Israel has intensified its aerial bombardment on the Gaza strip, after shells targeted Tel Aviv for the first time in 20 years. CNN has a Q&A about the conflict. Syrian opposition leaders are in London to meet UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. The UK has summoned the Spanish Ambassador after Spanish naval vessels allegedly intruded in Gibraltar territorial waters. The UK Ambassador to...
Israel has hammered the Gaza Strip in a series of airstrikes, one of which has killed Hamas' military commander Ahmad Jabari. The United Nations Population Fund has declared contraception and family planning to be a human right having a positive effect on economic development. Unlike France, the United States has stopped short of recognizing Syria's opposition coalition. Nigerian lawmakers have passed a bill criminalizing same-sex marriage. The International Monetary Fund...
Everyone else has a piece of this reality show, so why not international law? It turns out that Jill Kelley (for those of you not keeping score, here's the roster) is the honorary consul of Korea in Tampa. She's now looking to use the status defensively. From USA Today: Jill Kelley, the socialite whose complaint to the FBI began the unraveling...
UN Development Program Chair, Helen Clark, has argued for a greater UN economic role. Preparations are underway to exhume Yasser Arafat's body for forensic analysis. France has become the first European country to recognize the Syrian opposition coalition as the sole representative of its people. Despite the EU's decision to suspend its ETS with respect to international aviation, the US House of Representatives has accepted a modified...
Argentina has opened a new front in its battle with Ghana over a local court order detaining its naval training ship ARA Libertad until Argentina posts a bond for payment on its defaulted sovereign debt. It is now threatening to sue Ghana in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13th, all the deadlines expire for...
The EU has stopped the clock on the inclusion of international aviation in its Emissions Trading System to allow recent developments in the ICAO negotiations on global aviation greenhouse gas emissions, mentioned in yesterday's news wrap, to run their course. Argentina is preparing to file a claim at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea in Hamburg to obtain the release of its vessel...
I recently had the honor of chairing a panel on the Responsibility to Protect at the annual Canadian Council of International Law (CCIL) conference in Ottawa. The evolving contours of this concept provided for a stimulating exchange between panelists Lieutenant Colonel David Antonyshyn, Dr. Joanna Harrington, and Ryan Liss. I highlight some of the themes here for broader reflection and...
[Christian J. Tams holds the Chair of International Law at the University of Glasgow - School of Law] Let me start off by saying that to participate in the Oxford Guide to Treaties has been a real privilege: it is a great book that combines theoretical reflection and practical insights. I am particular impressed by the list of treaty clauses included...
First of all, I need to say thank you to all the contributors to the current symposium on my book, The Oxford Guide to Treaties. It's quite common in academic circles to have symposia on "affairs of the day" (and, to be clear, those affairs often trigger very important issues like targeted killing, cyberwar, climate change, the EU fiscal crisis,...
[Catherine Brölmann is Associate Professor of Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam] Particular features in the interpretation of constitutive treaties or secondary acts of international organizations reflect the special nature of the law of organizations, which brings both contractual and institutional features in the treaty process. Following up on posts of Richard Gardiner, who brings up pertinent questions regarding treaty...
I'll join the chorus of praise for my colleague Duncan's book. It will clearly become the standard reference work in the area. As IL scholarship proliferates, there is a lot of smart money in handbook volumes such as this one. The Oxford Guide to Treaties is a one-stop source for the best thinking on the subject. Duncan is also to be...
[Geir Ulfstein is Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Oslo] Treaty law is increasingly acquiring a public character. One reason is that more and more treaties set up treaty bodies, i.e. organs that are neither formal international organizations nor international courts. Examples are the Conference of the parties (COPs) used in international environmental law, the Antarctic Treaty...
