Search: crossing lines
10 Oct Reimagining Palestine in TWAIL Scholarship
...The hesitation of academics to confront tangible aspects of settler-colonialism is consistent with their worldview, he explains. Doctrinal and critical scholars alike unite in the near beatification of the Westphalian tradition, a system that relies on the negation of indigenous and non-state sovereignty. In this context, even calls for Palestinian self-determination appear timid, contingent on colouring within the lines of Israeli administrative zones. As I’ve argued elsewhere, this leads TWAIL scholars to an intellectual and ethical cul-de-sac. We admit the profane origins and practices of international law—from a TWAIL perspective,...31 Mar HILJ Online Symposium: On the Love of Hybrids and Technicalities
...rights protection, 27-30). We part our ways – although perhaps more in terms of reasoning than the conclusion (p 43) – when the article makes an argument for interdependence of investor’s and State’s rights, with the first claim against the respondent State (whoever of the two it might be brought by) precluding the second one, along the lines of the ICSID Convention (pp 43-9). The first objection is that this argument cannot be based on the principle underlying the rule of the ICSID Convention: article 27(1) does not waive or...20 Nov Binding on All States All of the Time
...ironies of the “realism” of political science is that all this reality does not fit their paradigm so they ignore it. This is not to say that all this belief translates into perfect compliance—plainly not. The work of improving law compliance goes on in every legal community. This is also not to say that there is no point in developing empirical methods along the lines Beth indicates. Plainly, well-conducted survey research, for example, can help us to better understand the world we live in. Empirical data can be useful, in...23 Jun New Rules for Cyberwar?
...the U.S. can defend itself by blocking cyber intrusions and taking down servers in another country. And, as in cases of mortar or missile attacks, the U.S. has the right to pursue attackers across national boundaries — even if those are virtual network lines. Under the new Pentagon guidelines, it would be unacceptable to deliberately route a cyberattack through another country if that nation has not given permission — much like U.S. fighter jets need permission to fly through another nation’s airspace. Uri Friedman over at the Atlantic Wire distills...
11 Dec Symposium on Forensic and Counter-Forensic Approaches to International Law: Private Investigators, Public Accountability – Digital Forensics and the Politics of Evidence in International Crimes
...for selective curation of evidence, and, importantly, the vulnerability to weaponization and politicization of sensitive data. In this short post, I critically examine these risks and argue that the current lack of accountability structures beyond voluntary codes of conduct for private actors creates legal and ethical fault lines. As a potential solution, I propose a shift in international legal thinking: rather than relying on formal legal personality, responsibility should be based on an actor’s practical engagement in justice processes. The Politics of Evidence in International Conflicts Since these armed attacks...
02 Nov Third Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law: Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of International Law in the Rescue of Astronauts
...story of an astronaut named Major Tom’s journey into space and his loneliness because of the loss of communication between him and Earth. Thanks to Bowie’s soulful voice and the song’s haunting lyrics, listeners can feel the emotional loneliness of an astronaut travelling through the endless void of space. Furthermore, this song has become a cultural sign, reflecting the relationship between the marvellous imagination of humanity and the magnificent but frightening space, and the impact of the space race on society. If we moved from the world of music to...19 Dec Bali High?
...of bold transformation that many think is needed, given the severity of the climate problem. Moreover, the difficulties in negotiating the Bali Roadmap do not bode well for the treaty negotiations that will now commence. Despite the Bali decision, many countries (the United States foremost among them) still appear unprepared for serious negotiations – certainly, not until after the US Presidential elections next year. To make real progress, what is needed, above all, is US domestic action, along the lines of the Lieberman-Warner bill that was reported out of committee...
15 May EU Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence Obligations: From Means to Results
...least adequately mitigate them. This makes it clear that duty of vigilance cannot be fulfilled by a tick box exercise. Along these lines, Article 9 requires that the corporation sets a complaint mechanism for legitimate concerns regarding the adverse human rights impacts of the corporation’s activities. As for the duty of care counterpart of HRDD in the Commission’s Proposal, concerns have been raised on the nature of the obligation it establishes. Indeed, national law considers duties of care as obligations of means/best efforts: if the defendant proves that they were...
08 May The Race Ceiling and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Resolution: What the UNGA Vote Reveals About International Law’s Epistemic Community
...genuine political solidarity across racial lines and should be recognized as such. The resolution’s passage reflects a real coalition, one that includes states whose scholars have built the TWAIL tradition– a tradition whose critique of international law’s colonial foundations is indispensable and whose contributions to exposing the racial architecture of sovereignty, recognition, and development remain foundational. To engage critically with TWAIL’s epistemic framework is not to contest its project. It is to ask whether that project has fully reckoned with the exclusions it risks reproducing within its own epistemic community....
16 Feb UK Okpabi et al v Shell: UK Supreme Court Reaffirms Parent Companies May Owe a Duty of Care Towards Communities Impacted by their Subsidiaries in Third Countries
...Okpabi, and more than 42,000 individuals from the communities of Ogale and Bille in the Niger Delta, alleging that oil spills from the respondents’ pipelines caused severe environmental damage, affecting their land, livelihoods, water sources and health. They sued Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), UK-based parent company, and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC, which operates the joint venture between Shell and the state-owned oil company. But the responsibility of Shell, and the jurisdiction of UK courts over the case, was contested by their legal counsel. Both the High Court and the...