An additional puzzle about the Alien Tort Statute is that there seems to be no satisfactory account, so far as I know, of the US government response to ATS cases. Sometimes the US government responds with a statement of interest; sometimes it does not. Even when it does offer a statement of interest, my anecdotal impression (if there was data collected,...
I just finished giving an interview about the Karadzic case to the BBC's World Today program. It was, to say the least, a shocking experience. I assumed that they wanted to ask about Dr. Karadzic's decision to boycott the beginning of the trial -- why he made it, what it means for the trial, etc. My bad! Instead, the first...
My colleague Trey Childress has a nice summary of the recent decision by a federal court in Florida in Osorio v. Dole Food Company to refuse to enforce a $97 million Nicaraguan judgment. Here's the key excerpt of the decision: “the evidence before the Court is that the judgment in this case did not arise out of proceedings that comported...
I have to admit, when I first heard about the Mbeki Panel, I was skeptical. I assumed that the Panel's report would be a typical apologia for the Sudanese government's crimes, criticizing the ICC and defending the African Union's promise not to surrender Bashir to the Court. It looks like I owe Mbeki an apology. The recommendation section of the report...
Yes, says John Bellinger in Thursday's Washington Post: While it has done important work, the tribunal has largely outlived its utility for both sides -- and the Obama administration could face a significant international legal challenge if the tribunal orders the United States to make large monetary payments to the Iranian government. . . . When it was set up under the...
From an email urging civil disobedience to the [communist] [fascist] [socialist] Obama administration: "The jews KNEW that they were the target of Hitler--this didn't happen over night, they had PLENTY of warning--and they didn't DO anything," Dietz wrote. "They went like sheep quietly to their slaughter--they did not fight." Dietz concluded: "WE NEED A REVOLUTION." I think someone needs to add Uprising...
Following-up on my recent post on commercial space ventures, I note that Richard Bilder has a new article posted to SSRN: A Legal Regime for the Mining of Helium-3 on the Moon: U.S. Policy Options. I know that "helium-3" might sound like the name of some sci-fi show like "Deep Space 9," but it is really a great hope for...
I will remain agnostic until I can read the actual report, but a new article in the Sudan Tribune seems encouraging: The African Union (AU) panel that was tasked with balancing peace and accountability in Darfur has made an implicit endorsement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions despite unfavorable disposition to the issue by African leaders and also called for...
Tomorrow (Friday, October 23rd), the S.J. Quinney College of Law of the University of Utah will host a symposium entitled Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security. You can watch the symposium online via a link on this page. Here's the brief description: Based on Professor Amos N. Guiora’s new book, Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security (Oxford University Press, 2009),...
As has been widely reported, Dr. Karadzic intends to boycott the start of his trial to protest the Tribunal's refusal to give him the time he needs to adequately prepare for trial. I don't know when the letter he submitted to the Tribunal will appear on the ICTY website, so I have made it available here: karadzic-submission-of-21-oct-20091 Dr. Karadzic's decision is deeply...
Here's a fun game everyone can play. Take five minutes (and no more than five minutes) to list the five most important treaties ever. By "important" I mean in terms of historical significance--i.e., their impact on human history. Thus, despite the views of some, focus on what the treaty did (or did not) do, rather than its potential. This, I think,...
Back in July, I had written a post about current issues in governmental space programs and I promised a follow-up on the private space industry. Well, that post never materialized. However, in lieu of that post I want to point to this post by author Brenda Cooper on Futurismic that has a quick and fun tour of the major U.S. players among the...
