In association with the International Commission of Jurists

General

06 Aug

Following-up on Kevin's post that illustrated the increasing temperature anomalies of the world's climate, I want to point out a recent study pointing to evidence of a link between increasing global temperatures and a rise in violent crime and larger-scale conflicts, such as wars. Smithsonian.com reports: Now, in the most comprehensive analysis of the work on climate change and armed  conflict...

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05 Aug

Saudi Arabia denied permission for a plane carrying Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to cross its airspace for the swearing-in of the new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, but it is unclear as to why. After the swearing in of the new Iranian president, Iran and the United States signaled a fresh will on Sunday to seek to end the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program...

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03 Aug

This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin continued his discussion of the al-Bahlul amicus brief started last week. He pointed out how the Prosecution had disclaimed JCE before the trial and the military commission was asked not to consider this mode of liability, making its invocation in the amicus brief unacceptable in his opinion. Kevin pointed out that JCE was also rejected...

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01 Aug

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found fresh evidence of "double-tap" strikes by the US in Pakistan; a double-tap is a second drone strike that deliberately targets rescuers at the scene of a previous drone strike. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangarai has labeled results of the recent presidential election which he lost a "sham" and has accused his opponent, President Robert...

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31 Jul

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to meet again within the next two weeks, aiming to seal a final deal in nine months. A military judge has acquitted former US intelligence analyst Bradley Manning of the most serious charge against him, aiding the enemy, but convicted him of espionage, theft and computer fraud charges for giving thousands of classified secrets to...

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30 Jul

The verdict in the court-martial of Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, accused of the biggest leak of classified information in US history, will be read today. Taliban fighters armed with mortars and grenades attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan, escaping with about 250 prisoners after a gunfight with security forces. Israelis and Palestinians have resumed direct talks for the first time in three years, with...

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29 Jul

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki will visit China this week for talks with senior officials, the latest in an attempt to patch up relations soured by a territorial dispute. Suspected members of Nigeria's armed group Boko Haram shot dead more than 20 civilians when a vigilante group attacked them in the northern Borno state. Israeli and Palestinian teams are heading to Washington for preliminary...

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28 Jul

Announcements From September 23-26, 2013, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law will be running a new four day programme called International Law in Practice. Led by many of the Institute's leading researchers and practitioners, the course will provide a broad introduction to key issues in international and comparative law – from public to private and from commercial to human rights....

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27 Jul

This week on Opinio Juris, we teamed up with the American Journal of International Law to bring you a discussion on the two lead articles in their latest issue. Jose Alvarez, the co-editor in chief of the AJIL, explained their decision to run this online symposium, and discussed what ties both articles together, despite their differences. First up was Leila Sadat's article, Crimes Against Humanity in the Modern Age, summarized here. In his comment, Darryl Robinson traced the history of academic discourse on the policy element and highlighted the most recent decision in Gbagbo. Elies van Sliedregt argued in favour of the humaneness side of humanity to give the concept of crimes against humanity a modern meaning. Leila's response is here. Eyal Benvenisti then introduced his article, Sovereigns as Trustees of Humanity, in which he tests the limits of the traditional concept of state sovereignty in light of the intensifying interdependence between states.
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26 Jul

The Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace 2013 conference is currently underway in Silicon Valley. The program description explains that: The three day event will focus on the current, near term, and future potential and challenges of the emerging commercial space industry. People from throughout the space, advocacy and technology industries to those in startups, government and media bring their ideas for opening...

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25 Jul

[José Alvarez is the Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law and is the Co-Editor-in-Chief (along with Benedict Kingsbury) of the American Journal of International Law] As the new co-editor in chief of the AJIL, I, along with my co-EIC, Benedict Kingsbury, are very grateful to Chris Borgen and Opinio Juris for hosting this...

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