In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Julian Ku

21 Jan

Oklahoma's controversial constitutional amendment banning Oklahoma courts from relying on Islamic and international law has inspired as similar effort in Wyoming.  I think this whole effort is largely harmless, if misguided. Still, an interesting trend in the U.S. CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming judges wouldn't be allowed to consider Islamic law or international law when making rulings, under a proposed state constitutional...

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21 Jan

I am sympathetic to the concern, expressed in this short article, about the threat that international agreements pose to state laws.  The American states, as I've argued here and here, need more autonomy in foreign affairs and in their interaction with international law, not less.  But I think free trade agreements like NAFTA are generally the least intrusive of those...

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21 Jan

I realize that discussing the international law aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is not exactly a new and fresh topic likely to inspire thoughtful and reasonable thinking, and yet I was struck by the aggressive tone of this NYT editorial from a representative of the Palestinian Authority. It is universally recognized that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and that...

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19 Nov

This is all you can do, I suppose, when you don't have an army to resist invasions (and can they bring Google in as a third party?) (CNN) -- Costa Rica has taken its border dispute with Nicaragua to international court, repeating claims that its territory has been invaded. In a statement Thursday, Costa Rica's foreign ministry said the country had filed...

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18 Nov

Here we go again!  The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations may hold a hearing today on U.S. participation in the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (I say may because I can't seem to find it on the Senate FRC schedule).  This is at least the third time the Committee has looked at CEDAW and, I believe,...

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17 Nov

Wow! The first civilian trial of a Gitmo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, results in a near-acquittal. The first former Guantanamo Bay detainee to be tried in federal criminal court was found not guilty on Wednesday on all but one of the 285 counts he faced for his role in the 1998 East Africa embassy bombings. The Washington Post reporter follows up this lead...

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06 Nov

I understand the rationale behind the Obama Administration's policy of engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council.  So I understand why U.S. delegates subjected themselves to sharp and sometimes ridiculous criticism by other states during a session yesterday on United States human rights practices. A delegation of top officials, led by Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer, gave diplomats at the...

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03 Nov

What does the change of power in the U.S. Congress (at least in the House) mean for U.S. attitudes toward international law and foreign policy?  Not much, I think, since I think foreign policy is one of the few areas where we can imagine the new more conservative Republicans and President Obama working together better than he did with progressive...

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24 Oct

Back in July, I noted this story out of the Philippines, which alleged that a justice of the Philippines Supreme Court had plagiarized (and distorted) an article by Evan Criddle and Evan Fox-Descent in the Yale Journal of International Law (and featured here at Opinio Juris). (see the comment under the original post for a comment by Professor Criddle). Well, things...

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