Owen Pell at White & Case has a chapter in our book Holocaust Restitution entitled, "Historical Reparation Claims: A Defense Perspective." The chapter in essence argues that a company that wishes to defend against historical reparation claims must have detailed knowledge about its company history. He writes, "A crucial lesson of the Holocaust asset cases is that companies must invest...
Over at the Exploring International Law blog, run by Anthony Arend (a former professor of mine at Georgetown), is an excellent post on the question of how any suits regarding warrantless NSA surveillance might reach the courts. I'm sure my colleagues here at Opinio Juris are much more qualified and capable of addressing this question than am I, but...
I have written on the madness of Mahmoud Ahmadinejah and the threat Iran poses to Israel. See here, here, and here. Other bloggers are now joining the fray.David Bernstein at Volokh Conspiracy has just returned from Israel and has this prediction: "I predict that Israel will strike Iran within the next few months, with the goal of disrupting...
The chances that Augusto Pinochet, age 90, may one day face prosecution increased dramatically this week after the Supreme Court of Chile ruled that he was fit to stand trial. Here is a link from the BBC, which has the best English coverage of the news. Photos and video clips from Chile showing Pinochet and the Supreme Court are available...
Last week, Yale Law School professors and students who oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito have published a paper called the "Alito Project." (Link) It analyzes Judge Alito's judicial decisions, but does not purport to do so objectively. Indeed, many of the participants in the project were quoted in the New York Times last month as openly opposing Judge Alito....
On this day of celebration for Jews and Christians, I thought I would spare you the daily grind of international news and commentary and give you a more human story. This is a true and inspiring story retold with permission from the person who lived it. I hope it will make you feel blessed that we live in a time...
My travelling during the past two weeks has prevented me from blogging. Luckily, our intrepid guest bloggers Duncan and Seth have filled in wonderfully, along with our Opinio Juris regulars. Although I have enjoyed reading posts from both Duncan and Seth (and I hate to start a fight on Christmas Eve), I have to disagree with some of Seth's analysis...
An Italian Judge today issued a European Arrest Warrant for 22 individuals alleged to have been involved in a CIA abduction of a Muslim cleric in Italy in 2002. Osama Mustafa Hassan was purportedly seized by CIA agents on February 17, 2003 in Milan, without permission from Italian authorities, and sent to Egypt for questioning. Mr. Hassan later alleged being...
In an earlier post, I wrote that the language of the 2001 resolution authorizing President Bush to use force against al Qaeda and international terrorism did not specifically cede power over the domestic arena. Thus, the use of the NSA to monitor the conversations of US citizens in this country without going through the FISA courts was likely both...
This morning we had our 100,000th visit to Opinio Juris. Peggy, Roger, Julian and I want to thank everyone for reading and returning to our site and especially for taking part in the discussions. We can’t believe that in less than a year there would be 100,000 visits to a site that focuses on our discussions on international law and...
In real news worthy of The Onion, here are a few stories circulating around the globe on the perils of Christmas:1. In Paisley, Scotland a gang of youth attacked Santa at a shopping mall. The Santa Claus, a.k.a. Malky Watret, used his bag as a shield and a Christmas tree as a sword to fend off the attackers. Santa said...
In yesterday's New York Times, we find an article in which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan bemoans the difficult year the UN has had in 2005. In particular, Annan gripes about the difficulties in creating a new Human Rights Council that will not have to seat notorious human rights violators like Sudan, the grueling ordeal of the oil-for-food scandal, and the...
