I don't have much useful to add to the already voluminous online debate on the legality or morality of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" or "torture" program. In this post, I want to focus on an interesting data point coming out of this debate. As best as I can tell, international law's position that torture...
Over at The National Interest, I have an essay considering the strategic implications of the Philippines arbitration claim against China. I argue that the Philippines made a mistake by trying to force China into an arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that their "lawfare" strategy is probably going to backfire. Due in part to domestic pressures for...
It looks like the US Navy is going to go ahead and start deploying its new laser cannons to the Persian Gulf next year, according to this Washington Post report. The Navy has been developing this weapon for years as a cheaper alternative to missiles for attacking smaller targets, especially drones (My 2005 self is still kind of amazed at my...
Things are not going well for Ukraine these days as Russia has managed to solidify its control over Crimea and is continuing support for breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine. It is very hard to justify the legality of Russia’s actions, so it is not surprising that Ukraine is looking for any and all international fora to sue Russia. As usual, the...
I haven't had time to comment on the collapse of the ICC Kenyatta prosecution last week. But friend of blog and Northwestern University law professor Eugene Kontorovich has some interesting thoughts over at National Review. Read the whole thing, but suffice to say, Eugene thinks this is pretty big body blow to the whole idea that the ICC can be an effective...
The UNCLOS arbitral tribunal formed to hear a dispute brought by the Philippines against China has set December 15 as a deadline for China to submit a legal brief or memorial. As most of our readers know, China has steadfastly refused to even participate in the arbitral process. It has not selected any arbitrators and it did not attend the...
Way back in 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit held that corporations cannot be held liable under customary international law in ATS lawsuits. That decision, which was the original basis for the Supreme Court's consideration of the Kiobel case, has remained the law of the Second Circuit (New York, Connecticut, Vermont) though no other circuit court...
[I posted this last week, or I thought I did, but somehow it ended up staying hidden in the bowels of OJ's archives. So although it is a little late, I am posting this again today. -Julian] As is his wont, U. Chicago law professor Eric Posner has hit a nerve with his recent Chronicle of Higher Education essay criticizing...
I only recently learned about an effort by U.S. anti-corruption crusaders to win support for an "International Anti-Corruption Court" modeled on the International Criminal Court. US judge Mark Wolf from Massachusetts is spearheading this idea, especially with this article here, and a briefing was even held recently on Capitol Hill on the idea and the UN Human Rights Commissioner seems interested. This is...
Internationalists critical of U.S. "sovereigntism" almost always point out that the U.S. is one of only three states in the world that has not ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Karen Attiah is the latest to take up this old talking point in the Washington Post. The United States is part of an elite trio of non-ratifiers, along with...
In observance of United Nations Day on October 24, China's foreign minister Wang Yi issued a long statement expressing China's view of itself as a "staunch defender and builder of international law" (Chinese version here). As China-watchers know, China's Communist Party has just completed its "Fourth Plenum" (sort of a Party leadership strategy meeting) on the theme of the promotion of...
Amal Alamuddin-Clooney, Kevin's Doughty Street Chambers colleague, made news this week by visiting Greece as part of a legal team working for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece from Britain. This is not ordinarily global tabloid fodder, but Alamuddin-Clooney's recent marriage means she will draw media attention wherever she goes. I don't doubt her legal credentials (as well as that of her...
