This week on Opinio Juris, our main event was a book symposium on Katerina Linos' The Democratic Foundations of Policy Diffusion, introduced here (along with details on OUP's special offer to our readers). David Zaring and Larry Helfer kicked off the symposium on Monday, and Katerina responded here. On Tuesday, Eric Posner commented on the relationship between policy diffusion and international law, and Ryan...
Article 37(1) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) provides that a diplomat's immunity extends to cover "[t]he members of the family of a diplomatic agent forming part of his household ...
John Kyl, Douglas Feith, and John Fonte have this offering in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs. It's a strong restatement of the sovereigntist position on the incorporation of international law from a powerful trio - Kyl, the sovereigntist legislator par excellence; Feith, the veteran executive branch point-man; and Fonte, the house intellectual. But the piece feels tired from the...
Human Rights Watch has called on China to end forcible relocations of ethnic Tibetans. South Korea's President Park is in Beijing for her first talks with the new Chinese administration, in a visit that is seen as increasing pressure on North Korea to return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. EU Finance Ministers have agreed on a blueprint on how to deal with bank...
Violent clashes in China's western Xinjiang province, home to the Uighur minority, have killed 27 people. President Obama gave his long-awaited speech on climate change yesterday, but it fell short of environmentalists' expectations. During his visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Kerry has been pressed by Saudi leaders to respond to the "genocide" in Syria. US officials are hoping...
The Taleban has claimed responsibility for an attack on the compound that houses the Presidential Palace and the CIA Headquarters in Kabul. US Secretary of State Kerry has meanwhile assured Afghanistan's neighbours that the US will maintain a military presence even after next year's withdrawal of combat troops. The mystery surrounding Edward Snowden's whereabouts continues, as does the diplomatic fallout. In his...
Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong for Moscow, a first stop on his way to Ecuador via Cuba and Venezuela. The NYTimes' blog reports that the final call to let Snowden leave was made by China. Israel has carried out air strikes in the Gaza strip after rockets were fired into Israel overnight. The Emir of Qatar is expected to announce today...
This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin flagged three problems with the PTC's decision on Libya's obligation to surrender al-Senussi to the ICC. He also discussed Libya's admissibility challenge: he criticized the defence's response to the challenge for adopting the due process thesis and he argued why the President's refusal to excuse one of the Appeals Chamber judges is erroneous. Kevin also turned his...
After a over a week of negotiations, Mali has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Tuareg rebels who have occupied the northern city of Kidal. The UK Supreme Court has held that sanctions imposed on the Iranian Bank Mellat are invalid because they were imposed through a secret court. The US Treasure Department has strongly criticized the decision. Britain's attempt to include...
“Of course our opinions do not coincide. But all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria,” President Putin said after meeting with President Obama at the G8 summit. A neat summary of the dilemma of responsibility to protect—everyone wants an end to violence, but responsibility does not suggest how it should be done. Responsibility to protect emphasizes...
President Obama is in Berlin today where he will give a speech arguing for sharp reductions in nuclear warheads and more cooperation on other important challenges such as climate change and democracy. The US will start negotiations with the Taleban in Qatar later this week. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's President Karzai has suspended negotiations with the US on a security pact, accusing the...
In my last post, I introduced my recent article rethinking the concept of responsibility to protect. Today, I consider how the discussion of R2P often obscures the reality of how states go about choosing to intervene by speaking of duties and responsibilities. Some commentators have expressed concern about the selective nature of R2P or about the disappointment of R2P in...
