Eric Posner has an editorial today in the Wall Street Journal today that uses the recent indictment of Judge Garzon in Spain as an opportunity to dust off the traditional far-right attack on the concept of universal jurisdiction and the existence of the ICC. It's a remarkably misleading editorial, one that deserves a thorough response. Mr. Garzon wanted to prosecute Pinochet...
That very trendy and useful legal concept - the right of self-defense -- is not just for targeting U.S. citizens to be killed. The U.S. military's new "Cyber Command" chief has asserted that the U.S. government's right of self-defense almost certainly permits it to take offensive "cyber" attacks. ...
[Christopher M. Bruner is an Associate Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law] First I want to thank Opinio Juris and the Virginia Journal of International Law (VJIL) for the opportunity to discuss my Article, “Power and Purpose in the ‘Anglo-American’ Corporation.” I’d also like to express my gratitude to Professor Brian Cheffins of the University of Cambridge for providing...
The Virginia Journal of International Law is delighted to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris this week in this online symposium featuring three Articles recently published by VJIL in Vol. 50:3, available here. Today, Christopher M. Bruner, Associate Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law, will discuss his Article Power and Purpose in the “Anglo-American” Corporation. In his Article, Professor...
A simple question for those who believe "self-defense" and/or the AUMF authorizes the CIA to kill Americans abroad outside of armed conflict. If Obama authorizes it, can the CIA put a bullet in the back of the skull of an American citizen believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda while he is watching a movie in Topeka, Kansas? If not, why not?...
Christopher Jenks, Chief of the International Law Branch of the Office of the Judge Advocate General, has a pretty compelling defense here of the legality of the U.S. detention and trial of Canadian Omar Khadr for violations of the law of war, despite the fact that Khadr was not quite 16 when he committed his alleged crimes. The heart of...
Following up on Ken's post about the Washington Post editorial endorsing Harold Koh's legal defense of targeted killings, it is worth analyzing the passage Ken quoted one more time, but this time from a domestic U.S. constitutional perspective: Mr. Koh’s reaffirmation of the right to self-defense — even outside the confines of an existing armed conflict — is particularly important. The Authorization...
UNTOLD STORIES: HIDDEN HISTORIES OF WAR CRIMES TRIALS A two-day international symposium to uncover and explore some of the less well-known war crimes trials, both international and domestic. Melbourne Law School 15th and 16th October 2010 Presented by The Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, Melbourne Law School, and supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant Organizers: Gerry Simpson, Tim McCormack, Kevin Heller,...
Another day, another chance for folks in the UK to make threats about bringing legal action against the Pope during his upcoming September visit to the UK. The latest attack comes from noted atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. It looks like the focus will be on breaking down the Pope's head-of-state immunity defense, rather than trying to fit the...
I rarely get to blog about the relationship between my two favorite things -- professional basketball and international law -- so I would be remiss if I failed to comment on the latest problem to afflict the New Jersey Nets, one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Nets are in the process of being sold to Mikhail Prokhorov,...
The results of this new study about the ineffectiveness of international aid to certain developing countries is not surprising, but it is still depressing. For years, the international community has forked over billions in health aid, believing the donations supplemented health budgets in poor countries. It now turns out development money prompted some governments to spend on entirely different things, which...
Kevin has done, and is doing, a very nice job of critiquing the legality of the Obama Administration's targeted killing policy. On the critical side, it is also worth noting the views of Mary Ellen O'Connell, Professor at Notre Dame, who has become a leading public critic of the legality of this policy. Her basic point is that international law...
