Search: crossing lines
02 Apr Kosovo, South Ossetia, and Crimea: the Legal Rhetoric of Intervention, Recognition, and Annexation
...call on everyone to respect that voluntary choice,” he said, adding that his Government could not refuse Crimeans their right to self-determination. Historical justice had been vindicated, he noted, recalling that for many years, Crimea had been part of the Russian Federation, sharing a common history, culture and people. An arbitrary decision in 1954 had transferred the region to the Ukrainian Republic, upsetting the natural state of affairs and cutting Crimea off from Russia. Gone were the bright lines that Russia had said existed regarding Kosovo: that inasmuch as Serbia...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...
24 Aug Error 404: Responsibility Not Found? Evidentiary Dilemmas in Attributing Cyber Operations
...met before the ICJ and rarely, if ever, before other fora (p. 80-81). In the Bosnian Genocide case, the ICJ was asked to uphold the more relaxed test of “overall control” proposed in the Tadić Appeals judgment (1999) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Under that test, conduct such as the US’ in Nicaragua could have given rise to attribution. Yet the Court upheld the “effective control” test as reflecting customary law, arguing that more lenient tests would blur the lines between private and State action (¶¶402-404)....27 Dec Sundays with Stendhal 10: On Epigrams
The Baron could not produce epigrams; he required at least four sentences of six lines each to be brilliant. (The Red and the Black, part II, chapter 34, “The Hotel de La Mole.” Sometimes, alas, I fear this is me.)...