On March 23, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Swedish authorities must evaluate the consequences of an Iranian citizen’s conversion to Christianity before refusing his claim for asylum and removing him to Iran. According to the press release, F.G. is an Iranian citizen, who arrived in Sweden in 2009 and claimed asylum, arguing that he had been politically active in Iran in opposition to the regime and had fled the country after being summoned before the Revolutionary Court. In his application, he mentioned his conversion to Christianity, but did not rely on it as grounds...
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 March 23, 2016 Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed seventy charges brought by Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in the case of Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen. According to the press release, Ongwen allegedly served as commander of the Sinia Brigade of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity took place in northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005. The charges stem from a series of LRA attacks on camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In addition to allegations that Ongwen and his men...
On March 21, 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo of two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes. In addition to the unanimous decision by the three-judge Trial Chamber, Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner and Judge Kuniko Ozaki both submitted separate supplemental opinions. Bemba was on trial for crimes committed in the Central African Republic between October 2002 and March 2003 when he was President of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC) and Commander-in-Chief of its military branch. As the press release notes...
On March 17, 2016, the International Court of Justice ruled that is has jurisdiction under Article XXXI of the Pact of Bogotá to determine the exact course of the boundary between Nicaragua and Colombia in the area of the continental shelf. According to the press release, Colombia argued that since the Court decided the issues in its 2012 judgment, Nicaragua’s claim was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The Court disagreed, noting that the parties attributed different meaning to the operative clause of the 2012 judgment, where it found “that it cannot uphold the Republic of Nicaragua...
On March 17, 2016, the International Court of Justice ruled that it had jurisdiction on the basis of Article XXXI of the Pact of Bogotá to hear claims regarding the alleged violations by Colombia of Nicaraguan rights in the maritime zones that the Court determined appertained to Nicaragua in a 2012 judgment. According to the press release, Colombia argued that the Court did not have jurisdiction under the Pact of Bogotá because Nicaragua had instituted the proceedings in November 2013, almost one year after Colombia’s notice of denunciation of the Pact. The Court disagreed, finding that...
On March 11, 2016, a WTO panel issued a report in a dispute concerning a complaint against anti-dumping and countervailing duties the U.S. had imposed on imported washing machines from Korea, ruling for the first time on the practice of zeroing in targeted dumping investigations. According to a news report, the controversy began in 2011 when a U.S. corporation complained to the U.S. Department of Commerce, arguing that imported Korean-made washing machines were sold below their fair value price, which constitutes dumping, and was made possible because the producers and exporters were...
On March 18, 2016, the European Union and Turkey reached an agreement for the return of migrants who illegally entered Greek territory to be returned to Turkey. Under the agreement, Turkey is required to “take any necessary measures to prevent new sea or land routes for illegal migration opening from Turkey to the EU” and take back all “new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands as from 20 March 2016.” The deal further foresees that “[f]or every Syrian being returned to Turkey from Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled from Turkey to the EU taking into account...
On February 29, 2016, the European Union and Canada agreed on a new approach to investment protection in the revised version of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). According to the press release, “[t]his represents a clear break from the old Investor to State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) approach and demonstrates the shared determination of the EU and Canada to replace the current ISDS system with a new dispute settlement mechanism and move towards establishing a permanent multilateral investment court.” The new agreement expressly reserves the right to regulate...
On March 16, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled (judgment not available in English) that the Dublin III Regulation allows a member state to send an applicant for international protection to a safe third country, regardless of which member state is responsible for processing the application. According to the press release, Shiraz Baig Mirza is a Pakistani citizen who entered Hungary illegally in 2015 and filed his first application for international protection there. While his claim was being evaluated, he left the place of residence he had been assigned, and the...
On March 11, 2016 representatives of the European Union and the government of Cuba signed a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement to normalize relations. According to a joint declaration by the EU and Cuba, the agreement “includes fundamental components such as political dialogue, cooperation, and dialogue on sectorial policies, as well as trade and cooperation in trade matters.” The accord establishes a framework by which the parties will set parameters for aid and commerce. Attending the signing ceremony, EU High Secretary for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini stated, “The deal...