The UN Security Council's approval of the no-fly zone over Libya serves to answer the thorniest jus ad bellum questions, but there are also jus in bello questions that need to be answered. Most importantly, what kind of conflict is this? Before the UN became involved, the conflict was clearly a conflict "not of an international character" (NIAC) between...
I wanted to call readers' attention to an upcoming web seminar on Libya held by Harvard's Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. The Program's web seminars are always excellent, and this one -- which features Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Nicholas Burns -- shapes up to be superb. Here are the details: On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the Program on Humanitarian...
My colleague Anne Orford has a fascinating contribution today to the official blog of the London Review of Books questioning the universality of the supposedly universal international law that underlies the Security Council's authorization of military action in Libya. Here is a taste: In 1954, Carl Schmitt bemoaned the destruction of European international law in the 20th century. According to...
I don't have anything of my own to add to the very instructive debate underway over Congressional authority and war powers, and actions authorized by the Security Council under Chapter VII. However, to go with the terrific interventions by Michael Ramsey and others, I wanted to flag Michael Glennon's 1991 AJIL article on this topic, which he has now put...
[Rachel Davis is Legal Advisor to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights] On March 24, the UN released a much-anticipated set of Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. The Guiding Principles seek to provide for the first time an authoritative global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse human rights impacts...
In previous posts I’ve argued that the U.S. intervention in Libya requires congressional approval under the Constitution’s original meaning and that there’s no longstanding uncontested precedent that would warrant departure from that meaning. Here I’ll consider the significance of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973, calling for a cease fire by the Libyan government and authorizing nations to use...
I'm in Los Angeles, on my way home to Melbourne. I had not attended an ASIL conference in five years, since I was teaching at Georgia, and I'm very glad I attended this one. I met a number of interesting people, including some with whom I've had a virtual friendship for a number of years. (I still have not met...
My previous post argued that the original meaning of the declare war clause requires the President to get Congress’ approval before beginning military conflicts (including the current conflict in Libya). I’ll now turn to two leading counterarguments: first, that Presidents have routinely engaged in low-level conflict without Congress’ approval; and second, that the President’s action to enforce a resolution of...
Greetings from Washington, where several OJ bloggers are attending the American Society of International Law Annual Meeting. Congratulations to the meeting co-chairs and organizing committee for putting together a terrific program. If you are attending the meeting or in Washington, please stop by The Bar at the Ritz-Carlton for an informal gathering of the OJ team at 7:00 pm tonight,...
I appreciate the opportunity to guest blog on the Constitution and the Libya intervention. In a post at Slate, Jack Goldsmith says that the Constitution’s original meaning in this area is “indeterminate.” I respectfully disagree: I think congressional approval is clearly required. In this post I’ll set out my basic argument, and in the next one I’ll consider leading counterarguments. Every...
We are pleased to welcome Michael Ramsey back to Opinio Juris, this time as a guest blogger. Mike is a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego Law School where he teaches U.S. Constitutional Law, Foreign Relations Law and International Business Transactions. His scholarship often focuses on U.S. foreign relations; he is the author of The Constitution's Text...
Can the coalition forces using force in Libya under the Security Council’s authorizing resolution lawfully target Gaddafi personally? This question has provoked some heated back and forth among political leadership of several coalition countries, including the US and the UK: Yesterday a war of words erupted between the U.S. and Britain after the U.K. government claimed Muammar Gaddafi is a legitimate target for...
