The government of Canada, one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the ICC, is apparently quietly lobbying for a withdrawal of ICC arrest warrants against the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army leaders. According to a diplomatic note obtained by the Star, Canada “has already indicated openness, in principle” to supporting a future request to the UN Security Council to defer charges...
I don't want to step on Roger's turf here, but I can't resist a brief note on today's U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating a Louisiana law allowing the death penalty for rapists who victimize children under 13. As most of our readers know, the test for determining a violation of the Eighth Amendment turns on "evolving standards of...
It seems like a no brainer that the U.S. should enact into domestic law punishments for "crimes against humanity." The recently created subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday to hear one-sided testimony on this question. And really, is there any objection to enacting a statute making...
I doubt it, but this article suggests Afghanistan is considering it as a justification for incursions to chase down Taliban forces. But it is an interesting and "hotly" developing area of international law (See, e.g., Colombia in Ecuador, Turkey into Kurdish Iraq, the U.S. into Syria and Iran, etc.). Interestingly, the doctrine appears to have its most formal articulation...
How did I miss this story? In a declaration on his Web site, Stuart Hill, who owns the 2.5 acre island of Forvik in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, said he no longer recognised the authority of the government or the European Union, and cited a centuries-old royal marriage dowry deal as the basis for his claim. "Forvik...
Well, you can't say that there are no differences between the presidential candidates on the war on terrorism anymore. GOP nominee John McCain has issued this blistering statement on what his administration would do to Osama Bin Laden. Namely (and apparently unlike Senator Obama), McCain has pledged to either kill or execute Bin Laden. He also says, flatly, there...
What exactly does Mexico hope to accomplish in its proceeding for a "Request for an Interpretation" of the 2004 ICJ Avena Judgment? The ICJ held hearings today (transcript here) and the International Herald Tribune has a nice account here. I understand that there is an international legal argument to be made here, but it is hard to see...
There is a lot of diplomatic-speak here, and agreements to agree to work at some point in the future and how there is no prejudice to their legal positions, etc. but this non-agreement-agreement is a promising sign for resolving various territorial disputes between China and Japan. Another reminder of how useful non-binding international agreements can be. China...
Did the Supreme Court decide anything else last week besides Boumediene and Munaf? Well, there was that important case involving foreign sovereign immunity, Philippines v. Pimentel. Luckily for us, Vincent Vitowsky of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP in New York offers this summary and analysis via a Federalist Society podcast. In Philippines v. Pimentel, the Supreme Court...
Perhaps the least persuasive part of the largely unpersuasive Boumediene opinion is its attempt to distinguish the most relevant and binding precedent on the subject: the Supreme Court's 1950 decision in Johnson v. Eisentrager. In Boumediene, the Court effectively overruled Eisentrager's holding that enemy aliens cannot have the benefit of habeas corpus when held outside the territory of...
I haven't had time to come up with anything interesting or cogent about the expected but still disturbing result in Boumediene. And we have an all-star cast of guest-bloggers ready to comment, as Roger points out below. But as a place to begin, it is worth checking out Chief Justice Roberts' powerful conclusion to his dissent, which I think...
Kevin has no doubt put his finger on the key issues facing the ICC and Sudan. Plainly, the ICC is raising the stakes in its investigation of Sudan, a risky proposition given certain fragile peace accords emerging. More interesting to me is that the ICC last week revealed that it tried to capture wanted Sudan minister Ahmed Harun...
