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30 Nov Why Can’t US Courts Understand IHL?
While researching an essay on the use of analogy in IHL, I had the misfortune of reading Al Warafi v. Obama, a recent habeas case involving an alleged member of the Taliban. Al Warafi argued that even if he was a member of the Taliban — which he denied — he was entitled to be treated in detention as permanent medical personnel under Article 24 of the First Geneva Convention (GC I), which provides that “[m]edical personnel exclusively engaged in the search for, or the collection, transport or treatment of...31 Oct Chevron and the Rise of Arbitral Power: A Comment by Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah
...uniform, embarked on a course of review of domestic decisions. Golhaber describes these processes with competence. As he points out, while purporting not to act as appellate courts, this is precisely what the tribunals were doing. Instead of carefully nurturing a system committed to their care, the arbitral tribunals and lawyers in their greedy search for personal profit, are unconsciously ringing the death knell of the system. The scholarly projects that support them are equally tenuous. The multilateralization of investment norms, the promotion of the “rule of law” that is...
29 Aug Automatizing Patterns of Conduct: Can Artificial Intelligence Help Commanders Better Comply with the Principle of Distinction?
[ Andrea Farrés is a young international lawyer specialized in IHL, international security and human rights issues. ] With the fog of war getting thicker and thicker, commanders and politicians are naturally inclined to search for tools to get guidance on how they can better comply with the international humanitarian law (IHL) targeting principles, specifically the principle of distinction. To distinguish a civilian from a combatant, or a person who is taking direct part in the hostilities, analysing patterns of conduct has become crucial, as like the article 44(3) of...20 Aug New Google Tool for Visualizing the Arms Trade
Fresh off the failure of the Arms Trade Treaty — aka The UN’s Secret Plan to Disarm the Defenders of Freedom and Enslave Mankind — Google has released an amazing new tool that maps global flows of light weapons and ammunition. Here is how the Huffington Post describes the tool: The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), a Norwegian initiative focused on the dealing of small arms, provided information for the undertaking, including “[m]ore than 1 million data points on imports and exports […] across 250 states and territories,” according to...15 Feb ICC Pre-Trial Chamber Criticizes Prosecutor
...ICC’s investigation of the Kenyan situation, but Moreno-Ocampo clearly should have waited to release the six names until the Pre-Trial Chamber granted the summons request. After all, the Article 58 standard for issuing a summons is extremely low, requiring only “reasonable grounds to believe that the person committed the crime alleged.” It is thus difficult to avoid the conclusion that naming the suspects was a purely political move on Moreno-Ocampo’s part. In related news, the ICC has convened a search committee for Moreno-Ocampo’s successor. His term expires in June, 2012....27 Jun FAOLEX and ECOLEX
...and regulations on food, agriculture and renewable natural resources.” It’s free, has full text search capabilities, and is available in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French and Arabic). I expect those who work on comparative environmental or natural resources law issues would find this a very useful resource. For those looking for a general international environmental law equivalent to FAOLEX, check out ECOLEX, a database combining the on-line collections of FAO, UNEP, and IUCN (the World Conservation Union). It includes treaties, national legislation, literature, and court opinions relating to environmental issues....30 Aug Why Do Treaties Create Private Rights of Action?
...even though the treaty was self-executing, and thus part of the supreme Law of the land, its provisions failed to overcome a standing presumption against private rights of action: To determine whether a treaty creates a cause of action, we look to its text. S ee United States v. Alvarez-Machain , 504 U.S. 655, 663 (1992) (“In construing a treaty, as in construing a statute, we first look to its terms to determine its meaning.”). The Treaty of Amity, like other treaties of its kind, is self-executing. See Medellín v....18 Jul Volume 88 of the USNWC’s Blue Book Series
may be downloaded for free from the Blue Book link on the Naval War College International Law Department’s Stockton Research Portal. Additionally, a direct link to the .pdf file of Volume 88 is here. Once printing is complete in the fall, the bound volume will be available for purchase through the Government Printing Office Bookstore. Subscribers to Lexis and HeinOnline can search and retrieve the entire series. For questions concerning the Blue Book, the Naval War College International Law Department may be reached by emailing jayne.vanpetten@usnwc.edu or by calling +1.401.841.4949....