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15 Apr

As with the earlier comments by Ed Swaine, I greatly appreciate Michael Ramsey’s astute observations regarding how political commitments fit into the constitutional discourse. I've endeavored to provide my initial responses to each of his suggestions below, although surely Duncan and I will build from his comments as we develop our theories going forward. We are pleased that Professor Ramsey agrees...

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15 Apr

[Michael D. Ramsey is a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego Law School and author of “The Constitution’s Text in Foreign Affairs” (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).] Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer have written a fascinating article on an important and underappreciated topic. I agree with their basic propositions, especially that “political commitments” (as they call non-binding personal pledges...

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15 Apr

[This post was jointly authored by Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer] Ed Swaine brings his typical thoughtful (and rigorous) method to our article, and we greatly appreciate his insights, not only for engaging with our ideas but also for suggesting how we might advance them in future scholarship. Since Ed has framed his comments as questions, we’ve endeavored to provide...

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15 Apr

Thanks to Opinio Juris for hosting this discussion and to the editors of the Virginia Journal of International Law for their discerning taste in publishing such an excellent article. Duncan Hollis (who has published widely both on the international aspects of treaties and on their domestic significance, and so is expertly situated to address this question) and Joshua Newcomer (already publishing...

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15 Apr

I in no way believe that Deb exhibits “virtually pathological level of tribal loyalty and monumental intellectual dishonesty,” and I doubt that Glenn does either.  That said, I am not sure that Deb's (clearly initial) thoughts on the Obama administration avoids Glenn's basic critique -- that Obama supporters justify his increasingly Bush-like policies by de-emphasizing substance in favor of personality...

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15 Apr

[This post was jointly authored by Duncan Hollis and Joshua Newcomer]  We would like to start by expressing our thanks to the editors of the Virginia Journal of International Law, the (other) hosts of Opinio Juris, and especially Professors Edward Swaine and Michael Ramsey for commenting on our article. "Political" Commitments and the Constitution (available on SSRN here) explores the constitutional validity...

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14 Apr

The Virginia Journal of International Law is delighted to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris this week in this online symposium featuring three articles recently published by VJIL in Vol. 49:3, available here. On Wednesday, Professor Duncan B. Hollis of Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law and Joshua J. Newcomer, Clerk for the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King of the...

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14 Apr

In his new book Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror, Mahmood Mamdani claims that, "in its present form, the call for justice is really a slogan that masks a big power agenda to recolonize Africa."  There is more than a grain of truth to that; I think my friend Tony Anghie's seminal work Imperialism, Sovereignty, and...

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13 Apr

My thanks to Peter for his invaluable comments and to Opinio Juris and the Yale Journal of International Law for making this exchange possible. I am particularly grateful for Peter’s extraordinarily insightful critiques, which I think go a long way toward helping me develop the model that I propose in Protecting Rights Online. Peter’s first critique identifies one of the primary...

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13 Apr

Let me begin by thanking Opinio Juris and the Yale International Law Journal for hosting this online symposium. In “Protecting Rights Online,” Professor Molly Beutz Land has written a highly interesting article that seeks to bridge the disciplinary and doctrinal divide between the human rights and access to knowledge (A2K) movements. The article is well-written, accessible and provocative. It has...

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13 Apr

Although the human rights and access to knowledge (A2K) movements share many of the same goals, their legal and regulatory agendas in the area of Internet governance have historically had little in common. While state censorship online has been a principal concern for human rights advocates, this issue has not been a central focus of the A2K movement. Likewise, human...

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11 Apr

The folks at UN Dispatch say they have uncovered a conspiracy among conservatives to oppose Koh's nomination in what they describe is the "Dirty Fight Against Koh". The evidence is this draft letter to Senators Kerry and Lugar opposing Koh's confirmation. Thanks to Kevin's intervention, and Ed Whelan's gracious admission that he's gone a bit far in his rhetoric against his...

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