In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Julian Ku

10 Sep

Professors Bruce Ackerman and David Golove argue in this Atlantic essay that the next President cannot withdraw from the Iran agreement because it is a "congressionally authorized executive agreement." They argue that Senator Marco Rubio's pledge to terminate the Iran Deal on day one "would destroy the binding character of America’s commitments to the IMF, the World Bank, NAFTA, and the World...

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10 Sep

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the UK had conducted a lethal drone strike against one of its own nationals (affiliated with ISIS)  in August and that the British government was confident of the strike's legality under international law. As an outside observer, I am fascinated at how important the drone strike's legality under international law seems to...

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03 Aug

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Obama has authorized U.S. military forces to use air power to defend  U.S.-trained Syrian rebels if those rebels are attacked by the Syrian government forces. President Barack Obama has authorized using air power to defend a new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria if it is attacked by Syrian government forces or other groups,...

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31 Jul

Due to my typical mid-summer lassitude (and a family vacation among the redwoods in California), I have not participated in the excellent legal blogosphere debate over the constitutionality of the Iran Nuclear Agreement which has included contributions from Jack Goldsmith, John Yoo, Michael Ramsey, John Bellinger, David Rivkin and many others.  Luckily for me, Prof. Jeffrey Rosen and the good...

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30 Jul

While I was on (my completely undeserved) vacation in California recently, I noticed more evidence that China's government is becoming hyper-sensitive about criticism of its non-participation in the Philippines-China arbitration at the Hague. First, a top U.S. government official stated at a conference on July 21 that, among other things, "...

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04 Jun

There is no shortage of commentary on the growing US-China tensions over China's land reclamation activities in the South China Sea. I've already added my two cents on the legal aspects here, but it's worth trying to understand China's defense of its actions.  Here is China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman at a press conference responding to comments from US and Japanese leaders...

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02 Jun

Seth Tillman of Maynooth University has a clever "parody" letter (scroll to the bottom) in the most recent Claremont Review of Books.  I can't really do it justice here, but it is an amusing take on how modern international law might have critiqued the relentless Allied demands for unconditional surrender by Germany and Japan in 1945.  Also, I particulalry appreciate his...

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28 May

The Argentina sovereign debt mess is still not resolved, but already folks are debating its larger consequences for international economic governance. In particular, there continue to be calls for a new international sovereign debt mechanism to prevent another Argentina-style U.S. litigation. But although I agree that there are decent arguments for some sort of international treaty-based mechanism for sovereign debt...

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27 May

I have been following closely the U.S. Navy's plans to use military ships and aircraft to challenge China's aggressive land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, and China's not very positive reaction to these plans.  But although there is a real dispute brewing here that could escalate into a sovereignty fight, I think media reports are making this dispute...

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