Search: jens iverson
25 Sep Opinio Juris 2.0
...We have tried to stay true to the blog’s longstanding aesthetic while at the same time giving the website a more modern look and much greater functionality. Users should find Opinio Juris considerably easier to navigate, and our improved platform will allow us to branch out into podcasts, webcasts, live Q&As, and much more. As for the roster of permanent bloggers, Peggy, Chris, Peter, Duncan, Kristen, Deborah, and Jens are assuming what we are calling “Emeritus” status. Although they will no longer be active members of Opinio Juris, they will...15 Jun Bashir Leaves South Africa
I’m not one to get hysterical over ICC news, but this recent development today strikes me as deeply problematic, and perhaps a tipping point. But perhaps not the tipping point that the ICC detractors have in mind. Sudanese President al-Bashir was attending a conference in South Africa this weekend with other heads of state and officials from several African nations. The government of South Africa took the position that Bashir was entitled to immunity and could not be arrested; apparently, this was Bashir’s assumption as well, otherwise I...08 Nov Weekend Roundup: November 1-7, 2014
This week on Opinio Juris, Peter continued his commentary on the Zivotofsky hearing and Kristen posted the transcript of the recent hearing in the Haiti Cholera case. Jens wrote about the DOD’s plans for a Defense Clandestine Service, and welcomed the news that President Obama will seek congressional authorization for the ISIS campaign. Kevin discussed the passage in the OTP’s Mavi Marmara decision where the OTP finds that Israel is still occupying Gaza, and explained why the Comoros’ appeal will have little effect in practice. In guests posts, Nikolaos Ioannidis...23 Feb Weekend Roundup: February 16-22, 2013
...Kevin argued last week that the ICC’s OTP committed a serious legal error when it argued that even an in absentia trial would mean that Libya’s admissibility challenge of the case against Saif Gaddafi could pass. It is no surprise then that Kevin was happy to see the OTP retract its submission this week. Kevin also recommended Jens Ohlin’s new article on “Targeting and the Concept of Intent“. Kristen put the spotlight on International Peace Institute’s recent recommendation to give the African Union a bigger role in transitional justice issues...11 Apr War by Any Other Name? It’s Still War
...considering “the balance of consequences,” one must question whether airstrikes are reasonably calculated to lessen, rather than intensify conflict, and thus, civilian suffering, in Syria. Our doubts about the legality of the attack are not, however, an end in themselves. Jens Ohlin sees the many opinions objecting to the bombing on either domestic or international legal grounds and concludes that “everyone seems to have lined up against humanitarian intervention.” Not us. We firmly endorse the notion of humanitarian intervention but fault the Security Council for not doing its job. Thus,...13 May Planning for Detention
Picking up on Jens’ post about the Administration’s apparent lack of plans for holding detainees picked up in Iraq/Syria, I too found the Times report troubling. In part I suspect it was because I was immediately reminded of one of the findings of the many Pentagon investigative reports issued after the revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib and other U.S. detention facilities in Iraq. All apart from criticisms of changes in policy and legal interpretation, some of the harshest blame for the widespread nature of the abuse was the total...12 May No Detention Plan for ISIS
Today’s New York Times tells us that the Obama Administration currently has no active plan for holding Islamic State (ISIS) detainees captured on the battlefields of Iraq or Syria. The article makes clear that the lack of a plan isn’t because the Obama Administration hasn’t been thinking about the issue. In reality, the lack of a plan stems from the fact that the Obama Administration refuses to develop one. Why not? After the fiasco known as Guantanamo Bay, the administration apparently has no interest in getting into the...02 May Weekly News Wrap: Monday, May 2, 2016
...(MSF) hospital in Afghanistan last year was a mistake and therefore not a war crime. Survivors demand an independent investigation. Jens posts his thoughts here. China and Japan both expressed a willingness to improve strained relations on Saturday after a rare meeting between their two foreign ministers in Beijing, though China said Japan should stop pushing the notion that China is a threat. India and the United States are in talks to help each other track submarines in the Indian Ocean, military officials say, a move that could further tighten...01 Nov Weekend Roundup: October 18-31, 2014
This fortnight on Opinio Juris, Jens predicted that the Ebola crisis will become a Chapter VII issue at the UN. The theme of the UN and diseases continued in Kristen’s update on a hearing on the UN’s Privileges and Immunities in the Haiti Cholera case. In other UN news, she summarized some of the issues discussed at a meeting on the Security Council’s methods. Kevin wrote on the Constitutional Court of South Africa’s decision in the Zimbabwe Torture Docket case, finding that international law did not prohibit universal-jurisdiction investigations in...07 Feb Looking for Twitter Follower No. 2000
...Ken Roth and Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt), so it feel less filtered than other media. Fake twitter feeds supply some comedy – check out those for Kim Jong-un, Newt Gingrich, and Henry Kissinger (along with the real Andy Borowitz). OJ’s Ken Anderson has a personal feed here, as does our current guest blogger, Jens Ohlin. It’s a pretty good way to stay on top of things. OJ is following almost 150 in all, which you can find here. Thanks to the almost 2000 of you who are following us....