Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
14 Feb More on Prime Time Torture: “24” and the Myth of the Ticking Time Bomb
...Instead, the doubters tend to be softhearted dupes. A tremulous liberal, who defends a Middle Eastern neighbor from vigilantism, is killed when the neighbor turns out to be a terrorist. When a civil-liberties-minded lawyer makes a high-toned argument to a Presidential aide against unwarranted detentions—“You continue to arrest innocent people, you’re giving the terrorists exactly what they want,” she says—the aide sarcastically responds, “Well! You’ve got the makings of a splendid law-review article here. I’ll pass it on to the President.” There is a lot more to the article, including...05 Dec Annapolis and the Road Map
[Charlie Martel is an adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law. His most recent article (available on SSRN here) examines the implications of Oslo and Road Map obligations on the legality of the Israeli security barrier, and was published last month at 17 Duke J. Comp. & Int’l Law 305] First, thanks to Roger for offering me a chance to share some thoughts on the Annapolis Declaration. To bloggers and blog readers, I ask that you please be gentle with me because this is my first post....05 Apr The Situation in Palestine
[Michael Kearney is an LSE Fellow in the Law Department of the London School of Economics] Michael Kearney guest blogs with us to share his knowledge of the Palestinian situation as an external consultant for the Palestinian human rights NGO Al-Haq “I heard from the Americans,” Abbas reports. “They said, ‘If you will have your state, you will go to the ICC. We don’t want you to go the ICC.'” In a striking decision, issued shortly before he is due to step down in June 2012, Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo of the...02 Sep Blockade, International Armed Conflict, and the Palmer Report
held him (almost entirely) incommunicado, denied Red Cross access, and made unlawful demands upon Israel for his safe return. We might interpret those facts as merely establishing unlawful conditions of detention and a request for "exchange of prisoners," but it seems a lot more like hostage taking prohibited by international humanitarian law. I am uncertain whether a hostage can be converted to a POW by dropping the unlawful demands, but it's a good question. Kevin Jon Heller John, I don't think we disagree on the first or third points. i...01 Sep Syria Insta-Symposium: André Nollkaemper–Intervention in Syria and International Law: Inside or Out?
part of an attempt to reconstruct the law on the use of force? There is no doubt that in the present situation, military strikes against Syria would be in violation of international law as it has been understood since 1945. In situations as we face now, in the absence of a Security Council mandate, international law allows no unilateral use of force. Building a coalition outside the UN does not help. Qualifying strikes as punishment does not help either. International law does not provide a right of states to respond...23 Mar More Thoughts on the CPT
I couldn’t agree more with Roger about the CPT response. I’m particularly appalled by the verb the CPT uses to describe what happened to the hostages — “released.” Not “rescued.” Not “freed.” “Released” — as if, like Roger says, the Brigades of the Swords of Righteousness simply had a change of heart and let them go. I understand being opposed to the war. (I am.) I understand blaming the kidnappings on the U.S./U.K. occupation. (A strong case can be made.) But to not acknowledge the bravery of the U.S. and...04 May On the Legality of the Russian Vetoes in the UN Security Council and the Harsh Reality of International Law: A Rejoinder to Professor Jennifer Trahan
Complicity in International Law) Turning now to the question of the legality of Russia’s vetoes, let me put it succinctly: Russia’s veto on April 10, and its previous eleven vetoes on draft resolutions relating to Syria, were lawful. In fact, each of the 203 vetoes (for the full list: see here) cast by the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council since the veto was first exercised by the Soviet Union on February 16, 1946, were lawful. To explain my position I’m going to identify and engage with the...10 May And Now For Something Completely Different: the Arab/ South American Summit
...Order (or “NIEO”) from the 1970’s. Whether such attempts at political coordination actually amounted to significant changes in world politics or international law is another matter. According to some reports, the U.S. is a quite concerned about this summit. The BBC reports that Washington asked to send an envoy with observer status but was rejected. Note to Arab and South American states: When Washington is actually willing to take part in an international conference, you should not shut the door. This just reinforces the view that this conference is about...22 Oct Louis Henkin (1917-2010): The Power of His Ideas Live On
law. He asserted that war “has no significance in international law…. War stands in the way of international law…. [T]he Constitution accepts the word “war” and uses it colloquially[.]” But, squaring the Constitution with the U.N. Charter, Lou acknowledged that while “the word ‘war’ is in the U.S. Constitution, and therefore it binds us… the most important [provision] in the U.N. Charter is Article 2, Section 4 [, which] says, ‘Nations shall not use force.’” As far as Lou was concerned, the U.N. Charter’s exception for self-defense under Article 51...