The member-states of the UN elected the membership of the International Law Commission yesterday. For the first time since the founding of the ILC in 1947, the United States does not have a national sitting on the Commission. This is bad for U.S. diplomacy and it may be indicative of the shifting sands of power at the UN. The...
Here's video of State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger's talk earlier this week inaugurating Duke's international law center. It's a broadly sweeping effort to justify the Bush Administration's posture to international law as one that isn't antagonistic. A primary theme: most of our differences with the Europeans in particular are policy differences, not legal ones. One thing...
Yesterday the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a deal to provide U.S. cooperation with India in the development of a civilian nuclear program (the vote was 85-12). The House approved similar legislation earlier this year by fairly huge margins as well so final passage is likely relatively soon. I have two observations. First, this deal no doubt reflects the importance...
I would like to embellish a bit upon yesterday’s post in light of Texas’ Medellin decision. In terms of the integrity and viability of consular notification rights – in terms of enforcement of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, to what extent does it matter what the Texas court decides in Medellin (or what the Supreme Court has decided...
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." That's the tenor of one of the greatest free market thinkers, Milton Friedman. He died today at 94. Here is a taste of his views on free trade, with a cameo appearance from a young Donald Rumsfeld. You can watch more...
The Harvard Law Review's Supreme Court review is now available. The Foreward by Frederick Schauer does not appear particularly relevant to our field of interest, although he does discuss a number of international law issues relating to terrorism and the war in Iraq as part of his theory that the judiciary has a limited role in addressing pressing issues...
Germanwatch and the Climate Action Network-Europe (CANE) have released their 2007 Climate Change Performance Index. Their press release describes the purpose and methodology of the index as follows:Jan Burck and other Germanwatch experts developed the CCPI methodology, which is meant to help increase transparency in international climate policy. The Index compares the climate protection efforts of 56 industrialised and...
The moment of truth for Luis Posada Carriles is approaching: U.S. District Judge Philip Martinez held last Friday that the Bush administration has until February 1, 2007, to either prosecute or release Posada. Prosecution is looking increasingly unlikely: although the administration urged the judge in October to keep Posada in detention, it has consistently refused to bring criminal charges...
What’s the hot topic in U.S. foreign affairs law these days? (Hint: it's not Medellin, although I suppose that may change quickly). Rather, if tomorrow’s conference at Duke Law (co-sponsored by Harvard Law School) is any guide, it’s the issue of delegating authority under treaties to international organizations or other autonomous international bodies. Can the United States agree...
Some really quick unreflective thoughts on the latest Medellin decision: (1) The ICJ's interpretation in Avena is still wrong The Supreme Court's decision last summer in Sanchez-Llamas did not necessarily foreclose reliance on the ICJ's interpretation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in this Texas proceeding. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals showed no inclination to reach...
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals just issued a decision on Ernesto Medellin's habeas petition, and it comes as little surprise that the Texas court dismissed the petition. In a lengthy decision, the Court concludes that neither Avena nor the President's memorandum is binding federal law that pre-empts state procedural bar rules. The Texas cout relies heavily on the Sanchez-Llamas...
The remanded Texas proceeding in Medellin v. Dretke, the original case invoking the ICJ's recent decision in Avena interpreting the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, has been decided by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. I am still reading it but the upshot: The renewed petition by Medellin seeking relief under President Bush's "memorandum" enforcing the ICJ's judgment has been...
