International Law

Eric Jensen teaches The Law of Armed Conflict, International Criminal Law, and National Security Law at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. He is a regular guest on Top of Mind.  The US Supreme Court just issued a ruling in the case of a 13-year-old boy who was born in Jerusalem and wants to have his passport read “Israel” as his place of birth. The Supreme Court turned him down.  Congress is considering a bill about the Guantanamo Bay detention center. President Obama would like to close the prison before he leaves office. What will it take to close GITMO, and what effects will it have on a newly elected president if it is still open?  Congress was facing a deadline to reauthorize a few provisions of the Patriot Act that would have allowed the National Security Agency to continue with its bulk collection of US phone records. Congress did NOT reauthorize those provisions.  Members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday to hold a nationwide vote in the next year or two allowing the public to decide if the UK remains part of the European Union.