In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

20 Feb

Having already discussed the application of Security Council Resolution 1244, I will now turn to general principles of international law concerning secession and recognition. Thomas Franck, one of the five international law experts asked by the Canadian government to consider certain issues regarding a hypothesized secession of Quebec, wrote that:It cannot seriously be argued today that international law prohibits secession. It...

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19 Feb

I cast my overseas primary ballot last week for Obama. If only I knew then what I know now -- that Obama is obviously the child of communists and may well be a communist himself. How do I know that? Because, as Lisa Schiffren at the ever-reliable National Review Online explains, he was born of mixed-race parents...

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19 Feb

As the initial euphoria or anger (depending on your point of view) over the declaration of independence by Kosovo begins to subside, commentators are increasingly turning to the legal question: does international law support or impede Kosovo’s bid for independence? Too many times a quick and simple answer is given (International law denies Kosovo’s independence! Kosovo has a...

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19 Feb

I am not really sure, but the erosion of the U.N. system and international law is something that is part of every Serbian and Russian government spokesman on this issue. And there is certainly some plausibility to this argument, as I understand it. U.N. member states are supposed to recognize the territorial sovereignty of other member states. (See,...

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18 Feb

Kosovo's declaration of independence and the subsequent reaction by various countries is obviously a quickly changing situation. There are two new Wikipedia pages that attempt to collate the latest information. See the Wikipedia page on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence, and especially the Wikipedia page on International Reactions to Kosovo's Declaration. Hat Tip: Catholicgauze ...

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18 Feb

It takes little courage to be a blogger in the United States. Perhaps professional reputation is at risk if things go badly, but there is little more to fear than that. Sure, every intellectual community has its village idiot, and the blogosphere is one of the easiest places to find people who crave attention and lack discretion. ...

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17 Feb

As expected, Kosovo’s parliament has declared independence today in a vote that was unanimous among those attending. Ten Serbian MP’s did not attend the vote. According to the BBC, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia,"… He said Kosovo would be built in accordance with the...

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16 Feb

Kent's Imperative has a follow-up to their previous post on the film Twelve Angry Men and its uses in teaching intelligence (as oppsed to legal) analysis. The new post considers which films do-- and do not--provide good discussion examples for students of intelligence. I was dissappointed that the film versions of le Carre were disposed of as quickly...

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15 Feb

Last week, I argued that the CIA waterboarders would not necessarily be entitled to the defense of entrapment by estoppel even if they relied on the Office of Legal Counsel's insistence that waterboarding was legal. As I pointed out, the defense requires reliance to be reasonable -- and a court cannot simply infer reasonableness from the fact that the...

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15 Feb

The Pew Research Center just published a fascinating new poll on the future of immigration in the United States. Here are a few of the key results: If current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005, and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving...

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14 Feb

As this it my final post in connection with this discussion of my book, How International Law Works, I want to thank Opinio Juris for giving me this opportunity, and the commentators for so thoughtfully sharing their opinions. Much of the discussion has been about the methodology used in the book, and as I have had my say...

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