Search: self-defense
11 Jun Gates on the Dimming Future of NATO
capable partners in their own defense,” Mr. Gates said. Mr. Gates complained of what he called a “two-tiered” membership structure, “between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don’t want to share the risks and the costs.” He added that some NATO partners are “apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets.” The broader issue is that nations commit major resources...02 Nov The Nuremberg Military Tribunals and Contemporary International Criminal Law
...Mental Element of the Crime of Aggression and Mistake of Law One of the striking features of the Rome Statute is its criminal law “general part”, by far the most comprehensive of its kind ever found in a treaty. This includes, in Article 30, a default rule as to the “mental element” applicable to the “material elements” of the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. “Unless otherwise provided” (and the Statute is, itself, thin on “otherwise providing”), there must be “intent and knowledge” in respect of the material elements....07 Jul Ryan Goodman to Work at DoD for One Year
Ryan — friend of Opinio Juris and friend of Kevin — has been appointed Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense. Here is a snippet from NYU’s press release: In his new role at the Department of Defense Goodman will focus primarily on national security law and law of armed conflict. “I am very humbled to have this opportunity to work with the General Counsel and the outstanding people of the Defense Department,” said Goodman. “I look forward to the hard work and challenges ahead in...
01 Apr Justice in Extreme Cases Symposium: The Harms of the Derelict Commander
[Saira Mohamed is Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law.] Darryl Robinson’s Justice in Extreme Cases: Criminal Law Theory Meets International Criminal Law offers a detailed and convincing argument for a mutually beneficial relationship between international criminal law and criminal law theory: just as criminal law theory can clarify and improve international criminal law, international criminal law can clarify and improve criminal law theory. Based in part on earlier published work, the book offers much to dig into, from a defense of deontic reasoning in international criminal...24 Aug ‘Makers of Military Drones Take Off’:
So says the headline of a WSJ news article today (Monday, August 24, 2009, B1, by August Cole), noting that unmanned aircraft – drones such as the Predator to us civilians, although the Pentagon seems to prefer UMV – are transforming not just the military, strategic as well as tactical considerations, but defense contracting. (PopSci ran a story a little while ago on the training of UMV pilots as well.) The WSJ article notes that the administration’s fiscal 2010 defense budget request “includes approximately $3.5 billion for unmanned aerial vehicles.”...
17 Jun Unraveling Universal Civil Jurisdiction: A Novel Ground for Global Justice?
...of claims under that Act. However, this does not invariably hold true. In several instances, US courts have maintained the stance of immunity defense, notably in the lawsuit filed against Ehud Barak, the former Israeli Minister of Defense for Israel, in relation to the ‘Gaza Freedom Flotilla’ incident. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the action, citing that Barak was entitled to foreign official immunity. This decision was based on the grounds that his acts were performed in his official capacity, the sovereign government of Israel...04 Jan Padilla versus Yoo
...bar. Non liquet Oops, I didn't even notice that Scott Horton made that point already on his blog at Harper's yesterday! Just Dropping By I suspect, for example, Yoo will argue immunity and get a government-funded lawyer in his defense (although he may well spend some money to retain his own counsel and maybe those costs could add up). Actually, I suspect that even if the government doesn't provide a lawyer, Yoo won't have to pay a penny because many of the same people who paid Scooter Libby's defense bills...