Today it was announced that former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark will join the defense team for Saddam Hussein. This is good news. It should dispel any notion anywhere in the world that this is not a serious trial with top-notch defense counsel. In the words of Robert Jackson, this should "dispose of the contention that ...
Palestine moved one step closer to peace with the opening of the Rafah crossing to Egypt. With no international airport open, the Rafah checkpoint is the international gateway into Gaza.President Abbas was celebrating yesterday at the opening ceremony: "I think every Palestinian now has his passport ready in his pocket. Let them come to cross at this terminal whenever they...
Pinochet has posted bail and now remains free. See details here. The BBC has the best coverage of the indictments, one for tax evasion and the other for kidnapping. The coverage includes links, a profile, related articles, and background information. A full list of all news stories about the Pinochet indictments is available from Google here. As of Friday morning...
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, one of the truly great and distinctive national holidays of our country. The only obligation of Thanksgiving is that we celebrate and give thanks for the bounty that is ours. George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation is a regular fixture at Thanksgiving celebrations in many homes throughout the country. As noted here, it was...
The ABA Section on International Law and Practice has just published the 2004 Year-in-Review. It is the best one-volume summary describing the developments in international law for the past year. It always comes out much too late, but it is a great resource. The reference begins at 39 International Lawyer 169 (2005).Chapters include antitrust, environmental, trade, commercial...
A copy of the Padilla indictment is available from ABC news here. The blogosphore is abuzz with the news. Discussion can be found at SCOTUSblog here, Prawfblawgs here, and Balkinization here.I'm a little surprised by the reaction I've seen so far. Isn't this somewhat analogous to the Bush Administration's response in Medellin? In that case at the last minute the...
There is a wonderful story in the Washington Post yesterday about Brad Pitt becoming immersed in the intricacies of international trade. Pitt is fast becoming an outspoken advocate for Africa, and he is coming to realize how central trade is to that agenda.The tutorial was sponsored by a group called DATA (debt, AIDS, trade, Africa) established by U2 lead singer...
Professor John Barrett at St. John's has reminded me that sixty years ago today Justice Robert Jackson, Chief Counsel for the United States, appeared before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and made his opening statement. Jackson's speech is one of the greatest in the modern era of international law.The opening statement began as follows:"The privilege of opening the first trial in...
The European Court of Human Rights last week upheld Turkey's refusal to allow an adult Muslim woman the right to wear a hijab (female headscarf) to graduate school. The case is available here and the press release summarizing the case is here. In the case of Şahin v. Turkey, the claimant was a medical student at Istanbul University who came...
A fascinating poll on "America's Place in the World" was just published by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (available here). The poll surveyed the general American public as well as opinion leaders in eight major categories. There is loads of information in the poll, but while we are on the subject of torture, it is...
Philippe Sands is at it again. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle last week, available here, Sands appears to be publicly pushing his idea that David Addington, John Yoo, and others he describes as "higher in the administration's hierarchy" (read: someone higher than the V.P.'s chief of staff!) should think twice about travelling abroad or they might...
Last month the WTO issued a decision (available here) in favor of the United States regarding the illegality of Mexico's beverage tax. According to the USTR press release, under the Mexican tax, "soft drinks made with imported sweeteners, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and beet sugar, are subject to a 20 percent tax on their sale and distribution. Beverages...
