In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

06 Jun

This is big.  Huge, even. From the Wall Street Journal: U.S. officials appear poised to make history by approving the first private space mission to go beyond Earth’s orbit, according to people familiar with the details. The government’s endorsement would eliminate the largest regulatory hurdle to plans by Moon Express, a relatively obscure space startup, to land a roughly 20-pound package of...

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06 Jun

[Caroline Kaeb is Assistant Professor of Business Law and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut.  David Scheffer is the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and Director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. They are co-chairs of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights of the U.N. Global Compact’s Principles...

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06 Jun

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Chad's ex-ruler Hissene Habre has been convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison at a landmark trial in Senegal. Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo goes on trial on Tuesday for crimes against humanity, but rights groups acting as plaintiffs...

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05 Jun

Event Between Europe and the United States: The Israeli Supreme Court in Comparative Perspective is being held Monday, June 27, 2016 - 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. For more information, click here. Despite a shared commitment to constitutional norms and a shared intuition that constitutional norms reflect universal principles, the United States and Europe interpret constitutional norms...

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03 Jun

States and nations are not the same thing.  A nation is a "people," itself a difficult concept to define under international law. A state is a recognized political entity that meets certain criteria. International lawyers will tell you that the characteristics of statehood include a defined territory, a government, a permanent population, and the ability to enter into foreign relations. State...

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02 Jun

Earlier today, President Obama took time out during his commencement address at the Air Force Academy to make a pointed plea for the value of treaty-making.  Here's the relevant excerpt from his remarks: By the way, one of the most effective ways to lead and work with others is through treaties that advance our interests.  Lately, there's been a mindset in...

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30 May

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed and one other seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday, the United Nations said. Dozens of children are still missing after a cross-border raid on villages in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia by South Sudanese tribesmen. Middle East...

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22 May

Event The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law of Swansea University will organise a joint one-day seminar on the subject of Lex Petrolea with the Center for Energy, Law, and Business of University of Texas Law School on 21 June 2016 in London. For the flyer see here. For further information click here. Calls for Papers The Editors of the Melbourne Journal of...

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22 May

Just when I thought I was beyond being genuinely horrified, Roving Bandit called my attention to a story in Der Spiegel that almost defies words: The ambassadors of the 28 European Union member states had agreed to secrecy. "Under no circumstances" should the public learn what was said at the talks that took place on March 23rd, the European Commission warned...

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20 May

[Robert McCorquodale is the Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Professor of International Law and Human Rights, University of Nottingham, and Barrister, Brick Court Chambers, London. This is the sixth and final post in the Defining the Rule of Law Symposium, based on this article (free access for six months). For the other contributions, see links below.] I am immensely appreciative of...

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20 May

[Heike Krieger is Professor of Public Law and International Law at Freie Universitaet Berlin and Co-Chair of the Berlin Potsdam Research Group on The International Rule of Law – Rise or Decline? This is the fifth post in the Defining the Rule of Law Symposium, based on this article (free access for six months). The first is here, the second, here, the third here, the fourth here and...

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