The Geneva Convention is generally thought to apply to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank – that portion of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine previously occupied by the Jordan. This is important because the legal argument against settlements is that they violate Art. 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, a provision which did […]
Archive | International Law
Peace Treaties & the War Power
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 27, 2013 5:19 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Federalism, International Law, Treaties
Ilya’s response to Rick, that the Peace Treaty with Britain’s domestically applicable provisions could have been implemented through the foreign commerce power, seems right to me. But there may be another power that would have justified such legislation. Peace is the flip side of war. Thus Congress’s power to decide on war also presumably includes […]
Fourth Circuit Piracy Ruling Won’t Be Revisited
The Supreme Court has denied certiori in a pair of Fourth Circuit piracy cases, which raised questions about the Define and Punish power and how federal courts determine international law when incorporated into a federal statute. I had previously argued that the decisions below were clearly correct.
Pirates on Screen: My First Role
Somali pirates, and the broader contexts of state failure and the maritime economy, are the subject of the new documentary film “Stolen Seas.” It has just had its first U.S. release at Cinema Village in New York. The filmmaker quite adventurously spent significant time with Somali pirates on land and at sea, to good effect. […]
France’s Mali War & International Law
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 18, 2013 4:36 pm in Global Governance/World Government, International Law, National Security, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
France is fighting a rather serious war in Mali. What does international law say about this go-it-alone incursion into a foreign country? Given the controversy over recent interventions with mixed motives, such as the U.S. war in Iraq, it is worth consider the international legal basis for the assault and its conduct. I. Security Council […]
Does Congress have the Power to Enforce Treaties? Part I
By Prof. Rick Pildes (NYU), guest-blogging on January 14, 2013 6:58 am in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, International Law, Treaties
I want to thank Eugene and Nick for graciously inviting me to guest blog here. One of the longstanding conundrums in American constitutional history, theory, and doctrine is how the treaty power relates to Congress’ Art. I enumerated powers. This question is also pending before the Supreme Court in Bond v. United States, in which […]
Treaties, the Law of Nations, and Foreign Commerce
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 13, 2013 3:50 pm in Commerce Clause, Constitutional Law, International Law, Textualism, Treaties, War and Armed Conflict
I’m delighted to see Rick Pildes will be guest-blogging, and the exchange with Nick on the Treaty Power will be a treat. I would invited them to consider an aspect of the question that has long interested me: What is the relationship between the Offenses Power, the Treaty Power, and the Foreign Commerce power? All […]
War & Treaty Powers Applied to al-Shabab Fighters
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 9, 2013 10:29 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, National Security, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Continuing the analysis of possible Art. I authority for applying the Material Support of Terrrorism statute to three Somali nationals fighting on behalf of al-Shabab in Somalia, with no identifiable link to the U.S. – other than being brought here for trial. War Powers The U.S. is not at war with Shabab. They are at […]
Foreign Commerce Authority for Universal Jurisdiction over Terrorists
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 9, 2013 8:00 am in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, International Law, National Security, Necessary and Proper, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
The government is prosecuting three foreigners for the participating in “combat operations” in a foreign civil war. The indictment apparently alleges no connection to America, or even foreign commerce (unlike a similar 2011 case that lacked an apparent connection to the U.S.) The defendants are Somalis who fought in Somalia. In a previous post, I […]
Material Support Statute: A Neutrality Act for Everyone
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 8, 2013 11:01 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, National Security, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
In the next few days, I’ll discuss possible sources of Art. I authority for the the federal prosecution of three foreigners for fighting on the side of al-Shabab in Somalia, and brought forcibly to the U.S. for trial. Previously, I’ve argued that this prosecution cannot be sustained under the Offenses Clause. But first lets put […]
Whose Alleged Settlement is Bigger?
[Cross-posted on OpinioJuris] In response to my post, immediately below, about Turkey’s settlements, at OpinioJuris, Kevin Jon Heller argues that from the perspective of International Criminal Court liability for “indirectly… deporting or transferring” its nationals into occupied territory, Israel would be more vulnerable than Turkey. Although statistics are not easy to come by for Cyprus, […]
Turkey’s Settlements, the ICC, and European Vacation-makers
In a press conference recently, Mahmoud Abbas threatened to use Palestine’s G.A.-recognized “state” status to challenge Israel’s settlements in the International Criminal Court. He picked a most unlikely venue for the presser – Ankara, in a joint conference with the the Turkish president. The absurdity of this is that Turkey continues to occupy northern Cyprus, […]
The ICC and the Territory of Palestine
The General Assembly’s recognition of Palestine as a state (which I’ve discussed previously) is widely regard as having the central upshot of facilitating a case against Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court. Indeed, Prime Minister Abbas has already threatened such action in regard to Israeli settlements – which are said to constitute an unlawful […]
The Offenses Clause & Universal Jurisdiction Over Terrorists
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 2, 2013 2:53 pm in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Global Governance/World Government, International Law, National Security, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict
A few days before Christmas, the U.S. indicted three men at the Federal District courthouse in Brooklyn for plotting suicide bomb attacks. This is an extraordinary, almost unique case: none of the people or conduct has any connection to the U.S. The defendants are foreign nationals, captured by some African government ont their way to […]
Foreign Child Custody Disputes Involving People Coming from Countries That Apply Islamic Family Law
By Eugene Volokh on December 30, 2012 2:36 pm in International Law, Islamic Law in the American Legal System, Parental Rights
From Souratgar v. Fair (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 26, 2012): Petitioner Abdollah Naghash Souratgar, an Iranian citizen, petitions this Court for the return of his son, Shayan, to Singapore. Shayan, who will soon be four years old, was born in Singapore and has Malaysian citizenship. Shayan’s mother, respondent Lee Jen Fair, a Malaysian citizen, left Singapore with […]