Opinio Juris » weekday news wrap w01/13

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, January 4, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

A “senior Al-Qaeda figure” was killed in Yemen via a US drone strike yesterday, along with two others.
For more on the SDNY’s decision granting summary judgement to the US government about the FOIA suit we covered yesterday, Bloomberg covers it here, Politico has a story here, the ACLU has a press release here, the New York Times has a story here and an op-ed here, the Washington Post weighs in here.
A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative was extradited from Britain to the United States to face terrorism charges.
The Volokh Conspiracy has a post about the International Criminal Court and Palestine in light of the recent UN General Assembly resolution granting Palestine upgraded observer state status.
The US Justice Department reached a $1.4bn settlement with Transocean Ltd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Argentina has reasserted its claim over the Malvinas Islands, also known as the Falkland Islands, and urged Great Britain to relinquish its control over them in a letter from President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Life imitating art? “Green Card” actor Gerard Depardieu has been granted Russian citizenship so he can escape the 75% super-tax on the rich in his native France.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator has agreed to hold talks with the six powers later this month, an exact date and place are yet to be determined.

January 4th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/04/weekday-news-wrap-friday-january-4-2013/ |

by Jessica Dorsey

According to the UN, the death toll of the Syrian conflict now exceeds 60,000.
A US drone strike has killed Mullah Nazir, a Pakistani Taliban commander.
The IMF has stated that the US “fiscal cliff” deal is not enough to bring the economy back on a sustainable path.
Judge McMahon of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted summary judgment to the government for the consolidated FOIA suit brought by the ACLU and the New York Times asking for the release information about its targeted killing program. Lawfare has more here and here, the Wall Street Journal blog weighs in here and CommonDreams offers a piece here.
The UN is concerned about airstrike reports in the Kachin state of Myanmar.
Israel has completed the fence between itself and Egypt, which stretches from the Red Sea port Eilat to the Gaza Strip, built to “stop infiltrators.”
Rebels in the Central African Republic have halted their advance on the capital Bangui and agreed to start peace negotiations.
Iran has indicated it hopes for nuclear talks with the six major powers “very soon.”

January 3rd, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/03/weekday-news-wrap-thursday-january-3-2013/ |

by Jessica Dorsey

Thousands have protested in Hong Kong to demand the resignation of the China-backed chief executive and democratic leadership elections.
Seven charity workers have been killed by gunmen in Pakistan when they visited a community centre that serves as a school and a clinic.
According to South Korea’s Finance Ministry, unification of the two Koreas could cost the South up to 7 percent of annual GDP for a decade though the South would benefit in various ways such as cheap labor and the North’s resources.
Government war planes bombed opposition-held areas of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels fought on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on New Year’s Day.
The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan are set to meet in Addis Ababa to discuss how to improve border security and resume cross-border oil flows.
UN independent expert Gabriela Knaul has said that threats and attacks against judges and lawyers who fight for the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka have increased in the past few months.
Conflict of Laws has posted an analysis of the December 6 decision from the European Court of Justice on the European order for payment procedure.

January 2nd, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/02/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-january-2-2013/ |

by Jessica Dorsey

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a press release welcoming the National Congress of Argentina’s recent approval of legislation that creates the System for Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.
The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda has offered a bounty for anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador to Yemen or an American soldier in the impoverished Arab state, according to a group that monitors Islamist websites.
The UN envoy to Syria has said that the conflict in Syria must be solved in 2013 or the world risks another failed state.
Israel has allowed a shipment of gravel for private construction into the Gaza Strip, easing the blockade it imposed after Hamas seized control of the enclave in 2007.
Australia has threatened Japan with diplomatic action over its whaling program, after Japan reportedly dispatched its whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean for what Tokyo calls a scientific expedition.
Apple, Inc., has agreed to withdraw patent claims against Samsung for the new Samsung Phone, Galaxy S III Mini.
In other Apple news, a Beijing court ordered Apple to pay damages of 1.03 million yuan, or $165,908 USD, to eight Chinese writers and two companies for copyright infringement.
And because it’s the last day of 2012, we leave you with Foreign Policy’s The Year in Quotes. Happy New Year to all of our readers!

December 31st, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | 1 Comment » http://opiniojuris.org/2012/12/31/weekday-news-wrap-monday-december-31-2012/ |

Posts of Interest

May 17, 2013
Could the PTC Order the OTP to Investigate the Mavi Marmara Situation?
As Bill Schabas noted in his recent post, the Comoros referral raises interesting questions concerning the Pre-Trial Chamber's power to review a decision by the OTP not to open a full investigation into a situation. Most people who don't keep a copy ...

May 14, 2013
Could the ICC Investigate Israel's Attack on the Mavi Marmara?
This is very interesting. The Union of the Comoros, a state party to the Rome Statute since 2002, has formally referred Israel's attack on the flotilla that included the MV Mavi Marmara to the ICC. The question I want to address in this post is wheth...

April 29, 2013
Further Thoughts on Judge van den Wyngaert's Withdrawal from the Kenyatta Case
I have now had the opportunity to read both Judge van den Wyngaert's request to be excused from the Kenyatta case and the Presidency's decision to grant that request. There is no question that workload did indeed play a role in the Judge's decision t...

April 29, 2013
Reminder: New Voices Abstract Deadline May 1!
For the procrastinators among us, here's another friendly reminder about our New Voices Symposium coming up in July and August. As a recap, this July, we are planning to launch a new feature called New Voices: a two-month online symposium to run alo...

April 22, 2013
Why Isn't Bill Keller Being Court-Martialed for Aiding the Enemy?
Two years ago, I wrote a long post analyzing the most serious charge in Bradley Manning's court martial -- aiding the enemy, a violation of Art. 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and 10 USC 904. I claimed in the post that someone lik...