In association with the International Commission of Jurists

General

13 Dec

Syrian troops have been accused of using Scud missiles in populated areas, according to a US official and Human Rights Watch. The United Kingdom has announced its intent to legalize same-sex marriage in the coming year. Trial Chamber II of the ICTY convicted Bosnian Serb commander Zdravko Tolimir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced him to life in...

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12 Dec

As loathe as I am to call any attention to Eric Posner’s latest over on Slate, his piece engaging the Jeh Johnson speech (about the notion that the Al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11 might someday be defeated) is such a blast from the past it’s hard to resist. Turns out the President has really been detaining everyone under...

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12 Dec

Following the EU's example yesterday, the US has recognized Syria's opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and many more world powers are poised to do the same at the “Friends of the Syrian People” conference opens today in Morocco. Human Rights Watch has a report of the Syrian government using incendiary bombs on at least four occasions since mid-November in...

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11 Dec

It's that time of year when things get really busy in the law school environment (not to mention the pre-holiday press of government service, firm work, etc.).  So, for those of you looking for a momentary break from the memo-drafting, exam-writing, grading, article research, whirlwind of holiday events, etc., I submit to you -- Jimmy Fallon on treaties.  The routine...

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11 Dec

The WTO General Council yesterday approved Tajikistan's accession package, opening the way for membership 30 days after ratification of the package by Tajikistan. The ACLU will file a petition this morning with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission over the treatment of Jose Padilla by the US government since his designation as 'enemy combatant' in 2001. Mali's Prime Minister resigned after the military arrested him for not...

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10 Dec

Today is International Human Rights Day;  64 years ago, the UN Declaration of Human Rights was signed. The Empire State Building in New York will be illuminated in blue today to honor the work of Human Rights Watch. Also today, and with the end of the year fast approaching, Amnesty International has released its year in human rights for 2012. The 18th...

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09 Dec

In case you missed it, the past week saw the announcements that both Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh would be stepping down from the Obama Administration at the end of the year. Johnson reports he’ll be returning to the private sector; Koh will head back to his professorship at Yale Law School. ...

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08 Dec

In response to Julian Ku's post here on the potential legal justifications for the U.S. to use force against Syria in the event Assad turns to chemical weapons, Daniel Bethlehem sent along the following. Daniel Bethlehem practices in London and served as Principal Legal Advisor to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2006-2011. Julian Ku suggests that "[a]ssuming no...

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08 Dec

This week on Opinio Juris, we continued a few conversations from last week. Kevin Jon Heller clarified his argument about the retroactive acceptance of the ICC's jurisdiction, and challenged the assumption that Palestine was not a state before last week's UNGA vote. Deborah Pearlstein advanced three reasons for the importance of Jeh Johnson's recent speech on the conditions for calling an...

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