Andrew Sullivan raises the stakes on the legal effect of the Pope's retirement decision. As the Pope emeritus, can he now be sued in connection with his role in the sex abuses cases against the Catholic Church? I can already see a lot of problems such a suit would present, and I am writing on the go today, but what...
Syrian opposition leader Mouaz al-Khatib has said he is willing to hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad's representatives in rebel-held areas of northern Syria to try to end the conflict that has killed more than 60,000 people. The UN reports that up to 5,000 people are fleeing Syria per day. The British government intensified its campaign to stop Scotland from leaving the United Kingdom, publishing a...
This week on Opinio Juris, Duncan started us off by discussing privileges and immunities for diplomats and posed the question of what the public should know in cases like DWIs. His next post offered a discussion of the Native American mutual defense treaty involving the Tar Sands Projects. Kevin weighed in this week on affairs at the ICC, including this post...
Syrian troops are battling rebels around Damascus, trying to halt their advance on the capital. The ICC has demanded the extradition of Libya’s Abdullah al-Senussi to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity under Gaddafi’s regime. A UN survey has found that more than $3.9 billion was paid out in bribes in Afghanistan in 2012, amounting to more than double...
France is seeking UN Peacekeepers for Mali amid the ongoing conflict. Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in order to discuss potential areas of cooperation in the future. The Canadian government is thinking about legislation that would revoke the citizenship of its dual nationals involved in acts of terrorism. Human Rights Watch has issued a report that alleges...
According to NPR: President Obama directed the Justice Department late Wednesday to give Congress access to classified information that details the rationale for targeted strikes against U.S. citizens believed to have links to al-Qaida. NPR's Carrie Johnson is reporting on the story for our Newscast Unit. She says the decision comes after Senators threatened to hold up nominees for the...
A Chinese navy vessel aimed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea, prompting a Japanese protest.President Barack Obama has plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring, raising the prospects of a new U.S. push to restart long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.The British Parliament...
I set out to begin to untangle the strings of argument in the DOJ white paper, and find myself, after three pages of writing notes myself, having untangled only as far as the paper’s page 5 (of 16). There is something wrong with a memo like this. Let me see if I can explain why. The white paper says that it...
The US Department of Justice’s White Paper justifying its drone strike and targeted killing program was leaked to NBC yesterday. The story is here, the white paper is here. Kevin Jon Heller already has early analysis pieces on OJ here and here. Although not yet formally approved, US military leaders have agreed to pre-emptive cyber strikes in the face of an imminent and large scale digital attack. Mike...
I posted a few weeks ago about the scandalous situation of adulterated Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) exported from Italy, Greece, and Spain. Here is an update on the international olive oil market from Ed Dolan of EconoMonitor. He reports that cold weather in Spain, followed by drought, has shrunk the Spanish harvest: There is little doubt about what is happening...
Though he admits that evidence that came from enhanced interrogation techniques was used to find Osama Bin Laden, outgoing Secretary of Defense and former CIA chief who oversaw the Bin Laden operation, Leon Panetta, has said that Bin Laden could have been found without resorting to torture. The German Defense Ministry has confirmed Germany will acquire armed drones. The number three leader of...
