Readers of this blog know that the top legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, John Bellinger, is not afraid to take on critics of the U.S. government's treatment of international law. He did so on this blog a few months ago. Yesterday, he went into the "capital" of international law, the Hague, to defend the U.S. administration's approach...
This is priceless — and uncannily insightful about the demonization of anyone who has the temerity to question the Bush administration's policies:WASHINGTON, DC — Breaking a 211-year media silence, retired Army Gen. George Washington appeared on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday to speak out against many aspects of the way the Iraq war has been waged. Washington, whose appearance marked the...
I guess I should've held my breath after all -- the Justice Department announced today that it will appeal Judge Cardone's decision to set Posada free:One month after a stinging loss, the Justice Department Tuesday appealed a Texas federal judge's dismissal of immigration fraud charges against Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles. In May, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone threw out...
In its relentless quest to recover the underseas treasure recently found by a Florida-based company, the Spanish government has instructed its Navy, pursuant to a court order, to detain to U.S. ships belonging to that company. Those ships are currently in Gibraltar, but apparently, they will be boarded and seized as soon as they leave Gibraltar and enter...
Over at International Law Reporter, Professor Jacob Cogan points out that the Neutrality Act has been invoked a bit more frequently than I suggested in my earlier post on the subject. For a discussion of other cases invoking the Act, check out his post as well as his very useful blog. ...
Uganda's President recently suggested that rebel Lord's Resistance Army leaders should opt for alternative Ugandan justice as a way of avoiding their arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court. Peace talks to end the ongoing civil war in northern Uganda have been affected by the ICC warrants for the four LRA leaders. According to Reuters, one alternative ritual would...
I intend to follow the Charles Taylor trial on Opinio Juris in the coming months. True international trial junkies, though, will want to add an invaluable new blog to their RSS readers: The Trial of Charles Taylor: International Criminal Justice in the Making. Sponsored by the Open Society Institute, the blog contains daily coverage of the trial, expert...
Check out Bobby Chesney's take over at National Security Advisors. Bottom line: "Given that Khadr was determined by a CSRT to satisfy the “enemy combatant” definition, and given that comparable language is used in § 948a(1) to describe who counts as an unlawful enemy combatant, it would seem that there is a strong case to be made that...
Here's something you don't see very often. U.S. federal prosecutors in Sacramento have charged 7 individuals with conspiring to overthrow the Laos government. Not just weapons violations, etc, but, with violating 18 U.S.C. 960, the Neutrality Act. According to the complaint, the defendants are being charged with "providing and preparing a means for furnishing the money of and taking part in...
The G-8 Summit is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday, and with the summit will come protesters — as many as 100,000, according to estimates. Those intending to protest have already been tarred by the violent clashes between anarchists and the police last week at a pre-summit protest in Rostock; police in Heiligendamm are gearing up for similar protests...
One of great perqs of teaching international law is the opportunity to participate in study abroad programs. I have done so almost every year since I started teaching, and this year I will be headed to Sweden to teach International Trade at Suffolk Law School's program in Lund. There is virtually no limit to the choices you have if you...
That's at the center of this interesting piece from Adam Liptak in today's NY Times, on an Alien Tort Statute claim alleging the enslavement of child jockeys in the camel-racing business. The case was brought by the class-action firm Motley Rice against two camel owners who also happen to be high-ranking officials of the United Arab Emirates. (Isn't...
