Since a couple of previous posts on Judge Alito generally mentioned the topic of deference to the executive, it is useful to keep in mind that such deference, even in issues relating to foreign affairs and national security, is not always a good thing. Consider the ongoing legal struggles having to do with national security, individual rights,...
Julian’s recent post on the work of the ICJ is interesting, in part because of its common misperceptions. I think his most recent post on the ICJ and others similar to it are inaccurate in their description of the work of the ICJ and muddled as to any prescription concerning how to ameliorate the institution. Both concerns, I...
Earlier today the UN Security Council issued Resolution 1636 demanding that Syria cooperate with the Hariri investigation “or else.” OK, it didn’t really say “or else” but that was the gist of it. See a summary of main points here; UN press report here.The UN press report explained thatThe resolution called on all States to prevent the entry or transit...
It is difficult to imagine a situation when Julian may ever be satisfied with what the UN has done. Here the UN actually accuses high-level Syrian and Lebanese officials of taking part in a murder and he thinks this is another example of the UN being inconsequential. There’s just no pleasing some people.Julian mentions “allegations” of possible “high level” interference...
Suzanne Nossel at Democracy Arsenal has a good post on the UN report implicating the Syrian government in the Hariri killing.She explains succinctly how and why the UN can play an important role in investigating such crimes, especially in situations where we, the U.S., cannot. Nor could anyone else (such as the E.U. or the ICC) have done the job.This...
From this Thursday through Saturday, the American Branch of the International Law Association (and co-sponsors including the NY City Bar and the American Society of International Law) will hold International Law Weekend 2005 at the House of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, NY, NY. Links to the...
Percy Bysshe Shelly said that poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. If that’s true (and even if it's not), then we need to consider why Harold Pinter has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Think of this as being another way to assess the mood of our European allies and perhaps world opinion more generally.As Peggy and Roger...
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and in anticipation of any possible catastrophic terrorist attack, there’s been a lot of talk lately about revising the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. (See here and here.) The Act (as amended) explicitly prohibits the use of the Army or Air Force for civilian law enforcement. It reads in whole:Whoever, except in...
What do American astronauts, Russian rockets, and the Iranian nuclear program have in common? More than I ever realized.As it happens, the Senate approved a bill this week that would allow NASA to purchase Russian Soyuz space vehicles that could be used as a stop-gap between the end of the operational life of the shuttle fleet and the debut...
Transnational tribunals—mechanisms that allow sub-national actors such as individuals and companies to sue States for alleged infringements of their rights—are not only proliferating in number, they also have larger caseloads covering more substantive areas than ever before. I have just posted to SSRN an article assessing whether and how such tribunals cause normative change in the domestic legal and political...
In an earlier post I had on UN reform, I noted that the US is losing public relations points for not agreeing to target 0.7% of GDP (as opposed to the current 0.16%) towards overseas development assistance. George Morris commented:This argument is a total red-herring. While these "poorer" countries may, in theory, give more as a percentage of overall GDP,...
I think Julian might be reading more into my post than what was written. I never said (nor even meant to imply that) the US position is unreasonable. To the contrary, I think its attempted reform of the Human Rights Commission is a good idea. I noted that that reform effort was being blocked by China, Russia, and a host...
