In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Does the US Need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? (Answer: No.)

21 Jul

As frustration with the Bush administration's War on Transparency continues to mount, scholars and pundits are beginning to suggest that the U.S. should think about creating a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the administration's many crimes.  Nicholas Kristof is one example. Richard Clarke is another.  And a third is Katherine Tiedemann, writing in The American Strategist: The South...

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21 Jul

The Seventh Circuit last week rendered the most unusual foreign non conveniens decision I have ever read. The case presents a cautionary tale about the impact that foreign judicial corruption can have on domestic litigation. Mañez v. Bridgestone Firestone involved a tort action against Bridgestone Firestone filed in Indiana after José Samuel Mañez-Reyes died in a "rollover" car accident in...

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19 Jul

The New York Times has a prominent, page 3 international story datelined from the UN by C.J. Chivers, "US Position Complicates Global Effort to Curb Illicit Arms."  Let me step here directly, but I hope carefully, into the international aspects of a very emotional US political debate.  (And thanks to Glenn Reynolds once again for the Instalanche! I also want...

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19 Jul

It's been a while since I wrote about Luis Posada Carriles, former CIA asset and admitted terrorist, who currently walks the streets of Miami as a free man due to the Bush administration's disinterest in punishing terrorism committed against countries the US doesn't like. Fortunately, Posada Carriles may not be free much longer, thanks to a decision by the Panamanian Supreme...

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18 Jul

When international lawyers say that sovereignty is a social construction, I doubt any of us mean it as literally as does the Seasteading Institute, an organization founded by Patri Friedman, grandson of Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman, and Wayne Gramlich. Their goal is to foster a seasteading movement, people building structures on the high seas that would become independent and...

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18 Jul

One of the most interesting aspects of the ICJ's recent order in Avena pertains to the Court's finding of jurisdiction under Article 60 of the Statute.  Mexico filed the case as a request for interpretation about the meaning of the Avena judgment because the United States withdrew from the Optional Protocol.  Thus, the only way for the ICJ to have jurisdiction is to find a dispute...

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18 Jul

I noted a few days ago that the Security Council is unlikely to pass a resolution deferring the Prosecutor's investigation of Bashir, given the number of non-permanent and permanent members of the Council who are supporters of the ICC.  I think that position is even more sound in light of the European Union's promise today -- on the 10th anniversary...

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17 Jul

The following is a guest post by Aaron Zelinksy, a member of the Yale Law School Class of 2010. Wednesday marked the historic transfer of Israeli and Hezbollah prisoners at the Lebanese border. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, proclaimed that he was “very much encouraged by the exchange of prisoners” and that he hoped it would be...

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17 Jul

It makes no sense.  Israel has traded five brutal militants for the bodies of two dead soldiers and the assorted body parts of other Israeli soldiers.  I am in Israel now teaching with a Whittier/Pepperdine study abroad program and coverage of the prisoner exchange is ubiquitous.  I attended a special class session with our students of a presentation by Major Aharon...

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16 Jul

Here's a surprise -- China opposes indicting Bashir: China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Beijing maintains friendly relations with Sudan and is deeply concerned and worried about the charges. He says the situation in the Darfur region is at a sensitive and critical moment. He says China hopes all sides can resolve their differences through consultation and avoid adding complications...

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16 Jul

This is a fascinating story: the State Department, the Iranian government, and the NBA have joined forces to arrange for the Iranian men's basketball team to train and play next week against NBA teams in Salt Lake City: Iran will take part in the Rocky Mountain Revue, the Utah-hosted summer league and will play four games. The team will also observe...

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