In association with the International Commission of Jurists

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24 Feb

Emerging disputes over oil drilling and natural gas exploration in the Falklands should provide an ideal test case for international dispute resolution. Argentina appears to be ready to contest UK drilling for hydrocarbons in the Falklands' exclusive economic zone. Britain rejected Argentine objections to oil exploration off the disputed Falkland Islands on Tuesday, saying the drilling was within international law. Argentine President...

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23 Feb

The following is a guest-post -- actually a short book-proposal -- by my friend Mark Osiel, the Aliber Family Chair in Law at the University of Iowa.  I have agreed to post it despite the inordinate jealousy I feel toward his remarkable productivity.  Mark would greatly appreciate comments and criticisms, especially examples and counter-examples of what he is trying to...

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23 Feb

That's the question, sort of, raised in Totes-Isotoner v. United States, the most interesting tariff classification case you will ever read. Under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, men's glove have a tariff rate of 14 percent whereas gloves "for other persons" have a rate of 12.6 percent. An importer of gloves, Totes-Isotoner, argues that these duties unconstitutionally discriminate on...

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23 Feb

Sure, it's in Roman Polanski's new film, The Ghost Writer.  But it's still cool -- especially when the Prime Minister, played by an excellent Pierce Brosnan, is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for aiding and abetting torture by the United States! I have to admit, I never thought I'd live to see Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute...

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22 Feb

The usual meeting of U.S. governors this year has an added wrinkle: the participation of premiers from Canadian provinces. Provincial leaders wrapped up three days of meetings with U.S. governors in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger said the unprecedented get-together paves the way for improved relations between Canada and the U.S. “It’s the first time the governors and...

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22 Feb

I am sitting in the Indianapolis airport as I write this, heading home from a conference on the Milosevic trial.  The conference was easily the most enjoyable I've ever attended -- I vastly prefer small, specialized conferences to mega-events like the AALS or ASIL.  The attendees were a superb mix of academics, former OTP investigators and analysts, and defence attorneys. ...

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21 Feb

Over at Discover.com, Brian Lamb reports on a lecture by Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, an American Jesuit who is a research astronomer for the Vatican Observatory (and has archived blog posts here). On the issue of asteroid mining (which we tangentially touched upon in this discussion on legal issues related to mining the Moon), Lamb describes the opening of  Brother Consolmagno's argument: Can...

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21 Feb

The release of the final report on the Yoo/Bybee "torture memos" reminds us of how government lawyering can intersect with the interpretation of international law.  And so just in time, the Yale Journal of International Law will be hosting a conference next Friday, February 26, on "Government Lawyering and International Law." Harold Koh, John Bellinger, and lots of other less...

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20 Feb

I don't have much time, but it's important to note that although David Margolis may be a career attorney, he has made a career out of preventing government officials from being held accountable for their misconduct.  From Scott Horton: But “Yoda” Margolis also knows the “dark side” of political intrigue. He was long the man to whom political appointees could...

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20 Feb

After five years, the U.S. Department of Justice has finally released its report of its internal investigation into the legal advice provided by its attorneys that became known as the "Torture Memos."  The lead investigator was the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) which issued a report recommending referring John Yoo and Jay Bybee to their state bars for disciplinary proceedings....

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