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Search: self-defense

25 Mar

In Medellin, the Court held “that neither Avena nor the President’s Memorandum constitutes directly enforceable federal law . . . .” This comment focuses on the effect of the Avena judgment itself, and disregards the President’s Memorandum. The majority was undoubtedly correct to hold that Avena is not “directly enforceable federal law.” In fact, Avena is not federal law at all. The Constitution is federal law. Statutes are federal law. Treaties are federal law. But decisions of the ICJ are not federal law. The Court erred, however, by concluding that...
25.03.08 | |

27 Feb

...sovereign, so use of force there must be with state sanction, else it is piracy. (Perhaps it is the very lack of state sanction that makes the ends "private.") The 9th Circuit panel got this one right. kevin Smith Do the whalers have a right of preemptive self defense? If the Sea Shepherds have made their intentions clear by previous attacks, can not the whalers just blast them out of the water before they attack again. I agree with Tim that it seems very troubling if the political motivation of...
27.02.13 | |

22 Feb

...human rights record in its public statements. [3] Vietnam justified its invasion of Cambodia as self-defence against armed attack. [4] The Coalition initially provided no justification whatsoever for creating no-fly zones over Iraq. The UK eventually invoked UHI, but no other member of the Coalition did likewise. Indeed, the US later argued – unpersuasively, to be sure – that the no-fly zones were permissible acts of self-defence. [5] Only the three states Harold mentions – the UK, Belgium, and Denmark – invoked UHI to justify NATO’s bombing of the Serbs....
22.02.18 | |

21 Apr

[Major John C. Dehn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Law, US Military Academy, West Point, NY. He teaches International Law, and Constitutional and Military Law. He is writing in his personal capacity and his views do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense, the US Army, or the US Military Academy.] First, I express my thanks to Opinio Juris for permitting me to comment on recent events here at West Point in my personal capacity as an international law scholar and U.S. citizen. Last...
21.04.09 | |

03 Sep

...in the text to incorporate the Australian amendment had not removed the element of ambiguity about which he had previously spoken, and he suggested that, apart from the use of legitimate self-defense, the text as it stood at present might well be interpreted as authorizing the use of force unilaterally by a state, claiming that such action was in accordance with the purposes of the Organization. … The Delegate of Norway said that the Committee should reconsider the present language which did not seem to reflect satisfactorily its intentions, and...
03.09.13 | |

02 May

...torture people" The principle of reciprocity was inherent and necessary to the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Its purpose is to set practical self-interest as a guard on the standards expressed in the conventions. If we abide by the rules, our enemies will also abide by the rules. True, the spirit of the conventions also expresses a fundamental moral sense concerning how combatants ought to behave, but the contingent morality of the letter protects the fundamental morality of the spirit - not vice versa. The drafters recognized that, as a matter...
02.05.09 | |

01 Dec

...the Day of Judgment, something one need not worry about if one has obeyed God's revelations, e.g., not sought superiority on earth or spread corruption. Re: Timmerman's take... 'In making his case, he does not position himself as president of Iran, but attempts to set himself up as a spokesman for all Muslims....' I do not at all see how this inference is made. He may be articulating what many Muslims believe, but theres's no evidence that the letter is being used as a vehicle 'to set himself up as...
01.12.06 | |

25 Apr

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has taken the first crack at applying the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Medellin with respect to self-executing treaties. In Mora v. People of New York, the Second Circuit rejected a foreign national’s effort to win damages for violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Interestingly, the Second Circuit, buttressed by Medellin’s analysis of self-execution, held that a clear statement is required before a treaty will be read to create an individual private right. No such clear statement can be...
25.04.08 | |

14 Dec

...from this side of the fence it seems that the U.S. is just as big criminal as China, Russia and other mafiosi. And last, but not least, the subject was American exceptionalism. And nobody has explained to me, why a victim of American actions should accept that the U.S. considers itself above the law and reserves itself the right to act as ultimate and self proclaimed godly omniscient judge of its own actions. I don't really care whether China kills me in Tibet or the U.S. blows up my baby...
14.12.10 | |

03 Oct

...to work it would be AA = DPAA = 1) imminent threat 2) AQ or AQ associated and 3) could not reach him for arrest = person we can drone. Just like in a proportionality analysis, the difficult point I am making is that the process of doing that math may weigh things differently by race - AA gets over the threshhold evidence quicker than JWL and here I am also recognizing the different paradigms one is under between armed conflict and self-defense. My point which is raising a troubling...
03.10.11 | |

09 Jul

...O'Sullivan I really think that you might wish to check the record before careening to such precipitous--and erroneous--conclusions. In this case, the defense had alleged NO reason to believe that this particular intermediary had done anything wrong. In other words, this was a total fishing expedition by the defense. And let us remember that the intermediaries are not the witnesses. Conditions are so dangerous on the ground in the DRC that it is difficult for the prosecution to talk to witnesses without endangering their safety. Bona fide intermediaries, as this...
09.07.10 | |

16 May

...problem. Their solution is to request the Senate attach a declaration to its advise and consent papers declaring this provision is “non-self executing.” This means that Congress would have to act to subsequently pass legislation giving effect to this provision. But even this solution is not free of problems. First of all, UNCLOS art. 309 appears to prohibit any reservations and exceptions, which might be read to nullify any non-self execution declaration. Second of all, even if Congress passed subsequent legislation, this would help (but not completely resolve) the constitutional...
16.05.07 | |