In the long-running battle between Chevron and Ecuador over environmental damage, a federal court in New York has denied Ecuador's motion to stay arbitration of a Ecuador-U.S. BIT claim. In September 2009, Chevron filed a notice of arbitration alleging, among other things, that "Ecuador has breached ...
It is always unpleasant to get lectured by foreign governments about "violating international law", but this is something U.S. government officials should be used to. Still, it must be galling for the new U.S. administration to be lectured by Brazil's president over U.S. non-compliance with a WTO ruling on cotton subsidies. The United States must comply with a World Trade Organization...
Yesterday, the Japanese Government (now led by the Democratic Party after nearly five-plus decades of rule by the Liberal Democratic Party) confirmed that in the 1960s Japan and the United States entered into a series of secret defense pacts. Specifically, a committee of scholars has identified various tacit agreements allowing U.S. warships to carry nuclear weapons into Japanese ports, granting unrestricted use of...
I'm not exactly surprised to read this: United Nations human rights investigators called on the Obama administration on Tuesday to prosecute the accused September 11 masterminds in a civilian court, declaring that U.S. military tribunals would not be fair. The White House is reviewing options to bring the 9/11 detainees to justice and U.S. officials said on Friday senior administration officials may...
Given our past discussions about State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh on this list, I thought I'd pass along word of an upcoming event some might find of interest. My colleagues at the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security are hosting a breakfast discussion with Koh this coming Tuesday, March 16, from 8:00-9:00 a.m. ...
The always knowledgeable Marko Milanovic, responding to an earlier post of mine, reviewed the possibility of an international tribunal resolving the Falklands dispute here, and concludes that no court decision will happen because "...
As I have noted earlier, there is a pitched battle between victims of Pan Am 73 terrorist hijacking over the distribution of treaty funds secured by the United States for American victims in a 2008 diplomatic settlement with Libya. The treaty and Executive Order stipulate that the money shall be distributed solely for the benefit of United States nationals,...
Politico (linked here to Yahoo) carries a story today on a letter drafted by Benjamin Wittes and signed by a number of conservative and centrists lawyers, former Bush administration officials, and policy analysts on conservative attacks on the role of lawyers in terrorism cases - the so-called Al Qaeda 7 at the Justice Department. I'm one of the signers, but...
Our friends at the German Yearbook have asked us to post the following call for papers, and we are happy to oblige: The German Yearbook of International Law is Germany’s oldest yearbook in the field of public international law. The GYIL is published annually by the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel and contains contributions on...
I doubt it has a chance of passing, but it would be interesting to see how many votes this bill will get: A small group of U.S. lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement in the latest sign of congressional disillusionment with free-trade deals. The bill spearheaded by Rep. Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat, would...
Cross-posted at Balkinization This morning’s papers bring news from anonymous administration officials that “President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal.” See The Post’s story here. While I always take such preview reports with a grain of salt (is it an official...
Wow! It's not a done deal, but it sure looks like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is going back to a trial before a U.S. military commission, the Washington Post reports. President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that...
