The process for making binding international agreements in the United States proceeds along two separate but parallel tracks. The Treaty Clause—which requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate and bypasses the House of Representatives—is the better known of the two; it is principally used to conclude agreements on human rights, taxation, environment, arms control, and extradition. But an increasingly...
The last couple of months have been very good for the study of foreign relations law. First, there was Marty Lederman’s (Georgetown) and David Barron’s (Harvard) two part article on the President’s Commander-in-Chief power when used in opposition to Congressional limitations. Now, we have Yale Law Professor Oona Hathaway’s analysis of the Constitution’s Treaty Clause and the modern practice of...
As expected, during today's Supreme Court oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller there was no discussion whatsoever of comparative analysis of gun control laws in other countries or comparative death rates. To the extent there was any discussion of foreign authority, it was all about English history as an interpretive device for understanding the Second Amendment....
It's now been five months since the Court heard oral argument in Medellin v. Texas and yet Medellin is still waiting to learn his fate. There's already been much speculation about where the Court will go, some favorable to Texas' argument that the President lacked the power to direct Texas' court system to review and reconsider Medellin's conviction and...
The final group of amicus briefs I would like to highlight compares the firearm death rates in different countries to argue for and against gun control. An amicus brief by the American Academy of Pediatrics, et. al. offers an interesting comparative analysis of the firearm death rates in the Untied States and other democratic nations. The firearms death rate in...
Two of the more interesting amicus briefs in District of Columbia v. Heller argue, in effect, that we need the right to bear arms in order to protect the citizenry from the possibility of government tyranny and genocide. Here is an excerpt from an amicus brief by a group called Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Throughout history,...
A human-rights NGO in South Africa, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), has formally requested the National Prosecuting Authority's Priority Crimes Unit to investigate senior Zimbabwean officials suspected of committing crimes against humanity:Said SALC Director Nicole Fritz on Sunday: "The intention behind the initiative is both to ensure some form of accountability for the people of Zimbabwe at a time...
As we all know, this week the Court will hear what is arguably the most important case of the year, District of Columbia v. Heller. In Heller, the District of Columbia has presented comparative analysis of the practice of other countries in support of its gun control restrictions. Not surprisingly, this has led to several amicus briefs responding...
[Paul Dubinsky is a law professor at Wayne State University Law School]. For years we have been told that the problem with our politics lies in our public servants. They go off to Washington and forget who put them there. They arrive at the state house and quickly regard themselves as above the law. Decency’s address,...
Good God:During a videoconference with U.S. military and civilian personnel yesterday, President Bush praised the troops fighting in Afghanistan, claiming he was “a little envious” of their “romantic” fight: “I must say, I’m a little envious,” Bush said. “If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines...
The Eleventh Circuit recently rendered one of the most unusual cases involving international child abduction I have ever read. In Pielage v. McConnell, the question centers on whether a state court order constitutes a wrongful retention within the meaning of the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCAICA). The Eleventh Circuit ruled that since the...
Not surprisingly, I strongly disagree with Julian's insistence that "the ICC really is now the obstacle to peace" in Uganda. To begin with, we need to give the ICC credit where credit is due: as Mark Leon Goldberg pointed out earlier today at the invaluable UN Dispatch, "[i]t was not until the ICC began its investigation and issued indictments...
