One way to build political coalitions for greater use of international law in the U.S. would be to use international law to advance political goals of folks who would otherwise be suspicious of international law. So I wonder if there is some reason to think liberal internationalists would be willing to embrace the argument made in a recent book by...
The U.S. Congress is just about to have their much-dreaded midterm elections, and they will probably not do much before November 2 except to spend millions of dollars on annoying campaign ads. But it looks like before they break for the election, Congress may vote on two bills that may violate U.S. obligations under the WTO and NAFTA. First, Congress is...
[I posted this about the same time that Ken posted his discussion of the same case below, which is definitely worth reading. Please forgive any repetitions. But we are both on the same page.] In a blockbuster opinion that could spell the end of the vast bulk of Alien Tort Statute litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett and Virginia legislator William Howell lay out the case for a new "Repeal Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution in tomorrow's WSJ. Such an amendment would permit repeal of any federal law if two-thirds of the state legislatures approved resolutions to do so. I don't know what I think about this proposal, which would quite dramatically...
The conventional wisdom among many international law folks is that the U.S. has (wrongly) embraced American exceptionalism in world affairs, often to the detriment of compliance with international law. I don't disagree that American exceptionalism exists, but I think the main problem with the "exceptionalism" meme is the idea that the U.S. is unique in its "exceptionalist" philosophy. Other countries can,...
The movement for a global currency tax gains momentum. PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A group of 60 nations, including France, Britain and Japan, will propose at the U.N. this month that a tax be introduced on international currency transactions to raise funds for development aid, ministers said on Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting in Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said...
Our friends at the University of Goettingen in Germany have recently published another issue of the Goettingen Journal of International Law. The latest issue contains lots of great stuff, including a series of articles focused on the recently concluded ICC Review Conference in Kampala (Talk about fast work!). GoJIL, which is structured similarly to a U.S. law review, is still a new experiment...
Via Jon Adler at Volokh, I note that the D.C. Circuit issued a fascinating series of opinions today on the effect of international law on the President's execution of his warmaking powers. As Steve Vladeck at Balkinization notes, the actual DC Circuit decision was simply a denial of a rehearing en banc of a panel's earlier decision to reject a...
Professor Pasha Hsieh of Singapore Management University School of Law has asked us to alert our readers about the following call for papers for the 2011 International Law Association Asia-Pacific Regional Conference scheduled for May 29-June 1, 2011 Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. The Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law is pleased to hold the International Law Association (ILA) Asia-Pacific Regional Conference...
I'm a little late (in blogospheric time) to comment on the ACLU/CCR lawsuit today challenging the legality of the Obama Administration's policy on targeted killings of U.S. citizens. (Hat Tip WSJ Law Blog) Here is the complaint. It's is not surprising. As I noted before, the ACLU has been making noises about this lawsuit for several months. And, at least...
I don't want to get into a pointless back and forth with Kevin on the significance of Bashir's visit to Kenya. I don't think the details of his visit change my views much. It still seems much more like a slap in the face than a sign of the ICC's power. But I think we can agree to disagree on...
Lots of ironies in this story about Kenya hosting Sudan's President Bashir at a ceremony celebrating the establishment of its new "U.S.-style" Constitution. NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's president signed a new constitution into law Friday that institutes a U.S.-style system of checks and balances and has been hailed as the most significant political event since Kenya's independence nearly a half century...
