Teaching International Law

Introduction

Beginning in 2010, legislators in half of the U.S. states proposed—and in two states adopted—a series of bills or state constitutional amendments designed to restrict the use of international law and foreign laws by state (and sometimes federal) courts.  This Insight will summarize the trend in adopting legislation hostile to international law and foreign laws and briefly discuss its causes and consequences.

State Bills and Proposed Constitutional Amendments

I. Introduction

Google’s recent decision to stop censoring its search results in China reflects the challenging position in which providers of information and communication technologies find themselves today. This Insight provides an overview of the debate about Google’s provision of search services in China and describes the framework of corporate social responsibility that applies to Internet providers operating in countries that restrict expression online.

II. Internet Regulation in China

Introduction

Introduction

The past several months have given rise to a number of high-level judicial resignations. While the media has been saturated with commentary regarding the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens from the United States Supreme Court, of equally profound interest to international legal observers is the retirement of two judges from the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands (“the ICJ” or “the Court”) – Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the United States and Judge Shi Jiuyong of China.

Introduction

On December 1, 2009, after a struggle of almost a decade, the Lisbon Treaty, aimed at improving the functioning of the European Union (EU), has entered into force.

The European Odyssey

An Associated Press news release dated October 18, 2005, begins with the headline, "Gonzales Weighs in on International Law." The news release, with the headline, was picked up by several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. The body of the article discussed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' view, expressed in a speech at George Mason University, that the U.S. Supreme Court should not consider foreign law in making its decisions.