I apologize for arriving late to the party; I have only just had a chance to read Professor Ring's fascinating article completely through. There are many reasons why I would come to this article already predisposed to like it - I started out life as an international tax lawyer, for example, and I am also an unapologetic defender within the...
Both Professor Brooks and Professor Christians have identified important strands and tensions in the consideration of international tax, sovereignty, global relations among states, and universal commitments to humanity. Just reading their comments inspires me to continue researching these questions. Their observations tap into two significant unresolved issues of international tax and international relations: (1) How should the reality of politics,...
[Professor Allison Christians is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School] Professor Ring frames sovereignty as responsive to the basic relationship between people and government and thereby attempts to redeem the concept from its current status as “rhetorical camouflage” in tax policy debate. Her analysis presents a timely and important contribution and reflects the growing attention among...
[Professor Kimberley Brooks is H. Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation at McGill University] Diane Ring’s piece is, to borrow an analogy from Al Purdy, one of Canada’s finest and most popular poets, like a good jazz combo: it has a dominant unifying idea, tells a number of stories simultaneously, keeps a firm hand on the underlying themes, and...
I appreciate the remarks of Ken, Greg, and Anne. Just a few quick thoughts by way of response. First, I like the way Greg and Anne describe the teleology of the Nobel Peace Prize. I think that is an accurate way to put it. There are undeniable themes that wax and wane in the history of...
(Update, responding to Roger above: Let me stress that I have zero knowledge about Nobel Prizes apart from what I describe from my own experience below. I don't mean to generalize about them, although it sounds that way in part below. If there is any generalization that comes out of the experiences I mention below, it is about the nature...
[Professor Gregory Gordon is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law. Anne Kjelling is Head Librarian at the Norwegian Nobel Institute.] We would like to thank Professor Roger Alford, the Virginia Journal of International Law and Opinio Juris for inviting us to participate in this online symposium. Professor Alford is to be congratulated on his...
This weekend the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari for his role as an international mediator assisting in the resolution of international conflicts. The press release emphasized that throughout Ahtisaari's life he has worked for peace and reconciliation, with particular emphasis on his work in Namibia, Indonesia, Kosovo, and Iraq. Compared to last year's prize to...
That's the headline of today's New York Times article about Ali Kushayb, the janjaweed militia leader who has been indicted by the ICC. According to the article, the "[t]he move is widely being interpreted as a way for Sudan to improve its image abroad and attempt to head off the possible genocide prosecution of the country’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir." Honestly,...
Ladies and gentlemen, your peacemaker: Al-Bashir who rarely gives interviews told the British Channel 4 News from Khartoum that rape claims are made up by Darfuri women. “The women inside the camps are under the influence of the rebels and some are even relatives of the rebels. That’s why they make these claims” Al-Bashir said. “We are fully convinced that no rape took...
The Christian Science Monitor ran an important story on Darfur a few days ago, detailing how Bashir is using the claim that his indictment will derail the peace process as a smokescreen for continuing to wage war against the Darfurians. The title says it all -- "Sudan Makes Case Abroad While Still Bombing Darfur": "How will the ICC hamper the peace...
[caption id="attachment_4979" align="alignleft" width="118" caption="Sir Eli"][/caption] So, how much of a public international law wonk are you? If, like me, you are fascinated not only by the structure and substance of international law, but also the personalities that helped shape it, then you need to check out this oral history done by the Squire Law Library of Cambridge University with Sir...
