In association with the International Commission of Jurists

General

27 Feb

Western powers have said that Iran is considering their offer of lifting some financial sanctions in return for a scaled-back nuclear program from Tehran. Saudi Arabia has purchased a large amount of infantry weapons from Croatia and quietly funneled them to rebel forces in Syria. Fighting rages on in Syria, with battles nearing a 12th-century mosque in Aleppo, threatening to further damage the historic structure. Symantec Corp...

|
26 Feb

The Associated Press has released a translation of a jihadist instruction manual (.pdf) of how to avoid being a victim of a drone strike found in a pile of garbage in Timbuktu, Mali. As thousands mourn the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail, fears of a revolt grow. The U.N. has called for an investigation into the death reportedly caused by torture. A rocket has been...

|
25 Feb

South Korea has inaugurated its first female president, Park Guen-Hye, who now faces regional tensions amid North Korea's nuclear testing. In one of her first moves as president, she demanded an end to nuclear ambitions by North Korea. Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, has expelled US special forces from the key battleground Wardak province, because, according to Karzai's spokesperson, some US soldiers...

|
25 Feb

Last fall, I was very pleased that, in conjunction with the publication of my book -- The Oxford Guide to Treaties, Opinio Juris was able to host an interesting (and I hope useful) discussion of the current state of international law on treaty reservations, including some prominent reactions to the ILC's recent Guide to Reservations by Harold Koh, Marko Milanovic, David Stewart and...

|
24 Feb

Events On March 22, The Vermont Law School Chapter of the Federalist Society and The International Law Society at Vermont Law School are organizing Reaching Critical Mass: International and U.S. Law in the Wake of Modern Exigencies. The conference will explore the delicate balance between combating modern security threats, observing international law, and protecting human rights and civil liberties. Registration is...

|
23 Feb

This week on Opinio Juris, Julian returned to his old favourite of the Whale Wars, and argued that the US courts can most likely exercise personal jurisdiction over Sea Shepherd, even in relation to its movements in the Southern Ocean. Julian also covered a more recent favourite: the Philippines' UNCLOS arbitration against China. He first reported on an article in the Chinese press...

|
22 Feb

Read Ali Soufan’s op-ed about Zero Dark Thirty today in the New York Times. If you’ve read Ali’s gripping book, his take won’t surprise you. As he puts it: “I watched ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ not as a former F.B.I. special agent who spent a decade chasing, interrogating and prosecuting top members of Al Qaeda but as someone who enjoys Hollywood...

|
22 Feb

The Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Coalition, is willing to negotiate a peace agreement, but they demand that President Al-Assad cannot be a part of any deal going forward. Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has blamed al-Qaeda affiliated groups for yesterday's deadly blasts in Damascus, and called on the UN to do more to fight terrorism. Japan's Prime Minister Abe is in...

|
22 Feb

  After 15 months, the UN has finally responded to the Haiti Cholera claims brought by lawyers representing over 5000 victims.  For background on this massive and tragic case, see my post here. The UN’s rejection was communicated to the claimants' lawyers via this two page letter which relies on a brief reference to the Convention on Privileges and Immunities in support of...

|
21 Feb

Yesterday, Myanmar held peace talks between ethnic groups in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in an attempt to resolve the ongoing Kachin conflict. British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested to diverting hundreds of millions of pounds sterling from foreign aid into security and defense. A French General appointed to head the EU's mission to Mali urged the EU to equip the "very impoverished" Malian forces,...

|
20 Feb

An Israeli soldier has caused outrage because of a photo posted to Instagram showing what appears to be a Palestinian child in the crosshairs of his rifle. Chinese government officials considered using a drone to target a suspected drug lord hiding in Myanmar. In other drone news, the United Arab Emirates has signed a contract with the US to purchase approximately $200 million worth of American-made...

|
19 Feb

Breaking news:  China has rejected arbitration under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea with the Philippines, dealing a heavy blow to the future of dispute settlement under UNCLOS (h/t China Law Prof Blog).  According to this China Daily report, "Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing had an appointment with officials from the Philippines' Foreign...

|