The European Court of Human Rights rendered an important decision this week on the European Convention's guarantees regarding "therapeutic abortions", i.e., abortions necessary for the life or health of the mother. The case summary of Tysiąc v. Poland is here and the full text of the judgment is here. Polish law (the "1993 Act") authorizes the termination of pregnancies if...
The Lewis & Clark Law Review has published a useful and timely symposium on the significance of last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon. In Sanchez-Llamas, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, among other things, that it would not reverse its interpretation of a treaty because of a contrary interpretation by the International Court of Justice. ...
Mohammad Al-Oraibi, the presiding judge at the Anfal trial, has ordered the arrest of one of the defense attorneys, Badie Arif Ezzat, for criminal contempt of court. The charges stem from Ezzat's criticism of the Dujail trial on Iraqi television, which Judge Al-Oraibi apparently believed was directed at the Anfal trial. Ezzat could face seven years imprisonment if...
I have posted a substantially rewritten version of my essay "Retreat from Nuremberg: The Leadership Requirement in the Crime of Aggression," which has been accepted by the European Journal of International Law. Any comments or criticisms would be most appreciated, as the final draft is due to the journal relatively soon. The abstract of the essay, which can be downloaded...
Like my co-chairs for the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law, Chantal Thomas and William Aceves, I want to thank Opinio Juris for giving us an opportunity to reach out to the international law community with information on the exciting program planned for next week in Washington. As my co-chairs have pointed out in earlier blog...
All 27 members of the European Union have approved a new air transport or "open skies" agreement with the United States. No surprise here. The EU ministers tacked on a delay in the effective date of the agreement, which must be approved by the U.S. This should be easy enough since no congressional approval will have to be secured...
A promising new blog has joined the international-law blogosphere. Here is AIDP Blog's self-description, edited for length:The AIDP Blog is the official blog of the American National Section of the AIDP (L’Association Internationale de Droit Penal/The International Association of Penal Law). The AIDP Blog will provide a forum for expert debate and thought-provoking commentary on contemporary issues of...
I was struck by two separate items in the NYT on successive days earlier this week involving the return of the bodies of dead immigrants to their homelands. Both were tragic stories, one involving a Mexican pizza delivery person shot in Greenwich Village, the other a family of Malians who died in a home fire in the Bronx. ...
I should add my sincere thanks to those of my colleague and yesterday’s guest-blogger, William Aceves, to Opinio Juris for inviting this year’s ASIL Annual Meeting Co-Chairs to share this space for a few days. In contemplating the theme “The Future of International Law” charged to us by ASIL President Jose Alvarez, the Co-Chairs identified global development and poverty reduction...
Adam Liptak's column yesterday on the relevance of legal scholarship (note that TimesSelect material is now available to anyone with an .edu email address - how long before they wave the white flag on this undertaking?) has predictably generated follow-ons in the legal blogosphere. Jack Balkin does an excellent job putting the story in context, including the context of...
Let me begin by thanking Opinio Juris for inviting the Co-Chairs for this year’s ASIL Annual Meeting to guest blog this week. As they say: long time reader, first time blogger. This year’s Annual Meeting theme is The Future of International Law. While it is easy to disregard theme statements when organizing a conference, this year’s Program Committee took...
As we gear up for our ASIL guest bloggers and the Annual Meeting, it is worth pointing out the important work ASIL does in support of international law scholarship and teaching. Among other things, ASIL is responsible for several essential publications, including the American Journal of International Law, the premier peer-reviewed international law journal in the U.S., and the...
