I have a tendency to be skeptical about reports regarding how bad (or good) things are going in Iraq. It is one of those subjects where it seems the messenger's bias often influences the outcome of the message. For example, the Washington Post reported in October 2004 that "at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians may have died because of...
If you go to the New York Times homepage today there is a large advertisement for the CNN documentary on Osama Bin Laden scheduled tonight at 9 p.m. EST. Should be interesting. But the review of the documentary in the Times is less than flattering. My favorite line is "[w]ith the heavy rotation of soulful portraits of the soft-voiced...
Given how interesting the discussion about Roger's post about Ann Althouse and Judge Taylor's decision in the NSA case have been, I think it's worth opening up the discussion to readers who don't necessarily read beyond the comments. The basic question is this: When is a judicial decision an abuse of power? At a minimum, I think, a judicial decision...
For those that are interested, my short essay on whether Saddam is likely to be executed before a verdict is reached in the current Anfal trial is now available at The Grotian Moment. ...
In what is being billed as the first agreement of its kind, the LRA has pledged to protect rare wildlife in a remote park it occupies in eastern Congo, including rare pygmy giraffe and what are thought to be the last four northern white rhinos in the wild: In an apparent bid to burnish their brutal reputation, the Lord's Resistance Army...
This is a landmark month in the history of international law: with the accession of the Republic of Montenegro on August 2, the 1949 Geneva Conventions have become the first international treaty in modern history to achieve universal acceptance. Montenegro also acceded to the two 1977 Additional Protocols, bringing the number of States party to Additional Protocol I to...
I rarely listen to podcasts, but this podcast by Ann Althouse is definitely worth ten or fifteen minutes of your time. The first half discusses the irony of Judge Taylor’s decision requiring respect for the rule of law. Althouse says of Judge Taylor, “How dare you criticize the President for abusing power when you are blind to your...
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both slam France today for what the NYT calls its “bait-and-switch tactics” in pushing for a robust 15,000-strong French-led UN force in south Lebanon to end the fighting and disarm Hezbollah, and then turning around and pledging only 400 troops to contribute to the force. The WSJ adds some unflattering remarks...
The Third Circuit earlier this month rendered one of the more interesting decisions I've seen on the subject of Executive Statements of Interest. In Gross v. German Foundation Industrial Initiative, available here, the Court was faced with a claim that interest in excess of DM 100 million was due on the DM 5 billion German slave labor settlement fund....
As some readers may know, I’m a big fan of comparing how domestic actors, including courts, address international law. Of course, the trouble with comparative research has always been accessing materials from foreign jurisdictions. But, help may be on the way. The Amsterdam Center for International Law is working with Oxford University Press to launch a new...
We are pleased that Professor Abraham Bell will be guest blogging with us for the next week or so. Professor Bell has a joint appointment with Fordham Law School and Bar Ilan Law Faculty in Tel Aviv. He has published widely in the area of economic analysis of property law, as well as in international law and the...
According to an unnamed U.S. official, the Iraqi High Tribunal may try Saddam Hussein posthumously if he is executed before a verdict is reached in the Anfal case, which is about to begin: The Anfal trial is to begin on Monday, but a verdict in the other case is expected on October 16, when Iraqi judges will rule on whether...
