The Iraqi government has released a draft of legislation that would revoke the immunity of private-security companies operating in Iraq. Here is the operative language:Article 1: Non-Iraqi security companies and its non-Iraqi employees and contractors shall be subject to the Iraqi legislations and the jurisdiction of the Iraqi judiciary in all civil and criminal cases. All immunities granted to...
Great story about the King of Spain Juan Carlos telling Hugo Chavez, "Why don't you shut up?" I wouldn't normally sympathize with such diplomatic indiscretions, but given Chavez's history and personality I'll make an exception. Details about the story are here and a good description of the context of the exchange is available here. Variations are now circulating throughout...
Does anyone see any specific major changes in U.S. ratification of outstanding treaties, or participation in international organizations, under the next president, whoever she or he may be? I haven’t seen too many positions by candidates on specific treaties, but I may well have missed them, since I do my best to avoid presidential debates! I did come...
Beginning today the Federalist Society is holding its 25th annual meeting. Details about the program are available here. The theme this year is American Exceptionalism. Almost 40 percent of the panels highlight some aspect of international relations, and there appears to be some ideological balance on each panel. If any of our readers happen to be...
The Ninth Circuit last month rendered a controversial decision interpreting the Convention Against Torture. In Ahmed v. Keisler, the court ruled on whether Ahmed should be deported to Bangladesh based on whether it was more likely than not that he would be tortured if removed to Bangladesh. (The panel consisted of Judge Pregerson, a Carter appointee, Judge Rawlinson,...
Lawprof and LA Times columnist Rosa Brooks had a strange but interesting column last week on how torture has become the new "abortion" in U.S. presidential politics. She accuses GOP activists of making the approval of coercive interrogation techniques a litmus test akin to being against abortion. I haven't seen much evidence of this -- McCain is...
My former State Department colleagues, David Bowker of WilmerHale, and David Kaye who just recently moved to UCLA, published an Op-Ed in the NY Times this past weekend. For those of you (like me) who missed it initially, check out this sampling of their Harper's Index-like spin on GTMO Facts in advance of the Court's consideration of Boumediene v....
Details here — this on the claims filed by the families of Chinese dissidents jailed on evidence coughed up by Yahoo to Chinese authorities. The settlement terms weren't disclosed, but Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang issued an apology to the families and money is changing hands. The issues posed here aren't going to go away (and Yahoo isn't the...
A team of FBI investigators has concluded that the September killings of 14 Iraqi civilians by the U.S. military contractor Blackwater violated deadly-force rules security contractors. Although the investigation is continuing, this seems to settle part of the factual dispute over the Blackwater shootings. But can Blackwater's personnel face criminal prosecution? I am not sure, actually. This is a bit...
Which nation has the top brand name? It seems strange to think of the branding of nations, but upon reflection we do it all the time. When we think of a country like Australia, Iran, Switzerland or Sudan we associate certain positive or negative qualities to each nation. A recent study reveals that the nations with...
As widely anticipated, Ban Ki-moon has named Serge Brammertz, a deputy prosecutor at the ICC and the head of the UN commission investigating the murder of Lebanase Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, to succeed Carla del Ponte as the Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY. Brammertz will take over the position on January 1, 2008. As I discussed in September, the ICTY's...
Dr. Danilo Türk, international law professor, former diplomat, and former Assistant UN Secretary General, has “decisively won Slovenia's presidential election Sunday, the electoral commission announced.” (See the AFP and the VOA reports.) Dr. Türk, an international lawyer by training, was ambassador to the UN from 1992 to 2000, making him the longest serving Slovenian ambassador abroad. According to his bio on...
