Just to get the discussion going, I wanted to highlight the Court's analysis in Section IV of the Boumediene decision on the territorial reach of the Constitution. The precise question presented is the geographic question of whether the constitutional guarantee of the writ of habeas applies to detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Before discussing the case, it is worth...
The Supreme Court has just rendered its decision in Boumediene v. Bush, announcing that the DTA procedures are not an adequate and effective substitute for habeas corpus and that the MCA operates as an unconstitutional suspension of the writ. Opinio Juris is very pleased to announce an “insta-symposium” to discuss the decision. We have an amazing line-up of guests, including...
Mexico is returning to the ICJ to seek an interpretation of the Avena judgment. Here is an excerpt from the press release: Today Mexico filed a Request for interpretation of the Judgment delivered on 31 March 2004 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America). Mexico...
Ever wonder how green you are? A new non-profit organization has just launched an initiative that helps you find out. It's sort of like calorie-counting for the environment. Creative Citizen helps you track your "greenage" based on five criteria: water, electricity, waste, emissions, and money. Greenage is determined by the creative solutions that you’ve implemented...
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that MP Jason Wood is requesting an investigation into genetically modified orgasms. I support the member for McMillan's call for the government to conduct an independent broad-ranging scientific investigation into the genetic modification of food and biotechnology to assess not only the health of the crops and the food, but also the potential for contamination,...
The Fifth Circuit last week rendered a decision in Gomez v. Quarterman rejecting a claim that a forced confession should be thrown out because the defendant's VCCR rights were violated. This decision gives you a sense of where we are post-Medellin, with "no reasonable debate" about the status of the Vienna Convention as a vehicle to vindicate individual rights. With...
A lawyer, a philosopher, and a theologian went out for dinner. The topic under discussion was the concept of “sovereignty.” The lawyer discussed the sovereignty of the state, the philosopher highlighted the sovereignty of the individual, and the theologian underscored the sovereignty of God. Each understood the meaning of sovereignty, but each understood it in a different...
The Pew Research Center has a fascinating poll released earlier this month on Muslim perceptions of the United States. Here is a quick summary: Simply put, America’s image in much of the Muslim world remains abysmal. Iraq, the war on terrorism, American support for Israel and other key features of U.S. foreign policy continue to generate animosity in the Middle...
I rarely agree with Public Citizen, but I think they have a point when they argue that the United States should reveal the details of its multi-billion dollar settlement agreement with the European Union over compensation for failing to comply with the WTO Appellate Body US-Gambling decision. (Hat tip: IELP). This from the Public Citizen website: The Bush...
Now that the hiring season is over, I wanted to invite our readers to send me an email with any information regarding new and lateral international law professor hires. When you email me please include in the subject line "Law Professor Hires." A fairly comprehensive list of all 2008 entry-level hires is here and a fairly comprehensive list of all...
What happens if a mother wrongfully removes a child from his habitual residence because of fears that the child will be abused by his father? In such circumstances can the mother flee the country with the child consistent with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCAICA). Those are the questions raised by the...
