On July 18, 2014, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report entitled “The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age.” The report concludes, inter alia, that “[i]nternational human rights law provides a clear and universal framework for the promotion and protection of the right to privacy, including in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance, the interception of digital communications and the collection of personal data.” It also finds, inter alia, a “disturbing lack of governmental transparency associated with surveillance...
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.
On July 18, 2014, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report finding evidence that both the State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) committed human rights violations and possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report found ISIL responsible for the “deliberate or indiscriminate targeting of civilians in a systematic manner, the use of civilians as shields, and hindering civilians from access to humanitarian assistance or areas of safety,” which “constitute serious violations of IHL...
On July 17, 2014, The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held in Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia that holding remand prisoners in metal cages during their court hearings violated Article 3 (prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). According to the press release, “the Court found that the applicants had been subjected to distress of an intensity exceeding the unavoidable level of suffering inherent in their detention during a court appearance, and that, therefore,...
Court of Justice of the European Union Rules on Detention of Third-Country Nationals (July 17, 2014)
On July 17, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) issued a preliminary ruling in the joined cases of Adala Bero v. Regierungspräsidium Kassel and Ettayebi Bouzalmate v. Kreisverwaltung Kleve that the detention of a third-party national must, as a rule, take place in a specialized facility and may only take place in a prison on exceptional basis. The Court held that the Directive 2008/115/EC, which provides the common standards and procedures in EU Member States for returning third-country nationals, requires “a Member State, as a rule, to detain...
On July 16, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Hämäläinen v. Finland that it was not a human rights violation to require a transsexual to change her marriage to a registered partnership as a precondition to legally changing her gender from male to female. According to the press release, the Court held that there was “no violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights; that there was no need to examine the case under Article 12 (right to marry) of the Convention; and,...
On July 16, 2014, the Hague District Court (the Court) in Mothers of Srebrenica v. The Netherlands and The United Nations ruled (unofficial English translation) that the Netherlands is liable for the deportation of more than 300 Bosniak men and boys who were subsequently killed in Srebrenica in July 1995. According to the press release (unofficial English translation), the Court found that “[g]iven the information Dutchbat had about the fate of the male refugees at the time and because of the special position of the compound—a fenced-in area where they had full control—they should...
On July 14, 2014, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued two panel reports in the cases United States – Countervailing Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India (India case), and United States – Countervailing Duty Measures on Certain Products from China (China case). The WTO concluded that the United States acted inconsistently with global trade rules, and in particular certain provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, when it imposed countervailing duties on certain products imported into the United States from India and China....
On July 11, 2014, The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights welcomed the passing of Law No. 13.010 (Portuguese only) in Brazil. According to a press release, the law “guarantees the right of children and adolescents to education without the use of physical punishment as a form of correction or discipline or for any other pretext.” The law applies to “fathers, mothers, other members of the family, educators, public agents responsible for implementing socio-educational measures, and any other individuals in charge of caring for children, treating them, educating them, or protecting them...
On July 11, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (the Court) confirmed by majority (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda) the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber II, which rejected the requests of Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Fidèle Babala Wandu and Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo for interim release (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda). According to the press release, the majority “found no clear errors materially affecting the Pre-Trial Chamber's decisions.” Judges Anita Ušacka and Erkki Kourula each wrote dissenting opinions (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda). The accused are detained on charges of...
On July 10, 2014, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) approved the draft Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (draft Convention) at its 47th session in New York. According to a press release, “[t]he purpose of the convention on transparency is to provide a mechanism for the application of the [UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration] to arbitration cases arising under the almost 3,000 investment treaties concluded before 1 April 2014.” In light of UNCITRAL’s approval, the draft Convention “...