Search: self-defense
31 May VJIL Symposium: Introducing “Investment Treaties and Investor Corruption”
quite limited. There was little in the Siemens award itself to suggest that Argentina had much, if any, chance of convincing the committee to annul the award. Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are famously asymmetric. They grant investors rights but not obligations, while imposing upon states obligations unaccompanied by rights. Recent cases suggest, however, that BIT tribunals are poised to recognize a defense to state BIT liability that, in effect, imposes upon investors the obligation to avoid involvement in public corruption in the course of making a treaty-protected investment. In this...27 Feb Kenyan Appeals Court Strongly Affirms That al-Bashir Cannot Claim Immunity As a Defense Against the ICC’s Arrest Warrants
...the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa too concurred with this approach, noting that allowing immunity to prevent arrest in such situations “would create an intolerable anomaly”. Highlighting the irony that Kenya’s government disregard of its international obligations in inviting al-Bashir to the inauguration of Kenya’s progressive Constitution, the Court also notes that the government’s actions violate a specific provision of the Kenyan Constitution itself. Article 143(4) of the Constitution reads “[t]he immunity of the President under this Article shall not extend to a crime for which the President...25 Sep Gitmo Prosecutor Resigns as Act of Conscience
...which he says there is a risk of the case going to trial without the defense obtaining all “potentially exculpatory evidence.” ”In my view,” he wrote, “evidence we have an obligation as prosecutors and officers of the court has not been made available to the defense.” Vandeveld also wrote that he has come to accept certain facts that could favor the defense in the case, so he asked to quit the prosecutor’s office and serve out his reserve duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. He wrote that Jawad was captured at...
23 Feb Pathways to Justice for the Downing of Flight PS752
...we fight for and what unites us is justice, justice, justice.” In the early hours of January 8, 2020, Iran carried out missile strikes against US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force. The IRGC expected US retaliation within minutes and therefore added air defense systems to the Tehran vicinity. Despite the immediate risks, Iran kept its airspace open to civilian aircraft. Hours later, an IRGC Air Defense Unit (ADU) stationed near Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA) fired two missiles approximately 30 seconds apart...08 May Jus Post Bellum Symposium: In Defense of a Central Role for Sovereignty in the Jus Post Bellum Conversation
...or the rule of law. In this sense, it is important not to confuse the empirical reality of how the concept evolved and is used on the discourse, and the concept itself. Which leads me to the second idea : sovereignty, in one form or another is a sociological necessity. What I mean by this is that sovereignty, in its simplest definition of a delegation of power (legislative, executive, judicial, police, administrative, etc.) to centralized authorities is an inevitable phenomenon in any human community that reaches a critical mass. This...17 Oct Notes on Professor Ring’s Article
...some respects, this article seemed to me a direct expression of Walzer’s defense of the idea that a political community had obligations to its own members, including in matters of distribution and redistribution, that were more binding than those of general cosmopolitanism. The book is a defense of membership in a political community, a defense of the idea that certain things can morally extend to members and not to non-members, and, I suppose, it is much of what Peter does not accept. Human rights are often invoked today in defense...08 Apr A Defense of Foreign Policy Schizophrenia
Chris makes some very good points about the Bush Administration’s foreign policy “schizophrenia” and listing the nomination of Bolton as symptomatic of the problem. Not surprisingly, I disagree. I think this “schizoprenia” is actually a good thing. I do agree that there is some back-and-forth in the Bush Administration’s foreign policy recently, but I actually think this reflects an increasing sophistication rather than increasing confusion. Indeed, the main complaint up to now with the current administration has been that it has been way too consistent in the pursuit...