Much of my work focuses on international sources theory, not exactly the material for a scintillating, timely blogpost, and I initially thought I should probably spare you my thoughts on it. (As a footnote, an early draft of my entry-level job talk paper was titled, “Taking Opinio Juris Seriously.” I understand this had some of the OJ members on hiring...
Let me start by thanking Peggy and the whole OJ crew for inviting me to be a guest here. I very vividly remember the first time I found this blog, back when it had just gotten started (and was still at its previous address). It was among the very first law blogs I had seen, right around the...
Professor Harlan Cohen of the Univ. of Georgia Law School will be guest blogging with us for the next few weeks. Among his other achievements prior to joining the UGA faculty in 2007, Harlan was a Furman Fellow at NYU Law School and on the staff at Foreign Affairs. He teaches and writes in international law in the U.S, international legal...
I haven't been following Australia's new law requiring plain packaging for tobacco products, but I am a bit surprised that Philip Morris has filed a notice of arbitration claiming the law violates Australia's bilateral investment treaty with Hong Kong. Here is PM's argument: Australia is in breach of the BIT because plain packaging: Amounts to unlawful expropriation of PMA’s investments and valuable...
Please forgive the fact that this post has nothing to do with international law, but it's something very personal and very important to me. As Jonathan Adler noted today at Volokh Conspiracy, the California Supreme Court will soon decide whether Stephen Glass, the former New Republic journalist who was caught inventing stories, should be permitted to practice law: Glass was fired...
Reports are a little uncertain, but it sounds like Libya will not comply with the ICC Prosecutors' arrest warrant and turn over Muammar Qaddafi's son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi. ZINTAN, Libya (AP) – Libya's new leaders said Sunday they will try Moammar Gadhafi's son at home and not hand him over to the International Criminal Court where he's charged with crimes against humanity. The government...
Over at Lawfare, I have posted a brief review of three books on international law, war, and counterterrorism, with a particular focus on the changing shape of counterterrorism through drone warfare and targeted killing. These are all excellent books and I commend them to the scholarly community. Noam Lubell, Extraterritorial Use of Force Against Non-State Actors (Oxford 2010) Kimberley N. Trapp, State Responsibility for...
We want to begin our closing post by thanking everyone who has participated in the symposium on our article this week. We also wish to thank our lead editor at the Yale Law Journal, Philip Levitz, who help arrange this symposium (as well as a forthcoming symposium at Yale Law Journal Online) and who has been truly outstanding in...
Suzanne Nossel, who was until recently a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations and is currently a Visiting Senior Fellow for Global Governance at the Council of Foreign Relations, has been named the new Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. (I should note that Suzanne is an old friend.) Here's part of what the Amnesty press release said: Most...
Here is a nice example of how international organizations and international lawyers can conspire to make international law seem ridiculous. Bus and subway workers had a right to strike in 2005 and their leader was wrongly jailed, a United Nations agency has found. The International Labor Organization said the state’s Taylor Law, which makes it illegal for public workers in New York...
Professor Sean Murphy of GW Law has been elected to the ILC. The press release from GW begins: Today, Professor Sean Murphy was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the International Law Commission (ILC). The Commission consists of 34 distinguished legal scholars, practitioners, and government officials from around the world who are elected to serve for five-year terms. Created...
Being the only non-international lawyer I am the outlier (hopefully not to become the outcasted) among this group of commentators. I suspect I was asked because I am an EU law scholar and, for some, that is international law. Having approached the subject with some skepticism I asked myself if that was not representative of the nature and importance of the...
