Search: crossing lines
04 Sep Executive Discretion and Congressional Indecision
...counterterrorism policy — that is, a war on terror — is as important as the White House believes it is, then it merits the blessing of the legislature and ought not to exist merely at the discretionary whim of some future president. On the eve of midterm elections that could reverse Republican control of at least one house of Congress, (see here, here and here) one would think that this would be a particularly propitious time for the Bush Administration to work with Congress along the lines Anderson is suggesting....14 Jun Steinberg and Zasloff on Power and International Law
...in the last century. While views of the relationship between power and international law are diverse, and many approaches straddle heuristic lines, they can be grouped into four intellectual movements: classical legal thought; realism (of which there are three variants); law matters (sociological, rationalist-institutionalist, and liberal views); and constructivism. Each major intellectual movement may be seen as a reaction to the ideas that preceded it, and each may be better understood in the context of international developments contemporaneous with their emergence. In recent years, each major movement has evolved to...26 Oct Book Roundtable: Ruti Teitel’s Humanity’s Law
I’m delighted to have been asked to participate in this discussion of Ruti Teitel’s Humanity’s Law. Let me start by simply saying what a great read this book is. Congratulations to Ruti on a book that really does shift our thinking about the base lines of international law, challenge conventional notions of a state-centric international legal system, and help make sense of the changes across a range of sub-fields in international law that all do more to privilege the individual. Ruti’s central claim is that there has been a move...
12 Dec Challenges to Security in the Black Sea: Analyzing the Tripartite Initiative Operation in the Black Sea
...is obliged to notify the neutral states of risks to innocent shipping. As long as military circumstances allow, the requirement to provide notification must be fulfilled promptly. Delayed notification does not automatically result in a breach of international law. The Tripartite Mine Clearing Operation As seen above, the three states being Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye (“the Tripartite”) have adequately reported the locations and the dangerous presence of sea-mines in the Black Sea near their coastal lines. The fact that all of them informed the international community about the presence of...18 May Book Discussion “Outsourcing War and Peace”: Contractor Accountability as a Barrier to SOFAs
...on high-level political issues. However, persons close to the negotiations on both sides have confirmed that the most contentious single issue related to the treatment of civilians and civilian contractors. The Pentagon viewed both DOD civilians and contractors as an essential part of the force deployed; accordingly the United States insisted that both be covered by immunity provisions under the SOFA. The Iraqis replied that they were essentially prepared to enter into a SOFA along the lines of those that the United States had concluded in the years following World...
07 Jul Customary International Law Symposium: Making Sense of Law as Practice (Or: Why Custom Doesn’t Crystallize)
...“rulebook,” I would suggest that it does require shared parameters along the lines I sketched above. Further, I agree with Monica that conduct or positions that exceed existing CIL are “legally cognizable” (1521) and have the potential to affect the content of CIL (1494). However, although such positions are very much part of the process that shapes CIL, they are not CIL, as Monica appears to suggest (1511). In my view, it is important to maintain a distinction, and to be able to assert that such conduct or argumentation is...16 Oct Obama Will “Engage” on Sudan (And Ignore the ICC)
...Scott Gration, said that the policy, to be announced Monday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, would make use of a mix of “incentives and pressure” to put an end to the human rights abuses that have left millions of people dead and displaced while burningDarfur into the American conscience. General Gration said the administration would set strict time lines for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan to fulfill the conditions of a 2005 peace agreementthat his government signed with rebels in southern Sudan; under the agreement, a proposal for...27 Aug Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About TWAIL (But Were Afraid to Ask)
...significant, both for the TWAIL movement and international law reformers in general. In the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas agreement (ALBA) we find a platform from which TWAIL might transcend its reactive nature and develop a proactive character. Building on a practical prototype that produced a participatory model of democracy and a progressive model of social relations, we argue that ALBA’s philosophy and substantive workings present the structure needed for the reinvention of international law along similarly equitable lines; from a formal regulatory regime to a substantive emancipatory paradigm, from...