In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Julian Ku

20 Nov

Just a further quick note on the ICJ opinion yesterday (press release here)  on the long-running Colombia/Nicaragua dispute over sovereignty and control over certain Caribbean islands.  The ruling seems a mixed bag since it recognizes Colombia's sovereignty and rejects other Nicaragua submissions.  But Nicaragua is declaring victory. At first glance, I get nervous when courts (any courts, whether domestic or international) start...

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20 Nov

This analysis from Professor Matthew Happold offers very good reasons to doubt that Argentina can validly invoke the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in its dispute with Ghana. Putting aside Argentina's argument that it did not (or could not) waive its warship's immunity, Professor Happold points out that it is far from clear that...

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25 Oct

The agonizing close presidential race in the U.S. has made everyone on edge about election day problems at the polls.  This may explain why the State of Texas has decided to pick a fight with the election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), threatening to arrest election observers who interfere with the upcoming November 6 elections. Texas...

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23 Oct

Contra Peter, there was one indisputable reference to international law in last night's U.S. presidential debate. Mitt Romney repeated his argument that Iran's president should be indicted for inciting genocide.  This idea has spawned quite a bit of reaction, especially from the lefty blogosphere. One typical reaction, from Greg Sargent, suggests that Romney is turning his back on his famously...

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17 Oct

A quick reminder from FOB ("Friend of Blog") Professor Ruth Wedgwood that the American Branch of the International Law Association's International Law Weekend 2012 will be held next week in New York City. The full program is here, and includes several other FOBs as well as several of our permanent contributors.  And here is a message  from Professor Wedgwood herself:: The...

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15 Oct

Argentina is, to put it bluntly, one of the world’s greatest sovereign deadbeats, defaulting on its sovereign bonds more than once as well as bearing the distinction of being the world’s number one respondent in ICSID arbitration claims (or at least close to number one).  Last week, the ongoing struggle between foreign creditors and Argentina found a new flashpoint as...

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08 Oct

In his latest Slate article,  Professor Eric Posner highlights (for non-specialist readers) the  questionable international legal foundation of the Obama Administration's "drone war on terror" in Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere (e.g. Libya). The whole idea that the U.S. can infer Pakistan's consent to the strikes due to Pakistan's refusal to object to CIA faxes is not terribly persuasive.  I am...

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05 Oct

I wanted to flag for readers one more international law related Federalist Society Teleforum, which will be starting shortly. On the call, which starts at 1 p.m. Eastern at  888-752-3232,  Professor Jeremy Rabkin of George Mason University School of Law and Paul Rosenzweig will discuss the U.S. State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh's recent address on cyberwarfare.  Please feel free to call...

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03 Oct

The Japanese Prime Minister made clear in remarks yesterday that he has no intention of proposing international arbitration to settle or mediate the ongoing Senkaku/Diaoyu Island dispute with China.  Indeed, China's government-controlled English language paper, noted the inconsistency of Japan's position given its willingness to send its similar dispute with South Korea to the ICJ. (A point I noted here). Noda...

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