In an attempt to balance freedom of expression and compliance with local laws, Twitter has blocked users in Germany from accessing the account of a neo-Nazi group that is banned by the government.[1] This move is Twitter’s first step applying its new censorship policy announced in January.

It would appear that not all is well in the Kingdom of Spain. Besieged on all sides by wracking fiscal woes, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, like a physician of old, has taken up a scalpel to bleed Spain’s debt-clogged arteries through program cuts. Arguably the most controversial of the Rajoy Administration’s cuts is the decision to restrict free, state-sponsored healthcare of undocumented immigrants.

            It’s time for the United States to leave Afghanistan.  After eight years of being in Afghanistan, the United States finally found the right approach to democratizing Afghanistan, but their past assumptions of the Afghan people have antagonized and disillusioned the very people they intended to help.  In doing so, the United States created the very conditions it assumed existed over ten years ago.  When the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, it shaped its policies largely on the assumption that the Afghan people were anti-

        I just finished Instant City by NPR’s Steve Inskeep. The book delves into the history and development of one of the world’s most populous cities: Karachi, Pakistan. A quick disclaimer: I have a particular interest in Karachi - my parents spent most of their formative years there, and I visited the city last spring for first time since I was in grade school. Even if urban development and rule-of-law issues in South Asia don’t typically get you riled up, however, you should check out this book.

The Palestinian Circus School started as a small circus group in 2006.

I went in 2010.

 After completing my ten-day birthright trip through Israel I emailed the Palestinian Circus School asking if I could take a tour and possibly offer trapeze workshops to their students. The two founders of P.C.S. promptly responded that I was welcome anytime and gave me their personal phone numbers to call as soon as I arrived in Ramallah. Their initial warmth and hospitality was just a touch of what I would find throughout the West Bank.

            On Sunday, October 23, 2011, in an autopsy performed in the presence of Libyan officials, Dr. Othman el-Zentani confirmed that long-time Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi had died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Qadhafi’s death provided a conclusive end to the civil war that commenced on February 15, 2011 with relatively peaceful protests in the eastern city of Benghazi but quickly escalated with a disproportionate government response and subsequent military intervention authorized by the U.N. Security Council.

The UC Davis Journal of International Law & Policy (“JILP”) is very excited to introduce our new JILP Blog!  

We welcome and encourage you to check back frequently for new postings.

Postings and submissions are authored primarily by UC Davis Law JILP Board Members; however, we invite international law scholars and faculty to enrich the debate online with relevant articles, updates and contributions to our blog as well.  

The official theme for Volume 18 of JILP is:  

I recently spent two weeks in The Hague studying three prominent international bodies: the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (“ICTY”), and the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”).