International Law in Brief


International Law in Brief (ILIB) is a forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
Text of New U.S. Treaties and Agreements Published
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : January 15, 2021 |

The U.S. Department of State has published the text of three agreements which entered into force at the end of 2020. The Agreement Concerning Distributed Ocean Sensing between the U.S. Department of Defense and the NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation entered into force on October 21, 2020. It has three objectives relating to the development of oceanographic sensing and analytical equipment and the sharing of information of oceanographic data.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Poland entered into force on November 13...

First Joint Law Report Published by African, European, and Inter-American Human Rights Courts
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : January 06, 2021 |

The first joint law report of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has been published. The 107-page report covers 2019 and is the product of the three courts' "solid judicial dialogue" on human rights. The report presents a selection of the leading decisions of each court from that year, some of which, according to the report's introduction (signed by each of the courts' respective presidents), "illustrate how the courts are increasingly having regard to each other’s approach to human rights protection...

ICJ Renders Judgment on Jurisdiction in Guyana v. Venezuela Dispute
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 18, 2020 |

On Friday, December 18, 2020, the International Court of Justice issued its decision in Guyana v. Venezuela, on the question of its jurisdiction in the case. Guyana asked the Court “to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the Award regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, of 3 October 1899).” According to a press release from the Court, Guyana argued that the 1899 award was the final settlement on all questions relating to the boundary line between British Guyana and Venezuela. According to Guyana, the Court’s...

ICJ Issues Judgment in Equatorial Guinea v. France
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 14, 2020 |

On Friday, December 11, 2020, the International Court of Justice issued its judgment in Equatorial Guinea v. France, concerning “the immunity from criminal jurisdiction of the Second Vice-President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in charge of Defence and State Security [Mr. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue], and the legal status of the building which houses the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in France.” The dispute originated with a complaint by Transparency International (filed with the Paris Public Prosecutor) against several African Heads of State and their family members...

EU Adopts Sanctions Mechanism for Human Rights Abuses
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 10, 2020 |

On Monday, December 7, the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted Decision 2020/1999 and Regulation 2020/1998, together establishing a mechanism to sanction serious human rights violations and abuses. The legal basis for the regulation is Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which permits the Council to adopt measures providing for "the interruption or reduction, in part or completely, of economic and financial relations with one or more third countries" in relation to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy under Chapter 2 of Title V of the Treaty on...

Afr. Ct. H.P.R. Issues Advisory Opinion on "Vagrancy Laws"
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 08, 2020 |

On December 4, 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights delivered an Advisory Opinion related to a request by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) on the compatibility of vagrancy laws with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights instruments applicable in Africa. In particular, PALU contended that several member states of the African Union have laws in force that criminalize “the status of individuals as being poor, homeless or unemployed as opposed to specific reprehensible acts” (generally referred to by PALU as “vagrancy laws”). PALU alleged...

Afr. Ct. H.P.R. Renders 5 Judgments
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 02, 2020 |

On November 27, 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights delivered five judgments involving Benin, Ghana, Mali, and Rwanda. Each of the judgments are now available on the Court’s website.

The case of Akwasi Boateng and Others v. Republic of Ghana involved the alleged confiscation by force of lands belonging to the Applicants, following a boundary dispute between the Twifo Hemang Community and the Morkwa Community, but was dismissed after a finding that the Court lacked temporal jurisdiction to consider the Application.

In Léon Mugesera v. Republic of...

Asia-Pacific States Enter into New Economic Partnership
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : November 18, 2020 |

On November 15, 2020, fifteen Asia-Pacific states signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, after nearly a decade of negotiations. According to the agreement's preamble, the parties aim to "broaden and deepen economic integration in the region," "create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of their peoples," and "establish clear and mutually advantageous rules to facilitate trade and investment, including participation in regional and global supply chains." The agreement establishes a partnership and free trade area and sets...

ECOWAS Court Holds Guinea Liable for 2012 Mine Site Killings
| By: Joseph McGuire : November 13, 2020 |

On November 10, 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court held that the Republic of Guinea violated the human rights of protesters at a 2012 conflict in the village of Zoghota. The conflict resulted in six deaths and the unlawful arrest, injury, or torture of 15 others. The conflict was a result of demonstrations against the abusive practices of a nearby iron-ore mining project. According to Reuters, the Court found that, "Guinea violated the right to life, the right not to be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment, the right not to be arrested or...

ICC Prosecutor: Failing to Arrest Fugitives is Major Obstacle to Atrocity Prevention
| By: Joseph McGuire : November 11, 2020 |

On November 10, 2020, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the UN Security Council that the failure of States and parties to arrest and surrender fugitives constitutes a “major stumbling block” in obtaining justice for atrocity crime victims throughout Libya. While the warring Libyan parties signed a ceasefire agreement on October 23, 2020, the Prosecutor noted two investigations and “deeply disturbing” reports of recent actions that constitute crimes under the Rome Statutes. Prosecutor Bensouda stated, “Victims of atrocity crimes in Libya must be...

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