This according to the BBC: Kenyan MPs have voted overwhelmingly for the country to pull out of the treaty which created the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The move comes a week after the ICC prosecutor named six Kenyans he accuses of being behind post-election violence. The prosecutor's list included senior politicians and civil servants. The MPs do not have the...
Today at Lawfare: If DOJ tries to prosecute Assange, we will see more and more scrutiny of double standards in the treatment of traditional media leak solicitors (NYT etc.) v. Assange, and of double standards in the treatment of high-level U.S. government leakers v. Assange. Scrutiny of the first double standard will weaken press freedoms as the...
It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his defence in a bad position. I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media. And I feel especially concerned that he will be presented with the evidence in his own language for the first...
Ben describes as "puzzling" my claim that his recent post on WikiLeaks reflects American exceptionalism. I find his puzzlement equally puzzling. Recall the quote on which I focused: This, in turn, leads ineluctibly to Tom’s reciprocity point: If Congress can make such a demand on Assange, the U.S. would be in a bad position to object if the Congress of People’s Deputies...
Steve testified yesterday about WikiLeaks in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Here is a snippet of his testimony, which discussed five major flaws in the Espionage Act: Second, the Espionage Act does not focus solely on the initial party who wrongfully discloses national defense information, but applies, in its terms, to anyone who knowingly disseminates, distributes, or even retains national...
Courtesy of Ben Wittes at Lawfare, responding to a question about whether he believes that, if America should be permitted to prosecute a non-American like Assange for disclosing American secrets, countries like France, China, or Iran should be able to prosecute Americans for disclosing their secrets (my emphasis): This, in turn, leads ineluctibly to Tom’s reciprocity point: If Congress can make...
A coalition of 26 of Australia's most prominent journalists -- essentially, the editors of every major newspaper (with the exception of the right-wing The Australian) and the news directors of all the major networks -- have written a remarkable open letter to Julia Gillard criticizing the U.S. (and Australian) government's attacks on WikiLeaks and threats to prosecute Assange. Here is...
I don't quite mean that, of course. The total number of "international" law faculty depends on so many different things at any given law school. What I do mean is to follow on Kevin's post and ask, supposing you are trying to rationally plan out an international law faculty and curriculum, or more practically gradually shape into the future according...
Jack Goldsmith and I don't agree with each other very often, so it's worth noting that we have essentially the same reaction to WikiLeaks. From Lawfare today: I find myself agreeing with those who think Assange is being unduly vilified. I certainly do not support or like his disclosure of secrets that harm U.S. national security or foreign...
I hope to have more to say in the next few days about Judge Bates' completely predictable decision to dismiss the ACLU/CCR lawsuit. I just want to flag here what is the most obvious problem with it. Judge Bates claims -- clearly trying to insulate himself from criticism -- that Contrary to plaintiff’s assertion, in holding that the political question...
He may be a horrible senator, but at least Joe Lieberman is (relatively) consistent: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who has become one of the most vocal critics of Wikileaks, said today that while Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is definitely guilty of crimes, the New York Times may also have broken the law by posting some of those diplomatic cables. "To...
The Swiss domain name registrar Switch announced today that it will not shut down Wikileaks.ch as a result of Wikileaks' criminal activity. It does so at its peril. The pharmaceutical industry has long faced the question of registrar liability for hosting illegal pharmaceutical drug websites. Legitscript.com, a pharmaceutical watchdog, has summarized the obligations of domain name registrars...
