I agree that the relatively slow progress in U.S. treaty-making is not all the fault of the sluggish Obama Administration. The Senate no doubt is a big obstacle to treaty-making, . Still, I think the idea that the U.S. should join treaties, simply in order to show the world that we are willing to join treaties, is a really bad...
The showdown between the ICC and its prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo over the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo continues, as the Court ordered Lubanga's release. I assume Moreno-Ocampo will appeal (he has five days), but if his appeal is rejected, this could turn out to be a huge embarrassment for the prosecutor. In any event, it is certainly messy. Judges at the International Criminal...
This web video nearly fooled people into believing France was about to pay Haiti billions in reparations for payments Haiti made to France ensure its independence. Yes, like that was going to happen. France quickly released a statement declaring the whole thing a hoax. This hoax was so well done that it leads me to wonder what other interesting statements could...
The massive U.S. financial regulation legislation, known as "Dodd-Frank", is finally heading to President Obama for signature. In addition to containing a partial reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the bill also contains some rather stern instructions for the U.S. representative at the International Monetary Fund. The instructions are so stern that they...
The much-awaited ICJ advisory opinion on Kosovo will be released on July 22 at 3 p.m (local Hague time): On Thursday 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Advisory Opinion on the question of the Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the Provisional...
As I predicted, the Pre-Trial Chamber has approved genocide charges for Bashir: The International Criminal Court has issued a second arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir - this time for charges of genocide. He already faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he denies. The ICC first indicted him in March 2009 but he has not...
OK, I'll admit up front that this is a relatively narrow topic. But I've written a chapter on the U.S. Supreme Court's approach to treaties from 1861 to 1900 (you can download it here). The project's initial appeal was participating in this great conference last year at Santa Clara on the history of the Supreme Court and International Law. Bill Dodge, Mike Ramsey...
On her new article in the latest AJIL, "Power and Persuasion in Investment Treaty Interpretation: The Dual Role of States." Although not the expert Roger and others are on investment law, I've read this closely and think it is a blockbuster article. Anthea Roberts, currently a junior professor at LSE, is one of the brightest and best of the young-young...
As I noted in my previous post, the OTP argued that it had an "independent statutory obligation" to protect witnesses that permitted it to ignore the Trial Chamber's order to reveal the intermediary's identity to the defense. The Trial Chamber rejected that claim, and rightfully so. There is no such obligation -- or, perhaps more precisely, there is no such...
At least two of the Russian spies are naturalized US citizens -- Vicky Palaez and her husband Mikhail Vasenkov (aka Juan Lazaro). In Palaez's case, at least, it looks like there was nothing fraudulent about her naturalization (presumably there's a case that her husband's was, though I haven't seen anyone make it). As part of the plea agreement, Palaez agrees to...
This, over at EJILTalk! Amrita responds to earlier posts by Brad Roth and me, in a discussion that started out around an EJIL article of mine, The Rise of International Criminal Law. We all have since moved the discussion to a variety of things, and Amrita's response is very interesting and worth reading in continuing those debates. One of the questions...
I don't make that claim lightly. Despite my belief that Moreno-Ocampo has been a disaster as a prosecutor, I have consistently opposed calls for his removal, whether because of his retaliation against an employee for accusing him of sexual harassment or because he decided to pursue genocide charges against Bashir. I even opposed his ouster when his misuse of confidentiality...
