On May 10, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Chavez-Vilchez v. Raad van bestuur van de Sociale verzekeringsbank that a state may potentially be required to provide a third-country national with a right of residence if that individual has a minor child who is an EU citizen. According to the press release, the Court noted that Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning on the European Union “precludes national measures, including decisions refusing a right of residence to the family members of an EU citizen, which have the effect of depriving EU citizens of...
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 May 1, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s (FSIA) expropriation exception applies only if the property at issue was “taken in violation of international law” and that a nonfrivolous-argument standard is inconsistent with the FSIA. The case concerned a claim by an American parent company and its Venezuelan subsidiary that Venezuela had unlawfully expropriated the subsidiary’s oil rigs when it nationalized them, with Venezuela arguing that its sovereign immunity barred U.S...
On April 19, 2017, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its order on Ukraine’s request for provisional measures in the case Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), rejecting Ukraine’s request for provisional measures to halt Russia’s support for rebels in eastern Ukraine and allowing measures requiring Russia to refrain from discrimination against the Crimean Tatar community. According to...
On April 13, 2017, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2350, ending peacekeeping operations in Haiti that had been ongoing for thirteen years. The Security Council recognized the “major milestone towards stabilization achieved with the peaceful completion of the electoral process and return to constitutional order on 7 February 2017, and commend[ed] Haitian authorities, in particular the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council and the Haitian National Police (HNP), for their efforts towards ensuring elections were conducted in a credible and inclusive manner and held in a largely...
On April 4, 2017, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Fahimian v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland that national authorities may refuse to grant a study visa to a third country national with a degree from a university subject to restrictive measures due to concerns over a potential threat to public security. According to the press release, the case concerned an Iranian student, Sahar Fahimian, who holds a Master of Science from an Iranian university that is the subject of restrictive measures from the EU and was denied a visa to pursue doctoral...
On March 31, 2017, the Security Council adopted a resolution that strongly condemned the terrorist attacks and other rights violations taking place in the Lake Chad Basin Region in Africa, passing its first resolution addressing Boko Haram’s presence in the area. The Council expressed its “full support for the conflict-affected populations of the Region including displaced and host communities who are suffering from the ongoing security crisis, humanitarian emergency, and development deficits resulting from the violence by terrorist groups.” The Council encouraged governments in the region...
On March 31, 2017, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Security Council adopted a resolution renewing the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) until March 31, 2018. The Council called on all stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), “including President Kabila, the presidential majority and the opposition, to swiftly implement the 31 December 2016 agreement” and requested that the government “ensure a transparent and credible electoral process, in fulfilment of their...
On March 24, 2017, the Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, religious sites and artefacts, and the smuggling of cultural property by terrorist groups during armed conflict. The Council noted that such acts can “exacerbate conflict and hamper post-conflict national reconciliation, thereby undermining the security, stability, governance, social, economic and cultural development of affected States.” The Council also affirmed that unlawful attacks against sites of cultural heritage “may constitute, under certain circumstances and...
On March 22, 2017, Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered its sentencing decision in Prosecutor v. Bemba. According to the press release, the Trial Chamber found Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo, Fidèle Babala Wandu and Narcisse Arido guilty of offences against the administration of justice “related to the false testimonies of defence witnesses in another case against Mr Bemba before the ICC” in October 2016. The defendants received sentences ranging from six months to two years and six months. In making its...
On March 16, 2017, an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Tribunal issued an award in Eli Lilly v. Canada that dismissed Eli Lilly’s claim against Canada over the alleged wrongful termination of its patents under the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Lilly’s suit revolved around the “promise utility doctrine” in Canadian law, which provides that patent owners must be able to demonstrate or adequately predict that a patent actually has the utility the patent application promised by the patent’s filing date. Lilly argued that this doctrine...