In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Organizations

10 Nov

For those in NYC tomorrow, I wanted to note that NYU Law is hosting what promises to be an informative experts' meeting tomorrow on the International Criminal Court.  Here's the event description: How best to assure the independence of the ICC Prosecutor Friday, Nov. 11th from 6-7:30 p.m. NYU School of Law,  Lipton Hall, Faculty Club, 108 West 3rd Street, New York, New York The independence...

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10 Nov

The Naval War College has published the latest volume in its Blue Book series.  Here is the description and information about how to obtain it (although you can simply get the PDF here): The Naval War College International Law Department recently published volume 87 of its International Law Studies "Blue Book"  series.  The Blue Book has served as...

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01 Nov

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to cancel her visit to London today for the much-hyped cybersecurity conference, which was designed to push back against Russian and Chinese proposals for an "International Code of Conduct for Information Security."  The Russian/Chinese proposal (co-authored with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) is widely undestood as part of an effort to (1) move Internet governance away...

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30 Oct

I have just returned from teaching international humanitarian law in Nairobi.  Two al-Shabaab grenade attacks not far from my hotel notwithstanding, it was one of the greatest professional experiences of my life.  The training was organized by the Brussels-based International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP), in conjunction with the Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict...

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28 Oct

I have posted a substantially revised version of my essay "A Sentence-Based Theory of Complementarity" on SSRN.  The essay is appearing in two different forms.  The long version (23,000 words) -- the one I've posted -- is forthcoming in Volume 53 of the Harvard International Law Journal.  The short version (7,000 words), which focuses on the new theory of complementarity...

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26 Oct

As Roger has pointed out, the Ninth Circuit has just released a blockbuster ATS decision in the Rio Tinto case.  There is a great deal to like in the decision, particularly concerning the liability of corporations under the ATS, but it's regrettable that the majority refused to address the knowledge/intent "debate" concerning the mens rea of aid and abetting under...

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16 Oct

In my previous post, I responded to Mike's attempt to explain the amicus brief's distortion of ICTY jurisprudence.  In this post, I want to respond to his similar attempt to explain the amicus brief's distortion of the Rome Statute.  There are two basic issues: Article 10 of the Rome Statute's relationship to customary international law, and the importance of Article...

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14 Oct

There are numerous problems with Mike's response to my posts (here and here) about how the amicus brief distorts the ICTY's jurisprudence.  Before getting to them, though, it's important to acknowledge that he and I agree about one thing: decisions of the ICTY are not primary sources of international law.  That, too, is international law 101.  Even here, though, the...

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08 Oct

The brief says this with regard to the mens rea of aiding and abetting (knowledge) in Furundzija and Vasiljevic (pp. 10-11): Further, it may be questioned whether the mens rea discussion in these opinions was necessary to their holdings. Liability in those cases likely could have been premised on co-participation in a joint criminal enterprise (such as a rogue paramilitary unit),...

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