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23 Dec

Upcoming Events The ABA Section of International Law presents the 3rd Annual “Live from L,” The Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State Thursday, January 10th, 2013 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM US Eastern Time entitled: “International Lawyering for the U.S. Government in an Era of Smart Power: Emerging Issues for the Next Four Years.” More information and registration can be found by clicking here. The Oxford Brookes Law School is organising a workshop entitled Fundamental Rights in Europe: A Matter for Two Courts on 18...
23.12.12 | |

14 Apr

This week on Opinio Juris, Chris Borgen drew our attention to a NY Times op-ed explaining the surprising reason why in the grand bargain dividing the top posts at the World Bank and the IMF between the US and Europe, the US ended up with the World Bank rather than the IMF. Kevin Heller posted the abstract of his response in a mini-symposium of the Texas International Law Journal on Karl Chang’s article arguing that the law of neutrality provides the legal framework for the US conflict with...
14.04.12 | |

06 Jul

The Transnational Federal Government of Somalia has signed an action plan backed by the UN to stop the use of child soldiers. Ex-Argentine president Jorge Videla was sentenced to 50 years in prison for stealing babies from prisoners during Argentina’s “Dirty War.” The Foreign Minister of Iraq claims that al-Qaeda is flowing into Syria, posing potential threats to the stability of the entire region. An online poll on a state-owned news network in Iran showed a large majority of responses favoring suspension of the uranium enrichment programme...
06.07.12 | |

04 Apr

A part of the Syrian peace plan, brokered at the behest of Kofi Annan, includes the deployment of 250 UN peacekeepers for a ceasefire monitoring mission, scheduled for arrival in Syria in the next 48 hours. Russia accuses the “Friends of Syria” group that met in Istanbul over the weekend of undermining the UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan. After bombs exploded over the weekend, killing 13 in the south of Thailand, police officials fear more attacks based in religious tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in...
04.04.12 | |

05 May

This week on Opinio Juris, Chen Guangcheng’s escape to the US Embassy in Beijing did not go unnoticed. In a first post, Julian Ku discussed how Chen would not get political asylum at the Embassy. Peter Spiro followed up with his thoughts on diplomatic asylum. After Chen’s departure from the US Embassy, Julian asked whether the US or China violated international law. Julian also had a closer look at the content and legal status of the US-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement that Obama went to sign in Afghanistan. Duncan...
05.05.12 | |

24 Dec

Four more nominations for the post of WTO Director-General have been received in the past few days: Herminio Blanco (Mexico), Ahmad Hindawi (Jordan), Amina Mohamed (Kenya) and Tim Groser (New Zealand). Russia’s Foreign Minister has stated that the Syrian government is unlikely to deploy chemical weapons as it would amount to political suicide. An Afghan policewoman has killed a NATO military adviser in Kabul. Islamists in Mali have destroyed more of the historic Timbuktu mausoleums. The US is reportedly considering opening trade talks with the EU on...
24.12.12 | |

17 Nov

This week on Opinio Juris, we finished last week‘s symposium on the Oxford Guide to Treaties, recently edited by our own Duncan Hollis. Peter Spiro discussed Kal Raustiala’s chapter on NGOs and treaty-making, and argued that we should look beyond traditional treaties to understand the full scope of NGO participation in international lawmaking. A final set of posts discussed the increasing public nature of treaties. Geir Ulfstein argued that treaty law alone cannot answer all the important legal questions that arise as a result of treaty bodies exercising...
17.11.12 | |

28 Mar

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly accepted Kofi Annan’s six points peace plan, but the US Ambassador to Syria expressed skepticism that Assad’s words would translate into deeds. Navi Pillay has told the BBC that the Syrian forces are targeting children. UN estimates put the civilian death toll in Syria at over 9000. Iran announces that it will hold nuclear talks with the P5 and Germany on April 13, possibly in Istanbul, although the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and the...
28.03.12 | |

27 Aug

In an effort not to stoke tensions any further, Japan’s central government has declined authorization to the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities to survey the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Japan’s territorial tensions with South Korea hinder their bilateral free trade negotiations. The EU has called on Gambia to halt executions of death row inmates after Amnesty International reported that 9 were executed last Thursday, and all remaining inmates are scheduled to be executed by mid-September. The Taliban has been accused of beheading 17 men and women for having organized a mixed-sex...
27.08.12 | |

25 Dec

Human Rights Watch has accused Palestinian military units in Gaza of violating laws of war by firing rockets into populated areas of Israel. At least five people were killed in two drone strikes in south Yemen in what security and local officials said were attacks on suspected al Qaeda-linked insurgents. An Internet virus attacked computers at industrial sites in southern Iran in an apparent extension of a covert cyber war that initially targeted the country’s nuclear facilities, according to an Iranian official. In the holiday spirit, Foreign...
25.12.12 | |

25 Oct

Japan claims that four new Chinese ships have appeared in the territorial waters related to the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute. The African Union has reinstated Mali to the organization while stating it was planning an intervention against Islamist fighters in the north of the country, a plan that will be ready within weeks. The Syrian government has indicated to Russia that it will accept a ceasefire plan for the holiday of Eid al-Adha. Ecuador fears for the health of Julian Assange and is seeking his safe passage in...
25.10.12 | |

12 Sep

Syrian government forces shelled a rebel stronghold in Damascus today killing four and wounding dozens. Foreign Policy points out that Syria is more violent than Iraq was at its worst. Darfur rebels have killed at least 11 in an attack on a market and a mine in North Darfur. Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels ambushed an army convoy in the Central African Republic, killing one and injuring at least six. The Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, has submitted her three short-listed candidates for the position of...
12.09.12 | |