General

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has travelled to Indonesia, defying an international warrant for his arrest, to attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit. South Africa’s human rights record will be reviewed for the first time by the UN Human Rights Committee. Africa Union peacekeeping forces (AMISOM) backed by Somali...

In a tumultuous U.S. presidential campaign season, it is easy to conclude that the U.S. is hopelessly polarized between a proto-fascism and a proto-communism. But while there may be some truth to that observation with respect to immigration and economic policy, it is worth noting that the presidential candidates of both parties agree on many issues of foreign policy, even...

In a surprise announcement late last week, the Second Circuit granted a hearing in the Haiti Cholera Case.  The hearing will take place tomorrow, and the lawyers will have had only 4 days to prepare.    While no reasons were given as to why the hearing was granted so suddenly, the speculation is that upon reading the papers, at least...

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Angola said on Friday it has proposed that the United Nations Security Council impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, where more than 10,000 people have been killed in a two year civil war sparked by a political dispute between the country's leaders. Cameroon's army has killed...

Just a minute ago, President Obama announced yet again his intention and desire to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. There are no particular surprises here. From what I heard listening to his comments, the plan is merely a renewed push to get Congress to cooperate on closing the prison. Specifically, Obama suggested that the detainees who cannot be...

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Somali rebel group al-Shabab says it has seized an armed drone after it crashed in Somalia's southern Gedo region. Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a purported bomb attack on a passenger plane in Somalia earlier this month, saying it was targeted at Western officials and Turkish NATO...

Chimene Keitner has revised and updated David Bederman’s 2006 treatise on International Law Frameworks. This highly readable (and short) text addresses key cases, core disputes, and essential treaties in international law. Following Professor Bederman's passing in 2011, Keitner was asked to step in and take over the production of a new edition.   In the preface to this 4th edition, Chimene describes...

Justice Scalia's passing comes as a shock and is generating tributes across ideological lines. Indeed, whether you agreed with his opinions or not (and I was not a fan of his thinking on cases like Sosa or Bond), Justice Scalia's opinions deserved to be read.  Lines like "never-say-never jurisprudence" and "oh-so-close-to-relevant cases" are some of my personal favorites.  Readers should feel free to add...

After attending a great panel at ESIL in 2014 on International Law and Film, I’ve been thinking about how to integrate film into my public international law class. I’ve compiled a list of international law films (with help from colleagues and fellow bloggers) that make for excellent viewing.  In a subsequent post, I’ll offer some thoughts about teaching international law through...

As many of our readers may recall, the late Professor Michael Lewis was a great friend of this blog and an important voice in U.S. international law and national security scholarship.  To honor his memory, the Federalist Society has recently launched the first annual Michael Lewis Memorial Teleforum in his honor.  The podcast features Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap (Professor of the Practice of Law Executive Director,...

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for Friday's deadly attack on a U.N. police base in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu, a statement monitored by the SITE Intelligence group showed on Saturday. The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa, Honourable Reine...