I find Kevin's post to be quite illuminating as it focuses proportionality on the question on whether Israel's conduct is clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated. Which raises the question of whether we should view this conflict as narrowly focused or part of a broader struggle. The question of proportionality cannot...
Professor Edward Swaine at the University of Pennsylvania has just posted a great article on treaty reservations entitled Reserving. It is available for download here. His central thesis is that treaty reservations benefit non-reserving states, often in ways that are unappreciated. Here is the abstract: The law of treaty reservations - which enables states to ask that their...
I followed the recent discussion about proportionality jus in bello with great interest — and reluctantly agree with Professor Anderson that Louise Arbour’s position is inconsistent with Article 51 of Protocol I. It is also worth noting that her position is even less defensible in terms of the Rome Statute, because there are two critical differences between Article...
As discussed previously, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton will probably be renominated this fall, and at least one key Republican Senator has already said he'll switch his position to support him. This does not mean Bolton has clear sailing, though. In an extraordinary piece of anonymous backbiting, this NYT story suggests all or most of Bolton's...
As I mentioned recently, the Bush Administration has long had a reputation for disdaining treaties. And, there’s some pretty substantial anecdotal evidence to back up that perception: e.g., withdrawing from the ABM treaty, dissing the Kyoto Protocol, announcing an intention not to ratify the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, not to mention its more recent efforts...
As mentioned yesterday, my colleague Naomi Goodno has just returned from Kenya where she was training Kenyan, Ugandan, and Zambian lawyers with the human rights organization International Justice Mission. IJM is an unusual among human rights organization in that it focuses on partnering with attorneys in countries throughout the world to help enforce human rights norms reflected in domestic...
The chance for major immigration reform during this session of Congress has apparently passed, according to this Reuters item here and an editorial in yesterday’s Times. Although I teach and write in immigration law, I have found this year’s high-profile debate on the subject pretty unedifying. This is in part because it has been mostly about politics rather...
On Wednesday, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour warned of criminal responsibility that may arise from the war in the Middle East (HT: Dave Hoffman at Concurring Opinions). Here is the key language from her statement: The High Commissioner recalled that parties to a conflict have the obligation to exercise precaution and respect the principle of proportionality in all...
The FDA has approved the import of one Spanish firm's version of Jamon Iberico Bellota, a cured ham which according to this blog makes prosciutto "taste like shoe leather." (Don't expect to see it at your local supermarket, though; at $79 a pound, it's a little on the pricey side.) (Hat tip: Megnut.) Why is the U.S. Government so unwilling...
My colleague Professor Naomi Goodno just returned from Kenya where she working with staff attorneys at the human rights organization, International Justice Mission. She was training Kenyan, Ugandan, and Zambian lawyers in oral advocacy skills to enhance their human rights litigation work on the ground in Africa. I wanted to post two experiences she had in Kenya this...
Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio was one of U.S. U.N. Ambassador John Bolton's biggest opponents during his failed nomination to the Senate last year. Voinovich has now publicly changed his position and is basically inviting the President to renominate Bolton for the rest of his term (Bolton's recess appointment expires this fall). Here's why: For me or my colleagues in...
One of the best things to happen to the international law academy in recent years is the introduction of methodological insights from other parts of the academy. Professors Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner, for instance, introduced a long overdue application of rational choice theory to international law in their recent book "The Limits of International Law." ...
