On September 22, 2020, the International Court of Justice announced that it intends to obtain an expert opinion under Article 67(1) of the Court's Rules, in the case concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda). According to a press release from the Court, the opinion is sought in relation to the question of reparations in the above case, following the Court's December 2005 judgment on the merits in which it found that Uganda had violated several provisions of international human rights and humanitarian law and that the DRC...
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 September 8, 2020, the President of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone granted Augustine Gbao early release, with a three-month delay. Gbao was convicted on fourteen counts of crimes against humanity by the Court on March 2, 2009, and sentenced to twenty-five years of imprisonment on April 8, 2009. The Court’s Practice Direction on Conditional Early Release permits consideration for early release if certain conditions are fulfilled. According to a press release from the Court, in this case, the Court ordered Gbao to “undergo specific training geared to his understanding of and...
On September 15, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interpreted for the first time Regulation 2015/2120, which enshrines the principle of net neutrality. In its judgment in Joined Cases C-807/18 and C-39/19 Telenor Magyarország Zrt. v Nemzeti Média-és Hírközlési Hatóság Elnöke, the Court was asked to give a preliminary ruling in relation to an internet service provider’s “zero tariff” service packages. According to a press release from the Court, Telenor, established in Hungary, offered its customers two “preferential access” packages under which “data traffic...
On September 10, 2020, Trial Chamber II of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon released a decision confirming its jurisdiction to hear the case against Salim Jamil Ayyash. Mr. Ayyash was previously indicted and found guilty by the Tribunal for his involvement in “the Hariri attack.” This second case relates to Mr. Ayyash’s alleged involvement in “three attacks against prominent Lebanese political figures” that the prosecution asserts “are ‘connected’ to the 14 February 2005 attack with killed Mr Hariri.” The defense filed a preliminary motion challenging the Pre-Trial Judge’s finding that the...
On September 8, 2020, Yusuf Finyanus and Ali Hassan Khalil (former Lebanese government officials) were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.” A press release by the Department of the Treasury explains that both individuals used their positions within the Lebanese government for “personal gain” and to “[provide] material support to Hizballah.” These latest sanctions are part of an ongoing effort by the Treasury to “[disrupt] … the full range of Hizballah’s illicit financial activity.” A JURIST article states that...
On September 3, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in Supreme v. SHAPE. The facts of the case involved the nonpayment for fuel under contractual arrangements between a group of private entities (Supreme) and two NATO entitles (SHAPE and JFCB) under which Supreme supplied fuel to SHAPE for a NATO mission in Afghanistan. On the basis of the Brussels Ibis Regulation (1215/2012/EU), Supreme brought suit before the Dutch courts for non-payment, but the NATO entities argued that they were immune from suit because of their status as...
On September 4, 2020, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Committee of Ministers released “[t]he latest case-by-case decisions on the implementation of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights.” A summary of the cases reviewed can be found here. According to a press release from the CoE, “[t]he Committee adopted 19 decisions … including four Interim Resolutions” and four Final Resolutions. Among the Final Resolutions adopted was a decision “to close infringement proceedings launched against Azerbaijan for failing to implement a judgment concerning opposition politician...
On September 2, 2020, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, and Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands issued a joint statement regarding their intention to intervene into The Gambia v. Myanmar case before the International Court of Justice. The statement, available in full here, states that "In bringing this application to the ICJ, The Gambia took a laudable step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar and upholding this pledge. Canada and the Netherlands consider it our obligation to...
On August 18, 2020, the Council of Europe’s (COE) anti-corruption body (GRECO) released an evaluation of Russia and, on August 26, 2020, the Council’s anti-money laundering body (MONEYVAL) released an evaluation of the Czech Republic.
GRECO’s evaluation of Russia assessed its compliance with 22 recommendations relating to “[c]orruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors.” Russia has shown improvement in areas such as the creation of “clear and objective criteria for the assignment of cases to prosecutors” and “initial training and on-going...
On August 23, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Mitchell v. U.S., denying a certificate of appealability to the petitioner who sought a motion to vacate his conviction and sentence of death. The petitioner, Lezmond Mitchell, argued that his conviction and sentence must be vacated in light of an August 12, 2020, report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that concluded that Mr. Mitchell's trial and sentence were a violation of his rights under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. Specifically, he argued that the...