Israel, Counter-Terrorism, and International Law: The Analytic Challenges of 'System'
“The existence of `system’ in the world is obvious to every observer of nature, no matter whom.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man (1959) Whether conspicuous or obscure, terrorism generally presents itself as a systemic challenge. This means, inter alia, that seemingly singular strategic and legal matters may actually be many-sided and interrelated. Regarding legal issues, though [...]
UN tribunal declares Rwanda genocide suspect unfit to stand trial
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), a United Nations (UN) tribunal, declared Wednesday that Félicien Kabuga, one of the last fugitives of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, is unfit to stand trial due to dementia. IRMCT considered the opinion of medical experts, who said that the “consequences of dementia deprive Mr. Kabuga of the [...]
Natural Law and the United States Constitution: Still Vital Connections
Abstract: Ideas of Natural Law were crucial in drafting the US Constitution. These seminal ideas were made known to document “framers” largely by way of William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. The Commentaries represent the truest philosophic origins of America’s legal system. In these dissembling times of recurrent political manipulation, Blackstone’s work warrants [...]
Law and Strategy after Afghanistan: The United States, Israel and Iran
Abstract: Following US withdrawal from Afghanistan, America’s security focus will turn more expressly to Iran. The core problem with America’s Afghanistan withdrawal was not one of timing or tactics, but of original misconception. In essence, the “Afghanistan Problem” stemmed from an initially underestimated and misunderstood military operation. Looking ahead, Afghanistan’s incoherent conclusion means, inter alia, [...]
Why India Needs A Better Public Participation Framework For Environmental Governance
On 22nd April 2022, Earth Day, the Escazu Agreement enters into operation, marking a significant moment for transparent and participatory decision-making in environmental governance. The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018 (Escazu Agreement) was adopted in 2018 to “promote environmental democracy, [...]
The filibuster debate has focused on whether the rule facilitates or stifles negotiation and compromise. Of course, the rule – that 60 votes are required to end debate – doesn’t do either. It’s the norms that those subject to the rule adopt that matter. When I was younger, it seemed, Congress adhered to a norm [...]
When considering the comments in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with the perspective of thirteen years since their landfall, I’ll paraphrase Mark Twain’s comment about an erroneously pre-mature 1897 obituary: “the reports of death are greatly exaggerated.” The perspective of time and the restoration of many services to the Hurricane Katrina and Rita-stricken Gulf Coast reveal that matters [...]
Thousands of people in Belarus on Wednesday gathered to protest a labor law that fines people if they do not work enough days during the year. President Alexander Lukashenko enacted Ordinance No. 3 ...
US judge sentences Rwandan who lied about participation in genocide
A judge for US District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on Thursday sentenced a man who lied about his participation in the Rwandan genocide to 15 years imprisonment followed by deportation. Gervais Ngombwa ...
A Swedish court of appeals on Wednesday upheld the life sentence of a man convicted of genocide during the 1994 Rwanda genocide . The Svea Court of Appeal in...
