The United States may decide early this week to provide armed assistance to Syrian rebels. Israel's PM Netanyahu has made clear that Israel refuses to get involved in this discussion. Turkish riot police have moved into Taksim Square to remove anti-government protesters. A Kenyan court has imposed prison sentences of five years on nine Somali nationals accused of piracy in the Gulf...
[Michael W. Lewis is a Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University where he teaches International Law and the Law of War.] Something interesting and I believe significant, happened on Saturday. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry summoned the US Charge d’Affaires and formally protested the continuance of drone strikes on Pakistani territory. Pakistan protests drone strike; US CdA summoned (2013-06-08) On the Prime Minister’s instructions, the...
During their talks over the weekend, President Xi Jinping and President Obama reached agreement on North Korea and on curbing HFC emissions, but didn't reach agreement on industrial cyber-espionage. Israel has accused Iran and its Palestinian and Lebanese allies of wide-scale cyber attacks on vital national infrastructure. Ed Snowden, the NSA/PRISM whistleblower has revealed his identity in an interview with The Guardian,...
This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin analyzed the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber's rejection of Libya's admissibility challenge. He examined the PTC's analysis of Libya's inability to prosecute, and expressed surprise that Libya’s failure to provide Saif with defence counsel was evidence of its “inability” instead of “unwillingness”. If you find yourself in Johannesburg next week, you can hear more from Kevin on the admissibility...
I am currently in Durban, South Africa, co-teaching a fantastic ICL course with my friend (and War and Law blogger) Chris Gevers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban is a very nice city, with amazing coffee -- high praise from someone who lives in Melbourne. I will be spending three days in Cape Town next week, then two days in Johannesburg....
South Korea has agreed to negotiate with North Korea on the reopening of a joint industrial park that was closed in April after rising tensions. The ICC Prosecutor has reported to the UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur. The EU Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator wants member states to do more to restrict their citizens travelling to Syria to fight with extremist groups. Syrian...
According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, forensic examination has shown that the Syrian regime used sarin gas against the rebels. He added that all options are now on the table regarding the response to the situation in Syria. Syrian troops, assisted by Hezbollah militia, have seized control of the strategic city of Qusair. The US International Trade Commission has sided with Samsung in its ongoing...
The indefatigable Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare has a short post describing a lively exchange between the Chinese and Filipino representatives at MILSOPS, an invitation-only off-the-record meeting of top military officials from the Asia-Pacific region, about China's nine-dash-line claim to the South China Sea. Apparently, this has been an ongoing debate at this annual conference. Last year, the Chinese representative presented this...
[Jennifer Trahan is associate clinical professor at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs (NYU-SCPS). She is also chair of the American Branch of the International Law Association International Criminal Court Committee and was a member of the American Bar Association’s 2010 International Criminal Court Task Force.] Yesterday, June 3, 2013, Germany deposited its instrument of ratification of the Kampala Amendment on the crime...
As readers of Opinio Juris know, Ryan Goodman argues in a forthcoming article in the European Journal of International Law that: "the modern law of armed conflict supports the following maxim: if enemy combatants can be put out of action by capturing them, they should not be injured; if they can be put out of action by injury, they should not be killed; and...
Here's the official explanation: the US had yet to "satisfactorily complete" the "process of conforming the official translations" of the agreement. Via Twitter, FP's David Bosco sees a back-up excuse once the analysts at State finish reading the French version: US delays signing arms trade treaty as experts verify that no provisions were written in invisible ink. Bosco is almost certainly on the...
Sixty-three states have signed the UN Arms Trade Treaty on the first day that is was open for signature, and at least three more are expected to do so in the next few days. The US will ratify once all official translations have been completed. The head of the IAEA has expressed his frustration about the lack of progress in nuclear...
