Opinio Juris » weekday news wrap w36/12

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, September 7, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The International Economic Law and Policy Blog is reporting on a case filed against the WTO in a US District Court seeking a declaration that the “ruling of the Appellate Body of the WTO concerning the Country of Origin Labeling Act is null and void in the United States and throughout the world” on the basis that US law prevails over the WTO Agreements, as stipulated in Section 102(a)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
Asian and Pacific leaders are meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, this weekend for the APEC summit, against a background of various territorial disputes pitting members against each other, and with many states going through leadership changes in the coming months. They did however agree to slash import duties on green technologies.
Pakistan has ordered foreign staff of the NGO Save the Children to leave the country, following rumours that it facilitated meetings between the US and Dr. Afridi who has been convicted of high treason for his alleged help in chasing down Osama bin Laden.
Even though FARC rebels have asked for a ceasefire ahead of upcoming peace talks with the Colombian government, the government said that is not an option and in fact the military will intensify its operation in the coming months.
The United States has delivered documents related to Omar Khadr to the Canadian authorities and Canada will now consider whether he can be transferred into their custody from Guantanamo Bay.
Syrian forces have bombarded south Damascus with reportedly 20 civilians killed in an area home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon discussed the situation in Syria, pointing to the thousands of citizens who were dying at the hands of the government, in the “ultimate test of the responsibility to protect” for the international community.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia announced the release of some 1,700 previously classified documents detailing evidence of war crimes committed connected to the Court’s “case 001″ against Kaing Guek Eav.
For some weekend reading, many blogs have offered in-depth analysis of current issues. Over at Lawfare, John Bellinger analyzes yet another dismissal of a human rights lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act against Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Mark Kersten, at Justice in Conflict, offers some thoughts on what Al-Senussi’s extradition from Mauritania to Libya really means.
At EJIL: Talk! Iain Scobbie critiques the legal argumentation in the recent Levy Commission’s report outlining the status of the West Bank and the legality of the Israeli settlements.
Finally, for those interesed in how US President Barack Obama has done in his relations around the world, have a look at Barack Obama’s foreign p olicy, by the numbers on FP.

September 7th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/07/weekday-news-wrap-friday-september-7-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, September 6, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The Liberian Daily Observer has reported that Judge Sow of the Special Court for Sierra Leone has been called by the defense team of Charles Taylor and will testify in his appeal.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has accused both the government and the rebel forces in Syria of human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law.
Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said that Palestine will make a bid this month at the UN General Assembly for an upgraded status to non-member observer state, now that Palestine has secured the support of the Non-Aligned Movement, Arab and Islamic states.
Poland has given information over to judges from the European Court of Human Rights regarding the investigation into secret prison sites, allegedly used to interrogate and sometimes torture al-Qaeda suspects, operated by the US on Polish soil.
Human Rights Watch has come out with a report detailing US torture and rendition of opponents of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime (report found here), including using the waterboarding technique on suspects.
Columbia has named its team for peace talks with the FARC rebels, set to take place in Norway next month, and then in Cuba.
With all the criticism surrounding the use of drones these days, Foreign Policy presents a piece discussing what’s not wrong with drones.
In an interview, Russian President Putin has indicated that his stance on Syria remains unchanged. He was also critical of Mitt Romney’s foreign policy, but hopes that a re-election of Barack Obama could bring an end to the missile defence dispute.
For the second day in a row, Israeli forces have killed three Palestinian militants to prevent terrorist attacks from the Hamas controlled Gaza strip.
In a major military operation, Turkey has attacked Kurdish positions in South-East Turkey and Northern Iraq.
Names of candidates for the position of WTO Director-General after Pascal Lamy’s term ends next year are starting to circulate.
New Zealand has denied refugee status to a man from the Pacific Island of Kiribati whose claims were based on the effect of climate change on his low-lying country of origin.
The EU has started its biggest anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar power products.
South Sudan’s first ambassador to Khartoum has urged for the two states to focus on trade rather than on war.

September 6th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/06/weekday-news-wrap-thursday-september-6-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, September 5, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

According to state media, Mauritania has extradited Ex-Libyan spy chief Al-Senussi to the Libyan authorities instead of to the International Criminal Court.
A court in London found Britain responsible for the 1948 killing of 24 unarmed Malayan civilians who were shot dead by British troops during a campaign against Communist insurgents.
In the next nine months, Scotland will introduce a bill to hold an independence referendum, according to First Minister Alex Salmond.
Cambodia will deport the founder of file-sharing site The Pirate Bay to Sweden, where he is charged with breaching copyright laws.
A UN envoy has called the number of deaths in Syria “staggering” in his first speech to the UN General Assembly.
Foreign Policy offers the first glimpse into a recently declassified mea culpa from the CIA regarding the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
A French judge seeks the exhumation of the body of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, The West Bank, in an ongoing investigation into the cause of his death.
China’s new way of keeping the Philippines out of the contested Scarborough Shoal? Roping it off, according to Foreign Policy.
Argentina has filed another request for WTO consultations with the US, this time regarding restrictions on the importation of fresh lemons from its north-western region.
China and the US have agreed to disagree on a variety of issues such as Syria and the South Chinese Sea.
The US has been accused of backtracking after calling for a “flexible” treaty at climate change negotiations in Bangkok, Thailand.
The NYTimes reports how Iran has been supplying the Syrian military via Iraqi airspace.
Japan’s government will purchase the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, at the center of a territorial dispute with China, from its private Japanese owners

September 5th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/05/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-september-5-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, September 4, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has said that Iran can strike US bases in the Middle East if Israel were to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In other Hezbollah news, the group ponders an uncertain future if one of its two closest allies, President Assad of Syria, is defeated in the current uprising.
Syrian refugees fleeing the country’s turmoil have started arriving in European countries.
Ahead of this weekend’s poll, Hong Kong students and teachers continue their protests against China patriotism classes that would become compulsory from 2016.
The head of the ICRC has met with Syrian President Assad in Damascus in an effort to obtain better access for humanitarian aid workers.
The Defense Ministers of China and India have met in New Delhi and agreed to conduct joint military exercises; China was also expected to ask India to stay out of South China Sea dispute. China has given the same message to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is visiting Beijing today.
The ICTY has denied Radovan Karadzic’s request for a new trial.
Sudan and South Sudan have resumed border discussions, with a focus on oil exports as a top priority.
The Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare has been posted in draft form on the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence website.

September 4th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/04/weekday-news-wrap-tuesday-september-4-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Monday, September 3, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

Rebels have hit army headquarters in Damascus planting bombs targeting high-level officers.
More US drone strikes in Yemen kill at least eight, including five suspected of having al-Qaeda ties, while a Yemeni warplane missed its intended target and killed 10 civilians.
Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to resume flights between capital cities for the first time in almost five months.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called for former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President George W. Bush to be put on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for their roles in the Iraq war.
The first evacuations of the Migron outpost in the West Bank have begun, in accordance with a 2011 Israeli Supreme Court decision finding that the settlement was illegally built upon Palestinian territory.
Japanese officials have visited the disputed islands in the East China Sea and surveyed the area, a move that Beijing state media call illegal.
A Brazilian judge has agreed to hear the first war crimes trials involving members of the dictatorship during military rule from 1964-1985.
The IAEA claims that Iran has doubled its nuclear production capacity at the Fordo site, though the centrifuges there are not yet operational.
On Friday, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body established a dispute panel at the request of India to investigate US countermeasures on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India. The US exercised its right to block the establishment of a panel at the first meeting at which it is requested in a request by China over US countervailing measures against Chinese solar panels. Australia similarly blocked an Ukrainian request for a panel over Australia’s plain packaging rules for tobacco products.
Islamic extremists have taken over Douentza, a strategic town in Mali.
The US has suspended training of new recruits for Afghan security forces after NATO troops experienced an increase of “green on blue” attacks recently.
A column in China’s official newspaper has rejected Turkish proposals to establish an internationally enforced safe zone for refugees of the Syrian crisis.
Egypt has appointed an experienced diplomat as its new ambassador to Israel, in a move that is seen as a positive sign.

September 3rd, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/03/weekday-news-wrap-monday-september-3-2012/ |