Today marked the limited release in the United States of the already much heralded new film on the United States' hunt for Osama bin Laden. I have not yet seen the film and won't comment on it until I do. But I do want to at least pass along this remarkable open letter issued today by 1 Republican and 2...
John Bellinger's op-ed in today's New York Times, "Obama's Weakness on Treaties," is clear on an important tactical issue on treaty passage but somewhat muted on a more improtant, strategic, issue. His main argument is that, given rising Republican intransigence against treaties--any treaties--, President Obama should be trying harder to pass treaties like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons...
Yesterday, in its second decision to date, the International Criminal Court acquitted Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of the seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity he faced related to the conflict about ten years ago in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, due to lack of evidence. In the face of criticism from many on the acquittal...
On December 17 the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2083, which further details the listing / delisting criteria for the 1287 Al Qaida Sanctions regime. This Resolution also extends the Ombudsperson’s mandate for another 30 months, guaranteeing some stability for those who seek delisting. Simultaneously, the Council adopted Resolution 2082, applying the same measures to the Taliban sanctions regime. Last...
Syrian forces first surrounded a Palestinian camp in Damascus before then taking full control of it, a day after air raids killed at least 8 who were seeking shelter there inside a mosque. Israel has approved 1,500 more settlement homes in East Jerusalem, prompting Palestinians to say they may seek a UN Security Council meeting on the issue. The US Department of...
I was saddened to read the announcement last week from Diane Amann -- the indefatigable founder, editor, and voice of IntLawGrrls -- that IntLawGrrls is closing its blog. IntLawGrrls has been an amazing source of historical, topical and, at times, deeply personal discussions about international law and the role of women in law and global governance. It is and will...
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has announced the appointment of three distinguished experts in international criminal law to serve as special advisers to the OTP. Diane Amann of the Univ. of Georgia Law School has been named Special Adviser on Children in and affected by Armed Conflict. Leila Sadat of Washington University Law School will serve as Special Adviser on Crimes...
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm at the worsening violence in Syria, including the reported mass killing of Alawites and alleged firing of long-range missiles on Syrian territory. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea celebrated its 30-year anniversary. France reported that officials from the Afghan government, the Taliban rebel movement and other factions would meet this week near Paris to...
Calls for Papers The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property and Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University College of Law; the Intellectual Property Law Center, Drake University Law School; the Center for International and Comparative Law, Duke University Law School; the Institute for Information Law and Policy, New York Law School; and the Committee on International Intellectual Property,...
This week on Opinio Juris, a guest post by Daniel Bethlehem, following up on a post by Julian Ku last week, offered three more legal bases for the legality of an intervention in Syria. Also continuing on some of last week's themes, Kevin Jon Heller wrote how a recent decision by the ICC's Appeals Chamber confirms his argument on retroactive ad hoc jurisdiction, and Deborah Pearlstein couldn't resist taking...
A big item on the Security Council’s agenda this month is reconsideration of the mandate of the Ombudsperson and Monitoring Regime for Al Qaida Sanctions, pursuant to Security Council resolutions 1267 and 1989. Of particular interest are measures proposed by Like Minded States this year (including, amongst others, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Costa Rica, and Germany) which suggest a variety...
The United Kingdom has paid $3.5 million to settle a rendition case brought by Libyan dissident Sami al Saadi. The European Court of Human Rights released its decision (.pdf) in the Al Masri v. The Republic of Macedonia case finding he was a victim of CIA rendition. The ICC Appeals Chamber dismissed a challenge from ex-Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo that the...
