Topic 1
Hall Street Assocs. v. Mattel, Inc.: Supreme Court Denies Enforcement of Agreement to Expand the Grounds for Vacatur Under the Federal Arbitration Act
On March 25, 2008, the United States Supreme Court announced its judgment in Hall Street Assocs. v. Mattel, Inc.,[1] a case involving the exclusivity of the grounds for vacating arbitral awards under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). As explained below, the decision holds that the disputing parties may not agree to expand the grounds for vacatur beyond those listed in 9 U.S.C. § 10.
Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara, and Kanu: First Judgment from the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
I. Introduction
Saadi v Italy: European Court of Human Rights Reasserts the Absolute Prohibition on Refoulement in Terrorism Extradition Cases
On February 28, 2008, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down its judgment in Saadi v Italy.[1] In this case, Italy and the United Kingdom (as third party intervener) claimed that the climate of international terrorism called into question the appropriateness of the ECtHR's existing jurisprudence on states' non-refoulement obligation under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (European Conve
North Korean Links to Building of a Nuclear Reactor in Syria: Implications for International Law
The Bush administration has alleged that North Korea provided assistance to Syria's efforts to build a nuclear reactor, which Israeli warplanes attacked and destroyed on September 6, 2007.[1] The U.S.
Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj et al.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Threshold of Non-International Armed Conflict in International Humanitarian Law
On April 3, 2008, Trial Chamber I (Trial Chamber) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) delivered the judgment in Prosecutor v.
Medellin v. Texas: Supreme Court Holds ICJ Decisions under the Consular Convention Not Binding Federal Law, Rejects Presidential Enforcement of ICJ Judgments over State Proceedings
On March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Medellin v. Texas,[1] a case in which a Mexican national on death row in Texas challenged his conviction on the basis that he was not afforded his right of consular notification under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that the 2004 decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Mexico v.
The WTO Gambling Dispute: Antigua Mulls Retaliation as the U.S. Negotiates Withdrawal of its GATS Commitments
Introduction
The Bali Climate Change Conference
The Bali Roadmap marks a milestone in the process of international consensus building, setting forth a multilateral legal framework to address climate change. Delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali (Dec. 3-15 2007) launched a two-year process with a comprehensive agenda and 2009 deadline to complete negotiations for a post-2012 agreement.