Anthony Clark Arend

The New York Times reports:
More than six years after openings its doors, the International Criminal Court in The Hague began its first trial Monday, as Thomas Lubanga, a former Congolese warlord, took his seat in the dock, facing a crowded court and public gallery.
Mr. Lubanga, 48, once the leader of a powerful and violent militia, is accused of war …

President Obama is planning to issue an executive order on Guantanamo soon. The ACLU has posted a draft of the order here. Bobby Chesney comments:
I reprint and summarize the key passages below.  Note that the draft order holds the door open to prosecution options other than federal criminal prosecution, and in fact appears to leave the door open to non-criminal …

Jack Balkin posts:
Some of you may have noticed that Marty Lederman has not been blogging recently at Balkinization. The reason is that he has been working on the Department of Justice Transition team. As of today, the commencement of the Obama Administration, he begins work as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel. There he will be …

It was critical that President Obama send the right signal to the rest of the world about a new approach to foreign policy. He did just that in his Inaugural Address:
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter …

Bobby Chesney brings to our attention 6 OLC memos that were posted on the OLC website yesterday:

“PROTECTED PERSON” STATUS IN OCCUPIED IRAQ UNDER THE FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION (March 18, 2004) (added 1/08/09)
STATUS OF TALIBAN FORCES UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE THIRD GENEVA CONVENTION OF 1949 (February 7, 2002) (added 1/08/09)
AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT UNDER DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL …

A very positive series of appointments. The New York Times reports:
President-elect Barack Obama reached back to the Clinton administration again Monday to fill four top Justice Department posts with lawyers whose records signal a sharp break from the legal policies of the last eight years.
Mr. Obama said he would nominate David W. Ogden, a Washington lawyer in private practice, as …

CNN is reporting:
German sailors foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, the German Defense Ministry said.
The German navy frigate Karlsruhe responded to an emergency call from the Wabi Al Arab Thursday morning, sending helicopters to the stricken vessel. When the helicopters arrived, the pirates broke off the attack, the ministry …

The New York Times reports:
In between interviewing cabinet nominees and announcing health care plans, Mr. Obama met Thursday with the leaders of a commission that has proposed revamping the legal process for launching military action, to require more consultation between a president and Congress.
The proposal would scrap the problematic War Powers Act of 1973, a measure passed in …