China sentenced Zheng Xiaoyu, former drug and food safety chief, to death yesterday for corruption. He was convicted of taking $850,000 in bribes from eight companies. The Chinese high court reportedly ruled that "Zheng Xiaoyu's grave irresponsibility in pharmaceutical safety inspection and failure to conscientiously carry out his duties seriously damaged the interests of the state and people." Amnesty...
The UN Global Compact convened a "leaders summit" in Geneva this past Friday and Saturday, drawing hundreds of corporate officers, NGO and IO representatives. Though most participants look to have been at the senior VP level or equivalent (here is the list), among them were the CEO of Coca-Cola, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International, and a handful of academics...
A WTO dispute panel recently rendered an important decision on the right of a developing country to ban imports of products that promote the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, and dengue. Although it dealt with the prosaic issue of the importation of tires, the case represents a useful precedent outlining the measures that a country...
Well, at least it is scheduled to start today in federal court in Birmingham, as the Wall Street Journal reports here. The claims alleged by plaintiffs are that Drummond Co. -- a privately held US-based mining company-- collaborated with Colombian paramilitary members in the deaths of three union organizers at a Drummond mine in Colombia in 2001. If...
A federal district court in Indiana has rendered an important decision last week involving claims of international labor violations under the ATS. In the case of Roe v. Bridgestone, plaintiffs allege numerous violations of international law, including forced labor, forced child labor, poor working conditions, and low wages. According to the complaint, rubber plantation workers in Liberia are paid between...
One of the ways to heighten student and faculty interest in international, comparative and cross-cultural legal issues is to examine those issues through the lens of traditional domestic topics. Nothing seems more "local" than criminal defense. The newly published Second Edition of "Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense," edited by Linda Friedman Ramirez, an attorney in Florida, should put...
I will be in Vienna from July 9-16 with some time on my hands. If any Opinio Juris readers live in the city and would like to meet up for coffee, feel free to write me at my Auckland e-mail address: k.heller@auckland.ac.nz. Hope to hear from you! ...
Say this for the Australians — at least they're willing to admit that their participation in the Iraq war is about oil:The government has admitted the need to secure oil supplies is a factor in Australia's continued military involvement in Iraq. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today oil was a factor in Australia's contribution to the unpopular war, as "energy security"...
Here is a festive report about one of the early historical records of a Fourth of July celebration, as recounted in the Virginia Gazette on July 18, 1777: Yesterday the 4th of July, being the Anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America, was celebrated in this city with demonstration of joy and festivity. About noon all the armed...
I have often criticized the ridiculously light sentences given to a number of U.S. soldiers convicted of serious war crimes in Iraq. I guess I should have been more careful what I wished for — the DOJ announced Tuesday that it is seeking the death penalty against Steven Green, a soldier accused of killing an Iraqi family and raping...
Here's an op-ed from Jack Goldsmith and Jeremy Rabkin in today's WaPo lamenting the Bush Administration's decision to support ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty. The piece fits a sovereigntist template: describe formal capacities of a new international institution, spin out way in which in theory it could restrain core US discretion, and voila — signing on...
Remember the historic U.S.-Soviet summits from the 1980s? You could almost feel the Cold War thawing and the global warming in international relations. That's why I love this quote from Sarah Mendelson at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Q: Why do you think the American public should be interested in this summit? Mendelson: I...
