In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

06 Oct

The U.S. Senate has voted, by a 90-9 veto-proof margin, to establish uniform and clear interrogation policies for the interrogation of individuals detained in the war on terror. Apparently, the amendment (which would be attached to a spending bill) would require adherence to the Army's existing field manual for interrogation.I am obviously no expert in the effectiveness of interrogation methods...

|
05 Oct

The European Court of Human Rights last week rendered its long-awaited “class action” settlement decision in Broniowski v. Poland. The case is here and the official press release summarizing the case is here.The case involved systemic unlawful confiscation of property by the Polish government relating to the redrawing of Poland following the Second World War. In a June 22, 2004...

|
05 Oct

I wouldn't usually take note of this commonplace account of an address to Canadian lawyers by Justice Shi Jiuyoung, the current President of ICJ, except for a couple of statements of interest.First, Justice Shi defended the ICJ from charges that it moves way too slowly on the grounds that the procedures and various jurisdictions involved in interstate disputes. Moreover, he...

|
04 Oct

This is an interesting story. U.N Ambassador John Bolton addressed over 400 students at the Yale Political Union and was greeted with a chorus of boos and loud hisses. My favorite part is a Yale sophomore* reportedly chastising the Ambassador for being “extremely rude” to the undergraduate audience who were loudly hissing at him. But then he...

|
03 Oct

Last week Harvard Law School hosted an Anglo-American Legal Exchange addressing the topic of judging. The American justices were represented by Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer and the British Law Lords were represented by Lords Rodger and Scott, and Lady Justice Arden. You can watch the video here.In terms of sheer entertainment value the Americans beat the Brits hands...

|
03 Oct

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and in anticipation of any possible catastrophic terrorist attack, there’s been a lot of talk lately about revising the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. (See here and here.) The Act (as amended) explicitly prohibits the use of the Army or Air Force for civilian law enforcement. It reads in whole:Whoever, except in...

|
03 Oct

Now that the Supreme Court in Roper and Atkins has relied on foreign and international practices to rule that capital punishment is cruel and unusual when applied to juveniles and the mentally disabled, there has been much speculation as to whether this portends the abolition of the death penalty entirely. My prediction is that the next push for comparative constitutionalism...

|
02 Oct

This weekend marked the 56th anniversary of “communist” rule in China. In a speech at Tiananmen Square Premier Wen Jiabao proclaimed that “History has eloquently proved that socialism with Chinese characteristics and the road that Chinese people have chosen are the only right way.” Which essentially means that they will follow Deng Xiaoping’s maxim to “seek truth from facts,” which...

|
30 Sep

My former colleague and friend Wadie Said has a rather different take on the recent Israeli Supreme Court decision refusing to follow the ICJ's advisory opinion on the legality of the "security fence" Israel has erected. My original post observed that the Israeli Supreme Court was quite deferential toward international law, but not the toward the ICJ's interpretation of international...

|
30 Sep

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...

|
29 Sep

Costa Rica's government announced today that it will apply to the ICJ to resolve a decades-long dispute with Nicaragua over navigation rights on the parts of the San Juan River that run between the two countries (UPDATE: Press release announcing the case is here. It looks like the most important precedent for this case is an opinion by U.S....

|
29 Sep

I've been remiss in failing to keep up with the proceedings in Medellin v. Dretke, a case involving the enforceability of a judgment by the International Court of Justice that I blogged rather obsessively about here, here, and here. Luckily, Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSBlog is on the case here with a useful report on the latest proceedings, which have become...

|