I don't have a profound take on the Iran Deal (full text here) announced today between Iran and the P-5+1 leading world powers. From my understanding of this agreement, I am doubtful it will work out to benefit the U.S. and the E.U., but I don't feel particularly strongly on this point. There are more than enough commentators out there who...
[Bede Sheppard is deputy children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.] Eighty-years ago today, the United States became the first country to ratify the international treaty commonly known as the Roerich Pact. Actually, “commonly” is a bit of a stretch—the 80-year-old agreement doesn’t get a lot of attention these days—yet one of its key objectives has recently been in the spotlight. The pact’s...
Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Chadian police have said anyone wearing a full-face veil will be arrested, a day after a Boko Haram suicide bombing - carried out by an attacker disguised as a women wearing one - left 15 dead. Cameroon's army has repulsed an attack by Boko Haram and killed three...
Announcements T.M.C. Asser Press and Springer are delighted to announce the publication of the first issue of the Netherlands International Law Review (NILR) of 2015 (Vol. 62). The NILR is available both online on SpringerLink and in hardcopy. The NILR’s first issue of this year features articles on ‘Armed Opposition Groups and the Right to Exercise Control over Public Natural Resources’...
I am a huge fan of ASIL's Annual Meeting for a whole host of reasons. I like to see old friends, make new acquaintances, and spend inordinate amounts of time talking in the hallways. The book sales on Saturday morning is a highlight of my year (no comment on what that may say about my life). But what really holds...
Thomas Lubanga's lawyer, Catherine Mabille, has moved to disqualify Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi from Lubanga's upcoming sentence review on the ground that the judge was involved in the case while working in the Office of the Prosecutor. Here are the relevant paragraphs from the motion: 11...
Ryan -- friend of Opinio Juris and friend of Kevin -- has been appointed Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense. Here is a snippet from NYU's press release: In his new role at the Department of Defense Goodman will focus primarily on national security law and law of armed conflict. “I am very humbled to have...
Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Burundi's parliamentary elections on Monday were not fair or free and human rights were violated, the United Nations said on Thursday. Middle East and Northern Africa US President Barack Obama has said that the US-led coalition battling fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was...
Events From 10-11 July 2015, as part of its summer Institute in Transnational Law, Duke Law School will be hosting a conference on the topic of “comparative foreign relations law.” The conference, which will be held at the University of Geneva, will consider similarities and differences in how nations (and the European Union as an entity) handle various issues of foreign relations law,...
Laurie Blank published a post yesterday at Lawfare entitled "The UN Gaza Report: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose." The post accuses the Independent Commission of Inquiry's report on Operation Protective Edge ("Gaza Report") of "completely undermin[ing] the foundational notion of equal application of the law" with regard to three areas of IHL: warnings, civilian vs military objects, and compliance. None of Blank's...
[Gregory H. Fox is Professor of Law and Director of the Program for International Legal Studies, Wayne State University Law School.] In the aftermath of the Iraq occupation, a vigorous debate began over the legitimacy of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s (CPA) vast reform of Iraqi legal, political and economic institutions (see Gregory H. Fox, The Occupation of Iraq, 36 Geo. J....
Kimberly Prost, the current UN Ombudsperson, will be leaving her post in mid-July when her term expires. However, no replacement has been appointed, nor has the UN implemented a transition plan for her eventual successor. The issue of what will happen to the current cases before the office, or to individuals who are unlucky enough to apply for delisting after...
