The Hudson Institute's John Fonte has a new book out, Sovereignty or Submission: Will American Rule Themselves or Be Ruled by Others? (Encounter Books). From the title you don't have to know John to know what his answer would be. Fonte is an unabashed sovereigntist, vaunting its "Philadelphian" strain (located in the people, as opposed to the Westphalian variant based...
Anton Metlitsky, an attorney that is defending Rio Tinto from a similar ATS lawsuit as Kiobel's, drops me this useful reminder about another hurdle facing the Kiobel plaintiffs. In a recent post, you say that “the only way plaintiffs will prevail is if they convince a majority of the Court (meaning Justice Kennedy), that the question of corporate liability is really...
For those interested in expanding their international law reading and/or writing horizons, the Virginia Journal of International Law is now welcoming submissions to its new online companion, the Virginia Journal of International Law Digest (VJIL Digest). The idea, which seems part of a useful trend among a number of the student edited law journals, is to publish short pieces focusing...
Here's something you don't see every day: Oxford University is seeking applicants for the Chichele Professorship of Public International Law. Oxford's announcement begins as follows: The Oxford Faculty of Law is a major centre for the study of international law. We aim to build Oxford’s role in the field, as international law becomes increasingly important and complex, and more closely involved with...
The Kiobel oral arguments have spawned lots of media coverage and commentary. I think this matters more than usual because the way this case plays out in the court of public opinion is going to have an effect on the justices. For instance, Dahlia Lithwick at Slate concludes that.. The skepticism of the court’s conservative bloc notwithstanding, this is a case...
Here is the second round of my exchange with Professor David Weissbrodt over at Pointoflaw. I begin by citing the following exchange during Kiobel's oral argument yesterday. SULLIVAN: ...
[Chimène Keitner is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.] The oral arguments in Kiobel and Mohamed will doubtless generate a new round of commentary on these cases. A “quick response” panel is planned for Thursday, followed by a Georgetown Law symposium on March 27 and an ASIL annual meeting panel on March 31. Since I...
... from this morning's hearing: Kiobel and Mohamad. I would be curious as to readers' prognostications of how the Justices will rule based on the oral arguments today. (Thanks for comments, interested in more. For example, where did this extraterritoriality question suddenly materialize from and does it portend something different from what was originally thought? You can also see John...
[Juan E. Méndez is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and a Professor at American University Washington College of Law.] Torture is illegal and immoral, and like slavery, we should have abolished it by now. And yet its use continues to haunt our societies. In fact, the issue of torture —...
I am participating this week in a discussion on Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, the case on corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute that will be argued tomorrow at the Supreme Court, at the Manhattan Institute's Point of Law Blog. My interlocutor will be Professor David Weissbrodt of the University of Minnesota. Here is a snippet of my opening...
In case you missed it, Rick Santorum asserted earlier this month that it's open season on old people in the Netherlands - that euthanasia accounts for 10% of all deaths and that the elderly walk around with "Do Not Euthanize" bracelets in the way of medical alerts. Nothing new on the home front: it's long been red meat for Republicans to...
Our thanks to everyone who has participated in this symposium—John Bellinger, David Sloss, Chimene Keitner, and Steve Vladeck—as well as to Matt Christiansen, who has coordinated the symposium for YJIL. It’s been such a pleasure to see the thoughtful and varied reactions to our Article. Here we take the opportunity to offer a few brief words in response...
