Search

Among the many important and trenchant debates that take place in the U.S. Supreme Court, there occasionally emerges a debate that at first glance could be described as silly for grown professionals. Justice Scalia could be seen as contending that the Court must turn a blind eye to what other nations think about an issue of law, even if there is a consensus among the international community on the issue. In truth, however, his approach is part of a more subtle and broader debate, primarily regarding the degree to which constitutional interpretation should take account of changing societal norms.

In international law there are two long-recognized conflicts: one between self-determination and non-intervention, and the other between self-defense and non-intervention. In Sect. I, Wayne McCormack examines the first conflict in the context of informational warfare, concluding that supplying information (or misinformation) in a foreign conflict with the objective of altering the course of the conflict is within the acknowledged sovereignty rights of a state and does not violate the non-interference right of the state in conflict. In Sect. II, Deen Chatterjee examines the other conflict—that between self-defense and non-intervention. He claims that the provision of preventive war in self-defense can get unduly interventionist, especially in the context of cyber warfare, making the world less secure. To counter this prospect, Chatterjee suggests that countries should promote prevention in non-interventionist terms by relying on the soft power of diplomacy and collaboration.

The essence of the Rule of Law is ordering affairs according to principle rather than prerogative. Thus, the essence of judging is decision-making dominated by principle rather than preference. The subtle influence-peddling form of corruption is embedded in the realities of political systems including even widely respected systems. The essence of judging is making decisions predominantly on principle rather than preference. The principles of decision, consistent with the Fuller notion of law, must be visible and uniformly applied. Several empirical studies have looked into judicial impartiality and national bias in international courts. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was organized under agreement between the UN and Cambodia as an independent court using a mixture of foreign personnel embedded with Cambodian staff and judges. The International Commission of Jurists seems the obvious place to turn for support and promotion of judicial impartiality. Keywords: corruption; ECCC; international courts; judicial impartiality; rule of law

International crimes against the person are now widely recognized but lacking any cohesive enforcement. Universal principles of human dignity make it easy enough to define behaviors as illegal. What is much more difficult is finding the means and resources to deploy enforcement mechanisms. The lack of enforcement opens the path to enormously powerful and wealthy criminal organizations as well as to the unsophisticated jihadist. Mass atrocities, terrorism, slavery, and piracy may be linked in a number of ways. Terrorist tactics can be used to enslave a population, and enslaved populations can be trained in the ways of terrorism. In the modern world, human trafficking may provide both funds and camouflage for terrorist organizations. Both are linked in organized crime along with drug trafficking and piracy. Despite universal revulsion toward slavery, there are many forms of forced labor still in practice with no supra-national enforcement whatsoever. Similarly, terrorism is now subject to almost universal condemnation but virtually no transnational enforcement mechanisms. We may not see an effective international police force within my lifetime, but surely the increasing pressure for international cooperation in these arenas ultimately must lead to an effective law enforcement response. Perhaps not in my lifetime, but someday there must be an enforcement mechanism to match the world’s norms.

One of the principal victims in the U.S. so-called “war on terror” has been the independence of the U.S. Judiciary. Time and again, challenges to assertedly illegal conduct on the part of government officials have been turned aside, either because of overt deference to the Government or because of special doctrines such as state secrets and standing requirements. I have even described the behavior of the U.S. since 9/11 as a “war on the Rule of Law.” This paper catalogs the principal cases first by the nature of the government action challenged and then by the special doctrines invoked. What I attempt to show is that the judiciary has virtually relinquished its valuable role in the U.S. system of judicial review. In the face of governmental claims of crisis and national security needs, the courts have refused to examine, or have examined with undue deference, the actions of government officials. Oddly enough, the mostly Republican Supreme Court has shown more stiff resistance than most of the lower courts but still has ducked some significant issues.To be clear, many of the people against whom these abuses have been levied are, or were, very dangerous if not evil individuals. But hundreds of years of history show that there are ways of dealing with such people within the limits of restrained government without resort to the hubris and indignity of unreviewed executive discretion. The turning of blind eyes by many, albeit not all, federal judges is a chapter of this history that will weigh heavily against us in the future. There is nothing new in the killing of innocents for religious or political vengeance. This violence has always been with us and will unfortunately continue despite our best efforts to curb it. Pleas for executive carte blanche power are exactly what the history of the writ of habeas corpus were developed to avoid, and what many statements in various declarations of human rights are all about. The way of unreviewed executive discretion is the way of tyranny.

In observing the many legal assistance projects around the world, one cannot help but be struck by the dilemma of violence and the Rule of Law. Consider three places in which the United States and a number of European nations have taken an active military role while trying to assist nascent or renascent judicial systems: Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. There are many locales in desperate need of stability and human rights, but these three are ones in which the western military and civilian assistance efforts are ongoing. The Rule of Law is designed to create stable social conditions conducive to economic and personal development - in other words, a peaceful and healthy society. Conversely, the Rule of Law is not really possible in conditions under which more powerful actors can operate as they wish with impunity. The volatile Southern Russian republics have seen violence targeted at judges. Keywords: judicial independence; rule of law (RoL); violence

Each year, the Journal of the National Security Forum asks a set of ten questions to various authors and observers and publishes their views on some or all of the questions. I have chosen to address several, but not all, of the questions for this forum because I want to talk about the role of lawyers and national security. I believe that the policies of the U.S. Government following 9/11 were shaped by panic, that several of those policies constituted an attempt to repudiate centuries of developing legal principles, and that the principles so repudiated represented both hu an values and pragmatic realities in the face of serious threats to national security. In short, I believe that the Bush Administration, acting through various lawyers, mounted not so much a “War on Terror” as an assault on the Rule of Law, and in the process added fuel to the recruiting efforts of the jihadists. Rather than making us safer, they increased the threat to our national security.

We have previously reported the sequences of putative latent a1 cDNA derived from an alpha 2 alpha 2 rabbit. Significant similarity to nominal a1 cDNA sequences was noted, but none of the latent sequences were completely a1-like. We have now probed a genomic library, produced from the same alpha 2 alpha 2 rabbit, for evidence of germline latent a1 VH genes. Four hundred ninety-four VH+ clones were screened with oligonucleotides specific for a1 diagnostic regions of framework region 1 (FR1) and FR3. Twenty-two percent of the VH+ clones hybridized with an a1FR3 oligonucleotide probe. Two a1 FR1 probes yielded weak signals with 6% to 13% of the VH+ clones. Twenty VH genes from clones positive for one or more of the a1-specific oligonucleotide probes were sequenced, revealing 14 unique germline VH genes. All but one of these genes were 85% to 92% identical to the VH1-a1 nominal gene prototype, with sequence identity extending into the leader intron. Most genes displayed extended regions of similarity to a1 in FR1, FR3, or both and expressed 13 to 17 of the 21 allotype-associated residues, consistent with the nominal a1 sequence. The a1-like sequences were variously interspersed with short non-a1 segments, suggestive of germline gene conversion. Although none of the germline a1-like VH genes we have isolated from the alpha 2 alpha 2 rabbits are identical to the known a1 genes or protein sequences from alpha 1 alpha 1 rabbits and 8 of 14 are pseudogenes, most could make significant contributions to the synthesis of a complete nominal a1 sequence by serving as a pool of sequence donors during somatic gene conversion.

Values can tell us much about the terrorist choice of tactics as well as about its impact on us. Values are critical to understanding the policy choices that are available for addressing the problem of terrorism. Values reflect shared experience that has been solidified into principles that do not need to be revisited in time of crisis. Closer attention to value-driven policy making will go far in restoring order to the American policy chaos of the early 21st Century and rebuilding U.S. credibility in the global community. This article outlines the values inherent in the terrorist's choice of violence and the values inherent in policy choices for response (law enforcement, security, and military).

Islamist terrorism presents a culture clash between religious fundamentalism and the rest of the world. One view of the clash is that it is a battle between a peculiarly Arab perversion of Islam and the West. Another view is that it is a clash between the descendants of colonial regimes and their perceived oppressors. Whatever the sources and dimensions of the clash, it is a violent pattern that will play itself out over the next few decades at the same time that international tribunals are attempting to implement values of freedom embodied in human rights documents and conventions. To some degree, the human rights values of emerging international law are articulated from Western heritage. But the international community promotes those values as universal, and indeed it should be possible to find at least some variation of those values in every society. It just happens that it is from Western sources that the written form of those principles has been drawn. By these values, whether Western or universal, when does a person commit a crime by urging action in pursuit of his or her side of a culture clash? Western liberalism has struggled for centuries with trying to forestall violent or other harmful conduct while permitting maximum play of individual freedom. This tension is inherent in attempts to penalize inchoate crime. Limits on conspiracy law can be found in the due process notion that a person is not to be punished for thoughts without producing an actual threat. Limits on precursor crimes such as incitement or material support can be found in the related values of free expression. All of these values point to the same difficulty: a person is responsible for incitement to imminent lawless action. No better phrasing of the test has yet been suggested. The fact of imminence will be determined by judges and juries with whatever individual and community values they can bring to bear on this critical factual question.

Purpose: The focus of team-based learning (TBL) on problem-solving and integration of information has tremendous potential but has not been explored for improving biomedical science graduate education. We assessed the TBL experience of PhD students in a graduate level immunology course. Methods: TBL sessions replaced 9 of 42 lectures in “Principles of Immunology”, a 3-credit graduate level course. Course evaluation results and student performance were compared before and after TBL implementation. Results: After TBL implementation, students gave higher ratings for the course overall, general format (teaching methods used), fairness of test grading, appropriateness of test content, and overall rating of lectures. Most students preferred TBL over other small group teaching methods, spent an hour or more preparing for class, and agreed that they were better prepared and their classmates seemed better prepared for class, and that TBL helped them prepare for exams. Most agreed that TBL resulted in more interaction and that they could learn better in TBL compared to other small group settings. Students showed modest gains in performance on exams. Conclusion: Based on student feedback, TBL appears to improve course evaluations and to promote active learning in graduate-level courses. Implementation of TBL in graduate education may improve application and problem-solving skills, generate enthusiasm in the classroom, and promote collaboration and teamwork among graduate students.

The genetic basis for the expression of a latent VH allotype in the rabbit was investigated. VH region cDNA libraries were produced from spleen mRNA derived from a homozygous a2a2 rabbit expressing an induced latent VHa1 allotype and, for comparison, from a normal homozygus a1a1 rabbit expressing nominal VHa1 allotype. The deduced amino acid sequences of the nominal VHa1 cDNA were concordant with previously published VHa1 protein sequences. A comparison of two complete VH-DH-JH and six partial VHa1 sequences reveals highly conserved sequence within VH framework regions (FR) and considerable diversity in complementarity-determining regions and D region sequences. Two functional JH genes or alleles are evident. Amino acid sequencing of the N-terminal 15 residues of pooled affinity-purified latent VHa1 H chain showed complete sequence identity with the nominal VHa1 sequences. Possible latent VHa1-encoding cDNA clones, derived from the a2a2 rabbit, were selected by hybridization with oligonucleotide probes corresponding to the VHa1 allotype-associated segments of the first and third framework regions (FR1 and FR3). cDNA sequence analysis reveals that the 5' untranslated regions of nominal and latent VHa1 cDNA were virtually identical to each other and to previously reported sequences associated with VHa2 and VHa-negative genes. Moreover, some latent VHa1 genes encode FR1 segments that are essentially homologous to the corresponding segment of a nominal VHa1 allotype. In contrast, other putative latent genes display blocks of VHa1 sequence in either FR1 or FR3 that are flanked by blocks of sequence identical to other rabbit VH genes (i.e., VHa2 or VHa-negative). These composite sequences may be directly encoded by composite germ-line VH genes or may be the products of somatically generated recombination or gene conversion between genes encoding latent and nominal allotypes. The data do not support the hypothesis that latent genes are the result of extensive modification by somatic point mutation.

In an effort to generate heterologous anti-idiotype (Ab2) molecules to a suspected IdX on rabbit anti-a1 antibody (Ab1), goats were immunized with either rabbit or guinea pig Ab1. The goat Ab2 preparations reacted with each of 13 rabbit Ab1, as well as two goat Ab1 samples in serologic assays. From 8 to 50% of the molecules in purified rabbit Ab1 preparations reacted with each goat Ab2. Electron microscopy of immune complexes composed of rabbit Fab anti-a1 and goat Ab2 reveals that the Fab anti-a1 binds to the side of the variable region of most goat Ab2 molecules, rather than at the tip (i.e. in the CDR) as expected. This configuration indicates that the goat Ab2 actually represents a population of induced or enhanced Ig molecules expressing a1-like allotypic or isotypic determinants, rather than an anti-IdX Ab or a paratope-associated internal image of a1.

Rabbit reagents previously thought to display specificity for a cross-reactive idiotype on anti-VHa allotype antibody from all tested rabbits have recently been shown to be contaminated with an induced (latent) molecule similar or identical to the original antigen (rabbit a1 or a2 allotype). In an attempt to circumvent this problem, we have immunized guinea pigs with rabbit anti-a1 allotype antibody to produce heterologous anti-idiotype antibody. The resulting guinea pig antibody (GP anti-R IdX) recognizes anti-a1 antibody from each of 17 immunized rabbits, and in four tested samples reacts with 22 to 100% of the molecules. Neither goat nor guinea pig anti-a1 reacts with the guinea pig anti-R IdX antibody, even though the goat, guinea pig, and rabbit anti-a1 Ab all recognize a similar set of a1 determinants. The reaction between IdX-bearing rabbit anti-a1 and guinea pig anti-R IdX is inhibited by the original antigen (a1 IgG), demonstrating that the IdX is at or near the antigen combining site of anti-a1 antibody. Immunoelectron microscopy of immune complexes supports this conclusion and demonstrates that the reactive site on the GP anti-R IdX is at or near its antigen combining site.

When asked how foreign nationals (known as aliens) are treated in U.S. courts, the short answer should be "just like citizens," but of course a more complete answer will be a bit more complicated. The basis for equal treatment is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution: no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without Due Process of law." The Due Process clause was adapted from the British Magna Carta, which assured that the Crown would follow the "law of the land," a phrase that was later converted to "Due Process of law." The applicability of Due Process to every person and not just to citizens should guarantee the same treatment, with respect both to applicable law and to procedures, for both citizens and aliens. The differences come in areas in which the fact of nationality is relevant to the issues involved.