle.] Let me again thank Opinio Juris for hosting this exchange of views on the Law of the Sea Convention and Julian for his timely efforts in facilitating the exchange. The other four contributors each raise important considerations that warrant serious attention and...
Conferences On June 21, the International Criminal Justice Unit of the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre together with the British Institute for International and Comparative Law are organizing a conference "The 10th Anniversary of the International Criminal Court: Achievements to Date and Prospects for the Future" in the Grand Locarno Room of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London....
This week on Opinio Juris, we launched our first Readers’ Survey. Your input is valued so we hope you will find a spare ten minutes to complete yours if you have not yet done so. If you want, you can enter your e-mail address in the draw to win a $100 Amazon gift voucher. In our regular posts this week, Kevin...
It will not come as a surprise to regular readers that I am appalled by Libya's detention of Melinda Taylor, a lawyer with the ICC's Office of Public Counsel for the Defence, and her translator. There is no evidence that Taylor has done anything wrong; indeed, as Mark Kersten notes, it seems eminently possible that her detention is simply a...
[Steven Groves is a Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C.] Many thanks to Julian Ku for inviting me to participate in this UNCLOS debate on one of my favorite websites. There is much I agree with in the posts of Professors Kraska, Noyes, and Allen. Professor Kraska correctly emphasizes the victory achieved by U.S. negotiators at UNCLOS...
[Jeremy Rabkin is Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law.] I entirely accept what James Kraska says about the benefits of the navigation rules in UNCLOS. But when Kraska and others say these rules are favorable, they mean the UNCLOS rules – as American officials would interpret them. Unfortunately, UNCLOS doesn’t leave it up to American officials to interpret...
Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to restart peace talks next week. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has warned about the lack of resources in hunting down Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA. Foreign Policy outlines why the West shouldn't expect Russia to change its position on Syria any time soon. The UK has warned Argentina about acts of "aggression" regarding the...
OK, that is a little overdramatic. Still, the U.S. government has effectively switched sides in the upcoming Supreme Court case: Kiobel v Royal Dutch Shell. In the first incarnation of this case, the U.S. government had filed a brief supporting the petitioners and rejecting the lower court's holding that corporations cannot be sued under the Alien Tort Statute. But in a...
I wanted to thank Professors Allen, Kraska, and Noyes for their contributions to our discussion on US ratification of UNCLOS. I've learned a great deal from their posts and I hope our readers have as well. I wanted to remind our readers, however, that we will hear from two leading scholars tomorrow -- Jeremy Rabkin and Steven Groves -- who...
[John E. Noyes is the Roger J. Traynor Professor of Law at California Western School of Law.] The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee is currently holding hearings on U.S. acceptance of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, as modified by the 1994 Part XI Implementation Agreement (the “LOS Convention”). The Committee favorably reported the LOS Convention in 2004...
