Search: crossing lines
03 Oct People Make the World: A Conversation with Georges Abi-Saab
...find themselves operating “behind enemy lines,” working in institutions and structures that are hostile to their perspectives, not to mention to their very identity. Rather than rejecting these institutions altogether, Abi-Saab advocates for guerrilla legality, participating with the aim of subverting the dominant logics. His role in cases such as Tadic and his time at the Appellate Body of the WTO are exemplary of the way Third World intellectuals can shift the debate toward more equitable outcomes. It is a balancing act, he tells us, and Third World scholars must...
27 Nov ‘I Want to Put the Social Question Back on the Table’ – An Interview with Anne Orford
...and I am blocked. Then I am trying to figure out why, what is stopping me from thinking about this in a way that would be productive. Often, I find that someone or some tradition is telling me that I cannot think about that. I think that happens for lawyers a lot more than in other disciplines. I say this a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but we are a little bit authoritarian in that we really look for authority. ‘What’s your authority’ is a proposition that makes sense in law. We...27 Aug Guest Post: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17–Possible Legal Avenues for Redress (Part 1)
[ Dr Aaron Matta is a Senior Researcher at The Hague Institute for Global Justice , Rule of Law Program. Anda Scarlat is a Summer Fellow with the Rule of Law Program at the Institute.With many thanks to Dr Lyal Sunga, Jill Coster van Voorhout and Thomas Koerner for their helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this commentary.The views expressed here do not represent the views of the Hague Institute for Global Justice.] 17 July 2015 marked one year since the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine,...18 Apr More on Baltasar Garzon
...particular irritated many people in Spain, even across the party lines – Garzon’s arrival at the station and taking charge of the investigation ‘on no authority whatsoever other than his own ego’ (I quote an annoyed Zapatero supporter at the time). There was also quite a lot of irritation that Garzon seemed to have unlimited capacities for pursuing universal jurisdiction claims and attendant international headlines abroad – but could not manage to find time, so the allegation went, for piled up, years dragged out, quotidian domestic cases on his docket....21 Mar CEDAW, Federalism, and Democracy in U.S. International Lawmaking
...and provide assistance to state and local governments (along the lines of the assistance the State Department provides to state and local law enforcement to facilitate enforcement the Vienna Consular Convention). It strikes me that none of this is possible if CEDAW is adopted by treaty, unless further implementing legislation is enacted. An outstanding issue that Oona has not squarely addressed (that may argue for CEDAW to be brought via the treaty route) is the linkage between CEDAW and U.S. v. Morrison. CEDAW’s General Recommendation Number 19 includes gender-based violence...
27 Mar Symposium on Prosecuting Heads of State for International Crimes: Punishing the Powerful – The Allure and Limits of the Penal Accountability Paradigm
...Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Al-Bashir, Putin, and Netanyahu all remain at large, with the latter two firmly in power in their respective states. And yet, for many, the moments when these warrants were issued were experienced as triumphs of international law: a first breach in the wall of impunity, suggesting that even the most powerful Heads of State are not above the law. This sentiment persists even amidst long-standing critiques regarding the ICC’s selectivity in terms of West/Rest and North/South lines. The allure of such prosecutions is undeniable. In...
04 Mar Blocking SWIFT in Russia
...ban might not be the nuclear option as some have proposed, the willingness of Western allies to act as a coalition on the matter is an important indicator of what is to come. Allies have already blacklisted Russia’s Central Bank, banned Russian flights, restricted its maritime port access, and explicitly placed Vladimir Putin on a Specially Designated Nationals list. Even traditionally neutral Switzerland has agreed to freeze Russian assets. Major private sector entities have also voluntarily divested from lucrative interests, shipping lines have halted or reduced bookings to and from...26 Jun YJIL Symposium: Human Rights and Climate Change Adaptation at the international Level
...apartheid, which is most often associated with an institutionalized legal regime of separating the races for the purpose of systematic oppression. For example, how do discussions of the climate change legal regime and the disparate impacts along geographic and gender lines relate to traditional uses and understandings of the term apartheid? The bulk of the authors’ text focuses on approaching the problem of climate change adaptation from a human rights perspective, highlighting national initiatives and touching on possible international ones. The issue of climate change refugees provides an excellent case...
04 Aug Symposium on Ljubljana – The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance: Critical Reflections – Wanted: ‘Widest Adoption Possible’ of the Ljubljana-The Hague Mutual Legal Assistance Convention
...language from ‘shall’ to ‘may’ was necessary—in fact, it could be a deal breaker. The change would permit States that do not recognize the customary nature of universal jurisdiction for crimes under the Convention to nevertheless join (see debates in the UN General Assembly Sixth (Legal) Committee here, here, and here). Ultimately, ‘shall’ was retained—and therefore so too was the substantive obligation. Reading Between the (Red) Lines Ostensibly, these are two examples of compromise with the same goal—seeking the greatest number of State Parties possible. However, the context in which...03 Nov Zivotofsky and the Disaggregated State
...the other side there was some characterization of the law as imposing “compelled speech” on the Government. Justice Kennedy took care of that with prospective disclaimers that the executive branch could issue, even on the passport itself. Along those lines, there was this interesting response from Justice Alito to SG Verrelli’s assertion that the statute poses a “very serious risk” of harming US credibility on the sensitive issue of Jerusalem’s status: Justice Alito: Why would that be so? No matter how this Court decides, everyone will know what the position...