In an earlier post, I wrote that the language of the 2001 resolution authorizing President Bush to use force against al Qaeda and international terrorism did not specifically cede power over the domestic arena. Thus, the use of the NSA to monitor the conversations of US citizens in this country without going through the FISA courts was likely both...
This morning we had our 100,000th visit to Opinio Juris. Peggy, Roger, Julian and I want to thank everyone for reading and returning to our site and especially for taking part in the discussions. We can’t believe that in less than a year there would be 100,000 visits to a site that focuses on our discussions on international law and...
In real news worthy of The Onion, here are a few stories circulating around the globe on the perils of Christmas:1. In Paisley, Scotland a gang of youth attacked Santa at a shopping mall. The Santa Claus, a.k.a. Malky Watret, used his bag as a shield and a Christmas tree as a sword to fend off the attackers. Santa said...
In yesterday's New York Times, we find an article in which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan bemoans the difficult year the UN has had in 2005. In particular, Annan gripes about the difficulties in creating a new Human Rights Council that will not have to seat notorious human rights violators like Sudan, the grueling ordeal of the oil-for-food scandal, and the...
The Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission has issued its final set of awards, including the award concerning liability for starting the 1998-2000 border war between these countries. See press reports from the BBC and CNN.Eritrea had successfully split off from Ethiopia in the 1990’s after a protracted insurgency. However, tensions still existed and, in particular, there were issues concerning the delimitation...
A few weeks ago I addressed the question in this survey of whether war is part of the natural order of things and a necessary part of human existence. As of today, the survey respondents were equally divided 50%-50% on the question. Our readers appear decidedly ambivalent about the proposition that war is an inherent part of human existence.For what...
Secretary General Kofi Annan today announced the adoption of a whistleblower protection policy for the U.N. The policy, which goes into effect next month, is intended to protect U.N. employees who report misconduct and/or who cooperate with investigations:It is the duty of staff members to report any breach of the organization's regulations and rules to the officials whose responsibility it...
The Eleventh Circuit this week rejected reliance on the ICJ Vienna Convention decisions in LaGrand and Avena to reconsider a British national's conviction for murder. Noting that his claim had been procedurally defaulted, the Eleventh Circuit in Maharaj, available here, concluded that the Supreme Court's decision in Breard was controlling. "In Breard, the Court unambiguously held that a habeas...
Today, both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed closely coordinated resolutions (see here and here) approving the establishment of a new "Peacebuilding Commission" (UN buffs will find such a procedural move noteworthy in its own right). As for the Commission, it will serve as the UN’s central repository for advising countries emerging...
Miriam Gilles has an interesting article in the Michigan Law Review (earlier version available here) warning of the impending death of class action litigation. Here is an excerpt:[T]he vast majority of the remaining class actions are based on some sort of contractual relationship. Virtually all consumer class actions, for example, arise out of some form of contract (adhesive...
The ICJ yesterday handed down a decision in Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda, ruling that Uganda violated the principles of non-intervention under Art 2(4) of the UN Charter and further violated international human rights and humanitarian law when it launched military operations in the DRC between 1998 and 2003. The Court explicitly rejected Uganda's claim of self defense in...
The government of Sudan has announced it will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court investigation into atrocities in Darfur. No one should be surprised, since the Sudanese government is itself complicit in the very acts being investigated. In a report released last week, Human Rights Watch lays out in great detail the responsibility of the Sudanese government:Since July 2003,...
