Critics of the Security Council's decision to refer the situation in Libya to the ICC normally argue that the referral denies Gaddafi the option of going into exile instead of fighting to the death. That may or may not be true -- as I've noted previously, Max Boot's reliance on Charles Taylor's prosecution to make that argument fudges the actual...
On paper, courts-martial are far more fair than military commissions -- the substantive law they apply is superior, and their rules of evidence and procedure are designed to protect defendants, not ensure convictions. Unfortunately, a recent McClatchy investigation indicates that literally hundreds of courts-martial might have relied on evidence that was unreliable and even fabricated by an unethical forensic scientist...
I wanted to call readers' attention to an upcoming web seminar on Libya held by Harvard's Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. The Program's web seminars are always excellent, and this one -- which features Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Nicholas Burns -- shapes up to be superb. Here are the details: On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the Program on Humanitarian...
My colleague Anne Orford has a fascinating contribution today to the official blog of the London Review of Books questioning the universality of the supposedly universal international law that underlies the Security Council's authorization of military action in Libya. Here is a taste: In 1954, Carl Schmitt bemoaned the destruction of European international law in the 20th century. According to...
I'm in Los Angeles, on my way home to Melbourne. I had not attended an ASIL conference in five years, since I was teaching at Georgia, and I'm very glad I attended this one. I met a number of interesting people, including some with whom I've had a virtual friendship for a number of years. (I still have not met...
In a post today at Commentary, Boot argues that Taylor's arrest after going into exile makes it more likely that Gaddafi will fight to the death instead of negotiating a gracious exit from power: Once upon a time, an autocrat could step down and live out his days securely in the south of France or some other plush locale. That...
As of March 19, 220 academics have signed the letter. (You can read the full list here.) Well done, colleagues! Bruce Ackerman (Yale) and Yochai Benkler (Harvard) are circulating the following letter protesting the inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention and asking for law professor support. I have already signed, as have 103 other scholars. I encourage our academic readers to...
Here it is: My thanks to all of our readers who provided me feedback on earlier covers. Note that the dust jacket now provides a short description of Ben Shahn and the painting; particular thanks to readers who suggested the description! I hope you can read the text on your screen....
I don't get to the East Coast of the U.S. very often these days, so I thought I'd mention that I will be in Boston and DC next week, in case any Opinio Juris readers want to meet up. I will be giving a lecture on the Karadzic trial (with a bit of discussion afterward about the ICC and Libya)...
Our friends at Lawfare have been having a typically intelligent debate about the meaning of the Obama administration's recent declaration that “The U.S. Government will...
With all the attention being paid to the situations in Libya and Kenya, the situation in Darfur has receded into the background. (Par for the course, unfortunately, with Darfur.) So it's worth noting that the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I has confirmed charges against two Darfuri rebels alleged to have orchestrated a September 2007 attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers: On...
Today's headline in the Wall Street Journal: Threat of Trial Keeps Gadhafi Fighting. Yes, because if the Security Council hadn't referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, Gadhafi would clearly have transferred power to the rebels in an orderly and peaceful fashion by now. Oh, well. I don't expect very much from the Wall Street Journal. After all, in the very same...
