I recently had the honor of chairing a panel on the Responsibility to Protect at the annual Canadian Council of International Law (CCIL) conference in Ottawa. The evolving contours of this concept provided for a stimulating exchange between panelists Lieutenant Colonel David Antonyshyn, Dr. Joanna Harrington, and Ryan Liss. I highlight some of the themes here for broader reflection and...
[Christian J. Tams holds the Chair of International Law at the University of Glasgow - School of Law] Let me start off by saying that to participate in the Oxford Guide to Treaties has been a real privilege: it is a great book that combines theoretical reflection and practical insights. I am particular impressed by the list of treaty clauses included...
First of all, I need to say thank you to all the contributors to the current symposium on my book, The Oxford Guide to Treaties. It's quite common in academic circles to have symposia on "affairs of the day" (and, to be clear, those affairs often trigger very important issues like targeted killing, cyberwar, climate change, the EU fiscal crisis,...
[Catherine Brölmann is Associate Professor of Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam] Particular features in the interpretation of constitutive treaties or secondary acts of international organizations reflect the special nature of the law of organizations, which brings both contractual and institutional features in the treaty process. Following up on posts of Richard Gardiner, who brings up pertinent questions regarding treaty...
I'll join the chorus of praise for my colleague Duncan's book. It will clearly become the standard reference work in the area. As IL scholarship proliferates, there is a lot of smart money in handbook volumes such as this one. The Oxford Guide to Treaties is a one-stop source for the best thinking on the subject. Duncan is also to be...
[Geir Ulfstein is Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Oslo] Treaty law is increasingly acquiring a public character. One reason is that more and more treaties set up treaty bodies, i.e. organs that are neither formal international organizations nor international courts. Examples are the Conference of the parties (COPs) used in international environmental law, the Antarctic Treaty...
The EU has welcomed progress made late last week by the International Civil Aviation Organization on a the regulation of global aviation greenhouse gas emissions. Syrian opposition groups have agreed to unite and have chosen Moaz al-Khatib as their leader. Spillovers of the conflict have meanwhile affected Israeli presence in the Golan Heights. At an emergency ECOWAS summit, West African leaders have agreed to send a...
With the US elections dominating the headlines this week, Peter Spiro argued that the impact of the US president on populations who are unable to vote in the election, and are not even allowed to make campaign contributions, reveals another limit of state-based institutions. Deborah Pearlstein asked whether President Obama's promise that a "decade of war is ending" includes the "war"...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Of the many memorable lines in President Obama’s eloquent victory speech on Tuesday, the Chicago crowd reserved some of its greatest applause not for the line trumpeting the economy’s ongoing recovery, but for the news that “a decade of war” was coming to an end. Tuesday’s speech was not the first time the President has made such...
The International Court of Justice will deliver its judgment in Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia) on Monday, November 19, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. (Hague time). The European Court of Human Rights upheld the German judgment that placed a ban on the use of holocaust images in a PETA animal-rights campaign poster. Human Rights Watch published a report on migrant women...
[Ed Swaine is Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School] I'm pleased that the subject of reservations, which is near and dear to my heart, is attracting the attention of such esteemed commentators. The illuminating comments by Professor Stewart and Dean Koh, which I had the chance to read while preparing this post, focused in part on the severability solution,...
The Atlantic has a piece on the foreign policy priorities of Obama's second term. Shortly after Obama's re-election, the US has supported a call in the UNGA's Disarmament Committee to revive talks on an Arms Trade Treaty. Other reactions to Obama’s re-election: it may be the right time to reopen negotiations with Iran and it may spell trouble for Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu. Puerto Rico...
