Where Gaddafi should be tried -- if and when he is captured -- has become quite the hot-button issue recently. Personally, I'm with David Kaye: he should be tried by the ICC, but the trial should be held in Libya. I'm also not opposed to Libya asserting its right under the ICC's complementarity regime to try Gaddafi domestically, although I'm...
Since neither state has accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ, I am curious how this report could possible be accurate: A senior Iranian diplomat said that Tehran has filed a lawsuit against Russia after the latter backed out of delivering anti-aircraft S-300 missile system to the Islamic Republic, Tehran's Fars news agency reported on Tuesday. Iran's Ambassador to Russia Seyed Mahmoud...
Against my better judgment, I read the 11th Circuit's opinion in Mamani v. Berzain, the Bolivian ATS case. I say against my better judgment because reading American judges on international law is kind of like listening to Kevin Costner play Robin Hood -- you vaguely recognize the referent, but it is still painful to the ear. It's bad enough that...
The Globe & Mail has a blockbuster report today concerning China's willingness to supply weapons to Gaddafi's regime during the rebellion: China offered huge stockpiles of weapons to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi during the final months of his regime, according to papers that describe secret talks about shipments via Algeria and South Africa. Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail...
In her typically graceful and accessible style, Prof. Anne-Marie Slaughter has a series of posts at The Atlantic defending a redefinition of state sovereignty under international law (especially in the wake of Libya). A taste of her thoughts can be seen in this graph. So it is international law itself -- or rather the governments that bring it into being --...
That's the most disturbing line from another invaluable WikiLeaks cable about Israel and the Palestinians. As the cable makes clear, Israel is willing to use force -- of the non-lethal variety, fortunately -- to disrupt even completely peaceful protest against its policies: US government officials have been well aware of Israel's harsh methods of dealing with peaceful protests in the occupied...
A February 2010 cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv to the State Department concerning a discussion with the IDF's Military Advocate General about the Palestinian Authority's request for the ICC to investigate Operation Cast Lead contains the following remarkable paragraph (emphasis added): Summary: IDF Military Advocate General Mandelblit updated the Ambassador on February 17 on the progress of investigations...
David Bernstein has a pointless "gotcha" post at Volokh Conspiracy today in which he argues that the Palmer Report somehow contradicts my claim that blockade is only permissible in international armed conflict (IAC), whether between states or between a state and an insurgent group recognized as a belligerent. Here it is in full: Kevin Jon Heller of University of Melbourne and...
"We deplore the decision of WikiLeaks to publish the unredacted state department cables, which may put sources at risk. Our previous dealings with WikiLeaks were on the clear basis that we would only publish cables which had been subjected to a thorough joint editing and clearance process. We will continue to defend our previous collaborative publishing endeavour. We cannot defend...
I've lost track of the enormously complex series of disputes between Chevron and Ecuador. It stems from lawsuits brought against Chevron in Ecuadorian courts, and then attempts to enforce them in the U.S. (and attempts to block the enforcement). And there are Chevron's various claims in arbitration tribunals against Ecuador. For a little background, see Roger's post here. . On this...
David Kaye has an interesting compromise proposal on what to do with Qaddafi. Some argue that the new Libyan government would be legally bound to transfer Colonel Qaddafi and his associates to The Hague. Others argue that the I.C.C. must defer to Libyan authorities if they are willing and able to try Colonel Qaddafi fairly in their own courts. A better...
Not shocking, really. Aug 29, 2011 (Voice of America News/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- Libya's rebel government said Sunday it will not extradite the Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a U.S.-bound jetliner which killed 270 people when it exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Mohammed al-Alagi, the Transitional National Council's justice minister, told reporters in Tripoli that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi already has been...
