This morning the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, passed away following a sudden illness. Dr. Lee collapsed on Saturday at one of the functions opening the WHO’s Annual Assembly meeting in Geneva and died early this morning after surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Dr. Lee leaves behind an impressive legacy. ...
. . . by a narrow majority. The story is available here. ...
This year’s launch of the Journal of Philosophy of International Law and the International Political Theory Beacon reflects and will no doubt serve to prolong a rapid expansion of philosophical interest in international law during the last few years. Philosophy & Public Affairs, the leading English-language journal of moral and political philosophy has featured at least one article on international...
Administrative lawyers think that international antitrust is a particularly interesting form of bureaucratic cooperation. We see a world where antitrust has changed from a focus of international dissention - see the anger over the US assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction and the effects test after WWII; note that it is the most cited American case in international law - to...
The U.S. government often exhibits a silly kneejerk hostility to international institutions. But sometimes, its suspicions and skepticism is totally justified. The latest example of unhelpful U.N. overreach: the U.N. Committee Against Torture's recommendation that the U.S. stop detaining individuals at Guantanamo Bay (which Roger noted below). Here is the Committee's key conclusion: 22. The Committee, noting that detaining persons...
This is very disturbing news. As reported here, "the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments." The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to...
A recent poll published by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland shows strong support for international adjudication of U.S. compliance with its treaty obligations. Among the other findings are strong support for changing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo to conform with requests by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, support for the ICC...
It seems international law scholars with a philosophical temperament will no longer be forced to troll the library stacks in search of the latest articles bearing on their interests but not searchable on Lexis or Westlaw. Starting next week, the Editorial Board of the web-based International Political Theory Beacon promises to periodically select the finest articles, essays, and book reviews...
Justice Scalia, in a bit of full contact constitutionalism, has reminded Congress about the separation of powers when it comes to the judicial citation of foreign law. According to the Washington Post:Justice Antonin Scalia rebuked fellow conservatives on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying they have gone too far in trying to prevent the Supreme Court from using foreign law in its...
The UN Committee Against Torture has released their report and recommendation for the United States. It includes a statement that "The State party should cease to detain any person at Guantanamo Bay and close this detention facility." The report is available here. I franky am somewhat surprised that the U.N. Committee flatly called for the closure of...
Sounds like a personal ad on Craigslist. But it’s actually the demographic of the readership of Opinio Juris. Or at least it is based on the recent informal survey I conducted last week. According to the results of the survey as of yesterday, 83% of our readers are men, 92% are highly-educated (and therefore intelligent, no?), and...
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has dismissed a lawsuit by Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen who alleged he had been kidnapped by the CIA in an "extraordinary rendition" in Macedonia and Afghanistan. I can't find a copy of the opinion online, but the basis of the dismissal appears to be the "state secrets" privilege...
