It is difficult to overstate the horrors the US inflicted on Cambodia from the air during the Vietnam War: 230,000 sorties involving 113,000 different sites; 500,000 tonnes of bombs, as much as the US dropped in the entire Pacific theatre during WW II; at least 50,000, and probably closer to 150,000, innocent civilians killed. Even worse, that bombing campaign, along with...
As has been widely reported, 17 international-law scholars -- including yours truly -- recently submitted a 105-page communication to the Office of the Prosecutor alleging that Australia's treatment of refugees involves the commission of multiple crimes against humanity, including imprisonment, torture, deportation, and persecution. The communication is a tremendous piece of work, prepared in large part by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and...
I want to call readers' attention to what should be -- despite my participation -- a fantastic event at City Law School the week after next. Here is the info: City, University of London: The Refugee Crisis and International Criminal Law: Are Australian Agents and Corporate Actors Committing Crimes Against Humanity? City Law School invites you to a panel discussion of international...
[Simon Chesterman is Dean of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He is also Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law and Secretary-General of the Asian Society of International Law. Educated in Melbourne, Beijing, Amsterdam, and Oxford, Simon’s teaching experience includes periods at Melbourne, Oxford, Columbia, Sciences Po, and New York University.] An academic learns most through errors...
[Judge Xue Hanqin is a judge on the International Court of Justice. This post is part of a joint Opinio Juris/EJIL:Talk! symposium. For the latest symposium post on EJIL:Talk!, click here.] The rise of the new economies, particularly those in Asia, has caused considerable apprehension in the West. The concern is not just about shift of wealth to the East, but...
[B.S. Chimni is Professor of International Law at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.This post is part of a joint Opinio Juris/EJIL:Talk! symposium. For the latest symposium post on EJIL:Talk!, click here.] In the current issue of European Journal of International Law Professor Simon Chesterman has written an important essay on the Asian approach to international law and international institutions, addressing in...
[Antony Anghie, National University of Singapore. Tony Anghie has written on various aspects of globalization, human rights, and the history and theory of international law. He is a member of the TWAIL network of scholars. This post is part of a joint Opinio Juris/EJIL:Talk! symposium. For the latest symposium post on EJIL:Talk!, click here.] Simon Chesterman’s article displays a customary rigor...
[Simon Chesterman is Dean of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He is also Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law and Secretary-General of the Asian Society of International Law. Educated in Melbourne, Beijing, Amsterdam, and Oxford, Simon’s teaching experience includes periods at Melbourne, Oxford, Columbia, Sciences Po, and New York University.] A decade after moving from New York to...
The forthcoming issue of the European Journal of International Law will feature an article by Professor Simon Chesterman, the Dean of the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law, entitled Asia’s Ambivalence About International Law and Institutions: Past, Present and Futures. This week, Opinio Juris and EJILTalk will hold a joint symposium on the two blogs on Professor Chesterman’s article. The...
Urbanization is our present and it is our future. Between the recently completed UN Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, and Iraqi Special Operations entering Mosul, starting what may be a complex urban battle, we face constant reminders that much of the world’s population now lives in cities. How we protect rights, foster development, interact with the environment, organize politically,...
I have been trying to move on from writing about the blockbuster UN Convention on the Law of the Sea arbitral award on the South China Sea. As our readers know, I have written way too much on this topic lately. But the Chinese government’s outrageous statements criticizing the award deserve one last post from me before I head out...
In addition to my posts here (see below), I have several pieces over the last week discussing different aspects of the South China Sea award up at various outlets across the web universe (I know, I know, I need to stop writing about this topic, but indulge me just a little longer). To briefly recap my various takes, here is a quick...
