Search: crossing lines
27 Oct The Washington Post’s Three Article Series on “The Permanent War”
...to go to Congress to get legislation and, in effect, a political announcement that the two political branches have reached agreement on policy and law in these contentious areas, political and policy stability is much weaker. This particularly so given that the default position of any opposition party is to criticize-on-autopilot, especially when votes in Congress have not locked at least some of them in, including perhaps Congressional leadership, and reduced their ability to kibitz from the uncommitted sidelines. If this “pivot” or at least indifference by Democrats under a...14 Jun Proposed Legislation Seeks VCCR Compliance by the United States
...ability of our consular officers to see him, provide assistance, and monitor his condition. Similarly, the United States invoked the VCCR to seek access to the three American hikers detained in Iran after accidently crossing an unmarked boarder in 2009. In 2001, when a U.S. Navy surveillance plane made an emergency landing in Chinese territory, the State Department cited the VCCR in demanding immediate access to the plane’s crew. . . . This bill has the support of the Obama administration, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense,...05 Aug Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales Asks OTP to Investigate Gaza (Updated)
...ICC jurisdiction over the situation in Gaza. If the ICC is to become involved in the most heavily politicised conflict in recent history — and I think the likelihood the OTP would act on even a proper request is essentially zero — there should be no doubt whatsoever about either Palestine’s desire for an investigation or the ICC’s jurisdictional competence. If we’ve learned anything about the conflict in Gaza, it’s the importance of always crossing the legal “t’s” and dotting the legal “i’s.” UPDATE: Multiple sources are reporting on Twitter...
17 Sep Navigating the Human Rights Trajectory of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact in Search and Rescue Operations (Part Two)
...Safety Committee (MSC) Guidelines on the treatment of persons rescued at sea (Preamble, para 7). The Recommendation urges cooperation amongst Member States in relation to SAR operations carried out by NGO vessels in order to reduce fatalities at sea, protect the safety of maritime navigation and aim for effective migration management (para 1). It is interesting to note that the flag and coastal State are expressly mentioned. While the coastal State clearly refers to the SAR State, the reference to the flag State is not commonly found in the legal...21 Jul Emerging Voices: Cyber Operations and the Prohibition of the Threat of Force
...be; conversely, the Tallinn Manual (p.45) considers it as amounting to a use of force. Could it be qualified as a threat of force? Stuxnet produced physical damages to an Iranian nuclear plant, and thus violated the principle of non-intervention and the sovereignty of the targeted State. Nothing prohibits qualifying as a threat of force an action crossing the border of the threatened State. For example, in 1996 a North Korean submarine ran aground on a South Korean beach, and the former denounced it as an act of war (ICB...26 Aug Upcoming Events: August 26, 2012
Calls for Papers The Irish Yearbook of International Law has a call for papers for a special symposium issue regarding Climate Justice in International Law (Word document). Submission deadline is August 31, 2012. The University of Sydney is hosting a post-graduate conference on November 1-2, 2012 entitled Crossing Boundaries (Word document), open to post-grads in the Asia-Pacific region. Deadlines of abstract submission (no more than 250 words) is August 31, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law is holding The...
02 Mar Deterring the Next Invasion: Applying the Accumulation of Events Theory to Cyberspace
[Michael McLaughlin is a cybersecurity attorney and policy advisor in the Washington, D.C. office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. He is the former senior counterintelligence advisor for United States Cyber Command and a research affiliate for the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy and a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law.] After years of conducting destabilizing activities worldwide with impunity, Russian forces crossing the Ukrainian border proved to be a...30 Dec Weekly News Wrap: Monday, December 30, 2013
Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa More than 1000 people have died in fighting in South Sudan in the past month, where a political crisis is turning into a tribal conflict. Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Australia has requested asylum there a few days before her term was due to end. Americas Edward Snowden has declared “mission accomplished” and also issued an alternative Christmas message for the UK’s Channel 4. Legal or not? A federal District Court judge in New York has ruled...
22 Apr Training the RSF? Due Diligence, Unlawful Intervention, and Criminal Exposure in Sudan’s War
...under Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations. Even in that scenario, however, the availability of self-defence under Article 51 would remain uncertain. Crossing the Article 2(4) threshold does not automatically amount to an armed attack. Unless the support reaches the level of the “most grave forms” of force identified in Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua, forcible self-defence may not yet be legally justified. Internationalization of the Conflict External support to one of the parties may also raise the question whether the conflict could become...
20 May Pandemic of Hunger Symposium: Population Transfers and the Civilian Toll of Starvation as a Method of Warfare in Syria and South Sudan
...UN Human Rights Council to dedicate its reports to the civilian impact of sieges, namely those in Aleppo and eastern Ghouta. During the siege of eastern Ghouta for example – the longest running siege in modern history – the Syria Commission documented how Government forces closed crossing points, cutting off civilian access to food, and simultaneously heightened aerial and ground attacks. Although elaborate networks of manmade tunnels were built in the enclave to secure access to food, Government forces had the upper hand and therefore many tunnels were closed as...