With all the attention being paid to the situations in Libya and Kenya, the situation in Darfur has receded into the background. (Par for the course, unfortunately, with Darfur.) So it's worth noting that the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I has confirmed charges against two Darfuri rebels alleged to have orchestrated a September 2007 attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers: On...
I have some views, but they are not entirely solidified, so let me put this out as a question. France has recognized the the rebels as the sole legitimate representatives of the Libyan people, and withdrawn its recognition of the Qaddafi government. If that is so, what, if any, are the international law consequences of that recognition? I understand that many...
Although I support the Security Council referral of the Libya situation to the ICC, I do not have any degree of confidence that the ICC referral has not altered Moammar Qaddafi's negotiating or fighting posture at this time. I have no idea whether Qaddafi's state of mind (if you can even refer to it in normal psychology terms) has or...
Today's headline in the Wall Street Journal: Threat of Trial Keeps Gadhafi Fighting. Yes, because if the Security Council hadn't referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, Gadhafi would clearly have transferred power to the rebels in an orderly and peaceful fashion by now. Oh, well. I don't expect very much from the Wall Street Journal. After all, in the very same...
The Wall Street Journal reports that France "formally recognized Libya's main opposition group, the first country to do so." It is an excellent story and walks in brisk fashion through the latest moves in diplomacy and assessment of the military chances of the rebels. However, it is prudent at this point not to over-interpret the implications of this report about France. From...
Our friends at Columbia Law School have asked us to announce a one-day conference celebrating the legacy of the late Louis Henkin. The conference will be held on March 28 in Jerome Green Hall: 4:00-5:00 pm A Commemoration of the Life and Legacy of Louis Henkin, JGH 104 Judge Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Sarah...
I just received Anuradha Kumar's book "Human Rights: Global Perspectives" from interlibrary loan. Perhaps they should increase the salary for book binders. [caption id="attachment_15191" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=""][/caption] ...
"Is Syria the next domino?" That's an official source asking, the State Department's e-diplomacy unit, tweeting under the somewhat awkward handle eDipAtState. Tweets from eDipAtState run the gamut, mostly re-tweets from other sources, but they suggestively tilt towards the next freedom fight. Iran, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Belarus -- these are places were the US is on record as supporting change. But...
On March 7, a federal court in New York issued an anti-suit injunction order enjoining Ecuador plaintiffs from enforcing the $9 billion Ecuador judgment against Chevron. The injunction applies to all Ecuador plaintiffs and their counsel, including "directly or indirectly funding, commencing, prosecuting, advancing in any way, or receiving benefit from any action or proceeding, outside the Republic of...
The UN has just released its comments on the ILC’s set of 66 Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (“RIO”) as document A/CN.4/637/Add.1 (available on the ILC website). The commentary is interesting both for what it says and what it doesn’t say. It should be noted that the comments take a more conciliatory view of the ILC’s enterprise than a number...
On behalf of the organizers and the APCML, of which I am a part, I want to call readers' attention to the following conference: AFFECTIVE STATES OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE 20 ‐ 22 July 2011 Melbourne Law School Presented by Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law (APCML) and Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) Supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant Convenors: Peter Rush...
Having just read through the new order quickly, a few thoughts. First, as had been long rumored, the order essentially sets up a periodic review system for the Guantanamo detainees. The review system is discretionary in nature, but appears designed to supplement the already existing and fairly robust review available to Gitmo detainees through the federal courts since...
