Much of my work focuses on international sources theory, not exactly the material for a scintillating, timely blogpost, and I initially thought I should probably spare you my thoughts on it. (As a footnote, an early draft of my entry-level job talk paper was titled, “Taking Opinio Juris Seriously.” I understand this had some of the OJ members on hiring...
Let me start by thanking Peggy and the whole OJ crew for inviting me to be a guest here. I very vividly remember the first time I found this blog, back when it had just gotten started (and was still at its previous address). It was among the very first law blogs I had seen, right around the...
Professor Harlan Cohen of the Univ. of Georgia Law School will be guest blogging with us for the next few weeks. Among his other achievements prior to joining the UGA faculty in 2007, Harlan was a Furman Fellow at NYU Law School and on the staff at Foreign Affairs. He teaches and writes in international law in the U.S, international legal...
Please forgive the fact that this post has nothing to do with international law, but it's something very personal and very important to me. As Jonathan Adler noted today at Volokh Conspiracy, the California Supreme Court will soon decide whether Stephen Glass, the former New Republic journalist who was caught inventing stories, should be permitted to practice law: Glass was fired...
Over at Lawfare, I have posted a brief review of three books on international law, war, and counterterrorism, with a particular focus on the changing shape of counterterrorism through drone warfare and targeted killing. These are all excellent books and I commend them to the scholarly community. Noam Lubell, Extraterritorial Use of Force Against Non-State Actors (Oxford 2010) Kimberley N. Trapp, State Responsibility for...
Here is a nice example of how international organizations and international lawyers can conspire to make international law seem ridiculous. Bus and subway workers had a right to strike in 2005 and their leader was wrongly jailed, a United Nations agency has found. The International Labor Organization said the state’s Taylor Law, which makes it illegal for public workers in New York...
[Note from ed.: This is the final commentary on Kevin Heller's book,The Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Origins of International Criminal Law. Earlier commentaries can be found under the "related posts" link below and at the companion discussion of the book at EJIL: Talk!] Jurists, legal scholars and historians – groups that often find much to disagree about – appear unified...
We want to thank the participants in the symposium once again for their fantastic comments on our article. We have really enjoyed watching the discussion unfold. Here we offer a few words in response. In his post, Peter Spiro suggests that we are operating from a “sovereigntist premise.” If what Peter means by this is that we...
Outcasting is an important contribution to international legal theory and an engaging read. But I wonder if the theory isn't limited by its assumption that sovereignty continues to be foundational to international law. The article closes with this: It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of state sovereignty in international law. The international legal system is both created by and creates...
Profs. Hathaway and Shapiro’s article, “Outcasting: Enforcement in Domestic and International Law,” is a very provocative and original piece of scholarship. Outcasting as a central mode international law enforcement has not received such a sustained and systematic study as they have. I am delighted to add a few thoughts to this discussion with thanks to Prof. Hollis for the opportunity. As...
Starting this coming Tuesday, Opinio Juris is pleased to host a joint symposium with the Yale Law Journal on a new article by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro, Outcasting: Enforcement in Domestic and International Law. Here's the abstract: This Article offers a new way to understand the enforcement of domestic and international law that we call “outcasting.” Unlike the distinctive method...
Again and again, my fellow citizens, mothers who lost their sons in France have come to me and, taking my hand, have shed tears upon it not only, but they have added, "God bless you, Mr. President!" Why, my fellow citizens, should they pray God to bless me? I advised the Congress of the United States to create the situation...
