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...
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
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...
In the NYTimes.com's Room for Debate forum, I offer reasons for supporting U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Unlike most supporters (like a certain Comedy Central personality), I don't think the opponents are crazy nutcases. (For a more sensible, but less amusing take, take a look at co-blogger Peter Spiro's contribution to the...
The U.S. government has been making all sorts of official and unofficial threats to act if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons in its ongoing civil war. (CBS News) Whether the U.S. enters the war in Syria appears to be up to the dictator Bashir al-Assad. On Monday, CBS News reported the Assad regime had given orders to prepare chemical weapons for...
Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez will miss Friday’s regional trade summit in Brazil, raising questions about his health. US warships are shifting in order to monitor the planned rocket launch by North Korea, while the US still urges Pyongyang to cancel this exercise. Violence has surged around Damascus as Syrian government forces shell rebel-controlled areas. The UN Special Envoy for Syria held discussions with...
In case you missed it, Jon Stewart at his best on the Senate's rejection on Tuesday of the Disabilities Convention: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook The floor debate on the CRPD can be found in the Congressional Record here, starting at page S7365. Not very edifying reading on...
Russia has heavily criticized the ICTY for its verdict last week acquitting three, calling the work of the Court careless and ineffective. Iran's media reports its military has claimed to have extracted data from the US drone it captured earlier in the week, proving the US was spying on Iran. A US drone strike killed three suspected al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan. Despite international...
[Jonathan Hafetz is an Associate Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School and was previously a senior attorney at the ACLU’s National Security Project. He has served as counsel in numerous national security detention cases, including al-Marri v. Spagone.] The U.S. Senate last week approved an amendment to the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA)...
