Search: self-defense
27 Jan In Defense of Minimalism: A Response to Vlad Perju
...“inspiration” from the various “constitutional traditions common to the Member States” (as the Court puts it), the Court has begun to develop a jurisprudence of “general principles of law,” in order to redeem the EU’s self-conception as a “community based on the rule of law.” Those principles—developed by the Court sua sponte—have enabled the Court to incorporate, within “the structure and aims of the Community,” the substance of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as fundamental rights protected by national constitutions. The Court must decide crucial social...
23 Jul In Defense of Process: Why States Should Not Nominate New Candidates for ICC Prosecutor
...reference check (para 33). The report also explained that experience, by itself, was not the most important criterion; rather, it was competency. How, the Committee asked, did the candidates “demonstrate certain behaviours/skills” not merely by virtue of their resume, but “within the strategic context in which the ICC is situated” (para 37)? As Ambassador Sabine Nolke, the committee’s chair, later put it, “The fact that you’ve done something in the past doesn’t mean you’re the right person to do it again.” At the same time, the report is also refreshingly...
27 Apr MH-17 Trial: U.S. Satellite Imagery and Foreign Confidential Intelligence in a Public Trial
...unclassified secret sources that he was shown during an intelligence briefing with several U.S. officials. In its reaction on the 26th of June to the Defense request to hear Stolworthy from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concerning the written statement, the PPS mentions that not all underlying sources could be seen anyways by the National Public Prosecutor for Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Security Services. For this reason, the PPS emphasizes that as a result of this deficiency in the evidence. “[the] court will have to take this into...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...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 Aug A Partial Defense of Hamdan and Judge Roberts
I also want to welcome Professor D’Amato to Opinio Juris. And, in the typical Opinio Juris fashion, I want to welcome him by immediately taking exception to some of the arguments he put forward in his inaugural post. I agree that Judge Roberts should be held responsible for the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Hamdan as much as if he had written the opinion for the Court. I simply don’t find that decision as troubling as Professor D’Amato seems to. First, I guess I don’t find the D.C. Circuit’s...25 Jun In Defense of Britney. (Really.)
Joe Film casting is so rarely done with any logic in mind. Look at Zang Ziyi being cast in "Memoirs of a Geisha". The Japanese community was terribly offended. But Hollywood studio executives don't really care about accuracy or even political correctness. Their main goal is to fill theater seats with people, and Britney Spears will do that. Anderson I think Britney took that <a href="http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b101256_kate_winslets_prophetic_joke_holocaust.html">Kate Winslet self-spoof</a> too seriously. Anderson Oops, dunno how that hoppened. M. Gross I see no way this could possibly end in tragedy. Time Travel,...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...