Search: crossing lines
12 Jun Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
...former was ordered to target Iran’s nuclear program last week by President Obama. NPR posts an op-ed about the troubling hypocrisy in the US’ recent leaks about its targeted killings and cyber warfare programs while prosecuting more government officials under the Espionage Act of 1917 than all previous administrations combined. Inter Press Service reports that the US has halted talks with Pakistan on NATO supply lines. North Korea has denied any plans for a third nuclear test. Thousands are reportedly showing up in Moscow for the first mass protests against...20 Sep Adult Conversation on the Emergency Constitution
...their resolution are ultimately more about politics than law (in the current episode, low politics rather than high, lacking the attributes of “adult conversation” — Levinson’s term — that has accompanied historical analogues). Kevin offers up the survival rule as the more analytic measure of extra-constitutional action; Paulsen works from the same sort of premise, though on a much less exacting basis, drawing straight lines between the Emancipation Proclamation and the Bush Administration’s terrorist detention policies by way of legitimizing the latter. The exchange between Paulsen on the one hand...23 Aug Report: Ukraine Willing to “Compromise” on a Non-Ukrainian Internationalized Tribunal
...the Ukrainian side, it is important that after the “Hague Tribunal” is established, it receives the “blessing” of the UN General Assembly , approval of its action by a separate decision. And if, say, 100 states support the work of such a court and its tasks, then this body will de facto become international. Much of the discussion to date, whether about an international or internationalized tribunal, has been based on the idea that a tribunal would be created by UN/Ukraine agreement following UNGA endorsement, along the lines of the...
10 Oct Rethinking International Law After Gaza Symposium: A Thought Experiment – What if we Tried to Organise the “Rethinking International Law after Gaza” Conference in the UK?
...and it is worth mentioning at the outset that it would have been very difficult to organise events in Turkish universities on certain ‘sensitive’ political issues. And yet, it is still worth asking what would happen if we tried to organise a two-day conference on the Question of Palestine in the UK, along the lines of the conference at Boğaziçi University, which addressed various topics including the occupation, resistance, apartheid, zionism, and the right of return. What institutional obstacles might arise, and could such an event even take place? In...10 Apr LJIL Symposium: Where to Find the Liberal Principles of Criminal Law
...some observers that these deeper principles of criminal law are so embedded in domestic criminal law that domestic systems get them right, while the international law system runs the risk of ignoring them. True, I might have said something along these lines in Reclaiming Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law in the Darfur Case, co-authored with George Fletcher back in 2005. However, one should not overstate the point. We are talking about deeper principles of criminal law – principles that ought to be deep and abstract enough to apply across all...12 Sep From Apology to Bazinga!: International Legal Rhetoric in Obama’s Speech and Putin’s Op-Ed
...the language of international law is used by both leaders. Putin’s argument plays on American fears and worries but it is framed in the rhetoric of international law. There are some scare lines, such as: “A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism.” There is a description of a “reeling” Afghanistan where “no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw.” And, he adds, don’t forget the divisions in Iraq and Libya. It is not in “America’s long-term interest” to have U.S. military intervention...15 Dec Ban Ki-Moon Sworn in as UN Secretary-General
Here is the text of the speech by new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. There are a few good lines from the speech, such as the following: Member States need a dynamic and courageous Secretariat, not one that is passive and risk-averse. The time has come for a new day in relations between the Secretariat and Member States. The dark night of distrust and disrespect has lasted far too long. We can begin by saying what we mean, and meaning what we say. We cannot change everything at once. But we...
06 May Options for a Peace Settlement for Ukraine: Option Paper III – Weapons of Mass Destruction
...hostilities. The Role of this Issue in the Negotiations The Russian Federation has made several statements in various fora that Ukraine is attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, nuclear) to be used against the Russian Federation and others (e.g. here, here and here). These allegations may be an aspect of the current negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine that must be addressed to the satisfaction of both parties. There have been statements along the lines that the Russian Federation’s allegations are a “disinformation campaign”, the intention...28 Oct Does Japan’s Pledge to Shoot Down Chinese Drones Violate International Law?
...evidence of the drones’ threat to bolster any attack it makes. On the other hand, is China overreacting to call those Japanese threats an “act of war”? I suppose that is technically true if one accepts that China’s drones are flying over Chinese airspace. Still, it is hard to imagine that downing a drone (where no one is hurt or killed) could have the same significance as downing a manned plane. I think Japan is trying to test China, and draw lines on matters that wouldn’t necessarily escalate into armed...