A U.S. drone strike killed eight people in northwestern Pakistan, the latest in a series of drone attacks that come as a retired U.S. general Stanley McChrystal warns their overuse may threaten American foreign policy goals. The trial of former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic resumed in The Hague on Monday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked that government-issued documents, such as...
[William S. Dodge is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. From August 2011 to July 2012, he served as Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked on immunity matters. The views expressed here are his own and do not...
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected peace talks with his enemies in a defiant speech that his opponents described as a renewed declaration of war. Foreign Affairs officials in the EU, UK and Turkey have responded sceptically and have called on Assad to step down. A U.S. drone strike killed at least 10 people suspected to be Taliban fighters in Pakistan's northern tribal areas, intelligence sources said, days...
Over the holidays here at Opinio Juris, the comments section of Kevin's post on the distinction between the legality and the morality of drone strikes was a hive of activity. The post itself was a follow-up to a first post in which Kevin applied a comparative criminal law lens to argue that under the broader understanding of intent prevailing outside...
The Senkaku / Diaoyu islands, a series of rocky, uninhabited outcrops, are being claimed by Japan, China, and Taiwan, amongst others, both for historical reasons, and because of their potential value in anchoring sovereignty over natural resources like oil. Some have predicted the dispute may be a military “flash point” in 2013. As Duncan noted last month, China made a partial submission...
A "senior Al-Qaeda figure" was killed in Yemen via a US drone strike yesterday, along with two others. For more on the SDNY's decision granting summary judgement to the US government about the FOIA suit we covered yesterday, Bloomberg covers it here, Politico has a story here, the ACLU has a press release here, the New York Times has a story here and an op-ed here, the Washington Post weighs...
According to the UN, the death toll of the Syrian conflict now exceeds 60,000. A US drone strike has killed Mullah Nazir, a Pakistani Taliban commander. The IMF has stated that the US "fiscal cliff" deal is not enough to bring the economy back on a sustainable path. Judge McMahon of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted summary judgment to the government...
Thousands have protested in Hong Kong to demand the resignation of the China-backed chief executive and democratic leadership elections. Seven charity workers have been killed by gunmen in Pakistan when they visited a community centre that serves as a school and a clinic. According to South Korea's Finance Ministry, unification of the two Koreas could cost the South up to 7 percent of annual GDP for...
The UN Security Council has placed sanctions on two rebel groups, Democratic Republic of the Congo's M23 and Rwanda's FDLR, for alleged war crimes in the DRC's eastern region. North Korea's Kim Jong-un, in a rare speech, has called for an end to the confrontation between his country and South Korea. Syria's PM has reportedly said that President Assad is willing to respond to any initiative to begin peace...
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a press release welcoming the National Congress of Argentina’s recent approval of legislation that creates the System for Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda has offered a bounty for anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador to Yemen or an American soldier in the impoverished...
Kidding! Happy New Year to everyone! Chris's post below made me want to add that I have a goal in 2013, which is to post lots more. 2012 was family-intensive, but things are looking good for 2013, and my resolution is to post much more than I have in 2012. Thanks to others for carrying the ball, and to our...
The US and the UN have raised security alerts in the Central African Republic and the US has now decided to close its embassy in response to the security risks posed by the rebels advancing to the capital. A spokesperson for the new Japanese government has refused to confirm that the new PM would uphold the 1993 apology to women used as sex slaves...
