On November 17, 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) adopted a Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. According to a CoE press release, “the Protocol provides a legal basis for disclosure of domain name registration information and for direct co-operation with service providers for subscriber information, effective means to obtain subscriber information and traffic data, immediate co-operation in emergencies, mutual assistance tools, as well as personal data protection safeguards.”
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 November 12, 2021, the European Commission referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and requested the CJEU to impose financial sanctions on Hungary for its failure to comply with a CJEU ruling. According to a European Commission press release, Hungary did not address the CJEU’s findings in Case C-808/18 Commission v. Hungary with regard to Hungary’s legislation on the rules and practice in the transit zones at the Serbian-Hungarian border, as well as Hungary’s breach of the Asylum Procedures Directive, the Reception Conditions Directive, and the...
On November 16, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled, in Joined Cases C-748/19 to C-754/19, that EU law precludes Poland’s regime which allows the Minister for Justice to second judges to higher criminal courts, as well as to terminate their secondments without any explanation. According to a CJEU press release, the CJEU held that the secondments should provide the necessary guarantees to prevent political control over the judicial decisions. The press release explained that under the Polish law, the Minister for Justice, who is also the Public Prosecutor General,...
On November 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Cambodian government officials for their involvement in corruption in Cambodia. According to a Treasury press release, these individuals are designated based on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and the “U.S. Department of State’s announcement of visa restrictions under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2021 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act” for their involvement in the corruption.
On November 12, 2021, the UN General Assembly elected thirty-four members of the International Law Commission (ILC) to serve between 2023 – 2027. According to an ILC press release, 9 nationals from African states, 8 nationals from Asia-Pacific states, 3 nationals from Eastern European states, 6 nationals from Latin American and Caribbean states, and 8 nationals from Western European and other states were elected. The ILC is responsible for developing and codifying international law, and members of the ILC are “persons of recognized competence in international law.”
On November 11, 2021, the UN General Assembly, after discussing the report (to be issued as document A/76/PV.31) submitted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), adopted a resolution (to be issued as document A/RES/76/5) that called upon non-signatories of the Rome Statute to consider joining the signatory parties. According to a UN press release, the Assembly asked states parties to “adopt national legislation that will implement their obligations and work with The Hague-based Court to carry out its functions.” The resolution also mentioned the importance of implementing the Rome...
On November 12, 2021, ICSID released its 6th Working Paper on “proposed amendments to its procedural rules.” According to an ICSID press release, the 6th Working Paper addresses a few issues that were raised on the “previous iteration of the proposed amendments to the ICSID rules,” and offers changes based on written comments received by November 10, 2021. The proposed changes include the changes in “notice of third-party funding,” “security for costs,” “publication of documents filed in the proceeding,” “participation of non-disputing treaty party,” and “consent of parties to expedited...
On November 10, 2021, the General Court of the European Union (EUGC) dismissed, in Case T-612/17, Google’s action against the Commission’s finding that “Google abused its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping service over competing comparison shopping services,” and upheld the fine imposed on Google. According to a EUGC press release, on June 27, 2017, the Commission found in Case AT.39740 that Google, by favoring its own comparison shopping service over competing comparison services, “abused its dominant position on the market for online general search services,” and...
On November 10, 2021, the UK Supreme Court blocked, in the Lloyd (Respondent) v. Google LLC (Appellant) Case, a $4.3 billion class action against Google. According to a UK Supreme Court press summary, the Respondent claimed that in late 2011 and early 2012, Google breached its duties as a data controller by secretly tracking and using data derived from millions of Apple iPhone users’ internet activity. The Respondent claimed “to represent everyone resident in England and Wales who owned an Apple iPhone at the relevant time and whose data were obtained by Google without their...
On November 8, 2021, Pre-trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) rendered its decision on the requests for reconsideration or for Leave to Appeal regarding the Decision regarding the applications related to the Prosecutor’s ‘Notification on status of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s article 18(2) deferral request’ of September 3, 2021. The Chamber noted that it had previously dismissed as a preliminary matter the First, Second, and Third Applicants’ requests for Leave to Appeal because of a lack of standing and that that holding applies equally in the context of the...