I blogged earlier about Russia’s illegal seizure of a Greenpeace vessel in international waters, and its laughable characterization of their acts as maritime piracy. The ship Arctic Sunrise had been boarded after an attempt to board or come alongside a Russian oil rig for some kind of non-violent protest. Subsequently, Vladimir Putin apparently poured cold […]
Author Archive | Eugene Kontorovich
Russia’s Piracy Charges Against Greenpeace Groundless and Illegal
Russia has seized a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace vessel in international waters, and plans to charge the crew with piracy. The environmentalists had attempted to unfurl a protest banner on a Russian Arctic oil platform. Russian commandos raided the Arctic Dawn and towed it to port. The unusual piracy charges may well be inspired by a Ninth […]
The Biggest Democracy’s Bigger Death Penalty
By Eugene Kontorovich on September 13, 2013 6:42 am in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Criminal Law, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, International Law
India has just sentenced four men to death in the infamous Delhi rape/murder case. India has apparently ended an eight-year moratorium on executions last year, greatly altering the global capital punishment map. At the same time, it also passed a new rape law, which would allow for execution in aggravated cases (not necessarily involving minors) […]
Four Points on Syria
By Eugene Kontorovich on August 30, 2013 5:44 am in International Law, National Security, War and Armed Conflict
1. “Internal” Separation of Powers. Forget whether President Obama went through Congress, or the Security Council, or even our NATO friends. The real question is if the Administration wants to prevent atrocities in Syria, why turn to the Navy? Isn’t this the job of the Atrocities Prevention Board? 2. More Evidence of Evolution. Barack Obama […]
Discussing Peace Process on TV
Tonight, Shalom TV will be airing an encore of an interview with me about settlements, international law, and the peace process, 9 pm and 12 am ET. You can stream it live or watch on the following television providers: Optimum CH 138; RCN CH 269 (CH 335 in Lehigh Valley); Hotwire CH 269; MetroCast (Maine […]
On Radio Tonight
I will be on the John Batchelor Show on WABC in New York City (770AM) tonight at 10:15EST, discussing Israeli settlements, European policy, and related diplomatic developments. Streaming and podcast available online.
The EU’s Israeli Settlement Guidelines and International Law
At The Times of Israel, I have a piece about the new European Union guidelines about funding to Israel, which provide that certain EU monies will not go to Israeli entities beyond the 1949 armistice lines, or that conduct activities there. In particular, I explain that while the guidelines cloak themselves with the mantle of […]
The Jerusalem Passport Case – Separation of Powers and Standing
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 23, 2013 12:31 pm in Constitutional Law, Israel, Separation of Powers, Standing
The D.C. Circuit has held the Jerusalem passport law unconstitutional for impermissibly intruding into the Executive’s foreign relations powers. The law requiring the State Department to record “Israel” as the country of birth for those born in Jerusalem. The D.C. Circuit, through extensive and lucid analysis, concluded that recognition was an exclusively executive function, on […]
Koppelman’s Two Gun Minimum
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 10, 2013 10:40 pm in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Criminal Law, Guns, Seventh Circuit
At Balkinization, Andy Koppelman has witty – and wise – rejoinder to the discussion Nick and I have had here about the plural of “Arms“: If this strict textualism is to be followed, there is an interesting implication: perhaps there is only a right to bear “arms” – plural – but not to bear a […]
Multiple Location Search Warrants and Plural Nouns in the Constitution
The Fourth Amendment protects people in their “houses, papers, and effects” – all plural, and understood to extend to an indefinite number of such belongings. That is, the right is coextensive with however many things a person happens to have. However, there is an interesting difference in the language of the warrant clause: a warrant […]
Response to Prof. Rosenkranz: ArmS & the Man – or Arms & the People
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 9, 2013 2:33 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Fourth Amendment, Guns, Originalism, Right to carry, Self-Defense
Nick takes issue with my suggestion that the Second Amendment on its face bars laws restricting people to one gun, such as that currently proposed by Gov. Quinn in Illinois. My (first) argument is not an originalist or purposivist one, but rather a purely textual one. The primary meaning of “arms” is plural. Nick argues […]
“A Good Musket” and Bearing Arms
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 8, 2013 11:37 am in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Theory, Guns, Militia, Originalism, Right to carry
I’ve been discussing whether the right to bear arms is infringed by laws limiting people to bearing only one “arm”, as a proposal by Illinois Gov. Quinn seeks to do. Perhaps the best evidence for a singular reading of “arms” is the Second Militia Act of 1792, section 1, which provides, in part, that a […]
Is the Right to Bear Arms Plural?
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 8, 2013 10:04 am in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law, Guns, Militia, Originalism, Right to carry, Seventh Circuit, Uncategorized
Tomorrow, Illinois’ concealed carry laws will become ineffective, having been held unconstitutional by the Seventh Circuit several months ago. The Court kept the unconstitutional law on life support for a few months to give the legislature time to craft a replacement measure. Springfield responded, but now that bill has been vetoed by Governor Quinn. If […]
You Read it Here First
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page picks up the possible relation between the New York Times’ blatant call for IRS harassment of right-wing Jewish groups for their political views and the ensuing IRS harassement of rights-wing Jewish groups for their political views. You read it here first…
Human Rights Watch Director Privately Slurs Israel
By Eugene Kontorovich on May 22, 2013 4:30 pm in International Human Rights Law, International Law, Israel, War on Terror
The credibility of NGOs like Human Rights Watch depends on their being above and apart from the conflicts they monitor – to not take sides. Human Rights Watch has been criticized by many, including its founder, for giving up all objectivity an adopting an anti-Israel campaign. Their grudge against Israel has been clear for a […]