This sounds like a bit of a publicity stunt by prosecutors at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone, but it could very well work. Prosecutors want to subpoena Miss Campbell to testify over claims she was given the "large" diamond by Taylor after a 1997 dinner hosted in South Africa by former president Nelson Mandela. The one Taylor is accused of giving...
Prof. Chimene Keitner at UC-Hastings has posted a short essay in the online version of the Yale Journal of International Law criticizing the novel and influential interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act proposed by Profs. Curtis Bradley and Jack Goldsmith. In a series of articles, Bradley and Goldsmith have argued that the FSIA's immunity for "foreign state[s]" should be interpreted...
John Robb notes the following on his excellent Global Guerillas blog: Coast Guard and BP's private military contractors team up to enforce media and scientific blackout (part of BP's information operations campaign) on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. Here, they are caught on camera turning away a CBS film crew. Coast Guard officials say they are looking into the incident. I look forward...
Interesting article from Reuters on the growth of drone warfare under the Obama administration. One interesting note: drone attacks are being contemplated for Yemen, Somalia, and even against pirates. Also, the key explanation for the Drone Wars appears to be the legal problems created by capturing, interrogating, and detaining individuals. Some current and former counterterrorism officials say an unintended consequence of...
Last week, President Obama submitted the Treaty with Russia on Measures for the Further Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms to the U.S. Senate. Reading it is tough going, given all the technical terminology. A couple of not very profound observation: 1) Is this Treaty self-executing? For the many pro-self execution folks, the answer should be yes (look at the Supremacy Clause!)....
The young Somali captured last year in dramatic U.S. Navy operation has plea bargained himself into a minimum 27 year sentence. A Somali man has pleaded guilty in New York's court to seizing a US ship and kidnapping its captain last year. Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse now faces a minimum of 27 years in prison. He is expected to be sentenced in October. Muse...
I guess this is why they need a ban on the burka in France. Stories like this make France seem decidedly more unpleasant for certain Muslims than Arizona is for illegal immigrants: France had its first case of “burka rage” at the weekend when a shopper allegedly tried to pull the veil from the face of a Muslim woman and the...
Justice Kennedy has returned to foreign sources in his Eighth Amendment jurisprudence with today's decision in Graham v. Florida, striking down state statutes sentencing juveniles to life without parole for crimes other than homicide: [A]s petitioner contends and respondent does not contest, the United States is the only Nation that imposes life without parole sentences on juvenile nonhomicide offenders. We also...
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its first-ever international family law opinion today in Abbott v. Abbott. You can access the decision here. In short, a 6-3 majority (authored by Justice Kennedy) found that the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction treats ne exeat rights (that is, rights to consent before the other parent takes the child...
I seriously doubt it, but Richard Sher, a former Department of Justice official in the Office of Special Investigations, thinks Goldstone's apartheid-era past justifies denying Goldstone a visa to the U.S. In a letter sent to US officials, Neal Sher, a former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said that recently disclosed information about Goldstone’s apartheid-era rulings raised...
Well, it's a good thing he already has another job lined up, although I agree with Kevin (!) that the ICC Prosecutor is making a mistake in bringing Garzon on board. The AP reports: MADRID — The Spanish judge who became an international hero by going after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended Friday for allegedly abusing his authority...
The International Law Association's 2010 Biennial Conference, “De Iure Humanitatis: Peace, Justice, and International Law” takes place August 15-20 in The Hague. Early reduced-fee registration ends tomorrow, May 15. It looks to be a great program, hosted by the Dutch Branch of ILA, with some fun side events in and around The Hague. (You may even see a couple of...
