The media may have forgotten about the Iraqi High Tribunal now that Saddam is dead and buried, but that doesn't mean its problems have gone away. Case in point — the talented Chief Prosecutor at Saddam's trial, Jaffar al-Moussawi, has been demoted and transferred after criticizing the Tribunal's "financial and ethical corruption" and opposing the execution of Sultan Hashem,...
Well, that was quick. One day after the media reported that a training manual prepared by the Canadian government for its diplomats listed the U.S. as a country where foreigners risk being tortured or abused, Canada quickly backtracked, promising to remove the U.S. — along with Israel — from the list:Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies,...
As our readers have probably noticed, I have been posting fairly regularly about World War II over the past few months. I'm delighted to finally be in a position to explain why: I am beginning to write to write a book on the jurisprudence of the Nuremberg Military Tribunals for Oxford University Press. Here is a snippet of...
Opinio Juris is pleased to welcome Tobias Thienel, who will be guest-blogging with us for the next two weeks. Most of you will recognize Tobias as one of our most dedicated and intelligent commenters. We are confident he will be an even better read on the main stage. Tobias is a 2004 graduate of the University of Kiel and...
The White House is thinking of starting a blog -- or at least a blog-like substance. From Dana Perino's press conference today:At 6:15 p.m., the President departs the White House on Marine One to head for his trip to the Middle East, the first stop being Jerusalem. One note. As we leave for the Middle East trip today, we will...
I know Christmas is over, but this award-winning interactive globe, made by Leap Frog, is the perfect gift for curious kids of all ages. Here is the manufacturer's description:Fasten your seatbelts, put your tray table in the upright position and prepare for take off. Next stop? The world. Touch the interactive pen any place on this interactive, talking atlas and...
The beginning of Charles Taylor's trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone is obviously big news, and those who are interested in the trial should check out the live-blogging and analysis here. But Taylor's trial should not overshadow an equally important event related to the civil war in Liberia — the launch of Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission:The commission...
Luis Posada Carriles might have escaped justice for his many acts of terrorism, but three Panamanian officials who helped free him from jail in Panama might not be so lucky:Three collaborators of former Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso will be tried on January 14 for violations in the release of Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, judicial sources informed on Monday. Former Minister...
Here is a photo of Hitler you probably haven't seen: Strange, isn't it? We are used to seeing Hitler in black-and-white, not color. And that's the way Hitler wanted it, according to the Telegraph (UK) article about the photo:The Nazi leader believed that traditional black and white photographs best highlighted the sinister nature of his regime, presenting dramatic images...
I am at the AALS conference in New York and don't have as much time to blog as I would like, but I want to flag a critically important recent decision by a magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York holding that human-rights groups have the same right as journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources:A United...
As I have written before, the US has done much to minimize the unfairness of the Iraqi High Tribunal. Unfortunately, it has done exactly the opposite regarding Bilal Hussein, the Pulitzer-Prize winning AP photojournalist who has been imprisoned by the US military since April 2006 — most of the time without charge — and is only now facing prosecution...
I'm normally loathe to link to stories most readers will likely find themselves, but I'm making an exception for The Bush Administration's Top 10 Stupidest Legal Arguments of 2007, put together by my friend and law-school classmate Dahlia Lithwick. Here are the headings, arranged by increasing stupidity:10. The NSA's eavesdropping was limited in scope. 9. Scooter Libby's sentence was commuted...
