My thanks to Opinio Juris and the Yale Journal of International Law for inviting me to comment on an excellent article by Odette Lienau titled “Who is the Sovereign in Sovereign Debt?” 33 YALE J. INT’L L. 63 (2008). Odette addresses with aplomb the difficult problem of whether a government should be made responsible for the financial debts incurred by a...
Combining legal interpretation with political science analysis, this Article highlights the competing “statist” and “popular” conceptions of sovereignty at stake in sovereign debt issues. It argues that these two dominant approaches do not exhaust the offerings of intellectual history and considers an alternative approach that emerged in the early twentieth century and may be of relevance again today. The Article...
In an important first, Roma gathered in Rome on Sunday to protest their continued harrassment and persecution at the hands of the Italian government:The first national demonstration of Gypsies brought hundreds of people to the capital Sunday to protest recent episodes of racism in Italy that have targeted Roma and Sinti people, as they prefer to be called. "We're being used...
I wish to thank Karima Bennoune for her criticisms and comments on my article “Suspect Symbols: Value Pluralism as a Theory of Religious Freedom in International Law.” I wish also to thank Jon Finer and the editors of the Yale Journal of International Law for this wonderful opportunity to discuss the piece. The inspiration behind Suspect Symbols is the...
I am grateful for the opportunity to read and comment on Peter Danchin’s “Suspect Symbols: Value Pluralism as a Theory of Religious Freedom in International Law.” The tolerance that it advocates reflects a generally healthy human rights impulse. Hence, I wish that I could write a positive response to the article into which a great deal of thought...
Consider the following statutory provision: In public schools, students are prohibited from wearing symbols or attire through which they conspicuously exhibit a religious affiliation. Such a law, now familiar in the wake of the recent affaire du foulard in France, appears prima facie to violate the most basic tenets of the right to freedom of religion and belief in international law. Article...
The Yale Journal of International Law is pleased to inaugurate its partnership with Opinio Juris in this first online symposium. This week’s symposium will feature three articles recently published in Vol. 33-1 of YJIL, available here. Our discussion today will focus on the controversies that have arisen over attempts by states to regulate their citizens' wearing and display of religious symbols....
Kevin has no doubt put his finger on the key issues facing the ICC and Sudan. Plainly, the ICC is raising the stakes in its investigation of Sudan, a risky proposition given certain fragile peace accords emerging. More interesting to me is that the ICC last week revealed that it tried to capture wanted Sudan minister Ahmed Harun...
The ICL community is abuzz with news that the ICC Prosecutor appears ready to issue new indictments that connect the "whole state apparatus" in Sudan to the crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. Here's Mark Leon Goldberg:This is a big deal. On the one hand, indicting top government officials could seriously disrupt current diplomatic efforts to coax and cajole...
There is nothing wrong with spending a few days in SoCal in January! CALL FOR PAPERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAW SCHOOLS SECTION ON INTERNATIONAL LAW San Diego, California January 9, 2009 PROGRAM TOPIC: Taking International Law Seriously: Will the United States Abide by International Law that is a Law of Rules? PROGRAM SUMMARY: For the world at large, the rule of law is a law of rules....
Mexico is returning to the ICJ to seek an interpretation of the Avena judgment. Here is an excerpt from the press release: Today Mexico filed a Request for interpretation of the Judgment delivered on 31 March 2004 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America). Mexico...
Dr. Antoine Buyse of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University, has started a new blog on the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Posts are on topics as diverse as the use of separate opinions by the European Court of Human Rights, a review of a case on whether envrionment-friendly wind turbines are a nuisance (thus...
