A quick review of Judge Alito's decisions suggests very few that have international law implications. One recent decision that merits significant attention is Chen v. Ashcroft, 381 F.3d 221 (3d Cir. 2004). At issue is whether the fiancée of a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion in China is entitled to asylum.Factually the case is extraordinarily sympathetic. A...
This is an interesting story. Under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, Canada has charged a Rwandan living in Canada of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Under Article 8 of the Act, Canada can charge anyone for genocide if the crime or the criminal has a Canadian nexus. This is very broadly defined to include (1)...
This past week, the President of the ICJ Shi Jiuyong addressed the U.N. General Assembly as part of of the ICJ's submission of its annual report (which can be found here, the President's speech can be found here). It was, of course, very boring. But it also reveals that the ICJ doesn't realize the seriousness of the problem I have...
Albany Law Review sponsored a symposium today on the topic of “Outsourcing Authority: Citation to Foreign Court Precedent in Domestic Jurisprudence.” It included a number of speakers, including Ken Kersch, Susan Karamanian, John McGinnis, John Baker, Mark Tushnet and yours truly. Wonderful debate about Roper v. Simmons, Lawrence v. Texas, Charming Betsy and the general trend toward...
Peter Spiro and Dan Bodansky at the University of Georgia Law School are hosting a symposium this weekend to discuss and critique Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner's informative and provocative book, The Limits of International Law. I discussed the book's central thesis -- that international law is merely a reflection of states acting rationally to pursue their interests in relation...
The final Volcker Independent Inquiry Committee Report has been released (see here). News summaries have generally emphasized the final report's conclusion that over 2000 companies participating for Oil-for-Food were involved in illegal or at least illicit kickback schemes with the Saddam Hussein Iraqi government. But the report also rightly faults the U.N. itself for failing to prevent or stop such...
Justices Breyer and Scalia have now taken their debate about foreign precedent on the road. They were in Melbourne, Australia this weekend to discuss with Australian High Court Justices Kirby and Heydon the topic of judicial activisim. A summary of the discussion is in a John O'Sullivan column here. (No word yet from the University of Melbourne as to whether...
While on the subject of foreign precedent, the ABA has published a letter and issued a news report that sharply criticizes H.Res. 97, the resolution that expresses the sense that "judicial interpretations regarding the meaning of the Constitution ...
Senator Feinstein has withdrawn her bill that would amend the Alien Tort Statute. Her terse letter to Senator Specter states that while the legislation was designed to address concerns about the clarity of the existing statute in light of Sosa "I believe that the legislation in its present form calls for refinement in light of concerns raised by human rights...
Julian, regarding your last post, I take a different view of the Canadian softwood lumber cases. My perspective on whether the United States shall give effect to international tribunal decisions depends first and foremost on whether there is a federal mandate relevant to the question. Obviously our obligation to implement a decision of an ICSID arbitral panel is very different...
U.S. Secretary of State Rice is visiting Canada this week in a likely futile attempt to defuse a worsening U.S.-Canada trade dispute over softwood lumber. As I've blogged in the past (here and here), U.S. relations with Canada have been steadily worsening over the past few years over a variety of issues. But the refusal of the U.S. to comply...
