Was I unfair in calling Barack Obama "hypocritical" in issuing his (otherwise sensible and constitutional) signing statements last week? Hypocrisy is a strong charge. On the other hand, Obama explicitly denounced the "theory of George Bush that he can make laws as he is going along" by using signing statements and then flatly promised not to use any such statements...
The ICC's case in support of the genocide charge is taking a beating, as this Washington Post article details. The problem might be Moreno-Ocampo's erratic leadership, or it could be the ICC as a whole has too many brilliant ambitious lawyers with not nearly enough to do. So they are quietly undermining Moreno-Ocampo by resigning or by writing articles critical...
Ordinarily I wouldn't post the table of contents for a symposium in an international law review, but let me herewith make an exception: 10 Chicago Journal of International Law 1 (Summer 2009) Symposium: GREAT POWER POLITICS The Language of Law and the Practice of Politics: Great Powers and the Rhetoric of Self-Determination in the Cases of Kosovo and South Ossetia Christopher J. Borgen 10 Chi...
With the Supreme Court term now complete, I thought it would be useful to give a brief year-end review of the Court's decisions. The Supreme Court produced no blockbuster cases this year on any subject related to our discipline. It was truly a sleeper year. There were three cases addressing immunity; two cases addressing asylum, one case...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Various developments on the resolution-of-Gitmo front to discuss. First a quick note on a recent signing statement. Then on to rumors of a contemplated executive order on detention issues. The war spending bill I recently mentioned barring the president from bringing any current Gitmo detainees to the United States was signed into law by the President...
This would otherwise be a non-event, except for the fact that Kosovo's accession to the IMF and World Bank is a further blow to Serbia's ongoing case to deny Kosovo legal recognition as an independent state. Should international economic institutions like the IMF and World Bank wait for the ICJ to rule on Kosovo's status before taking such a step?...
Iraqis are wondering if their legislators should be permitted to hold dual citizenship (see here). Current law permits multiple nationality but not among those holding "senior positions" in the government. Some want to clarify the bar to include parliamentarians. There's apparently some concern that dual citizenship gives corrupt officials an escape hatch, as in, they have someplace to flee when...
After more than a decade of legal wrangling, Chile has finally ratified the Rome Statute. Chile's accession means that every country in South America is now a member of the ICC -- a significant accomplishment. Congratulations, Chile!...
Events in Honduras occurred while I was in a plane on a long flight, so I do not have enough of a grasp of what the facts are, or appear to be, to offer an opinion. However, I wanted to note that, whatever they are exactly, they seem to have touched off an interesting, and not inconsequential debate, over what...
I have posted a new essay on SSRN: "Completion Strategies and the Office of the Prosecutor." The essay is my contribution to a multi-year research workshop at Catholic University Leuven on the history of the prosecutor in international criminal law; the workshop will culminate in a book to be published by Oxford in 2010. Here is the abstract: With the exception...
Update, July 3, 2009. The Economist of July 4, 2009 has a useful, short article on the EU's proposals for reforming global finance, "Divided by a Common Market." I will put up a separate post with some excerpts from the piece.) I spent the plane flights back and forth to Prague over the weekend mostly reading, uninterrupted and straight through, the...
Remember the dangerous George W. Bush whose outrageous executive power arguments were leading us toward a Nazi-style dictatorship? It's a good thing we elected a new President who...
