Last week, Max Boot of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote an op-ed in the NY Times that argued for re-orienting the State Department. Starting with a discussion of the fifty foreign service officers who received orders to go to Iraq, he wrote:However welcome, this is only a baby step toward a larger objective: to reorient the department and the...
The final, synthesis part of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC is being released today, in time for the Bali meeting of the FCCC conference of the parties, Dec. 3-14. Here's the summary for policymakers. Read it and weep. ...
What will international law look like in another generation? Extrapolating from current trends can be dangerous . . . but let's give it a try. One trend that’s well under way is the creation of universal international law. In his famous 1993 article by that name, Jonathan Charney argued that global problems require the creation of international...
I had the good fortune to attend, and participate in, Brooklyn Law School's conference yesterday on Corporate Liability for Grave Breaches of International Law. It was good to have a chance, for instance, to argue with Professors Bill Dodge and Beth Stephens one more time about what exactly Sosa v. Alvarez Machain means this time with respect to corporations....
The apparently insatiable Japanese appetite for whale meat is driving yet another Japanese whaling expedition to the South Pacific. This time, Japan is planning to hunt the much more endangered humpback whales. Japan is apparently hunting these whales under Article VIII of the Protocol to the International Whaling Convention: Notwithstanding anything contained in this Convention any Contracting Government may grant...
Three recent examples: ° A Seattle girl allegedly knocks off her roommate in Perugia (lurid sex involved). ° A school shooter in Finland got some pointers from someone similarly inclined in Pennsylvania (you're only a chat room away). ° A glamourous British couple's daughter goes missing in Portugal (foul play suspected). Not sure what to make of this, other than as another incident of...
By a 99-52 vote, with 33 abstentions, the United Nations' Third Committee has endorsed a worldwide moratorium on the use of the death penalty:It isn't the first time that a majority of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations has voted against capital punishment, but each time brings renewed promise to opponents of the practice. On Thursday, after two...
Readers interested in the Second Circuit's Khulumani decision -- whose analysis of aiding-and-abetting under customary international law I recently criticized -- should check out Anthony Sebok's new FindLaw column here. It provides an excellent overview and analysis of the decision. ...
The Iraqi government has released a draft of legislation that would revoke the immunity of private-security companies operating in Iraq. Here is the operative language:Article 1: Non-Iraqi security companies and its non-Iraqi employees and contractors shall be subject to the Iraqi legislations and the jurisdiction of the Iraqi judiciary in all civil and criminal cases. All immunities granted to...
Great story about the King of Spain Juan Carlos telling Hugo Chavez, "Why don't you shut up?" I wouldn't normally sympathize with such diplomatic indiscretions, but given Chavez's history and personality I'll make an exception. Details about the story are here and a good description of the context of the exchange is available here. Variations are now circulating throughout...
Does anyone see any specific major changes in U.S. ratification of outstanding treaties, or participation in international organizations, under the next president, whoever she or he may be? I haven’t seen too many positions by candidates on specific treaties, but I may well have missed them, since I do my best to avoid presidential debates! I did come...
Beginning today the Federalist Society is holding its 25th annual meeting. Details about the program are available here. The theme this year is American Exceptionalism. Almost 40 percent of the panels highlight some aspect of international relations, and there appears to be some ideological balance on each panel. If any of our readers happen to be...
