... 1951, Mary McAleese (right) was born in Belfast. Following a career in law, education, and journalism, she became in 1997 the 8th President of the Republic of Ireland. A recent interview with her is here. McAleese succeeded President Mary Robinson, who proceeded to serve till 2002 as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.... 1986, in Nicaragua v. United States, the International Court of Justice, by a vote of 12 to 3, held the United States had violated international law by aiding the Contras, paramilitaries engaged in armed struggle against Nicaragua's Sandinista government. An earlier adverse ruling had prompted the United States to withdraw from the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. The case stands as a watershed for at least 2 reasons. 1st is its articulation of an "effective control" standard for responsibility, which is now in tension with a standard articulated in Tadic by the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. 2d is the fact that the contemporary resistance of some Americans to obligatory international norms and regimes has roots in the case.
