In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Human Rights Law

19 Jan

There is a lively debate going on in the blogosphere about the legal impact of Eric Holder's statement that waterboarding is torture and Susan Crawford's conclusion that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured while in custody at Guantanamo Bay.  Does Holder's statement and Crawford's conclusion require the US to prosecute the interrogators who used waterboarding and the Bush administration officials who approved...

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16 Jan

ICC silliness doesn't just affect the media.  States and NGOs suffer the malady, as well.  Case in point: the recent, repeated calls for the ICC to prosecute Israel for war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza. First up, Bolivia: "The Andean state says it is intended to make regional allies take a unified stance against "the Israeli political and military leaders responsible...

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16 Jan

It’s an absurd question, of course, to ask why the environment is more important than human rights. But it’s actually true: protecting, say, endangered sea turtles is far more important than protecting against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of individuals. At least that is the conclusion if one is examining the question from an international trade perspective. The...

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14 Jan

I have not been following the work of the Cambodia special chambers, which is probably why I found these views by James Bair (blogger, loyal OJ reader and soon-to-be JD from Northeastern Law School) all the more informative and interesting.  Bair is a former legal intern at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and has followed the...

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13 Jan

So this video is obviously intended to defend the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces during their action in Gaza.   But it is fascinating in terms of its footage of precise IDF bombings, and its provision by provision discussion of certain relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions.  Obviously, it is a piece of advocacy, but it is effective. Anyone have a...

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13 Jan

[Susan Benesch is a Fellow at the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown Law Center and a former guest blogger here at Opinio Juris.] Simon Bikindi, the Rwandan pop star whose two-year trial at the ICTR was apparently the first attempt to criminalize music in international law, was just convicted of incitement to genocide but not, after all, for his...

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13 Jan

My favorite Darfur blogger, Michelle at Stop Genocide, has asked me to post the following plea.  I am, of course, happy to oblige.  If you want to vote, vote soon -- the deadline is January 15 at 5 pm EST.  And please pass Michelle's request on to anyone else you think might be interested. I am writing today to seek your...

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08 Jan

Philippe Sands gave an extensive interview on NPR's Fresh Air yesterday.  Sands is already on record with his view that torture has occurred as a part of U.S. detention policy at GTMO and that high level officials are responsible for these acts.  Although I'm not sure he had much new to say, his careful and eloquent arguments make for easy listening. ...

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03 Jan

Comments like this one, made not by some obscure commenter but by David Bernstein, a law professor at George Mason and a member of The Volokh Conspiracy, in response to my Dershowitz post below: Herein the phoniness of international law.  Humble Law Student has raised several significant questions with Heller’s analysis, including whether it matters under international law, as it surely...

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