On February 16, 2024, the UK Central Criminal Court handed down its sentence in the unprecedented female genital mutilation (FGM) case against British national Amina Noor for her role in carrying out an FGM procedure performed on a UK citizen abroad.
In 2006, Noor took the victim, who was three years old at the time, to Kenya, where a woman performed the FGM procedure....
On January 31, 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered its judgment in Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism [ICSFT] and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [CERD] (Ukraine v. Russian Federation). The case was instituted by Ukraine in 2017 and addresses events which occurred from 2014 in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine alleged that Russia failed to take measures to prevent and suppress terrorism financing as required under ICSFT in relation to...
On Friday, January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published its order on provisional measures in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). In particular, the Court upholded the standing of South Africa to institute proceedings, but rejected it contention regarding suspension of the military operations in the Gaza Strip. It ordered the following:
In relation to Palestinians in Gaza ("the group"), Israel must take all necessary measures to prevent (1) the killing of...The U.S. has announced the unsealing of war crimes charges in the Eastern District of Virginia against four Russian military officers for their conduct concerning a U.S. civilian national in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (see: U.S. v. Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan et al., U.S. District Court, E.D. Va., Case 3:23-cr-00161, Indictment dated December 5). The indictment specifically charges torture, inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement, and conspiracy to commit war crimes. As reported in International Enforcement Law Reporter (subscription required...
On December 5, 2023, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly signed an agreement with Rwanda concerning asylum seekers. The agreement follows a recent decision by the UK Supreme Court striking down a previous agreement with Rwanda blocking the government's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda because, among other things, it concluded that Rwanda was not a safe third country and as such, returning asylum seekers to Rwanda would violate the principle of non-refoulement as contained in the Refugee Convention. As reported by JURIST, Secretary Cleverly noted that the new agreement "addresses all...
On November 16, 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an order organizing proceedings for rendering an advisory opinion on the question of whether the right of workers to strike is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention of 1948. The ICJ decided that the International Labor Organization (ILO) and States parties to the Convention “are considered likely to be able to furnish information on the question submitted to the Court….” Additionally, the six consultive organizations of the ILO “(the International Organization of...
On December 1, 2023, the International Court of Justice indicated provisional measures in the case of Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). Guyana requested that the Court order Veneuzela to refrain from holding a referendum planned for December 3, 2023, that Guyana argued was aimed at "abandon[ing the current proceedings before the Court], and to resort instead to unilateral measures to 'resolve' the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds...
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down a unanimous decision on November 23, 2023, in a case brought by former Polish President Lech Walesa against the Polish Government. The Court concluded that a Polish Appeals Court, the Chamber of Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs (CERPA), had violated Walesa’s right to an independent and impartial trial, breached “the principle of legal certainty,” and violated his right to respect for private and family life. The Court found that the CERPA “was not an ‘independent and impartial tribunal established by law’” and was often used by...
On November 16, 2023, the International Court of Justice voted 13 – 2 in favor of issuing a binding Order in the case of Canada and the Netherlands v. Syrian Arab Republic. The Order adopted two provisional measures, which require Syria to prevent acts of torture and other cruel punishment, ensure that its officials and organizations do not commit torture or other cruel punishments, and preserve any evidence related to the allegations of the case. A Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures seeking such an order had been entered on June 8, 2023, by Canada and the...