I've been on a self-imposed blogging hiatus of late due to the dual demands of serving as Temple's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and editing the forthcoming book, The Oxford Guide to Treaties (on which I'll blog more later). But, I had to pass along the following significant and important development -- Superman is renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Here's the scoop...
It's amazing what not working for the government can do for one's ability to tell the truth. As readers likely know, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was forced to resign last month for the sin of accurately describing Bradley Manning's abusive conditions of confinement as "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid." (For his part, the ever-credulous Obama dismissed the abuse allegations...
On paper, courts-martial are far more fair than military commissions -- the substantive law they apply is superior, and their rules of evidence and procedure are designed to protect defendants, not ensure convictions. Unfortunately, a recent McClatchy investigation indicates that literally hundreds of courts-martial might have relied on evidence that was unreliable and even fabricated by an unethical forensic scientist...
I wanted to call readers' attention to an upcoming web seminar on Libya held by Harvard's Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. The Program's web seminars are always excellent, and this one -- which features Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Nicholas Burns -- shapes up to be superb. Here are the details: On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the Program on Humanitarian...
My colleague Anne Orford has a fascinating contribution today to the official blog of the London Review of Books questioning the universality of the supposedly universal international law that underlies the Security Council's authorization of military action in Libya. Here is a taste: In 1954, Carl Schmitt bemoaned the destruction of European international law in the 20th century. According to...
In a post today at Commentary, Boot argues that Taylor's arrest after going into exile makes it more likely that Gaddafi will fight to the death instead of negotiating a gracious exit from power: Once upon a time, an autocrat could step down and live out his days securely in the south of France or some other plush locale. That...
As of March 19, 220 academics have signed the letter. (You can read the full list here.) Well done, colleagues! Bruce Ackerman (Yale) and Yochai Benkler (Harvard) are circulating the following letter protesting the inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention and asking for law professor support. I have already signed, as have 103 other scholars. I encourage our academic readers to...
Our friends at Lawfare have been having a typically intelligent debate about the meaning of the Obama administration's recent declaration that “The U.S. Government will...
So, you're a state senator in the deep South. You love freedom, which is why you're a Republican. You know that Shariah (aka Shari'ah) is the enemy of freedom. You also know that, although Shariah currently plays no role in the law of your state, it will eventually supplant the Constitution (sometime in the next four decades, you estimate) unless...
I'm at Harvard Law School today for a symposium, Cybersecurity: Law, Privacy, and Warfare in a Digital World. I'll be talking about my e-SOS paper, how international law deals with cyberthreats, and ways it could do a better job. Anyone who's interested can watch the proceedings; it's being live web-cast here. I wanted to flag a fascinating debate over the future of the Internet that just...
As Roger noted earlier, Bradley Manning has been formally charged with "aiding the enemy," a potentially capital offence. (The military has said that it will not seek the death penalty.) The strength of the charge, however, is difficult to determine. Here is the text of Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: 28. Article 104—Aiding the enemy a. Text of...
According to NBC News, "Pentagon and military officials say some of the classified information released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had cooperated with U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, endangering their lives. According to the officials, the U.S. military rounded up many of those named and brought them into their bases for their own protection....
