On this last day of September I would nominate Padilla v. Hanft as the most important international law case of the month. The Fourth Circuit decision, per Judge Michael Luttig (on the short list for a Supreme Court nomination), is a great example of the potential impact that international law principles may have on statutory interpretation under the so-called...
At the dawn of John Roberts’ tenure on the Court, I find it irresistible to ponder what commentators will say about the Chief Justice at the twilight of his career. When he retires decades hence, I suspect much of the praise accorded him will be about the persona of the man. Having watched John Roberts up close and personal for...
Or so says secular Neo-Marxist philosopher Jürgen Habermas. In an article by Richard Wolin in this week's issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, discussed here, Habermas had this to say about the role of religion in the development of human rights: … Habermas asserts that modern notions of equality and fairness are secular distillations of...
Lynndie England is headed for jail for her abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Displaying enlarged photos of the abuse, the prosecution emphasized “What soldier wouldn’t know that that's illegal? …She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humor." Although England is one of the most infamous of the torturers, the Army reportedly has opened more than...
Fascinating discussion here on whether Saddam Hussein should face the death penalty. The traditional arguments you might expect for and against the death penalty are reframed in the context of the pending trial of Hussein. Which State is urging Iraq to refrain from imposing the death penalty? The United States. Which political leader in Iraq temporarily suspended the death penalty...
I had the opportunity to speak to the Madras Bar Assocation today and while I was at the High Court I came upon this quote which I liked. It is from the first Indian Judge to ever sit on the Madras High Court, Sir Muthuswamy Aiyar (1878-1895):"The Court of Justice is a sacred temple, the judges presiding over it...
That is very helpful Peggy. I think you raise some interesting arguments regarding selective appeal to foreign opinion and provide a useful critique of Kontorovich.This underscores for me yet again what is most interesting in the debate about originalist appeals to reliance on foreign opinions in constitutional adjudication. It is that the internationalists have been quite successful in using this...
As noted here at the Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Kontorovich has an excellent essay in Green Bag on misusing language in the Declaration of Independence to support reliance on foreign opinion in constitutional adjudication. Kontorovich argues that the function of the internationalist appeal to the Declaration is to “show that this approach has the most ancient and noble pedigree, that the...
If (1) Justice Breyer thinks reference to foreign law is appropriate to understand structural guarantees; and (2) Congress is constitutionally authorized to regulate the jurisdiction of federal courts; then (3) Justice Breyer should rely on foreign law to shed light on this structural power.If this syllogism is correct, then I suppose that if (1) a foreign constitution grants the legislature...
I teach international trade and my students have often struggled to understand Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage. They should visit Bangalore.The modern era of free trade is premised on Ricardo’s theory, which presumes that each country should specialize in the production of the goods and services in which it has a comparative advantage and then trade with other countries for...
On June 3, the United States issued its 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report and demoted from Tier 2 to Tier 3 some of our closest allies in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. This opens these Gulf allies to U.S. sanctions if they do not improve their record in human trafficking.For a useful discussion of...
While on the train to Bangalore this morning I read an especially bad op-ed piece in the Hindu on what is wrong with the United States. Money quote:"After the invasion of Iraq, the collective punishment of Fallujah, the abuses of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and Bagram, the reckless insistence on the right to pollute the planet and the systematic asset-stripping of...
