September 2016

The Strategic Social Construction of Cybernorms

A few years back, I was lucky enough to be invited by research scientists at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab -- especially the late Roger Hurwitz -- to participate in a Minerva Grant project studying norms and governance in cyberspace.  In the interim, norms have become one of the hot topics in cybersecurity discussions in international fora. Together with Martha...

New (And Better) Eligibility Rules for the Lieber Prize

Last year, I criticised ASIL for limiting its very prestigious Lieber Prize to academics under 35. I described that limit as "ageist," noting that in today's academic world there are many law professors over 35 who, because they joined academia late, should rightfully be considered junior scholars. So I am delighted to note that ASIL has changed the eligibility criteria...

Weekly News Wrap: Monday, September 26, 2016

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa The purported leader of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video posted on social media on Sunday in which he rejected statements by the country's military that he had been seriously wounded. The United Nations, the African Union and the...

Re-Engaging on an ISIL AUMF

In the past few weeks, Jack Goldsmith and Matt Waxman on the one hand, and Marty Lederman on the other, have restarted a discussion about the significance of Congress’ ongoing failure to enact legislation expressly authorizing the United States’ expansive use of force against ISIL in Iraq, Syria, and now in Libya. In a piece for Time Magazine, Jack and Matt faulted the Obama Administration for failing to “return to the Congress and the American People and insist on a new authorization for this new war.” They argued that the Administration “took away every political incentive that the responsibility-shy Congress might have to debate and authorize the war” by advancing the dubious notion that the existing 2001 statute (the AUMF) (authorizing force against Al Qaeda and its associates) affords the President sufficient authority to attack ISIL as well. Responding at Just Security, Marty quite agrees (as do I) it would be better if Congress had enacted (or would enact) an ISIL-specific use of force. But Marty is skeptical there was much more President Obama could have done to secure congressional action, and also questions whether Congress’ failure to enact new authority really sets as worrisome a precedent for democratic governance or executive power as Jack and Matt think. Jack and Matt are right to point out that Obama’s legal reliance on the 2001 AUMF to justify the use of force against in Iraq, Syria and Libya is more than a little suspect. (I’ve written previously about why I think so, e.g., here.) Marty is right to doubt whether blame for Congress’ failure to act on ISIL can fairly be placed, as Jack and Matt seem to suggest, at Obama’s doorstep. But there is plenty more to the story I think both pieces miss.

Haiti Cholera Update

Today, on the opening of the GA, and in his final such speech as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon indicated that a compensation package for victims of Cholera is forthcoming. Speaking in French (original here), he expressed regret over the recent peacekeeper sexual abuse scandals and the Cholera epidemic in Haiti, and promised a package of assistance and support for...

International Law Weekend 2016

International Law Weekend, the annual conference of the American Branch of the International Law Association is fast approaching. See the following notice from ABILA: International Law Weekend 2016 Registration is now open for International Law Weekend 2016. International Law Weekend 2016 - the premiere international law event of the Fall season - will be held October 27-29, 2016, in New York City.  The...