In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

04 Feb

President Chirac of France announced yesterday that France and 46 nations will begin deliberations to replace the United Nations Environmental Programme with a more powerful world environmental body. Coming on the heels of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's recent report on climate change, Chirac called for "the transformation of the UNEP into a genuine international organisation to which...

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03 Feb

I have been travelling the last few days, so I missed this strange and potentially disturbing story from the UK's Guardian newspaper. The former president of the European Court of Human Rights, Luzius Wildhaber, alleges that during a three-day visit to Russia last October he was poisoned. This poisoning, he alleges, occurred about the same time as the...

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02 Feb

This is one of the coolest graphic tools I have seen in a while. Created by a non-profit group in Stockholm, Gapminder interfaces with Google to permit downloads of active graphical interfaces that display various development indicators. The project is described as follows: It all started in 1998 from an idea to enhance the understanding of world health....

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02 Feb

There has been lots of speculation in the legal blogosphere about what Jan Crawford Greenburg knows regarding Justice Stevens' retirement plans. See How Appealing here and Volokh here. Particularly intriguing was Greenburg's comment to Howard that she knows the precise date Stevens plans to retire. Well if she does know, she indicated yesterday that it would not be anytime...

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01 Feb

The World Economic Forum drew to a close this week in Davos, Switzerland. Here is my summary of the events: Panel 1: Can't we all get along? Panel 2: We, the masters of the universe, are at the epicentre of the world. Panel 3: Brazilian waxes on about solitary talks of approaching landing strip. Panel 4: Never in the...

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31 Jan

Well, sort of. Yoo and co-author Robert Delahunty have a provocative piece in the latest edition of the National Interest ("Lines in the Sand," not available on-line, but you can get it on Lexis) in which they argue against the primacy of the nation-state, or at least the primacy of existing nation-states. The cash-out here, of course,...

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31 Jan

Opinio Juris has been selected as part of a Library of Congress program to capture and archive web-based content that is of interest to researchers and the general public. This means that, in addition to being able to find us through the usual internet portals, you will soon be able to find our content at the Library of Congress...

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30 Jan

As Julian notes, earlier today the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I ordered Thomas Lubanga to stand trial on three charges relating to the FPLC's use of child soldiers. Here is the ICC's summary of the charges:The Chamber decided that there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is criminally responsible as co-perpetrator for the...

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30 Jan

I thought I would beat Roger to the punch and announce the newest innovation in the Second Life world: the virtual embassy.Sweden is opening an embassy in the internet fantasy world called Second Life - the first country to do so. The project is being run by the Swedish Institute - a promotional body which works alongside the foreign ministry. Institute director...

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30 Jan

Justice Ginsburg gave a speech at Suffolk Law School last week and briefly addressed the interesting topic of the proliferation of law professor briefs. Here is what she said: As a judge now for some 26 years, I appreciate the importance of academic commentary. Our legal system gives judges considerable authority to shape the law through litigated cases. We entrust...

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30 Jan

The American Branch of the International Law Association is having its biennial International Law Weekend West at Santa Clara Law School. Neal Katyal is the keynote speaker and the panels will address the usual topics: war in Iraq, enemy combatants, climate change, intellectual property abroad, etc. If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, it is...

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30 Jan

If you are in southern California, Jan Crawford Greenburg will be in Malibu at my home institution on Thursday, February 1 at 3:30 p.m. to present her new book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court. She will discuss her book with Jesse Choper of Boalt Hall, Jonathan Varat...

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