In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

11 Jun

Within the catalogue of rights—whether conceived in constitutional or international terms—economic and social rights are said to be especially indeterminate. This Article inquires into the conceptual foundations of a minimum core of economic and social rights. This concept of the minimum core has been applied to provide determinacy and even justiciability to the rights to food, health, housing, and education,...

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10 Jun

First the judge who felt "badgered, beaten, and bruised" by prosecutors for trying to protect Khadr's rights was removed from the case "for personnel reasons." Now it turns out that Khadr's interrogators were "instructed" -- read: ordered -- to destroy their notes, lest anyone ever find out that Khadr had been tortured or mistreated:Navy Lieutenant Commander Bill Kuebler said...

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10 Jun

First, I would like to thank Opinio Juris and the Yale Journal of International Law for hosting this symposium and providing the opportunity to discuss my recent article, Who is the “Sovereign” in Sovereign Debt? Reinterpreting a Rule-of-Law Framework from the Early Twentieth Century. I would also like to thank Tai-Heng Cheng and Mark Weisburd for their thoughtful comments...

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10 Jun

Odette Lienau's Who is the “Sovereign” in Sovereign Debt? provocatively argues that Chief Justice Taft's method of analysis in his 1923 arbitral award in the so-called Tinoco arbitration offers a useful approach to controversies over so-called odious debts owed by states, that is, debts incurred for purposes unrelated to the well-being of the population of the state responsible for the...

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10 Jun

Combining legal interpretation with political science analysis, this Article highlights the competing “statist” and “popular” conceptions of sovereignty at stake in sovereign debt issues. It argues that these two dominant approaches do not exhaust the offerings of intellectual history and considers an alternative approach that emerged in the early twentieth century and may be of relevance again today. The Article...

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09 Jun

In an important first, Roma gathered in Rome on Sunday to protest their continued harrassment and persecution at the hands of the Italian government:The first national demonstration of Gypsies brought hundreds of people to the capital Sunday to protest recent episodes of racism in Italy that have targeted Roma and Sinti people, as they prefer to be called. "We're being used...

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09 Jun

I wish to thank Karima Bennoune for her criticisms and comments on my article “Suspect Symbols: Value Pluralism as a Theory of Religious Freedom in International Law.” I wish also to thank Jon Finer and the editors of the Yale Journal of International Law for this wonderful opportunity to discuss the piece. The inspiration behind Suspect Symbols is the...

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09 Jun

I am grateful for the opportunity to read and comment on Peter Danchin’s “Suspect Symbols: Value Pluralism as a Theory of Religious Freedom in International Law.” The tolerance that it advocates reflects a generally healthy human rights impulse. Hence, I wish that I could write a positive response to the article into which a great deal of thought...

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09 Jun

Consider the following statutory provision: In public schools, students are prohibited from wearing symbols or attire through which they conspicuously exhibit a religious affiliation. Such a law, now familiar in the wake of the recent affaire du foulard in France, appears prima facie to violate the most basic tenets of the right to freedom of religion and belief in international law. Article...

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09 Jun

The Yale Journal of International Law is pleased to inaugurate its partnership with Opinio Juris in this first online symposium. This week’s symposium will feature three articles recently published in Vol. 33-1 of YJIL, available here. Our discussion today will focus on the controversies that have arisen over attempts by states to regulate their citizens' wearing and display of religious symbols....

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09 Jun

Kevin has no doubt put his finger on the key issues facing the ICC and Sudan. Plainly, the ICC is raising the stakes in its investigation of Sudan, a risky proposition given certain fragile peace accords emerging. More interesting to me is that the ICC last week revealed that it tried to capture wanted Sudan minister Ahmed Harun...

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