Co-published by Oxford University Press and the International Law Institute, and prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State, the Digest of United States Practice in International Law presents an annual compilation of documents and commentary highlighting significant developments in public and private international law, and is an invaluable resource for practitioners and scholars in the field. Each edition compiles excerpts from documents such as treaties, diplomatic notes and correspondence, legal opinion letters, judicial decisions, Senate committee reports and press releases. Each document is selected by members of the Legal Adviser's Office of the U.S. Department of State, based on their judgments about the significance of the issues, their potential relevance to future situations, and their likely interest to scholars and practitioners. In almost every case, the commentary to each excerpt is accompanied by a citation to the full text. Featured in the 2009 Digest are excerpts from and discussion of numerous documents relating to issues of current interest, including the following: * Final Rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services eliminating ban on people with HIV from entering the United States, 74 Fed. Reg. 56,547 (Nov. 2, 2009) (Chapter 1, Nationality, Citizenship, and Immigration) * U.S. federal court decisions involving First Amendment challenges to district court decisions upholding denials of visas to individuals accused of having contributed funds to terrorist organizations (e.g., the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court's decision upholding the denial of a visa to Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan (American Academy v. Napolitano, 573 F.3d 115 (2d Cir. 2009)) (Chapter 1, Nationality, Citizenship, and Immigration) * U.S. motion to dismiss petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by a Mexican national who claimed that he would be tortured if extradited to Mexico to face homicide charges (Saldana v. United States, No. 2:09-cv-02786-JPM-cgc (W.D. Tenn. 2009)) (Chapter 3, International Criminal Law) * Eleventh Circuit affirmation of district court's 2008 decision denying writ of habeas corpus to former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to prevent his extradition to France (Noriega v. Pastrana, 564 F.3d 1290 (11th Cir. 2009)) (Chapter 3, International Criminal Law) * U.S. grant of two petitions for certiorari in a case challenging constitutionality of the provisions of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, that make it a criminal offense for any person within the United States or subject to U.S. jurisdiction "knowingly" to provide "material support or resources" to a designated foreign terrorist organization ("FTO") (Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S. Ct. 534 (2009); Humanitarian Law Project v. Holder, 130 S. Ct. 534 (2009)) (Chapter 3, International Criminal Law) * Statement of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton about the "Human Rights Agenda for the 21st Century" (Georgetown University, December 14, 2009) (Chapter 6, Human Rights) * U.S. statements to the UN Human Rights Council relating to the Gaza conflict and the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the "Goldstone Report") (Chapter 6, Human Rights) * Statement of President Barack H. Obama and memorandum to the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development on the rescission of the "Mexico City Policy," which had directed USAID to withhold USAID funds from any nongovernmental organization using non-USAID funds to engage in activities relating to abortion (Chapter 6, Human Rights) * Letter of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Senator Jeanne Shaheen outlining U.S. initiatives to end the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict zones, particularly in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accompanied by the proposed "Strategic Plan for Combating Violence Against Women in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)," and Statement of Secretary of State Clinton to the UN Security Council regarding U.S.-led Resolution concerning sexual violence in situations of armed conflict (Chapter 6, Human Rights) * Statement of Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett on the views of the U.S. towards the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (signed by the U.S. on July 30, 2009) (Chapter 6, Human Rights) * Statement of Harold Hongju Koh, Department of State Legal Adviser, to the International Court of Justice, discussing whether the "unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo [is] in accordance with international law" (Chapter 9, Diplomatic Relations, Succession, and Continuity of States) * U.S. federal court decisions relating to actions brought under sovereign states under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, including actions against the Holy See, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Chapter 10, Foreign Sovereign Immunity) * Diplomatic note indicating change in policy of the Department of State to extend the "definition of 'family' forming part of the household of a diplomatic agent [to] include same-sex domestic partners ('domestic partners') for purposes of the application of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in the United States" (74 Fed. Reg. 36,112 (July 22, 2009)) (Chapter 10, Foreign Sovereign Immunity) * The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2009 Special 301 Report to identify those foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons that rely upon intellectual property protection (Chapter 11, Trade, Commercial Relations, Investment, and Transportation) * Statement of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia ("CGPCS"), hosted by the United States at UN Headquarters in New York (Chapter 12, Territorial Regimes and Related Issues) * President Barack H. Obama's December 18, 2009, press briefing relating to the "Copenhagen Accord," reached by the major world economies at the Fifteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Chapter 13, Environment and Other Transnational Scientific Issues) * Testimony of Keith Loken, Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law, Department of State, in support of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (which was signed by the United States but awaits Senate approval) (Chapter 15, Private International Law) * Various documents relating to the U.S. position on the imposition or retention of sanctions against or the curtailment of assistance to countries including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Burma, Madagascar, and Honduras (Chapter 16, Sanctions) * Memorandum of President Barack H. Obama to the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce instructing them to take certain actions to implement a new policy to promote democracy and human rights in Cuba, including "facilitating greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba and increasing the flow of remittances and information to the Cuban people" (Chapter 16, Sanctions) * U.S. positions on the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resolution of the North-South conflict in Sudan, as well as U.S. positions on peacekeeping in Georgia, Kosovo, Lebanon, and Somalia (Chapter 17, International Conflict Resolution and Avoidance) * Excerpts from Executive Order 13491, "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations," 74 Fed. Reg. 4893 (Jan. 27, 2009), which was intended "to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence-gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States custody and of United States personnel who are detained in armed conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty obligations of the United States, including the Geneva Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed" (Chapter 18, Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation) * Excerpts from Executive Order 13492, "Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained At the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities," 74 Fed. Reg. 4897 (Jan. 27, 2009) (Chapter 18, Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation) * Other U.S. positions relating to treatment of detainees upon release, as well as U.S. federal court decisions relating to habeas litigation involving current detainees held at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan and civil suits involving former Guantanamo detainees (Chapter 18, Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation)

Co-published by Oxford University Press and the International Law Institute, and prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State, the Digest of United States Practice in International Law presents an annual compilation of documents and commentary highlighting significant developments in public and private international law, and is an invaluable resource for practitioners and scholars in the field. Each edition compiles excerpts from documents such as treaties, diplomatic notes and correspondence, legal opinion letters, judicial decisions, Senate committee reports and press releases. Each document is selected by members of the Legal Adviser's Office of the U.S. Department of State, based on their judgments about the significance of the issues, their potential relevance to future situations, and their likely interest to scholars and practitioners. In almost every case, the commentary to each excerpt is accompanied by a citation to the full text. The 2010 edition of the Digest covers various developments that occurred during the course of the year, including issues relating to the active engagement of the U.S. with the International Criminal Court and the first full year of U.S. participation as a member of the Human Rights Council. Also discussed is U.S. involvement with notable treaties (including the New START Treaty and the Hague Convention on International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, to both of which the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification during 2010). Other subjects covered include U.S. activities at the United Nations and important judicial decisions from 2010.

Co-published by Oxford University Press and the International Law Institute, and prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State, the Digest of United States Practice in International Law presents an annual compilation of documents and commentary highlighting significant developments in public and private international law, and is an invaluable resource for practitioners and scholars in the field. Each year's volume compiles excerpts from documents such as treaties, diplomatic notes and correspondence, legal opinion letters, judicial decisions, Senate committee reports and press releases. Each document is selected by members of the Legal Adviser's Office of the U.S. Department of State, based on their judgments about the significance of the issues, their potential relevance to future situations, and their likely interest to scholars and practitioners. In almost every case, the commentary to each excerpt is accompanied by a citation to the full text. Featured in the 2008 Digest are excerpts from and discussion of numerous documents relating to issues of current interest, including the following: * Department of Justice position on trial and conviction within the U.S. of the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, for torture (Chapter 3, "International Criminal Law"). * The U.S.-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement, including the Libyan Claims Resolution Act (enacted August 4, 2008) (Chapter 8, "International Claims and State Responsibility"). * Recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state and establishment of diplomatic relations with Kosovo (Chapter 9, "Diplomatic Relations, Succession, and Continuity of States"). * Decisions in arbitration regarding the softwood lumber dispute with Canada (Chapter 11, "Trade, Commercial Relations, Investment, and Transportation"). * Statements and speeches of U.S. officials on climate change made at international climate change conferences (Chapter 13, "Environment and Other Transnational Scientific Issues"). * Executive Orders imposing sanctions on Burma, Syria, and Zimbabwe (Chapter 16, "Sanctions"). * U.S. positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as peace efforts in Lebanon, Somalia, and Sudan (Chapter 17, "International Conflict Resolution and Avoidance"). * U.S. statements on the Russia-Georgia conflict and other instances of international armed conflict (Chapter 18, "Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation"). * U.S. positions on discussions of a possible Protocol to the Convention on Conventional Weapons relating to cluster munitions, and U.S. opposition to a separate Convention on Cluster Munitions (Chapter 18, "Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation"). * U.S. federal court decisions on current and former Guantanamo detainees (Boumediene v. Bush, Parhat v. Gates, Gates v. Bismullah, Rasul v. Myers, and In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation (pertaining to enemy combatant status of Uighur detainees)), military commissions (United States v. Hamdan), detainees held in the United States (Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli), and detainees held by the Multinational Force in Iraq (Munaf v. Geren) (Chapter 18, "Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation"). * UN Security Council Resolution and U.S. position on piracy in Somalia (Chapter 18, "Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation"). * U.S. positions on nuclear nonproliferation-related issues, including issues relating to North Korea, Iran, Syria, Russia, and India (Chapter 18, "Use of Force, Arms Control and Disarmament, and Nonproliferation").

Investment protection treaties generally include, in one form or another, the obligation to treat investments fairly and equitably. This book examines the relationship between this obligation and the minimum standard that can be found in customary international law, tracing the history of both concepts, their differences and similarities.

The 4th edition of Excessive Maritime Claims updates material on state practice of the law of the sea since publication of the 3rd edition in 2012 and adds new material on islands and other maritime features.

This monograph examines and analyses the phenomenon of non-binding instruments (also known as 'soft law') in the law of armed conflict, or international humanitarian law. In the past 30 years, there have been several non-binding instruments created, designed as either 'best practice' guidelines, or (re)statements of applicable law. These instruments are not treaties, but they nevertheless put themselves forward as authoritative statements of what the law is and, in some instances, what the law should be. Soft law instruments can be dynamic, prompt, and responsive measures to address pressing issues in armed conflicts. By drawing on the skill of a small group of experts, these instruments can be debated and drafted in a timelier manner than if these issues were to be left to the international community of 194 States to resolve. Furthermore, because these instruments do not have to be sent for debate to an international conference of States, it means that the provisions are not subject to the usual revisions, reservations, and dilutions that come with attempting to reach consensus. However, there are potential and actual problems with these instruments and the processes that bring them to fruition, and how they are received in practice by States and other stakeholders. This volume looks at the benefits and drawbacks for States and non-State actors with regards to soft law, whether they are effective additions to the law of armed conflict, analysing the development through the lens of theories of legitimacy and legality in international law.

How military commanders interpret the rules of targeting impacts not only on whether civilians and civilian objects are harmed in the course of a military operation, but also on the scale of harm that ensues. Commentators have queried whether military commanders observed the law even when parties to a conflict acted in accordance with mandates to protect civilians, as was the case when a coalition of states bombed targets in Libya in 2011. However, limited guidance is publicly available on how military commanders apply these rules on the battlefield. In order to allow military commanders to exercise judgment in determining what steps they are required to take to spare civilians in a specific set of circumstances, the rules of targeting are formulated in an open-ended fashion, which complicates one’s ability to evaluate whether a particular military operation complies with the law. By examining case studies ranging from Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to Operation Protective Edge in 2014, this book addresses lacunae in current scholarship. It puts forward principles which capture how military commanders deliberate while interpreting what the rules of targeting require in particular scenarios. International humanitarian law, this book contends, places a duty on attackers to assume risk in order to mitigate danger to civilians. Drawing on the field of psychology, this study provides an explanation of how military commanders assess when circumstances do not permit them to inform civilians about a forthcoming attack.

Though it has been home for centuries to indigenous peoples who have mastered its conditions, the Arctic has historically proven to be a difficult region for governments to administer. Extreme temperatures, vast distances, and widely dispersed patterns of settlement have made it impossible for bureaucracies based in far-off capitals to erect and maintain the kind of infrastructure and institutions that they have built elsewhere. As climate change transforms the polar regions, this book seeks to explore how the challenges of governance are developing and being met in Alaska, the Canadian Far North, and Greenland, while also drawing upon lessons from the region's past. Though the experience of each of these jurisdictions is unique, their place within democratic, federal systems and the prominence within each of them of issues relating to the rights of indigenous peoples situates them as part of an identifiably 'North American Arctic.' Today, as this volume shows, their institutions are evolving to address contemporary issues of security, environmental protection, indigenous rights, and economic development.

This book explores the institution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a policy instrument. It argues that after the Cold War the European Union started challenging the unilateral policies of the United States by promoting new norms and institutions, such as the ICC. This development flies in the face of traditional explanations for cooperation, which would theorize institutionalization as the result of hegemonic preponderance, rational calculations or common identities. The book explains the dynamics behind the emergence of the ICC with a novel theoretical concept of normative binding. Normative binding is a strategy that provides middle powers with the means to tie down the unilateral policies of powerful actors that prefer not to cooperate. The idea is to promote new multilateral norms and deposit them in institutions, which have the potential to become binding even on unilateralist actors, if the majority of states adhere to them.