In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Search: self-defense

22 Apr

...also relying on implementing legislation for the Maritime Safety Convention, 18 USC 2280). Conflicting accounts exist over Muse’s age (the judge rejected defense claims that he’s 15) and his role in seizing the U.S. vessel (i.e., Muse was either the brazen leader or an unwilling accomplice forced to participate in the attack). I suspect both issues will continue to draw attention if Muse’s case proceeds to trial. But, for international lawyers the most interesting questions involve the defense’s apparent invocation of the Geneva Conventions. It’s unclear whether and how Muse...
22.04.09 | |

19 Sep

NSA Warrantless Eavesdropping until the NYT disclosed the program's existence. Moreover, far from being consistent in its defense of its legal justification, the justification has changed from AUMF to article II as the AUMF argument was exposed in all it's weakness by subsequent court decisions. Finally, when given the opportunity to present any of its shifting legal defenses for the program in a court of law, the administration instead has attempted to hide behind standing and states secrets argument. That is, it has expressly avoided subjecting its weak legal arguments...
19.09.06 | |

10 Aug

John C. Dehn Kenneth, These are all wonderful questions. One major question sticks out in my mind. In the Nicaragua case, I believe the ICJ said that collective self defense under the UN Charter required a request for assistance. I am comfortable with finding Pakistan to be engaged in an internal armed conflict and acting in self defense (at least as recognized by Security Council resolutions after 9/11). May we not presume such a request was made relevant to this attack? If so, wouldn't that potentially change the nature of...
10.08.09 | |

25 Mar

Diane Marie Amann See IntLawGrrls tomorrow, Ken. Happy to help, Diane Kenneth Anderson thnxs! John C. Dehn Ken, I noted one time that he used the terms armed conflict and self defense in the alternative. In every other case self defense was related to the existence of armed conflict, with the latter providing the legal authority for the administration's approach. Is it your position that the use of force in national self defense can sometimes be accomplished without the constraints of the laws of war? Do you see this as...
25.03.10 | |

25 Feb

...the pun) interpretation of the relevant Security Council resolutions in the article. I'd simply add that Yoo's argument that the right of anticipatory self-defense justified the Iraq war is even less persuasive. Yoo spends four pages defending the existence of that right (something few international lawyers would doubt, at least in theory), then concludes that the right justified the Iraq war in two sentences. Here they are, reproduced in full: "Applying the reformulated test for using force in anticipatory self-defense to the potential use offorce against Iraq reveals that the...
25.02.05 | |

31 Aug

...situation regarding Iran is far more complex because of Iranian direct support of Hezbollah and other groups in ongoing armed attacks on Israel and its stated objective re: Israel. I have an article on 51 self-defense and collective self-defense in such a context that has been accepted for publication by a journal and might obtain a short-fuse expedited review by a few others. It might be interesting here to address implications of the Obama doctrine and recent decisions regarding potential use of armed force against Iranian nuclear weapons production facilities....
31.08.13 | |

31 Aug

...as a NATO coalition (as occurred with Kosovo) lends greater legitimacy (although even that is technically not sufficient under a strict reading of the U.N. Charter). But when a broad coalition or regional actor is unavailable, does that mean that countries must stand by and let mass atrocities, such as the use of chemical weapons (a necessarily indiscriminate weapon), occur? The answer is arguably no. While the U.N. Charter only clearly permits intervention in two scenarios: U.N. Security Council authorized action and article 51 individual or collective self-defense, the Charter...
31.08.13 | |

11 Nov

...unilateral secession by California is authorized by the international law right of self-determination. This is a much more difficult point to analyze, but I think that neither California nor Oregon would qualify to exercise this murky international law right, at least with respect to seceding. The Canada Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec case is probably most on point here. A state whose government represents the whole of the people or peoples resident within its territory, on a basis of equality and without discrimination, and respects the principles of self-determination...
11.11.16 | |

02 Mar

Benjamin Davis These are the three hypos that are presented to support the idea of a humanitarian necessity defense and the question is why the strict rule of IHL on these things. Here are a couple of thoughts. 1. approach a neighbor of a suspected Palestinian militant and request the neighbor to urge the suspect to surrender quietly to the security forces. What if the neighbor says no? Do the security forces say "Thank you and have a nice day."? The neighbor is presumably a civilian who does not want...
02.03.10 | |

21 Aug

The WSJ has an article on the U.S. Defense Department’s push for a criminal prosecution of Wikileaks for releasing U.S. government documents on the Afghanistan war. Several officials said the Defense and Justice departments were now exploring legal options for prosecuting Mr. Assange and others involved on grounds they encouraged the theft of government property. Bringing a case against WikiLeaks would be controversial and complicated, and would expose the Obama administration to criticism for pursuing not just government leakers, but organizations that disseminate their information. I agree it would be...
21.08.10 | |

10 Jun

...to be already published (e.g., publishing in Harv. Int'l L.J. on-line). Alec Stone Sweet I do not see the dilemma. Most good papers are mounted on SSRN or Selected Works and widely circulated before submission to peer review, and they will have been read much more than most blog entries. Bloggers might have delusions of grandeur, but a blog is not a journal. I don't see how self-posting anything on-line should preclude the latter's publication if it meets the journal's standards. Kevin Jon Heller "I don’t see how self-posting anything...
10.06.12 | |

19 Apr

...because prisoners do not have a legal entitlement to payment for their work, and the Due Process Clause protects only against deprivation of existing interests in life, liberty, or property…. Plaintiffs fail to state a viable claim under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “For any treaty to be susceptible to judicial enforcement it must both confer individual rights and be self-executing.” A treaty is self-executing when it is automatically enforceable in domestic courts without implementing legislation. The ICCPR fails to satisfy either requirement because it was ratified...
19.04.10 | |