Search: crossing lines
21 Feb Would Assassinating Iranian Civilians Be Legal? (Updated)
...iranian atomic scientists, supporting the simmering insurgencies within Iran, putting the mullahs’ expat business interests out of business, etc. Basically, stepping on the Iranians’ toes hard enough to make them reconsider their not-so-covert war against us in Iraq. And we should have been doing this since the summer 2003. But as far as I can tell, we’ve done nothing along these lines. Reynold’s post prompted a reply in the Rocky Mountain News by Paul Campos, a law professor at the University of Colorado, entitled — appropriately enough — “The Right’s...19 Aug Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission Awards Final Damages
...10. US$75,000 for other government losses on the Central Front; 11. US$125,000 for looting of property from the Relief Society of Tigray; 12. US$150,000 for damage in Adi Goshu; 13. US$625,000 for shelling damage in Sheraro; 14. US$65,000 for damage caused by the attack on the Mekele airport; 15. US$4,000,000 for profits lost by Ethiopian Airlines; 16. US$1,703,020 for failing to provide Ethiopian Airlines access to its bank accounts at the Bank of Eritrea; and 17. US$7,500,000 for reconstruction and assistance to internally displacedpersons. C. As determined at the liability...21 Jul Guest Post: Jurisdictional Aspects of the Article 12(2) Rome Statute Vessel Provision: Some Thoughts on the Provision’s Dogma and Implementation in light of the Comoros Referral
...which while not embedded in the wording of the provision itself, still constitute part of its essence. The Rome Statute provision was drafted along the lines of article 91 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The latter, echoing a strong jurisprudence and treaty tradition stipulates and favours the notion that there must be a genuine link between the flag state and the vessel. This genuine link requirement is critical. While in some instances judicial bodies may have appeared reluctant to assert it, the reason was...
08 Aug Emerging Voices: The Time We Have, the Space We Need
...by way of obliterating the element of time that a reboot of international scholarship was made possible, creating new avenues for academic debate and rerailing intellectual conversations along lines that we somewhat keep following today. But even when the abstract functioning of disciplinary discourse is exposed, its structural bias remains unexplained. For precisely because it is indeterminate and theoretically empowers no-one, international law is also invariably used to disempower the already disempowered. Here, almost on a second thought, the contextuality of time reappears, echo of a broader post-structural turn which...
13 Feb Options for a Peace Settlement for Ukraine: Option Paper XVIII – Energy
...other Party than the price charged for those energy goods or raw materials when destined for the domestic market, by means of any measures such as licences or minimum price requirements. One would therefore expect that something similar could be included in a Ukraine-Russia peace settlement. In addition, Ukraine might also seek a fall-back guarantee that it can purchase energy from its partners, for example the EU and the US, or Norway. The Egypt-Israel peace settlement also came with a side agreement along these lines. To encourage Israel to participate...30 Nov Smith-Mundt and the Battle for Hearts and Minds
...his Department firmly believes themselves to be covered by the Act, a source tells me outgoing Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes was not aware of this until a few short months ago). Smith-Mundt has shaped the content and methods of communications from State and Defense through institutionalized firewalls created along artificial lines, fostering a bureaucratic culture of discrimination that hampers America’s ability to participate in the modern struggle over ideas and managing perceptions. The rest of the post provides a history of Smith-Mundt and how it affects...
24 Jan Unilateral Cyber Sanctions and Global Cybersecurity Law-Making
...curb malign and criminal behavior in cyberspace. In crafting these rules, the current practice of states with cyber sanctions can provide important elements to be included in a future treaty. Cyber sanctions emerged as a tool to address extraterritorial nature of cyber-attacks. While unilateral in nature, their use can signal red lines in cyber space and thus make evident an emerging state practice in this regard. For this reason, paying more attention to the current use of cyber sanctions should be complementary to the efforts undertaken at the UN level. ...20 Nov ICJ Gives Colombia an Empty Victory Over Nicaragua
Just a further quick note on the ICJ opinion yesterday (press release here) on the long-running Colombia/Nicaragua dispute over sovereignty and control over certain Caribbean islands. The ruling seems a mixed bag since it recognizes Colombia’s sovereignty and rejects other Nicaragua submissions. But Nicaragua is declaring victory. At first glance, I get nervous when courts (any courts, whether domestic or international) start adjusting lines based on “equitable considerations.” But there are no good ways to do this according to very strict legal rules. So we’ll see if this ruling sticks....24 Oct The Hariri Report, the UN, and Legitimacy
...implies that, like reports of other international organizations, this report ends up with “muddy, often useless conclusions in an attempt to avoid rocking the boat.” Well, I guess someone better tell all those demonstrators in Damascus to calm down. That is not the result of a document that avoids rocking the boat. What is even more interesting are the comments of some of the Syrians in the street when asked about the report. Comments were along the lines of, “well, if these allegations turn out to be true then whoever...05 Nov President for the World
...Americans, and only incidentally to others. Most Americans would hew to that today, but it’s not quite as easy to get there as in the past. Obama’s speech threaded the identity issue with this: “our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared.” I expect we’ll see some elaboration in the inaugural address. Perhaps something alongs the lines of his “citizen of the world” riff at Berlin? The speech will easilly be the most internationally-directed (and consumed) inaugural address in U.S. history. How much will he speak to Americans, singularly,...