NPR had two interesting segments yesterday on the plight of household workers employed (or, rather, held) by foreign diplomats in the US (here and here). If not for diplomatic immunity, the employers would be subject to prosecution for crimes relating to human trafficking and forced labor. From the sound of it, there are many such cases. Two possible responses:...
The most popular recent international article posted on SSRN is by Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann of the European University Institute. It is entitled "State Sovereignty, Popular Sovereignty and Individual Sovereignty: From Constitutional Nationalism to Multilevel Constitutionalism in International Economic Law?" and is available for download here. Definitely worth a read. Here is the abstract: This paper discusses the basic constitutional problem of...
Like Julian, I do not believe that the ICC's involvement in Darfur is in any way a panacea for the region's ills. And I am concerned that the Prosecutor has summonsed (at this point) only one high-ranking official in the Sudan's government, overlooking the complicity of Sudan's President, Omar El Bashir, and Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, in the Darfur...
Actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has a useful and intelligent op-ed in today's Washington Post arguing in favor of international criminal justice in Darfur. But she's wrong or at least misguided. And she is not alone. Here is her argument: Until the killers and their sponsors are prosecuted and punished, violence will continue on a massive scale. Ending it may...
We are all aware of the use of environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) to address environmental considerations as a key factor in deciding on the appropriateness of beginning new projects. Well, there is now movement afoot to develop a similar approach for international human rights. A "Human Rights Impact Assessment" (HRIA) would mean that multinational corporations should...
In a landmark — and admirably progressive — decision, the Supreme Court of Mexico had held that dismissing HIV+ soldiers from the military is unconstitutional:In a case brought by 11 members of the military, the court declared unconstitutional a law requiring naval officers and soldiers with HIV/AIDS to leave the armed forces. Following the decision, Mexico's armed forces will have to...
Important and exciting ICC news to report: Japan's Cabinet has expressed its desire for Japan to join the ICC. Although the Diet has to pass the necessary legislation, no significant opposition is expected. The following is an excerpt from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in favor of the move:The JFBA adopted the Resolution Calling for Japan's Proactive Involvement in...
Ready for another blue-ribbon commission? This week's entry comes with the launch of a "National War Powers Commission", to be run out of the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Baker will share co-chairing honors with Warren Christopher. Other commission members include Lee Hamilton (how many commissions can one person belong to - Hamilton surely would be at...
Other blogs have posted information on the new and lateral faculty hires this season. See Concurring Opinions here for lateral hires and Legal Theory Blog here for entry level hires. But none of this information provides details on the legal specializations of any of these hires. So we would like to provide our readers with information on...
According to the very slick site greatfirewallofchina.org, Opinio Juris can be read in China -- unlike Wikipedia, Amnesty International, the State Department's "democracy" page, the Economist, and Armani. We'll have to try harder. H/T: FP Passport. ...
The ICC's Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression (SWG) met again last month in New York. According to the Financial Times, the SWG is close to achieving consensus on a definition of the crime:Sixty years after the Nuremberg trials made legal history by finding individuals responsible for the second world war, a select group of diplomats, lawyers...
Last month I posted a story about a decision coming out of Indiana that required the non-custodial parent to be subject to supervision during parental visitations. The reason the court issued the order was due to fears that the American-Egyptian father would flee with the child to Egypt and never return. The comments generated by the post were some of...
