International Law Blog Postings

This Saturday, territorial-based approaches to jurisdiction will be challenged and, hopefully, expanded to accommodate multijurisdictional international cases within domestic courts. Through the use of videoconferencing and the state-of-the-art courtroom at the William and Mary School of Law, two courts will concurrently hear and decide on a transborder child abduction case. The two courts represent civil courts in Virginia, the United States, and in Monterrey, Mexico. Judge John J. Specia, Jr. of Texas will preside over the court in Virginia. The intent of the experimental trial will be to enable real-time collaboration between the two courts for the purpose of producing concurrent rulings. Continue Reading

With the mandate of the United Nations Advance Mission to Sudan (UNAMIS) (resolution 1547) expiring today after the second extension this month, the UN Security Council voted unanimously in support of the US introduced resolution calling for 10,000 peacekeepers in Southern Sudan. The vote comes after more than five weeks of stalled debate on a comprehensive resolution, one that would address how to deal with the violence and war crimes of the western Darfur region of the Sudan. To break the stalemate, the US divided its comprehensive draft resolution into three draft resolutions: 1) peacekeepers, 2) sanctions, and 3) a non-ICC, ad hoc tribunal for Darfur war crimes. Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari filed January 10, 2005 by Moussaoui's federal attorney, Frank W. Dunham Jr.. The denial by the Supreme Court means that the ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stands. The appellate court ruled that the government could seek the death penalty and that, due to national security concerns, the defense could not directly question witnesses currently in U.S. custody at the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Continue Reading

Should alleged terrorists be given a fair trial and a reasonable opportunity to confront witnesses and challenge evidence against them? If so, should they be compensated with reduced sentences if the government violates international law in their prosecution and detainment? Attorney Andrew Cohen reported today for CBS News that the U.S. Supreme Court conferred Friday about the fundamental right of all defendants, including that of terrorists, to a fair trial in U.S. courts of law. Continue Reading

More than 90 percent of Burundians said "yes" to the new constitution ! Locally, you would hear "oui" in French and "ego" in Kirundi, the two official languages. Hopefully, many Burundians are also saying "AMAHORO", the word for peace in this worn-torn country currently stricken by drought, famine, and U.N. scandal. The new constitution will become the sixth constitution since independence. Continue Reading