Talks have broken down at the African Union summit in Ethiopia on plans to solve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fueling conflict in the DRC, according to a UN official.According to B’Tselem, a rights group, Israel is breaking its own rules of engagement by using deadly...
For those of you wondering how seriously the Chinese media is taking the Philippines' arbitration claim against China over the South China Sea (there must be at least two of you out there), here is an illustrative cartoon from a Chinese newspaper, "JingChu Times", in Central China (although originally from another publication). Although one doesn't need to read Chinese to get...
This week on Opinio Juris, Duncan was thrilled that the Supreme Court had finally reached a decision on whether to grant certiorari in Bond v United States, a case that requires revisiting Missouri v Holland. Julian though questioned whether Bond v United States will matter, although he gave his own two cents on the treaty power and federalism later. Julian clearly got more excited...
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, announced the launch of a special investigation into drone warfare and targeted killings yesterday. The United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says...
This article from the Global Times, a hawkish state-controlled newspaper in China, probably reflects a little bit of the official Chinese view on the Philippines UNCLOS claim. It also contains this troubling bit of analysis, from a Chinese scholar: The international court would not take the case without agreements from all parties involved, Dong Manyuan, a researcher at the China Institute...
I am remiss in not linking earlier to this excellent and absorbing discussion of the upcoming US Supreme Court decision in Bond v. United States at the Volokh Conspiracy. Rick Pildes at NYU is doing a nice job, but he is single-handedly taking on Professors Nick Rosenkranz, Ilya Somin, and Eugene Kontorovich on various aspects of the treaty power and...
This treaty was totally NOT on my radar screen. But as the NYT reports: More than 140 nations adopted the first legally binding international treaty on Saturday aimed at reducing mercury emissions, after four years of negotiations on ways to set limits on the use of a highly toxic metal. The treaty was adopted after all-night negotiations that followed a week of...
North Korea has said it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States. Several European leaders have criticized British Prime Minister David Cameron's demand for radical reform of the EU and promise of an "in-out" referendum on UK membership. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a move...
It’s becoming a trend …. international law apps that aim to influence policy makers and engage the public. The app for “Children and Armed Conflict” (sponsored in part by the Mission of Liechtenstein) collates information on the legal framework and grave violations relevant to the effects of armed conflict on children, as well as providing recent news, background information on...
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk is stepping down in late February. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has given his long-awaited speech on UK membership of the EU, promising a referendum in 2017 if the Conservative Party wins the 2015 elections. North Korea has responded angrily to the UN Security Council Resolution condemning its December rocket launch and expanding sanctions against the state. Jordan is holding elections today under...
Former Bush State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger has a complicated op-ed arguing that the U.S. should be prepared to intervene militarily in Syria, even if its intervention is not strictly legal. His argument is complicated because he rejects the idea that any intervention in Syria now, even with the agreement of the Syrian Opposition, would violate existing international law. The escalating...
Russia is evacuating its citizens from Syria, which is interpreted as a loss of confidence in President Assad's chances of winning the civil war. The US has circulated a draft UN Security Council Resolution condemning last month's rocket launch in North Korea. The resolution has the support of China and presumably also Russia. A Japanese lawmaker is in Beijing for talks to defuse...
