Search: crossing lines
21 May Annexation in the Shadow of the Law—Part II
...backing and only token opposition from Europe, could well be the final nail in the coffin of such norms. A world in which an international discourse codifying a consensus about the use of force had vanished would be a world in which only might would make right. And here we would do well to remember these famous lines from Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons: Sir Thomas More: “… What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”William Roper: “Yes, I’d cut...16 Sep Security Council May Defer Bashir’s Prosecution (And It’s a Good Thing, Too)
...ICC investigation – permanent Security Council members Britain and France. Britain and France say privately that the lines of communication with Khartoum are nearing total breakdown. The Sudanese authorities are blocking the work of the 11,000-strong Unamid peacekeeping force and have not handed over two other ICC suspects – government minister Ahmad Harun and militia chief Ali Kushayb – for whom arrest warrants were issued last year. Foreign Office Minister for Africa Mark Malloch Brown and his French counterpart, Bruno Joubert, are understood to have both travelled to Khartoum recently...29 Jun Can Congress Reverse Hamdan? (Updated)
...legal power to constitute commissions or that such commissions violate the Due Process Clause. (3) So if Congress is unhappy with this decision, they can reverse it. Peter’s guess is that they won’t want to. I’m not sure about that, although that is a purely political question. Still, President Bush has already said he is going to ask Congress for legislation along these lines and a number of Senators, including Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senator Lindsey Graham, have said they will work to pass such legislation. *That was fast....
09 Mar No More Elusion of Responsibility for Rescue Operations at Sea: the Human Rights Committee’s Views on the Case A.S., D.I., O.I. and G.D. v. Italy and Malta
...and rescue service, as found in three Maritime Conventions. Rescue must be provided ‘regardless of the nationality or status’ of the person in distress or the ‘circumstances in which that person is found’. The intent of these treaties is to create a system to rescue all vessels in distress (para. 61)». Along the same lines, in its General Comment No. 36 on the right to life, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) held that «in light of article 2 (1) of the Covenant, a State party has an obligation to respect...
24 Sep Symposium on Protest and Legal Mobilization: Undermining the Right to Protest by Weaponizing Antisemitism
...protests in Amsterdam, which we witnessed firsthand, was particularly violent. Academic Freedom Fortunately, the importance of academic freedom is emphasized by many, as Senator Roovers motion for academic freedom has confirmed. However, we remain concerned that, as in other countries such as the USA and Germany, an antisemitism task force modelled along similar lines will fail to achieve its objectives. Moreover, we are concerned that by essentialising antisemitism as a form of hatred that deserves exceptional protection, and by focussing exclusively on Palestinian solidarity protests, this task force will further...
16 Sep Transitional Justice Symposium: Connecting the Past with the Future of Consolidated Democracies
...much more than fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, and participation in decision-making; it is tied to a liberal political identity (p. 225). Such an understanding of the rule of law provides a path to rethink the boundaries of society, its membership, and the constitutional makeup of the state, and thus shed light on liberal citizenship rights. Teitel also offered a way to reconstruct the collective across potentially divisive racial, ethnic, and religious lines, a means grounded in a political identity arising from society’s particular legacies...03 Oct How Bird Dung Affected American Imperialism and U.S. Views of International Law
...the US Government who’d been given a killer assignment. Apparently somebody had walked over to the desk of this poor functionary, scribbling away in some basement office, and said something along the lines of: “You know, we have a bunch of islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean—little islands. How about you figure out what the deal is with all these places, legally speaking.” I was holding the result: The Sovereignty of Islands Claimed Under the Guano Act and of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, Midway, and Wake. And it was...29 Oct A Cybersecurity Treaty? Adam Segal and Matthew Waxman Think Not
...are therefore growing for a global treaty to help protect against cyber threats. As a step in that direction, the British government is convening next week the London Conference on Cyberspace to promote new norms of cybersecurity and the free flow of information via digital networks. International diplomacy like this among states and private stakeholders is important and will bring needed attention to these issues. But the London summit is also likely to expose major fault lines, not consensus, on the hardest and most significant problems. The idea of ultimately...06 Apr How the Laws of War Helped to End American Slavery
...have escaped within your lines. I am Colonel Mallory’s agent and have charge of his property. What do you mean to do with those Negroes?” “I intend to hold them,” Butler said. “Do you mean, then, to set aside your constitutional obligation to return them?” Even the dour Butler must have found it hard to suppress a smile. This was, of course, a question he had expected. And he had prepared what he thought was a fairly clever answer. “I mean to take Virginia at her word,” he said. “I...02 Jul July is Arms Trade Treaty Month
...treaty form. Still, from time to time, treaty negotiations and all the diplomatic machinations accompanying them return to center stage. July appears to be one of those times. Starting today and running through July 27, the UN is launching a new treaty negotiation in New York for an Arms Trade Treaty. The UN General Assembly first proposed such a treaty in December 2006 in its Resolution 61/89. You can review a summary of the work of the preparatory committee since then here, including the Chair’s 2011 non-paper that outlines what...