I previously wrote of the manifestly false claims made by world leaders, and parroted as fact by the New York Times, that Israel’s permitting Jewish civilians to live in the area of Maaleh Admumim closest to Jerusalem cuts a potential Palestinian state in half. Some commentators went to far as to suggest I apologize to […]
Archive | International Law
Bleg on U.N. extreme interpretations of treaties, and of extreme interpretations of Americans with Disabilities Act
Earlier this week, the Senate rejected the proposed U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Among the reasons for the rejection was fear that, even if the Convention’s language itself was acceptable, the future interpretation of the Convention would be in the hands of a U.N. bureaucracy, which might invent novel or excessive […]
What the UN Palestine Vote Means and What It Doesn’t
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 29, 2012 8:26 pm in International Law, Israel, Treaties, Uncategorized
1) It should be no surprise that 130-odd countries took the rather technical step of of voting recognize Palestine as a “non-member” in the U.N. General Assembly. That is roughly the number of countries that already directly recognize Palestine as a state! If they have already actually recognized the state themselves, voting to extend such […]
Israel’s Borders and International Law
This is a talk I gave this summer to a group of Jewish college students, which in broad strokes outlines the international law reasons the West Bank cannot be considered “Palestinian territory,” independent of the political or equitable merits of creating a Palestinian state there. Please watch the whole thing before commenting. Hopefully I say […]
Homage to Catalonia
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 26, 2012 12:50 am in Constitutional Law, International Law, Israel, Politics, Secession, Uncategorized
Voters in the Spanish province of Catalonia yesterday gave a large majority to pro-independence parties, who now command 2/3 of the seats in the regional parliament. The practical impact may be attenuated, because the secessionist movement is weakened by being spread across four parties: separatists can’t unite. Madrid vows to resist any split. Spain apparently […]
National Security Law in the News
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 25, 2012 11:51 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, Executive Branch, International Law, Military, National Security, Press, Targeted Killing
National Security Law in the News: A Guide for Journalists, Scholars, and Policymakers is a new book published by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Despite the title, the book should be of interest to a general audience, as it offers a concise, broad plain-language overview […]
Secession, Family Law, and Political Science
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 23, 2012 11:53 am in Constitutional Theory, International Law, Uncategorized
Discussions of secession in the U.S. are weighed down with the baggage of the Civil War. This legacy may not just burden American’s view of secession as a domestic issue, but also the general concept. The U.S. has opposed secessionist tendencies abroad, even when they were obviously salutary, such as the break-up of the USSR […]
Prisoner Offshoring, or Gaolbalization
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 19, 2012 8:25 am in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Eighth Amendment, Global Governance/World Government, International Human Rights Law, International Law, Uncategorized
Belgium and the Netherlands have an interesting arrangement, an example of economics and incentives working clearly in the public law field. Belgium has more convicts than it can accomodate in its prisons. Neighboring Netherlands has the opposite problem: not enough prisoners. Several years ago, it was facing having to shutter some facilities. But then the […]
First item of new post-election “flexibility”: U.N. gun control
As reported by the Second Amendment Foundation, this morning the Obama administration joined a U.N. majority which called for convening a new conference to create a global Arms Trade Treaty.
Eleventh Circuit Holds Federal International Drug Trafficking Statute (Applied to Conduct Abroad) Exceeds the Power of Congress
From today’s United States v. Bellaizac-Hurtado (11th Cir. Nov. 6, 2012): This appeal presents a novel issue about the scope of congressional power to proscribe conduct abroad: whether the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 70503(a), 70506, exceeds the power of Congress to “define and punish … Offences against the Law of Nations,” […]
Federalism, Bond v. United States, and the Treaty Power
When we last we heard of the case of Bond v. United States, the Supreme Court had ruled that a criminal defendant can challenge the constitutionality of a federal statute she was charged with violating on the grounds that it exceeds the scope of congressional power under the Constitution. In a rare unanimous decision on […]
Arms Trade Treaty conference ends without agreement
By David Kopel on July 27, 2012 5:47 pm in Genocide, Global Governance/World Government, Guns, International Human Rights Law, International Law
The weeks-long conference at the United Nations to produce an Arms Trade Treaty is ending without the creation of a treaty. None of the draft treaties which have circulated in the past several days came remotely close to finding consensus support. The impossibility of achieving consensus involved a wide variety of issues and nations, far […]
Evolving International Law and Defining Offenses
By Eugene Kontorovich on May 24, 2012 11:58 am in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, International Law
The Fourth Circuit’s noteworthy decision in U.S. v. Dire is probably the first court of appeals decision in a piracy prosecution in nearly 200 years. The Fourth Circuit decision is important not only for some novel pending piracy cases, but for the Alien Tort Statute and broader questions about the interplay of U.S. and international […]
The Cross-Cutting Politics of the ATS and Universal Jurisdiction
By Eugene Kontorovich on April 6, 2012 11:45 am in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, International Human Rights Law, International Law
In discussions of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell and the Alien Tort Statute, many commentators suggested if the Supreme Court limits corporate liability or extraterritoriality under the ATS, it would eviscerate the statute, and be bad for human rights. More generally, limiting the ATS is thought to serve broadly conservative interests. These points are only […]
Can Congress Mandate the Japanese to Buy Detroit Cars? – The Commerce Clause and Foreign Commerce
By Eugene Kontorovich on April 4, 2012 3:09 pm in Alien Tort Statute, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, International Human Rights Law, International Law, Supreme Court
One aspect of the ACA litigation that has not received due attention is the effect of the Court’s ruling on the scope Foreign Commerce Clause. An expansive, limitless definition of the scope of “Commerce” would presumably apply to Foreign Commerce as well. If there is no limiting principle for the former, it would be hard […]