In association with the International Commission of Jurists

General

18 Jul

The U.S. government has recently announced it will recognize the Benghazi authority as the "legitimate" government of Libya.  But is it departing from international practice or the international law relating to statehood and recognition in order to do so? I have to admit I haven't followed the recognition of state vs. the recognition of government issue very closely (OK, not at...

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13 Jul

[This post is part of the Second Harvard International Law Journal/Opinio Juris Symposium.] In 2007, I authored two papers -- one for a military audience and another for a legal one -- arguing that debates over the law's response to the growing range of cyberthreats would likely track ongoing debates over law's response to terrorism. In that context, we've seen 4 options...

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11 Jul

Yes, it's true.  There must be dozens, perhaps even hundreds of newborns who are extended US citizenship every year even though they are "not subject to the jurisdiction thereof."  Find the evidence in a report from the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies here. Perhaps I shouldn't be so snarky: the report is a pretty interesting one.  It certainly plows new ground. ...

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08 Jul

A few months back, Opinio Juris was pleased to host an inaugural joint symposium with the Harvard International Law Journal.  Next week, we're very pleased to be able to regularize this partnership with a second symposium (I'm particularly pleased with this development for reasons that should become apparent below).  The symposium will run from Tuesday, July 12, to Friday, July 15, and...

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06 Jul

Cross posted at Balkinization Big news in the past day is the Obama administration’s announcement that a Somali national captured by the U.S. military somewhere in the Gulf has been transferred to New York for federal prosecution on terrorism-related charges.  According to the Justice Department (DOJ), the man, Warsame, was “questioned for intelligence purposes for more than two months” after his...

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04 Jul

QS World University Rankings has released its list of the world's top law schools.  Here are the top 30: 1.  Harvard 2.  Oxford 3.  Cambridge 4.  Yale 5.  Stanford 6.  Berkeley 7.  Columbia 8.  London School of Economics 9.  Melbourne 10. NYU 11. Sydney 12. McGill 13. Toronto 14. Chicago 15. Australia National University 16. UCLA 17. Michigan 18. Auckland 19. Victoria University Wellington 20. Monash 21. King's College London 22. University College London 23. University of British Columbia 24. National University Singapore 25. University...

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03 Jul

Ben Wittes, long an advocate for clearer domestic legislation authorizing U.S. detention operations, writes to ask whether my recent post favoring the Senate’s over the House’s version of pending legislation signals a shift in my position opposing new such legislation. The short answer is no. Here’s why. I’d praised the Senate’s draft of force authorization language as follows: “Where...

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02 Jul

Humberto Leal is scheduled for execution in Texas on July 7th. A Mexican national, Leal was not notified of his right to consular assistance under the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations. In light of the International Court of Justice's decision in the Avena case (Mexico v. U.S.), Congress is currently working on legislation to bring the U.S. into compliance with its international...

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29 Jun

The past week has seen various developments in Congress’ efforts to consider legislation regulating the detention of ‘unprivileged enemy belligerents’ at Guantanamo and beyond. Most notable, the Senate finally released the language of its version of the defense authorization bill, and it includes a number of provisions that parallel those passed by the House of Representatives back in May....

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