Since I last raised negotiations over the EU Reform Treaty, the Europeans have kept themselves quite busy. Early in October, lawyers agreed to a text. Then on October 18-19, the EU Council of Ministers hammered out a few last minute changes to the deal (e.g., moving the updated Charter of Human Rights into a side document) and setting...
Well, not actually moving it, so much as opening a branch in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Following in the tradition of the Guggenheim, which now has five locations worldwide, with a sixth planned for Abu Dhabi, the French Government has concluded an international agreement with the UAE Government for the opening of a museum with...
Readers who are interested in international affairs — "at the highest level of generality," according to the title — would do well to check out The Grand Strategy Blog. Here is the blog's self-description:TGSB is a collaborative and non-partisan site dedicated to the study of international relations. The goal of this enterprise is to improve our understanding of major...
This is a wonderful story:For the first time, Yad Vashem will inaugurate an exhibition this week on Muslims who saved Jews during the Holocaust. The exhibition, which opens on Thursday, focuses on more than a dozen of the scores of Muslim Albanians previously recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" - the Holocaust center's highest honor - for risking their lives to...
I have posted to SSRN a substantially revised version of my forthcoming article Transnational Tribunals and the Transmission of Norms: The Hegemony of Process. Transnational tribunals, which I define as dispute resolution mechanisms that allow nonstate actors such as individuals and companies to sue states for alleged infringements of their rights, include regimes as disparate as ICSID arbitrations and the...
Last weekend I had the great privilege to meet Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus. His speech (which you can watch here) was one of the most inspirational messages I have heard in years. He received several standing ovations and many in the audience were moved to tears. I brought my children to the speech and explained...
I was shocked — to say the least — when I read Roger's post on the extremely important Khulumani case. With due respect to the Second Circuit, Judge Katzman's analysis of the mens rea of aiding and abetting under customary international law is completely incorrect. Although I can see how a judge who is not familiar with international...
Just in case our readers missed it, the Second Circuit in Khulumani v. Barclay National Bank rendered an extremely important award earlier this month on the subject of corporate aiding-and-abetting liability under the ATS. The decision, which involved alleged corporate assistance to the South African government during apartheid, is quite complicated and fractured. But the key part of...
We would like to invite our readers to join us for a drink this Friday evening at the Opinio Juris Reception at International Law Weekend. The reception, sponsored by Oxford University Press, will be from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm in the Lobby Bar of the Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street (across the street from the New York...
The government of Iraq has decided to formally revoke CPA Order 17, a move that would open the door to prosecuting Blackwater employees in Iraqi courts for killing 17 civilians last month:"The cabinet held a meeting yesterday and decided to scrap the article pertaining to security companies operating in Iraq that was issued by the CPA (Coalition Provision Authority) in...
The European Council on Foreign Relations has just published a fascinating world survey and global "love/hate map." The "love map" and the "hate map" are especially fascinating because they identify which countries receive the highest approval and disapproval ratings in 52 countries. The survey results revealed the following: The largest survey of public opinion in the world shows...
Then try out this online International Law Quiz. Or this International Legal History Quiz. Let's drive up some of the numbers. Hat Tip: The aforementioned Space Law Probe ...
