As well as John Dehn, whom Peggy has previously welcomed, we would like to welcome Michael Scharf to guest blogging with us for the next couple of weeks. Mike is probably well-known to many of our readers, especially those with an interest in international criminal law. He is the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hosftetler Professor of Law and director of...
I’d like to call attention to comments by Ben Wittes over at Lawfare regarding two recent New York Times editorials. Both editorials essentially deal with issues of accountability in armed conflict. One voiced (understandable) skepticism regarding government claims that the CIA’s drone programs have caused no civilian deaths in the past year or so. The other commented on a Seventh...
First and foremost, I express my sincere appreciation to all of the Opinio Juris contributors (as well as special thanks to Peggy for the generous introduction). Their hard work and keen intellects have made this site one of the preeminent public forums for discussing international legal issues and related matters. Though I have been an active commenter and occasional guest...
Opinio Juris is pleased to welcome for an extended guest-blogging stint our friend and frequent contributor, John Dehn. John holds the rank of Major in the U.S. Army and currently serves as Senior Fellow at the Center for the Rule of Law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. John has taught international law, constitutional law and military law...
Read the Harry Potter books and/or seen all the movies? Concerned about the post-conflict issues after the end of the War with Osama bin Laden Voldemort? The folks at Foreign Policy have got your back, tying together recent articles on post-conflict studies with the Harry Potter universe. (Warning: Spoilers!) Who knew Hogsmeade and Kandahar could have so much in common?...
Friend of Opinio Juris and current President of the American Branch of the International Law Association, Ruth Wedgwood, passes along the following announcement for teaching opportunities at the Nanjing campus of Johns Hopkins SAIS. They are looking for visitors in political science, economics, and international law: The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) invites applications for one-year...
The Transatlantic Academy is seeking young legal scholars to submit proposals for its 2012-2013 fellowship program. This looks like a great opportunity to partner with scholars in political science and economics in areas affecting the transatlantic relationship. Note next year's theme is a broad view of the "Western Liberal Order": The Transatlantic Academy is seeking candidates to serve as resident Fellows...
This article by Steven Rosen about the legality of a Palestinian state and a short response by Josh Keating touch on this issue. In short, Rosen argues for some independent legal standard for determining statehood (and Palestine doesn't meet it), such as the Montevideo Convention, while Keating basically argues that there are no such standards. A good and useful...
I want to call readers attention to Dan Joyner's new book, Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, just out from Oxford. I haven't had time to read it yet, but it looks fascinating -- and the cover is beautiful. Here is the summary: The 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty has proven the most complicated and controversial of all arms control treaties, both in...
Ruti Teitel is Ernst Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law at New York Law School and Visiting Professor, London School of Economics. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Humanity’s Law (Oxford University Press Sept. 2011). For many Egyptians, Hosni Mubarak’s trial is no mere consequence of Egypt’s revolution but the fulfillment of its promise. In the Arab Spring, accountability for...
A while back, I wrote an article on how states use the rhetoric of international law (specifically self-determination) as part of their broader foreign policy initiatives. Li Hong, the Secretary-General of China's Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, has an op-ed in today's China Daily that embeds law-talk (in this case the international law of outer space and multilateralism more generally) in...
Last week, we were pleased to host a great discussion of the book International Law in the U.S. Supreme Court. This week, I'm pleased to announce that one of its editors -- Bill Dodge -- is taking a leave from his faculty post at Hastings to become the newest Counselor in International Law to the State Department Legal Adviser, Harold...
