In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Roger Alford

21 Apr

John Ruggie, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations, issued a draft report last week that "presented a conceptual and policy framework to anchor the business and human rights debate." The section that particularly grabbed my attention was on corporate complicity for human rights violations. Notice the shift toward recognition of corporate responsibility...

|
20 Apr

Pope Benedict XVI's address at the United Nations General Assembly last week is definitely worth a read for anyone concerned about human rights. Here is an interesting excerpt on the natural law underpinnings of all human rights: This reference to human dignity, which is the foundation and goal of the responsibility to protect, leads us to the theme we are...

|
18 Apr

Last week State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger delivered an important speech at Vanderbilt Law School on Alien Tort Statute litigation. The speech was a fascinating analysis of the future of ATS litigation, particularly its costs and benefits. To my knowledge, the speech is the first comprehensive statement ever by a senior Administration official, Republican or Democratic, about...

|
14 Apr

Free speech at the Beijing Olympics is becoming a hot topic. IOC President Jacques Rogge held a press conference last week taking a firm line restricting all political speech anywhere at an Olympic site. Rule 51.3 of the Olympic Charter provides that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites,...

|
12 Apr

After Medellin—which calls into question whether treaties have the status of law—I’ll be curious whether the folks at Schoolhouse Rock decide to produce a variation on the old classic cartoon, “I’m Just a Bill.” Here are some possible lyrics for a new cartoon entitled, “I’m Just a Treaty”: You sure have to climb a lot of steps to get to...

|
11 Apr

There are many topics that come to mind from yesterday's ASIL program, but the biggest takeaway for me came from the annual meeting with the passing of the torch from José Alvarez to Lucy Reed. The strength of any learned society depends on its leadership and Alvarez has done an exceptional job as ASIL President. His President's columns...

|
10 Apr

Okay maybe not war exactly. But last month the Supreme Court rendered an interesting opinion resolving a bitter border dispute between Delaware and New Jersey. Just how bitter? Well, according to the Court, the dispute became so heated that “Delaware considered authorizing the National Guard to protect its border from encroachment [and] one New Jersey legislator looked...

|
08 Apr

If you will indulge a serious post about human suffering, I wanted to pass on Harvard Law Professor Bill Stuntz’s wonderful reflections on his struggle with cancer. I think it is appropriate for this blog because he reflects upon human suffering throughout the world, and emphasizes the irony that only those living in privileged, rich countries think they should...

|
04 Apr

Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski declared in a speech today that the First Amendment is dead. In a keynote speech entitled “The Late, Great First Amendment” given at a Pepperdine Law Review symposium, Kozinski offered a detailed analysis of the consequences of the Internet age for First Amendment jurisprudence. I’m sure that Eugene Volokh, Jack Balkin and...

|
03 Apr

For those interested in international arbitration, the ASIL and the Institute for Transnational Arbitration will be hosting a one-day conference on Wednesday, April 9 in Washington, D.C. The topic is "Soft Law Instruments in International Arbitration." The schedule is available here. Plenty of big names from the world of international arbitration, including David Caron, Michael Reisman, James...

|
02 Apr

Here is a key excerpt from pages 36-39 of the March 2003 "Torture" Memorandum: Section 2340 defines the act of torture as an: act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody...

|