I tread warily into the debate over the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza flotilla. There has been no shortage of commentary and reactions abroad (here in the U.S., it seems most folks are unmoved by the whole incident). Of course, most of the facts are hotly disputed and, frankly, will remain hotly disputed. Still, let me start by advising...
Detained U.S. lawprof Peter Erlinder was hospitalized in Rwanda over the weekend after five hours of questioning. A St. Paul attorney jailed in Rwanda was hospitalized with high blood pressure today after being interrogated, according to his daughter and an attorney. Peter Erlinder, who is charged with promoting genocidal ideology, is expected to be kept in the hospital overnight and returned to jail...
The Rwandan government has arrested a U.S. law professor, Peter Erlinder, who represented key opposition figures. The NYT reports: Rwandan authorities on Friday arrested an American lawyer who is representing a leading Rwandan opposition figure, the latest sign of an increasingly repressive atmosphere there. Peter Erlinder, a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law in Minnesota, is being charged with denying the Rwandan genocide...
This is a bit of a surprise, at least its timing. Stories I had read suggested any action would be delayed until after upcoming International Whaling Commission meetings, or even later. But here goes: Australia says it will take Japan to the International Court of Justice because of Japan's whaling activities, which Tokyo says are for scientific purposes. Australia's foreign minister, environment...
From this NYT story, the upcoming report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on U.S. drone strikes seems fairly restrained. The main pushback is to end CIA involvement in drone strikes, on the theory that CIA operatives are not privileged belligerents. This is indeed, the strongest legal argument against drone strike, at least to me, but it seems also pretty...
Do we have an emerging consensus that the ICC States-Parties should refrain from adding the crime of aggression to the ICC Statute at its upcoming conference in Kampala? Michael Glennon, the CFR, Harold Koh, David Kaye, and now Richard Goldstone have all come out against adding the crime of aggression. Here is Goldstone: Based on my experience as an international prosecutor,...
I have always thought the Ottawa Convention banning landmines was a nice idea, but somewhat unrealistic. Case in point: the U.S. and South Korea rely on landmines to prevent a North Korean attack on South Korea. It is hard to imagine a cheaper more effective deterrent than landmines, as David Rivkin and Lee Casey argue in today's WSJ. As a...
[caption id="attachment_12532" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Professor Gabriel Wilner"][/caption] Sad news from the University of Georgia: Gabriel Michael Wilner, a University law professor and executive director of International, Comparative and Graduate Legal Studies, died unexpectedly at his home Friday. A native of Beirut, Lebanon, Wilner has been with UGA since 1973 and has served in several capacities since coming to the University. He has taught...
The Washington Times has an editorial that seems to argue that because Elena Kagan supports the teaching of international and comparative law, she actually believes that "foreign law trumps the Constitution." It was under Ms. Kagan's leadership while dean of Harvard Law School, for instance, that Harvard dropped constitutional law as a required course for graduation, while adding a requirement for...
Actress Mia Farrow has a scathing op-ed in the WSJ today denouncing Obama's Sudan policy. The crus of her critique is that Obama is not pushing hard to send Bashir to the ICC. Last week U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that although he remains supportive of "international efforts" to bring Sudanese President Omar...
The Jerusalem Post reports on a recent discussion between Alan Dershowitz, Aharon Barak, and Amnon Rubinstein on Israel's proper attitude toward international law. Each represented a different perspective. Barak (former Israeli Supreme Court chief) suggests that Israel must follow international law as it is, while Rubinstein argued that Israel should engage to make sure international law is interpreted fairly and...
David Kopel, Theodore Bromund, and Ray Walser offer this Heritage Foundation essay analyzing (and attacking) the Inter-American Convention on the Illicit Sale of Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA). Although critical, the essay doesn't actually focus on the constitutional problems, since those are fairly unclear. In fact, the First Amendment problems seem larger than the Second Amendment...
