• EU – U.S. 2010 Declaration on Counterterrorism (June 3, 2010)

• United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement on Israeli Operation against Gaza-Bound Aid Convoy (June 1, 2010)

• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Declaration on Propriety, Integrity, and Transparency in the Conduct of International Business and Finance (May 28, 2010)

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

• Prosecutor v. Popovic et al. (June 10, 2010)

United States Supreme Court

• Samantar v. Yousuf (June 1, 2010)

• Enforcement Agreements Signed between International Criminal Court and Belgium, Denmark, and Finland (June 1, 2010)

EU – U.S. 2010 Declaration on Counterterrorism (June 3, 2010)

Click here for document (approximately 3 pages)

The United States and the European Union (including its Member States) have issued a declaration detailing several measures necessary in “forging a durable framework to combat terrorism within the rule of law.”

The declaration emphasizes the need to ensure that all measures taken by the two parties are “in accord with . . . fundamental values and with full respect for the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law.” Notably, both parties reaffirmed their commitment “to implement prohibitions on torture, as well as on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.” Also significant is the parties’ commitment to ensure that terrorist suspects receive a fair and effective trial, “within a legal framework that provides for meaningful due process rights.” Finally, the declaration stresses the need to avoid racial, ethnic, and/or religious discrimination in combating terrorism. With respect to this latter commitment, the Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Rubalcaba, whose country currently chairs the European Union, declared that “[t]his declaration is a message to the Muslim world . . . . We will be firm in the defence of our values, but we will show our tolerance vis-à-vis other cultures.”

United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement on Israeli Operation against Gaza-Bound Aid Convoy (June 1, 2010)

Click here for document (approximately 1 page)

In an emergency session, convened in the hours following the Israeli military operation in international waters against six ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which led to the death of ten civilians and the wounding of many others, the Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning the loss of life and expressing deep regrets regarding the use of force.

The Security Council also called for the “immediate release” of the seized ships and the civilians in Israeli custody. Finally, the Security Council called “for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.”

The blockade of Gaza, which was strengthened in 2007 when Hamas came into power, has been criticized by the international community, including the Security Council, as being unsustainable. Following a global outcry in the aftermath of the flotilla incident, Israel has reportedly eased the blockade, allowing necessary humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Declaration on Propriety, Integrity and Transparency in the Conduct of International Business and Finance (May 28, 2010)

Click here for document (approximately 7 pages)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international economic organization of thirty-one countries, has issued a declaration detailing “common standards and processes regarding the conduct of international business and finance.” The declaration, adopted by thirty-six countries (non-member countries can also adopt the declaration), aims at enhancing the propriety, integrity, and transparency in international business and finance.

OECD declarations are not binding instruments, but rather policy commitments by governments of OECD countries and non-countries. Thus, the declaration can only “recommend” that governments and private stakeholders “take appropriate steps to implement” its provisions.

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Prosecutor v. Popovic et al. (June 10, 2010)

Click here for judgment (approximately 882 pages); click here for summary of the judgment (approximately 15 pages)

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has issued a major judgment against seven former Bosnian Serb Army members for their involvement in the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995. The Tribunal found these seven guilty of several crimes, including genocide, extermination and persecution (as crimes against humanity), murder (as violation of the laws or customs of war and as crimes against humanity), and inhuman acts (forcible transfer). Depending on the crimes committed, the defendants’ sentences range from five years to life imprisonment.

The prosecution alleged that “two joint criminal enterprises existed in Easter Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995,” including a joint criminal enterprise “to murder the able-bodied Bosnian Muslim men from Srebrenica . . . and [a] joint criminal enterprise to forcibly remove the Bosnian Muslim population from Srebrenica and Zepa.”

The judgment is over 880 pages long and details the gruesome and horrific crimes committed by the defendants in July 1995. While the Tribunal acknowledged that the relocation of mass graves made the body count imprecise, it estimated that between 5,336 and 7,826 Bosnian Muslim men were killed in the “murder operation” by the Bosnian Serb Army under the orders of Radovan Karadzic.

United States Supreme Court

Samantar v. Yousuf (June 1, 2010)

Click here for document (approximately 24 pages)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which provides that a foreign state shall be immune from U.S. jurisdiction except as provided in the Act, does not apply to the actions of an individual foreign official. The Court, affirming the Fourth Circuit, narrowly interpreted the terms of the statute, holding that an agency or instrumentality of the state does not refer to an individual.

The petitioner, former Minister of Defense of Somalia, was sued in U.S. courts by Somali nationals, who allege that he authorized and controlled the commission of torture and killings by Somali military forces.

The Court remanded the case to the federal district court to determine “whether petitioner may be entitled to immunity under the common law, and whether he may have other valid defenses to the grave charges against him.”

Enforcement Agreements Signed between International Criminal Court and Belgium, Denmark, and Finland (June 1, 2010)

Click here for press release (approximately 2 pages)

Belgium, Denmark, and Finland signed an agreement with the International Criminal Court agreeing to enforce the final prison sentences issued by the Court. These countries thus join Austria and the United Kingdom, who signed the agreement in 2005 and in 2007, respectively.

The signing of the agreement took place on June 1, 2010, at the ICC Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda. For more information on the most current developments taking place at the conference, visit the ASIL ICC Review Conference Blog, at http://iccreview.asil.org.