In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Topics

18 Aug

The Journal of International Law and International Relations, published by the University of Toronto, is actively seeking submissions.  Here is their call for papers: Call for Submissions Volume 6, Issue 1 (Fall 2009) Deadline for Submissions: September 21, 2009 The Journal of International Law and International Relations (JILIR) invites submissions from scholars of both International Law and International Relations for its Fall 2009 issue....

|
17 Aug

A few weeks ago, a regular reader asked why we don't do more with private international law/conflicts of law matters here at Opinio Juris.  I'm not sure I had a good answer.  Certainly, those who follow these topics already have some resources to turn to, most notably the European-based Conflicts of Law.Net blog.  But these are important topics, and those who follow international...

|
14 Aug

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative frequently does impressive work; witness the U.S. WTO victory this week over China.   But when it comes to openness and transparency, USTR's efforts do not have the same shine; this is an agency notorious for its resistance to traditional inter-agency procedures (e.g., the C-175 procedure), let alone opening up its work to the public eye.   So, I...

|
13 Aug

The WSJ has a very important (and certain to be much debated) story today on the front page, "A Global Surge in Tiny Loans Spurs Credit Bubble in a Slum," WSJ, A1, Thursday August 13, 2009. Also see the follow on stories, "Group borrowing leads to pressure," which is about the problem that when you use 'peer pressure' rather than...

|
13 Aug

I spent last week on a beach in Florida (because everyone from Philly vacations in Florida in August).  I had left all my work at home, and was settling into a crime novel, David Hewson's The Sacred Cut, about a serial killer loose in my favorite city--Rome.  It was a light read, so I was willing to go along with...

|
13 Aug

The ever useful and interesting Crimes of War Project website has posted a useful background web article on the debate in the General Assembly over the scope and status of 'responsibility to protect' (R2P).  I've blogged at OJ about this before, citing to an Economist article summarizing the debate and some other things.  The COW report, by Katherine Iliopoulos, can...

|
12 Aug

In case this is of interest to Opinio Juris readers, I want to point out that I have a new essay posted to SSRN entitled Hearts and Minds and Laws: Legal Compliance and Diplomatic Persuasion. Here's the abstract: This essay, written for the South Texas Law Review’s Ethics Symposium, considers the role of international legal argument in the war on terror...

|
12 Aug

Last week I wrote a post suggesting that the federal "cash for clunkers" program did not violate the WTO subsidies program because it did not have the de facto or de jure effect of discriminating against foreign imports. But what about the broader Obama stimulus program? Does that pass WTO muster? This article from Bloomberg published last week...

|
11 Aug

Although this is pretty far from my usual focus, I've been interested to see the August D.C. doldrums filled in part with an interesting emerging discussion of what happens next with the U.S. and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her "great regret" in Kenya last week that the United States hadn't yet ratified the...

|