On September 4, 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in the Elhady v. Kable case. In this case, the plaintiffs are “twenty-three United States citizens who claim that because of their inclusion in the federal government’s Terrorist Screening Database (‘TSDB’), referred to colloquially as ‘the Watchlist,’ they have suffered a range of adverse consequences without a constitutionally adequate remedy.” The Court held that the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program ('DHS TRIP'), “in its...
International Law in Brief
International Law in Brief (ILIB) is forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
On August 6, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Report No. 109/19 approving the friendly settlement agreement in Case 11,144, Gerson Jairzinho González Arroyo. As noted in the press release, the IACHR received a petition on April 7, 1993, “alleging that the Republic of Colombia bore international responsibility for the forced disappearance of Gerson Jairzinho González Arroyo on November 20, 1992 in the city of Sincelejo, in the department of Sucre, and for the lack of due diligence of judicial authorities in charge of investigating those events and punishing...
On August 30, 2019, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a report entitled “Stepping Up: Refugee Education in Crisis.” In the report, the UNHCR stated that of the world’s 7.1 million school-age refugee children, over half (3.7 million) are not receiving an education. The UNHCR reported that education enrollment for refugees is approximately 63% at the primary school level, 24% at the secondary school level, and 3% at the higher education level, whereas the enrollment numbers globally are 91%, 84%, and 37%, respectively. Some of the barriers cited by the report include...
On September 2, 2019, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber delivered its judgment in the Situation on the Registered Vessels of the Union of Comoros, the Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia case, Case No. ICC-01/13 OA 2, and rejected the appeal filed by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision on the November 15, 2018 “Application for Judicial Review by the Government of the Union of Comoros.” As noted in the ICC’s press release, “a...
On August 8, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in the Bakalian v. Central Bank of Republic of Turkey case, Case No. 13-55664. In this case, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims seeking compensation from the Republic of Turkey and two Turkish national banks for lands that they claim were unlawfully confiscated from their ancestors during what the Court refers to as the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923. In 2006,...
On June 27, 2019, the World Trade Organization circulated its panel report in the United States –Certain Measures Relating to the Renewable Energy Sector case, DS510. In January 2017, India requested the establishment of a WTO panel to consider the following eleven issues: “(1) incentives granted and/or maintained contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods under Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive Payment Program (RECIP) in the State of Washington; (2) incentives granted and/or...
On August 9, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued in an opinion in the United States v. Assa case, Case No. 17-3658. In this case, the Second Circuit affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings a district court decision regarding civil forfeiture of a foreign state’s property. The district court had determined that Assa Co. Ltd. and Assa Corporation were serving as a front for the central bank of Iran, and therefore as a...
On July 17, 2019, the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) released its Strategic Plan for 2019–2021 (Plan). The OTP stated that it “has been closely assessing and taking stock of its performance, including internal and external factors that act as either drivers or inhibitors of that performance. With the new Strategic Plan, the Office will build on the strengths of the previous Strategic Plan (2016–2018), by continuing with investigative and prosecutorial approaches that have produced results in court, making amendments on the basis of lessons learnt,...
On July 6, 2019, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a provisional measures order in the M/T “San Padre Pio” Case (Switzerland v. Nigeria). In a press release issued by ITLOS, the Tribunal summarized the facts of the case by stating that on January 23, 2018, the Nigerian Navy seized the MT “San Padre Pio,” a motor tanker flying the Swiss flag while it was “engaged in one of several ship-to-ship transfers of gasoil” (para. 30) in Nigeria’s exclusive economic zone. The ship was moved to Port Harcourt in Nigeria and the sixteen crew...
On July 9, 2019, the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) released its judgment in the Romeo Castaño v. Belgium case. The ECtHR held unanimously that Belgium had not upheld its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) when it decided not to execute European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) issued by Spanish authorities seeking surrender of an individual who had been charged with terrorism and murder and who was located in Belgium. In 1981, Colonel Ramón Romeo was murdered by an ETA commando. In 2013, one of the suspects, N.J.E.,...