At Justice in Conflict, Mark Kersten is keeping track of developments concerning Taylor's detention. Checking out some of his links, I was struck (not for the first time, of course) by how little the media knows about how the ICC works -- and by their willingness to think the worst of criminal defense attorneys, even in the absence of any...
The Telegraph asks whether the Rio Summit is destined to fail. If you want to keep up-to-date with the Rio+20 conference, the International Institute for Sustainable Development's Earth Negotiations Bulletins are a useful starting point. In a statement before the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Representatives, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns argued in favour of...
Story here, and a lot of play on this morning's BBC Newshour. This is the second time in recent months that so-called "diplomatic asylum" has crept into the headlines, last with respect to Chen Guangcheng in China in May. See this earlier post, which links to an excellent Foreign Policy background piece on diplomatic asylum. Unlike the Chen case, I doubt very...
Dapo Akande has just posted about the Pre-Trial Chamber's recent conclusion that Art. 95 of the Rome Statute permits Libya to delay surrendering Saif to the Court pending resolution of its admissibility challenge. I don't want to rehash the general issue; readers can simply check out Dapo's post and my post here. Instead, I want to focus on the one...
The Commander of the UN observers in Syria has given more information on his decision to suspend the mission's activities until both sides honor the peace plan. The same article also reveals that the Russian ship carrying military helicopters for Assad's forces returned to Russia after its UK insurer revoked coverage. Tensions have flared up along the border between Israel and...
So, you're Bob Carr, Australia's Foreign Minister. You've decided you want to free Melinda Taylor, ICC lawyer, detained and imprisoned by the Libyan government. You fly to Libya to meet with government officials. Do you demand Taylor's immediate release, citing the cooperation provisions of SC Res. 1970? Do you remind the officials that their consistent refusal to allow Saif legal...
This post is part of our symposium on Dean Schiff Berman's book Global Legal Pluralism. Other posts can be found in Related Posts below. This is a great book, and I am almost completely on board with the orientation here. Paul is right on the money in navigating between the territorial sovereigntists on the one hand and the cosmopolitan universalists on...
[David Zaring is Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School] This post is part of our symposium on Dean Schiff Berman's book Global Legal Pluralism. Other posts can be found in Related Posts below. Paul Berman is rethinking the global legal system with reference to both the plurality and the narrowness of modern community....
The Supreme Court's decision in the SB 1070 case is imminent (the only suspense now being whether it gets a separate-day release from the health care case). I think the Court will split the difference, upholding key sections of the law, striking down others. The safest money has it validating the "papers, please" provision of the law under which AZ...
Eight Turkish soldiers have been killed in South East Turkey during clashes with Kurdish PKK militants from Iraq. Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior military commander in Yemen. After receiving her Nobel Peace Price on Saturday, Aung San Suu Kyi picked up Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award in Dublin on Monday. No case delays in Myanmar where 2...
Chaos has reportedly erupted in Syria following the suspension of the UN observer mission. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks on churches in Nigeria. A top Yemeni Army-General in the fight against al-Qaeda has been killed in a suicide attack. Iranian nuclear talks have resumed in Moscow. Although final results are not due until Thursday, the Muslim Brotherhood has...
In early May I discussed the OPCD's motion to disqualify Moreno-Ocampo for making a number of inflammatory statements to the press concerning Saif Gaddafi's guilt. On June 12, just four days before the end of Moreno-Ocampo's tenure as prosecutor, the Appeals Chamber rejected the motion -- but not without emphasizing that he had, in fact, acted unethically. The decision focused...
