In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Roger Alford

02 Mar

Here are the preliminary results of my survey of the new and lateral faculty hires in international law. Please contact me if you have more information or clarifications regarding this list. Auckland Kevin Jon Heller (International Criminal Law) from Georgia Boston University Robert Sloane (International Law) new hire Cincinnati Jacob Katz Cogan (International Law) new hire Fordham Grainne De Burca (EU Law) from European University in Florence Florida State Lesley...

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02 Mar

Today in San Francisco there is a meeting of business leaders to discuss corporate social responsibility. It is part of the U.N. Global Compact, the largest volunteer initiative to promote ten universal principles relating to human rights, labor standards, environment, and anti-corruption. Part of that discussion will address the recently published McKinsey survey of business executives on business and society....

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01 Mar

Pope Benedict XVI issued his Ash Wednesday sermon today and focused on development and world poverty. Here is an excerpt: "Even in this era of global interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those who act according to the logic of the Gospel...

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01 Mar

Sarah Cleveland has just published a very significant article in the Yale Journal of International Law entitled "Our International Constitution." Cleveland is a great writer and her article is a pleasure to read, even though I sharply differ with her on the appropriateness of using international law to interpret constitutional guarantees (see my articles here, here and here).Cleveland is...

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28 Feb

My vote for the most important international law case of the month is Shell v. Ijaw Aborigines of Bayelsa State. The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Nigeria rendered its $1.5 billion dollar judgment against Shell on February 24, 2006. I have searched in vain for the text of the decision and will update the post once it becomes available....

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27 Feb

The Supreme Court in the case of Ministry of Iran v. Elahi, rendered a rather insignificant decision last week regarding the FSIA and state instrumentalities. At issue was whether claimants could attach Iranian assets in the United States to satisfy various successful terrorism judgments. Problem was, the asset was an arbitral award in favor of the Iranian Ministry of Defense....

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26 Feb

The New York Times has a very unusual human interest piece about a former Taliban ambassador who is now a student at Yale. It is an extraordinarily long piece that strives mightily to put Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi in the best positive light as a reformed member of the Taliban. It includes an interesting discussion of a 2001 debate Rahmatullah had...

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26 Feb

Great interview with Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League over at the Jerusalem Post. He discusses the Mohammad cartoons, Jewish-Christian relations, anti-Semitism, the movie Munich, and the threat of Iran. Here are a few highlights:On Cartoons: "Humor definitely can play a useful role in exposing hypocrisy in controversial issues, particularly in getting young people to pay attention. The question is...

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25 Feb

On the lighter side of international law, a 52-year-old South African grandmother was arrested and charged with drug smuggling in New Zealand after Nigerians stuffed her suitcases with ceramic gnomes filled with cocaine. As reported here:Crown prosecutor Bruce Northwood said the Crown did not deny it was a sad story but the woman must have known what she had got...

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24 Feb

A recent survey by Pew highlights a notable generational gap on foreign policy perspectives. If you look at attitudes of the two extreme age groups that were surveyed -- those who are 18-29 and those who are 65+ -- the differences in foreign policy perspectives are stark. In fact, we have a tale of two Americas. Call them the YMCAs...

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23 Feb

In response to my post from last week, thanks to those who have submitted information on new and lateral international law professor hires. I have received numerous emails, but wanted to encourage anyone who has not yet sent information to email me and provide the new institutional affiliation, the name of the professor, specializations (if known), and the name of...

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22 Feb

On February 19, 1942, a few weeks following Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry. The purpose of the Order was to ensure the "successful prosecution of the war" which "requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabatoge." Pursuant to that order, 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to 10 internment...

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