According to WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden--responsible for leaking the NSA security program--is seeking asylum in some 20 countries including China, India and Norway. After the backlash coming from the European Union amid reports that the US was spying on the EU, President Obama tried to allay fears by saying the US along with all countries' intel services are involved in trying to...
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Tens of thousands of Croatians cheered the country's entry into the European Union. Ecuador's Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, has called on the US to explain itself to the world over its massive spy program. Millions of people have taken to the streets of Cairo and other cities across Egypt, demanding the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi amid sporadic violence that left several...
Those international investment law nerds out there know that Article 54 of the ICSID Convention requires each state party to "recognize an award rendered pursuant to this Convention as binding and enforce the pecuniary obligations imposed by that award within its territories as if it were a final judgment of a court in that State." Many of you also probably know...
This week on Opinio Juris, our main event was a book symposium on Katerina Linos' The Democratic Foundations of Policy Diffusion, introduced here (along with details on OUP's special offer to our readers). David Zaring and Larry Helfer kicked off the symposium on Monday, and Katerina responded here. On Tuesday, Eric Posner commented on the relationship between policy diffusion and international law, and Ryan...
Article 37(1) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) provides that a diplomat's immunity extends to cover "[t]he members of the family of a diplomatic agent forming part of his household ...
John Kyl, Douglas Feith, and John Fonte have this offering in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs. It's a strong restatement of the sovereigntist position on the incorporation of international law from a powerful trio - Kyl, the sovereigntist legislator par excellence; Feith, the veteran executive branch point-man; and Fonte, the house intellectual. But the piece feels tired from the...
Human Rights Watch has called on China to end forcible relocations of ethnic Tibetans. South Korea's President Park is in Beijing for her first talks with the new Chinese administration, in a visit that is seen as increasing pressure on North Korea to return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. EU Finance Ministers have agreed on a blueprint on how to deal with bank...
Violent clashes in China's western Xinjiang province, home to the Uighur minority, have killed 27 people. President Obama gave his long-awaited speech on climate change yesterday, but it fell short of environmentalists' expectations. During his visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Kerry has been pressed by Saudi leaders to respond to the "genocide" in Syria. US officials are hoping...
The Taleban has claimed responsibility for an attack on the compound that houses the Presidential Palace and the CIA Headquarters in Kabul. US Secretary of State Kerry has meanwhile assured Afghanistan's neighbours that the US will maintain a military presence even after next year's withdrawal of combat troops. The mystery surrounding Edward Snowden's whereabouts continues, as does the diplomatic fallout. In his...
Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong for Moscow, a first stop on his way to Ecuador via Cuba and Venezuela. The NYTimes' blog reports that the final call to let Snowden leave was made by China. Israel has carried out air strikes in the Gaza strip after rockets were fired into Israel overnight. The Emir of Qatar is expected to announce today...
This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin flagged three problems with the PTC's decision on Libya's obligation to surrender al-Senussi to the ICC. He also discussed Libya's admissibility challenge: he criticized the defence's response to the challenge for adopting the due process thesis and he argued why the President's refusal to excuse one of the Appeals Chamber judges is erroneous. Kevin also turned his...
