David Luban has an extensive post over at Balkinization that makes it sound like Padilla's case against John Yoo is much easier than it is. It's not an easy case. I was especially surprised by Luban's discussion of immunities. Here's what he writes: 3. What about immunities? The short answer: only a few government officers get absolute immunity...
Notwithstanding its recent efforts to avoid recess appointments with 12 second sessions, the Senate will return in full next Monday. For international lawyers, the big question is whether UNCLOS finally gets a vote for the Senate's advice and consent. As I noted here and here, the SFRC voted UNCLOS out of Committee last fall largely along party lines....
I am very grateful to all the regular contributors here at Opinio Juris for having me, and to Kevin for his kind introduction. To begin with, I would like to offer some thoughts on the question set out above. At first glance, it seems utterly absurd. But exactly that question was recently considered by the House of Lords (if, obviously, by...
Opinio Juris is pleased to welcome Tobias Thienel, who will be guest-blogging with us for the next two weeks. Most of you will recognize Tobias as one of our most dedicated and intelligent commenters. We are confident he will be an even better read on the main stage. Tobias is a 2004 graduate of the University of Kiel and...
Paul Marshall has an interesting op-ed in the Washington Post on the spiritual capital of successful countries. I know Marshall well and his analysis seems exactly right to me. In the piece he discusses a fascinating World Values Survey, which includes a cultural map of the world, pictured at left (click to enlarge). That map divides the...
Agee died on Monday in Havana (Times obit here), having lived out his days as a Havana travel agent (and apparently as a US citizen until the end). Among his legacies as a CIA renegade is the legal battle surrounding the revocation of his passport in 1979. In Haig v. Agee, the Supreme Court upheld the action against...
In his book, All Things Considered, published in 1915, G.K. Chesterton had this to say about the virtue of internationalism and the vice of cosmopolitanism: It is obvious that there is a great deal of difference between being international and being cosmopolitan. All good men are international. Nearly all bad men are cosmopolitan. If we are to be international we must...
Nicholas Rostow has an interesting piece in the latest American Interest on why the next Administration should come around to international law ("Law Abiding: Restoring America's Global Reputation," teaser here but otherwise by subscription only). He argues that law -- including international law! -- "define who an American is," and for that reason the US "cannot long sustain foreign...
The White House is thinking of starting a blog -- or at least a blog-like substance. From Dana Perino's press conference today:At 6:15 p.m., the President departs the White House on Marine One to head for his trip to the Middle East, the first stop being Jerusalem. One note. As we leave for the Middle East trip today, we will...
Jivan Yakoob is a Canadian citizen who is a permanent resident living in Michigan. According to the indictment, Yakoob went online and arranged to meet with a thirteen-year-old girl in Windsor, Ontario to have sex with her. It's a sting operation, of course, and when Yakoob arrived at the shopping mall in Canada he was arrested. He...
I know Christmas is over, but this award-winning interactive globe, made by Leap Frog, is the perfect gift for curious kids of all ages. Here is the manufacturer's description:Fasten your seatbelts, put your tray table in the upright position and prepare for take off. Next stop? The world. Touch the interactive pen any place on this interactive, talking atlas and...
The beginning of Charles Taylor's trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone is obviously big news, and those who are interested in the trial should check out the live-blogging and analysis here. But Taylor's trial should not overshadow an equally important event related to the civil war in Liberia — the launch of Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission:The commission...
