I would hazard that most undergraduate students have very little introduction to international law and if they do, it likely will come in a political science class. Of course a political science major likely will be exposed to international law in some upper-level classes, but the overwhelming majority of students do not venture beyond PoliSci 101. If these assumptions are...
Just when you thought that the comfort women issue could not generate any more news, on Friday, Japan's Supreme Court rejected claims by Chinese comfort women and forced laborers (see here and here). The ruling is interesting for three reasons. First, it would appear to effectively end any chance for a Japanese domestic legal resolution to the comfort...
So, last month I questioned why the United States has done so little to remedy the plight of the comfort women—the thousands of women from countries such as China, Korea, and the Philippines who were sexually enslaved to service Japanese forces during World War II. Why did the United States send in Stu Eizenstat to press for new deals...
Here is the statement from Takahiro Katsumi on behalf of the Japanese Network for the ICC:Today April 27, 2007 Japan completed its legislative process to accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC when the Diet unanimously approved the accession Bill (197-0). Yesterday 26 August, the Japanese Diet's Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense voted unanimously in favor...
Speaking of doing global good, what do we think of this effort by Goldman Sachs to securitize foreign aid to increase immunization rates? The International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm) has raised a billion dollars through a debt issue that has the effect of frontloading aid, delivering it more quickly than it would be in the ordinary course. ...
Foreign Policy editor Moises Naim proposes a ratings agency for NGOs to akin to those assessing creditworthiness in the global financial system in this piece from the WaPo. Naim highlights the rise of government-organized NGOs (GONGOs) that "are crowding out and muddling the voices of the country's legitimate civil society. . . [The] effectiveness of nongovernmental organizations will suffer...
Last night my family watched American Idol's charity event "Idol Gives Back" to raise money for charities in Africa and the United States. (You can watch some of the program here.) American Idol has partnered with organizations such as Malaria No More, UNICEF, Save the Children, The Global Fund, Boys and Girls Club of America, and America's Second...
Maybe Duncan or others can help me out here, but how exactly can Russia legally "suspend" its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, as the Washington Post reports today? Russia is unhappy about the planned deployment of a limited NATO missile defense system in Europe. Under the treaty's Article XIX, the Treaty is of "unlimited duration". Russia...
For more on the Bush administration's never-ending struggle to deprive alleged terrorists of meaningful legal representation, see this excellent post by Jack Balkin at Balkinization. Here is a snippet from the disturbing New York Times article that Balkin discusses:The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to impose tighter restrictions on the hundreds of lawyers who represent detainees...
Not surprisingly, New York has disbarred Lynne Stewart. She attempted to voluntarily resign, but the Court of Appeals held that disbarment was automatic because she was convicted of feloniously making a false statement. I explain here why I believe Stewart's conviction for materially supporting terrorism was unjust. ...
Anne Applebaum has some interesting observations over at Slate about the global repercussions of the Virginia Tech shooting. While some of the foreign press coverage has (predictably) focused on the prevalence of guns and violence in American culture, some of the reaction overseas appears to have simultaneously transcended national differences and underscored the local nature of the loss: This...
One of the topics I cover in my first-year Law & Society class is the right to freedom of expression. Because New Zealand does not have a written constitution, that right is guaranteed by statute — the Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BORA). New Zealand courts take freedom of expression seriously, but there is no question that BORA...
