Search: Affective Justice: Book Symposium: A Response
15 Nov International Legality – A Response to Hathaway & Shapiro
...old chestnut in legal theory, and in making some interesting methodological claims about the best way to conduct a jurisprudential argument about the concept of law. With respect to the philosophy of international law, on the other, the authors broach the neglected question of the legality of international law, and rightly deem it an important issue and not one that is trumped by others such as the legitimacy of international law in particular. In this response, I question the authors’ argument with respect, first of all, to their underlying reasoning...07 Mar Co-Opting Universal Jurisdiction? A Gendered Critique of the Prosecutorial Strategy of the German Federal Public Prosecutor in Response to the Return of Female ISIL Members: Part I
are now increasingly confronted with the return of both female and male German nationals or residents, who had joined ISIL. Efforts to investigate and prosecute former ISIL fighters and members – who are now in Germany – for their involvement in crimes are therefore inevitable. Accordingly, several former male ISIL fighters have been charged and convicted by the German Federal Public Prosecutor (see Human Rights Watch, These are the crimes we are fleeing; TRIAL International, Make way for justice #4; EJIL: Talk!, Justice for Syria? Opportunities and Limitations of Universal...
22 Nov Human Rights Must Guide a Pandemic Treaty
...to COVID-19. National health systems have frequently neglected public health systems for disease prevention, and national responses have undermined sexual and reproductive health and rights, disproportionately impacted a range of marginalized populations, and failed to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Echoing criticisms from authorities within the UN human rights system, independent reviews of the WHO response have taken states to task for, amongst other things, their inability or unwillingness to cooperate in adopting human rights-based approaches to preventing and curtailing public health emergencies. These violative public health responses have...09 Apr Response to Transnational Regulatory Networks and Their Limits
...matter further, and the lack of any serious response by the Financial Stability Forum, the putative network of financial regulatory networks, suggests that there are some things networks cannot do. And the primary role played by the G20 – really, a modern day Concert of Europe – in developing and coordinating what international regulatory response we have seen should give anyone pause about the primacy of law or law-like institutions in a world where political actors will continue to play a critical role. But in the end, the problems of...08 Apr Response to Ed Whelan Regarding Koh Nomination
...Whelan must really be focused only on the specter of so-called “transnationalist” judges overturning the will of democratically elected leaders. But this concern is also without foundation. After all, when interpreting constitutional provisions, not a single sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice has taken the position that international or foreign law constitutes binding authority. As to concerns about customary international law, there are, as Whelan points out, hundreds of pages of academic debate on the precise nuances of how customary international law and federal common law interact, but the key point...
15 May Trump’s Coronavirus Response: Genocide By Default?
Last week, The Huffington Post published an article with the provocative title, Epidemiologist Slams U.S. Coronavirus Response: ‘Close To Genocide By Default’. The epidemiologist in question was Prof. Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD (Public Health, Yale University), who, according to his online curriculum vitae, is an Assistant Professor in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, as well as an Associate (Adjunct) Professor of Law and Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School, co-director of the Yale Law School/Yale School of Public Health Global Health Justice Partnership, and the Yale...07 May Something is Not Always Better Than Nothing: Against a Narrow Threshold Justification for Humanitarian Intervention
...intervention – devoid of Security Council authorization – is legally invalid. However, as a recent post in Just Security demonstrates, though many states share this view, an increasing group now employ justificatory rhetoric in defense of the recent attacks. This rhetoric signals a potential shift. Following the NATO-led intervention in Kosovo, states and scholars vindicated the military response through universal appeals to human rights and justice. This language often remained non-specific. More recently, however, the language assumes precision. It abandons general assessments of an atrocity’s gravity and favors identification of...21 Nov LJIL Symposium: A Response to Professor Brad R. Roth on (Empty?) Promises of Self-Determination
politically appropriate international legal response to secessionist demands, can still be challenged on two accounts: conceptual and prescriptive. On the one hand, I wish to take issue with the claim that it is impossible to discern—even if it may undesirable to prescribe—any normative ideals concealed in the idea of self-determination. In his response, Roth claims for instance that “any external effort to resolve the issue through ‘the democratic ideal of the consent of the governed’ would, ironically, have had to impose solutions to the issue’s central elements – including, …...
05 Nov The Power and Responsibility of the EU to Protect the ICC from US Sanctions
...will reveal the actual values of the states who as a matter of law are pledged to combat atrocity and impunity. There have been some responses to the sanctions so far, and it is hard to know what is happening beyond the scenes. A 22 August 2025 letter from civil society lists reasons why the sanctions against ICC Judges and Deputy Prosecutors and previous sanctions are objectionable and collect responses from civil society, States Parties, the EU, and the UN. The European Parliament’s response is of particular note, calling on...10 Jun Who is the “Sovereign” in Sovereign Debt? – A Response to Tai-Heng Cheng and Mark Weisburd
First, I would like to thank Opinio Juris and the Yale Journal of International Law for hosting this symposium and providing the opportunity to discuss my recent article, Who is the “Sovereign” in Sovereign Debt? Reinterpreting a Rule-of-Law Framework from the Early Twentieth Century. I would also like to thank Tai-Heng Cheng and Mark Weisburd for their thoughtful comments on the piece. Given that their comments raise overlapping themes, I address them jointly in this response. I structured the article in three sections, which deal with the potential non-continuity of...