One common charge leveled at the Bush Administration is that it refuses to consult with Congress on important matters involving foreign affairs. There is some truth to this charge, although I think a lot of it is overblown. Congress is regularly consulted on lots of stuff through their numerous oversight and appropriations powers. They often know what is...
Are we planning to use tactical nukes against Iran? That is one of the topics covered in a new article by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker. He describes the increasing tempo of war planning, clandestine missions in Iran, and discussions of the nuclear option: A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that...
Well, not really. The New Republic’s March 20 issue had a fascinating article on what happened when some well-meaning college students tried to raise money to provide assistance to Darfur. They didn’t want to just ship off some food aid but wanted to provide protection for women who were being preyed upon. They start a group called...
The American and British families of victims of Irish Republican Army bombings are preparing to sue Libya and Col. Khaddafi in a class action in U.S. federal court. The suit will cover ten different bombings, all of which were believed to have used Semtex explosive supplied by Libya. More on this as the case progresses. ...
The U.S. Court of International Trade issued a fascinating opinion yesterday finding that the much-hated now-repealed Byrd Amendment could not be applied to goods from Canada and Mexico. (See the Bloomberg report on the decision) For those who want a little background: the Byrd Amendment distributed duties collected on foreign goods, usually anti-dumping duties, and distributed those duties to domestic...
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced Nedjo Samardzic, a Bosnian Serb, to 13 years in prison, the first verdict and sentence imposed by the court, which was established in 2005 to reduce the ICTY's workload by taking responsibility for prosecuting less serious cases. Samardzic was found guilty of imprisoning, torturing, and raping civilians in Muslim villages near...
Last year, China denounced Japan's plans to start drilling in a disputed undersea natural gas field and demanded talks to settle the dispute. Now that talks have begun, China has quietly permitted its state-owned oil company CNOOC to start removing gas from that same disputed field. As Japan's spokesman points out: "It is the Chinese side that has...
Who is the best international commercial arbitrator in the world? For the answer click "show" below. (show) The answer is Albert Jan van den Berg. According to the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2006, van den Berg was named the best international commercial arbitrator in the world. Here is an excerpt of their announcement: "Albert Jan van den...
McKinsey Quarterly has published an interesting article on how corporations should respond to emerging social trends. The article suggests that the case for corporations incorporating an awareness of developing social and political trends is now overwhelming. The article highlights numerous examples, including social attitudes about global warming, genetically modified organisms, fair labor standards and broader "frontier expectations." It is...
‘Tis the season for international law conferences. Assuming you are not heading to New York or Orange County this weekend, consider stopping off in Wilmington, Delaware, where Professor Andy Strauss of the Widener University School of Law has organized a conference, Envisioning a More Democratic Global System. It’s being co-sponsored by Widener and the American Society of International...
Insurance giant Lloyd’s of London is in negotiations to provide insurance for nascent space tour provider Virgin Galactic. According to the Lloyd’s site, Bruno Ritchie, director of the aerospace division at Hiscox Global Markets, says that insurance is likely to be sought for the hull value of the spacecraft, with the price of cover dependent on the safety and reliability of the venture...
As I noted below, the campaigning for membership of the new U.N. Human Rights Council has begun in earnest (34 nations have declared themselves). The United States, however, will not be seeking a seat. The strategy behind staying off the new Council is unclear. The U.S. has pledged to fund and support the new council, but it...
