In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Law of the Sea Symposium: What Responsibility over Iconic Marine Living Resources?

27 May

[Dr Natalie Klein is Professor and Dean of Macquarie Law School, Australia] Cross-posted at SHARES blog. One of the most successful environmental campaigns was captured by the slogan of ‘Save the Whales’. It was apparently when the Australian Prime Minister’s daughter returned home from school sporting a Save the Whales badge that the initial impetus was provided for Australia to shift from pro-whaling nation to anti-whaling. Over the decades, we have seen a fundamental change in the legal regulation of whaling: from minimal regulation and maximum exploitation to a zero-catch quota (colloquially known as the moratorium) on commercial whaling under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). There has been resistance to this moratorium – from those states that never agreed to the imposition of a moratorium and those states that seem to thwart the moratorium by conducting commercial whaling under the guise of legally permissible scientific whaling, as Australia asserts Japan is doing.  If we are to maintain legal standards in the conduct of whaling then how can states be held responsible? In considering the intersection of the law of responsibility in relation to whaling, there is an initial question as to whom the obligation is owed?
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27 May

This week we are delighted to bring you a symposium exploring the intersection between the law of responsibility and the law of the sea.   The motivation for this symposium is twofold: First, although there is long interaction between the law of the sea and the law of responsibility, the law of the sea has become an area where the intersection is of...

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26 May

A number of people have responded to my drone posts (see here and here) by arguing that the "near certainty" standard Obama endorsed regarding the possibility of civilian casualties represents a break from the past -- a new targeting standard, not an old one. If that's the case, someone needs to tell the Secretary of State. Here is what John Kerry...

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26 May

Calls for Papers A call for papers has been issued for a workshop and publication on "Natural resources grabbing: erosion or legitimate exercise of State sovereignty?” 4th and 5th October 2013 at the University of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). Deadline for submissions of abstracts is 15 June 2013. The growing demand for natural resources has triggered a “race” to their exploitation and possession, especially in developing...

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24 May

In previous posts (here and here), I discussed the reasons why Obama will never actually enforce the "near certainty" standard regarding civilian casualties and noted that the standard is vastly more restrictive than IHL's principle of proportionality. In this post, I want to explain why the new targeting standards for the use of lethal force "outside the United States and...

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24 May

[Michael W. Lewis is a Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University where he teaches International Law and the Law of War.]  On drones there was not that much new from President Obama yesterday, but what he emphasized tells us something about where the debate on drones remains.  Echoing statements that have been previously made by a number of his advisers he...

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24 May

A couple of people have suggested to me that I should be celebrating Obama's adoption of the "near certainty" standard, because it is more protective of civilians than the principle of proportionality. I will not celebrate the standard, for two very simple reasons. First, I don't believe for a moment that Obama will actually enforce it, no matter how pure...

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24 May

There is a classic jury instruction that reads, "[a] witness who is willfully false in one material part of his or her testimony is to be distrusted in others. You may reject the whole testimony of a witness who willfully has testified falsely as to a material point, unless, from all the evidence, you believe the probability of truth favors his...

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23 May

I want to call readers' attention to a new -- and very original -- article written by one of my best Melbourne students, Ilana Singer, which has just been published in Criminal Law Forum. Here is the abstract of the article, which is rather wordily entitled "Reductio Ad Absurdum: The Kapo Trial Judgements' Contribution to International Criminal Law Jurisprudence and Customary International...

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20 May

[Jonathan Horowitz is writing in his personal capacity. He is the Associate Legal Officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative’s National Security and Counterterrorism Program.] When assessing the legality of drone strikes, attention is often focused on the State that carries out the strike—usually the United States.  On May 8th, for example, the U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus Peace and Security Taskforce...

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19 May

Calls for Papers The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict is organising a workshop on Law, Faith and Historical Memory to take place in London (Stratford Campus, University of East London) on June, 12. More information is here The University of Wisconsin is inviting internationally acclaimed women scholars and advanced PhD candidates to the second conference on the Creation of International Law: Exploring the International...

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