Dr. Antoine Buyse of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University, has started a new blog on the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Posts are on topics as diverse as the use of separate opinions by the European Court of Human Rights, a review of a case on whether envrionment-friendly wind turbines are a nuisance (thus...
Ever wonder how green you are? A new non-profit organization has just launched an initiative that helps you find out. It's sort of like calorie-counting for the environment. Creative Citizen helps you track your "greenage" based on five criteria: water, electricity, waste, emissions, and money. Greenage is determined by the creative solutions that you’ve implemented...
The ICJ issued a decision today in a relatively inconsequential and somewhat silly case brought by Djibouti against France in the ICJ relating to a French criminal investigation of the 2002 death of a French judge in Djibouti. Djibouti alleged that France had violated its obligations under a 1986 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and a 1977 Friendship,...
Last month, I noted that the ICTR Prosecutor had "disowned" Human Rights Watch for daring to criticize his request to refer Yusuf Munyakazi to Rwanda for trial. I guess he'll now have to disown Trial Chamber III, as well, because on Monday it agreed with HRW and rejected the referral:Chances of genocide suspect and former Rwandan Interhamwe militia leader...
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that MP Jason Wood is requesting an investigation into genetically modified orgasms. I support the member for McMillan's call for the government to conduct an independent broad-ranging scientific investigation into the genetic modification of food and biotechnology to assess not only the health of the crops and the food, but also the potential for contamination,...
The Fifth Circuit last week rendered a decision in Gomez v. Quarterman rejecting a claim that a forced confession should be thrown out because the defendant's VCCR rights were violated. This decision gives you a sense of where we are post-Medellin, with "no reasonable debate" about the status of the Vienna Convention as a vehicle to vindicate individual rights. With...
A lawyer, a philosopher, and a theologian went out for dinner. The topic under discussion was the concept of “sovereignty.” The lawyer discussed the sovereignty of the state, the philosopher highlighted the sovereignty of the individual, and the theologian underscored the sovereignty of God. Each understood the meaning of sovereignty, but each understood it in a different...
On the lighter side of international news this week, comes word that the international space station toilet has broken, leading to obvious difficulties for the station's inhabitants (not to mention plenty of toilet humor back here on earth). Now, toilets in space raise all sorts of logistical and engineering issues, nicely described by Jacob Leibenluft in today's Slate. ...
The Pew Research Center has a fascinating poll released earlier this month on Muslim perceptions of the United States. Here is a quick summary: Simply put, America’s image in much of the Muslim world remains abysmal. Iraq, the war on terrorism, American support for Israel and other key features of U.S. foreign policy continue to generate animosity in the Middle...
The British newspaper The Guardian is currently having Hay Festival, major book festival. With all these writers and public figures around, there are some fun possibilities. As the folks at The Guradian put it: Hay is full of the cleverest and sharpest minds, but if they could ask one person just a single question, who would they choose - and...
Nearly 100 nations have reached an agreement on a draft treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs within 8 years. This may or may not be a good idea. But since key cluster bomb producers and users like the United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan are not signatories, the importance of this treaty, beyond...
We all know the adage that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. In a recent op-ed, Mark Shulman of Pace Law School shows how if only the Bush Administration had remembered history, they may have repeated it. Shulman, who besides being a lawyer also has a doctorate in history and a particular expertise in military history,...
