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26 Sep How the Global Counterterrorism Forum Can Become More Human Rights Compliant (Part I)
(for the use of the term “violent extremism”). It can be argued that this is problematic for multiple reasons, one being that using “opaque and deeply contested” terms can allow for their abusive application and as a result the adoption of a broad range of measures in relation to these terms, some of which might not be in respect of human rights or the rule of law. The second is that these undefined, contested terms can then make their way into legally-binding legislation as a result of the soft law...27 Mar Posner and Sykes Book Symposium: Comments by Steve Charnovitz
...term (p. 282). The books states that sanctions are measured by “substantially equivalent” trade concessions (p. 283), but does not explain where the term “substantially” comes from as it is not a term from the treaty or the jurisprudence. In addition, the book posits that the WTO dispute system provides gap fillers for an incomplete bargain that approximate what WTO members would have negotiated had they been able to address the contingency in the treaty text (p. 284). But the book fails to note that the WTO judges do not...03 Nov The U.S. Midterm Elections and International Law
...is a conservative Democrat from West Virginia who literally shot the cap-and-trade bill in a TV ad during his campaign, I wouldn’t count on any movement at all on this front over the next two years. 2) Guantanamo – Let’s just say it is going to stay open until at least the end of President Obama’s first term, and maybe well into his second term (if there is a second term). 3) Civilian trials in U.S. of Guantanamo detainees – This is a mixed bag, but Congress can have a...
22 Mar Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia: “You Keep on Using that Word” – on Methods in (International) Legal Scholarship (Part II)
researcher’s theoretical outlook on which specific type of power relations are most pertinent or interesting (race, gender, class, colonialism, or all of the above). They are descriptive by exposing these relations (and here, they might deploy various methods of descriptive research in order to present their factual basis); and although they might not always offer solutions (short of revolution, of course), they are normative by implying that these relations are bad. In relation to the questions described above, the term “methods” has tight relations with the term “theory.” Recognizing this...
19 Mar SCSL Symposium: The Special Court for Sierra Leone–Instigating International Criminal Law’s Consideration of Forced Marriage
[Valerie Oosterveld is a Professor at theUniversity of Western Ontario Faculty of Law (Canada) and member of the Canadian Partnership for International Justice. The author wishes to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for its research support. This essay was initially prepared at the request of FIU Law Review for its micro-symposium on The Legal Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone by Charles C. Jalloh (Cambridge, 2020). An edited and footnoted version is forthcoming in Volume 15.1 of the law review in spring 2021.] The Special Court for Sierra Leone...05 Dec Annapolis and the Road Map
...provides a basis for both short term trust building steps and final status agreements on the critical issue of who gets what land. As to the short term, the Road Map allows the encouragement of immediate Israeli guarantees on preliminary territorial issues addressed in the Road Map and Oslo Accords. Roger mentioned two expressly referenced in the Road Map–a settlement freeze and withdrawal from illegal outposts. I would add an end to construction of access roads and the security barrier in the occupied territories. These latter steps are not referred...
27 Jul The Third ICC Prosecutor: Is It the Process or the Outcome of the Process that Matters More?
...wanted to offer some observations about what has been happening and what is at stake. Let me say at the outset that I have concerns that certain stakeholders have been too myopically focused on “process” – process for the sake of process; process to the exclusion of all else. The process might look great on paper – but if it yields flawed candidates, there will be no consensus among States Parties and this will have reverberations such that the long-term viability of the Court will be in doubt. Let me...04 Oct Book Symposium Investment Law: Comments on Alschner and Tuerk
...the pursuit of short-term goals (such as rapid economic development and the influx of capital and immediate returns in investment) and long-term goals (such as fostering sustainable economic development). Investment agreements, either individually or in the guise of a multilateral instrument establishing shared principles, can contribute only a limited amount to the furtherance of sustainable development goals unless their reach expands drastically. That point is well illustrated in the area of climate change. Investment agreements themselves do not require that states legislate in environmentally friendly ways, or that states prioritize...
24 Jul Hands Off Water in War: Weaponization of Water in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
[ Paola Gaeta is a professor of international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute and director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Dr Etienne Henry is an independent legal consultant and a lecturer in international humanitarian law at the University of Neuchâtel, whose recent work includes contributing to the Geneva Academy’s research project IHL in Focus.] The weaponization of water—namely, the use of water and water systems as tools or weapons in armed conflicts—has become a recurrent practice in contemporary warfare. According to recent research, cases...