While Trump speaks at the UN, it's worth flagging how he approaches U.S. treaty-making like a medieval monarch. @gregfox.bsky.social & I've got a new @foreignpolicy.com op-ed up on this phenomenon, and the need for Congress to do more.

#Ukraine announced its intention to cease performing “irrelevant obligations” of the #OttawaConvention. @duncanhollis.bsky.social analyzes Ukraine’s decision as it has not publicly qualified its withdrawal as a denunciation. lieber.westpoint.edu/ukraine-futu...

With thanks to @articlesofwar.bsky.social, I've posted some thoughts today on what happens now that Ukraine (among others) is walking back its Ottawa Convention commitments re landmines.

So pleased after 3+ years of work to see this in print ... Whether you like originalism or not, I've tried to offer insights on why the Constitution uses terms like treaties & compacts (to say nothing of Benedict Arnold's 'sponsion' or Gen. Washington's 'executive' agreement with Lord Cornwallis)

‘’LLMs are going to be a part of the future of int'l lawyering whether we want them to or not.’’ Join us on 17 June when @duncanhollis.bsky.social will be speaking about his recent paper (w/Ashley Deeks) looking at the potential of LLMs on int'l law. acil.uva.nl/content/even...

I've got an op-ed out @foreignpolicy.com today that flags the one big international law problem no one seems focused on in the push for a Ukrainian-Russia peace deal. Check it out (should be accessible unless you've used up your monthly free reads at FP).

Martha Finnemore and I have a new co-authored piece up on SSRN about how calls for protecting the public core of the internet (whether as a matter of law or norms) require more definitional work on what the term "public" means. For those interested in digital governance, check it out!

A non-international law/proud Dad post - my youngest's band has just dropped their first EP - for those looking for a Friday afternoon garage-rock "break" - check it out!

Together with UVA's Ashley Deeks, I've got a new paper up on SSRN - we tested out a couple of use cases for int'l lawyers using LLMs (and identify a few others).

Together with UVA's Ashley Deeks, I've got a new paper up on SSRN - we tested out a couple of use cases for int'l lawyers using LLMs (and identify a few others).

Amidst all the (entirely justifiable angst) over the potential acts of aggression/war crimes a US occupation of Gaza would entail, it's worth remembering that int'l law also prohibits threats to use force unlawfully. In other words, the very speech is a violation ...

Last Spring, @templelaw.bsky.social was honored to host Rich Visek giving the 1st official State Dept. "L" views on int'l law & cyberspace since Brian Egan in 2018 (which followed Harold Hongju Koh's pathbreaking 2012 remarks). See the link below for Temple Law Review's publication of his remarks!

Greg Fox offers a great overview of legal issues in any Ukraine-Russia peace agreement. I kept reading thinking “But what about…” and he anticipated all my questions. Bottom line - Fox explains how a UNSC Ch VII Res might try to override everything even the obvious coercion and jus cogens problems

The 2023 Digest of US Practice in Int'l Law is now available

Marko and Mike are always worth reading ... Meanwhile, I'm having deja vu to the days of "preemptive self-defense" arguments ... wonder when/if we'll see this idea back in the foreground

I take a day off to not think about international law & watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and then this happens …

Usually in late-stage treaty negotiations, states decide they’d like to hear less from other stakeholders & move negotiations to ‘informal informal’ meetings. Wonder if that’ll be true here too?

EU releases common position on the application of IL to cyber - pretty consistent w/ EU member state positions, including (a) sov'ty & (b) due dilligence are discrete rules of IL in cyber contexts. Interestingly though, suggests existing IL is "fit for purposes" to the digital environment?

Building on its success with the UN cybercrime convention, it sure looks like Russia is building a coalition for a cybersecurity treaty and/or reviving the idea of assigning internet governance to the ITU ... instead of ignoring this possibility, perhaps Western states need a counter-narrative?

I’m torn - I was ready to give up on social media for a while but then it seems we’ve had a total bluesky vibe shift? Sustainable? We’ll see …

With thanks to VJIL Online, I'm pleased to have a new (& short!) paper on how int'l lawyers must do more to engage w/the concept of agreement as a precursor to new efforts to identify & differentiate treaties & political commitments - check it out on SSRN:

Pleased to moderate a UN OEWG side-event next Tues, March 5, 8:30-9:30am EST re the Int'l Law Multistakeholder Compendium compiled last fall by Mexico’s SRE, iLIT & Microsoft. Come join me & @TRodenhaeuser @HarrietMoyniha9 @MSMHelal to discuss where intl law goes next by registering here:

#Lawsky - US Dept of State has published its 2022 Intl Law Digest. Check it out at the link.

A reminder there's still time to register! Come for recommendations on nat'l statements, multistakeholder participation, & civilian data in armed conflicts. Stay for panel + Q&A including Singapore's Sithuraj Ponraj, Chatham House's Talita Dias, OAS's Kerry-Ann (Mason) Barrett & Sheetal Kumar

So pleased to have worked on behalf of TempleiLIT w/ Microsoft & Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a 3-part multistakeholder compendium project on the applicability of int law to cyberspace. The launch event for the compendium is Dec 11th at 1:30 pm EST. Interested? Sign up at the link below!

Thoroughly enjoyed being on organizing committee for this year's upcoming ASIL Mid-Year Meeting in Pittsburgh, Nov. 9-11. Full schedule is now up & registration is free for ASIL Partner School students. Looking forward to seeing lots of people there!

How important is bridging the digital divide to having a normative framework for cyberspace? Together with Microsoft, Mexico's Foreign Ministry & iLIT, I'm pleased to be co-organizing a workshop around that very question. Won't you join us this Wed., 10-11 am EST, to add your voice? Register below:

I’m at a loss w/ JoAnne Epps’ passing. She took me under her wing when she didn’t have to; she modeled for me what caring & commitment could do to make work a calling w/grace & a smile. I’m remembering that smile now & hoping it can lift up all those she touched on this otherwise awful day

36 states have now offered official positions on how int'l law applies to cyberspace. Together w/Chris Carpenter, I write about the latest as Costa Rica's upping the game & going broad in its views on sovereignty, cyber-espionage & human rights online #LawSky

Proud to say that Temple's iLIT will work w/Mexico's SRE and Microsoft on a multistakeholder compendium re int'l law's applicability to cyberspace. Our 3-part series kicks off Sept 6 w/a discussion of successes & challenges. Interested? Please register via the link

The trump indictment https://t.co/dF9Yy5sWT1

For years I’ve watched baristas struggle with the name ‘Duncan’ (and to be clear I blame Dunkin Donuts for cornering the market w/an alternate spelling). But today wins for most unique alternative:

Wonder how often this will be invoked when there's a chance a breach is state sponsored: "This disclosure, however, may be delayed by an additional period of up to 60 days should it be determined that giving out such specifics "would pose a substantial risk to national security or public safety."

Point here re past NK non-compliance on peace front tracks so many other int'l commitments. Begs the ? of how to deal w/a state that's lost all credibility vis-a-vis pacta sunt servanda? https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/27/north-south-korea-peace-war-treaty-armistice-united-states/

So pleased to see Costa Rica's national statement on int'l law's application to cyberspace, including its references to the Oxford Process (among others). As I'll elaborate in a forthcoming article, these statements offer real promise as a source of int'l law when considered collectively! #LawSky

Int'l lawyers have spent lots of time asking what coercion in cyberspace looks like - is it about dictatorial demands and/or about depriving victims of autonomy/control. Marko Milanovic has a forthcoming deep dive into this topic where he works through both strands - always worth a read.

And Mexico makes it into a treaty issue …. although looking at the 1944 Treaty I’m not sure what provision they’d base their claim on - Art 4(A)? Or, is the Claim that TX/US need prior Commission approval under Art 9?

This is truly jaw-dropping. Absolutely no one's doubting her credentials. A young Black woman already doing the job of acting National Cyber Director can't get formally Senate confirmed in that role because she has debt?

Treaty fragmentation is alive and well:

My latest in the New York Times on the Missouri-Louisiana decision and the the terrible new political and judicial tactics that are shaping our national and global online speech policy. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/opinion/federal-judge-biden-social-media.html

I co-direct Temple's Institute for Law, Innovation and Technology (iLIT) and we're looking to hire a post-doc who can lend expertise re safe & effective collection/sharing of data on use & impact of migration control technologies along the US/Mexico border. Interested? Please apply to join us!

Cat needed medicine; we got medicine w/ link to instruction video on how to apply. It is …. Hysterical. I don’t know if it’s the actress or the producer who’s overqualified, but these are Super Bowl-worthy production values (my personal favorite line: ‘Revolution is just a fancy word for twist’).

Kudos to the reporting in this article ... I usually read articles about treaties and/or customary int'l law with trepidation ... Although I'd still quibble about the obligation treaty signatories assume, this story captures the nuance too often lost in communicating int'l law to the public.

The tricky thing with exiting the ECT is Art 47(3) which says investment obligations continue for 20 years post withdrawal - would likely need parties unanimous consent to end sooner and even that would be controversial if intra-EU BIT terminations are any guide.

IBWC w/re Tx deploying buoys in Rio Grande: “We are studying what Texas is publicly proposing to determine whether and how this impacts our mission to carry out treaties between the US & Mexico regarding border delineation, flood control, and water.” Will Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo prove supreme?

Who wants to work in the German Alps? The George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is soliciting applications for Dean of the College of International and Security Studies: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/735311400

Ireland has put out its position paper on int'l law's application to cyberspace (tl/dr - another vote for sovereignty-as-rule): https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/ourrolepolicies/internationallaw/Ireland---National-Position-Paper.pdf

A question - when quoting 18th century sources, I just turn the long ‘s’ (which looks like today’s ‘f’) into a plain s, right? Or do I get to have quotes like, ‘treaties can only be executed by fuperior powers, by fovereigns who contract in the name of the ftate’?

Made the leap & happy to see so many familiar faces here (academic ones at least) ... Looking forward to being able to see @hoffprof.bsky.social jokes again