That's a bit of an overstatement, but this review of Michael Byers' latest book: Who Owns the Arctic: Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North, reminds me of the surprising legal positions taken by Russia, Canada, and the United States over the legal status of the Northwest Passage. It is ironic that while Russia supports Canada's claim to the Northwest Passage, the...
As Opinio Juris readers know, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in the case of Samantar v. Yousuf (briefs and transcript available here), which asks the Court to interpret the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Commentators, including OJ’s own Julian Ku, have reported that the Justices seemed “unconvinced by all sides” (Julian’s words) and that none of the...
Two different but interesting views of Australia's threat to bring Japan to the ICJ over whaling. Over at The Jurist, Don Rothwell of Australian National University provides some background and legal context for Australia's lawsuit. As I understand it, Australia could claim that Japan is actually violating Australia's 200 mile exclusive economic zone (assuming certain Australian Antarctic claims were accepted). But...
Last fall, the U.S. joined Egypt in a carefully worded statement in favor of free expression, but it raised concerns that the U.S. was implicitly endorsing the movement in many Islamic countries to ban blasphemous (or anti-Islamic) speech. In an otherwise anodyne address to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs...
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 is perhaps the most important example of the U.S. Congress exercising its power to implement and interpret international law principles as part of domestic law. It is a basic and foundational statute implicating almost all kinds of international litigation in the U.S. And it is a statute which the Supreme Court (and lower...
I am delighted to announce that Luis Moreno-Ocampo has appointed my friend and colleague Tim McCormack to be the Office of the Prosecutor's Special Adviser on International Humanitarian Law. From the announcement: Professor McCormack, from the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne will help the Office of the Prosecutor to develop a solid understanding of complex legal issues such...
[caption id="attachment_11545" align="alignleft" width="90" caption=" "][/caption] The issues Professor Waxman raises about the relationship between international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law (ICL) are of the highest importance to anyone interested in the regulation of warfare, or, indeed, in international regulation more generally. Certainly, the division of labor between IHL and ICL is not an inevitable one. To some degree, it...
[caption id="attachment_11549" align="alignleft" width="68" caption=" "][/caption] [Matthew Waxman is an Associate Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School.] I am delighted to comment on Professor Blum's provocative and thoughtful Article. The Article highlights in new ways a fundamental tension within international humanitarian law (IHL): that this body of law that disallows "lesser-evil" analysis in many contexts is itself a giant...
[caption id="attachment_11545" align="alignleft" width="90" caption=" "][/caption] [We are pleased to introduce the second part of the YJIL Online Symposium discussion of articles from Vol. 35-1. Today, we are delighted to host a discussion of Gabriella Blum's recent article with a comment by Professor Matthew Waxman later today. Professor Blum is an Assistant Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.]...
[caption id="attachment_11512" align="alignleft" width="120" caption=" "][/caption] It’s an honor to have two so distinguished scholars comment on my article. As always, I learn from reading their commentary and I thank each for his insights. Two quick reactions. First, Professor Johnson raises an interesting semantic question (which I do not address in the article): If a state “unsigns” a treaty, is it still a...
[caption id="attachment_11525" align="alignleft" width="68" caption=" "][/caption] [Larry Johnson is an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School. From 2006-2008, he served at the United Nations Headquarters as the Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs.] Professor Michael J. Glennon in his post warned American policy-makers to be wary of a “time bomb” that could explode in May – the adoption of a vague, new crime of aggression...
[caption id="attachment_11521" align="alignleft" width="120" caption=" "][/caption] [Anthony Clark Arend is a Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University]. When the Obama Administration came into office over a year ago, it was faced with a daunting task. The previous Administration had run rough-shot over international law dealing with the use of military force. A man that would be Attorney General would call...
