Ian Hurd has a very interesting essay on law and international relations, "Law and the Practice of Diplomacy," which I'd strongly recommend to anyone with an IR/IL bent. It's maybe the only piece of IR theory that I've read that really seems to get the dynamic element of international law. It also centers international law to what I suspect is...
Prosecutors are seeking an 80-year sentence for Charles Taylor. The sentencing will take place on May 30th. The US solar industry is pushing the government to bring a WTO complaint against India's local content requirements in the production of solar panels. Despite recent nationalizations in Bolivia and Argentina, the IMF has declined to call it a trend. Speaking in Beijing, American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...
[Gabor Rona is the International Legal Director of Human Rights First. He first posted his thoughts here about Monday's counterterrorism speech by John Brennan.] I’m grateful to Bobby Chesney, over at Lawfare, for taking the time to react to my post on the recent Brennan speech. As with so many of the more thoughtful defenses of U.S. counterterrorism policy, Bobby relies heavily on...
In the comments to my previous post, Mark Kersten (of the superb Justice in Conflict blog) asks an excellent question: Saif remains in the custody of the former rebels in Zintan, not the NTC. Further, the rebels in Zintan have consistently reiterated that they would like to see Saif tried there and not in Tripoli. Yet the admissibility challenge is from...
Chen Guangcheng says he felt pressure to take the deal to leave the US Embassy and now wants to leave China on Hillary Clinton's plane. The US has promised to do what it can once his wishes are clear. The FAO Food Index has indicated that global food prices were down in April, though fears about inflation remain. Security is tight in Barcelona as...
The Chen Guangcheng saga is not yet completed, and indeed, as the NYT puts it, "what briefly looked like a deft diplomatic achievement for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton [has] turned into a potential debacle." I do hope Mr. Chen will find safety and justice soon, but I am not optimistic. Until we discover his final fate, I thought I'd...
The Nuremberg defense pops up in the strangest places. As the NFL fans among our readers know, Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended four New Orleans Saints players for their role in Bountygate -- a program whereby Saints players would get financial bonuses for intentionally injuring other players on the football field, essentially the most heinous crime a football player can...
President Obama went to Afghanistan today to sign The U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement. The Agreement is a classic agreement to have further agreements, but doesn't really commit either side to many specifics. The most important thing they agreed to do is to negotiate a Bilateral Security Agreement within a year. But other than agreeing to seek funds in Congress for...
US President Obama makes a surprise visit to Kabul in order to sign a strategic pact setting out the US' strategic long-term role. Shortly after his visit, large blasts were heard and at least six were killed in the country's capital. Myanmar's Suu Kyi makes her historic debut in parliament. The UN peacekeeping chief has said that the Syrian army is still...
[Gabor Rona is the International Legal Director of Human Rights First] The Obama administration’s charm offensive on targeted killings continues in response to calls from a broad spectrum of political and legal observers for greater government transparency. The latest entry is Monday’s speech by John Brennan, the president’s chief counterterrorism advisor. Each successive speech by a government official brings some new...
Libya has now brought a formal admissibility challenge under Article 19 of the Rome Statute. The motion, written by Philippe Sands, Payam Akhavan, and Michelle Butler, is a brilliant piece of work and stands a good chance of success. I'll have much to say about the motion in the next few days, but in this post I want to focus...
As far as I can tell, the NY state court reached the right conclusion by rejecting former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's claim for immunity under customary international law. It is also worth noting that the Court wisely dodged the tricky question of whether and how customary international law would affect the state case. The Court noted that some scholars (e.g....
