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.
UN Condemns Sentencing of Former Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : December 07, 2021 |

On December 6, 2021, a Myanmar Court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison (reduced to two years by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing). According to a UN press release, the court found Suu Kyi guilty of inciting dissent and breaking COVID-19 rules. The court also sentenced former Myanmar president Win Myint to imprisonment for the same charges.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet deplored the conviction and sentencing of Suu Kyi and requested her release. Bachelet said that the trial is politically motivated, with the military attempting to remove...

UN Investigative Team Presents Report on ISIL Activities in Iraq
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : December 07, 2021 |

On December 2, 2021, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh / Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD) presented its seventh report on ISIL’s activities in Iraq. According to a UN press release, UNITAD collected evidence on the executions carried out by ISIL at Badush Central Prison in 2014. UNITAD concluded that “crimes committed by ISIL members at Badush Central Prison constitute” crimes against humanity and war crimes.

UNITAD also focused on “the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL, and the...

CoE Publishes Latest Decisions on Implementation of ECtHR Judgments
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : December 03, 2021 |

On December 3, 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), which oversees the execution of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments, published several decisions on the implementation of judgments and decisions from the ECtHR. According to a CoE press release, the Committee adopted forty-four decisions; five Interim Resolutions, which aim to overcome “more complex situations requiring special attention”; and thirty Final Resolutions, which close the supervision of the execution of certain judgements. In relation to the Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey (no. 2)...

Biden Administration Releases the U.S. Space Priorities Framework
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : December 02, 2021 |

On December 2, 2021, Biden-Harris administration released the United States Space Priorities Framework (Framework). Vice President Kamala Harris announced the release of the Framework, stating that it will be used to guide and implement the U.S. national space policy and strategy. The Framework, by stating that access to and use of space is a vital national interest, regarded space as a source of American innovation and opportunity, and a source of American leadership and strength. According to the Framework, U.S. space policy priorities include “maintaining a robust and responsible U.S....

German Court Sentences Iraqi Jihadist for Yazidi Genocide
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : December 02, 2021 |

On November 30, 2021, the 5th Senate (State Security [Staatsschutzsenat]) of the Higher Regional Court Frankfurt/Main (Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main) sentenced an Iraqi man, Taha Al-Jumailly who is an ISIS member, to life imprisonment for “genocide and other criminal offences.” According to a press release from the Court, the Court found Taha Al-Jumailly “guilty of genocide in combination with a crime against humanity resulting in death, a war crime against persons resulting in death, aiding and abetting a war crime against persons.” The Court stated that the ISIS carried...

Argentine Court to Hear the Case Against Myanmar Military
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : November 30, 2021 |

On November 26, 2021, the Second Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court in Buenos Aires confirmed that, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, it would launch a genocide case against senior Myanmar officials for the Myanmar military’s treatment of the Rohingya. Read more about the case in the FT (subscription required) or in a press release by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)

UNESCO Adopts Draft Recommendation on the Ethics of AI
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : November 30, 2021 |

On November 25, 2021, UNESCO member states adopted a first draft of a Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Recommendation) which “defines the common values and principles needed to ensure the healthy development of AI.” According to a UN press release, the Recommendation’s aim is to ensure the ethical development of artificial intelligence by “addressing issues around transparency, accountability, and privacy.”

The Recommendation states that “all actors in the AI system life cycle” should respect, protect, and promote human rights; recognize and promote...

ICC Suspends Its Investigation into the Philippines
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : November 24, 2021 |

On November 18, 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) temporarily suspended its investigation into the Philippines. According to an ICC press release, the Philippines requested deferral of the Office of the Prosecutor’s (Office) investigations and proceedings related to alleged crimes against humanity committed between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019 “in the context of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” and in the Davao area between November 1, 2011 and June 30, 2016. The Office took the view that it is necessary for a state that requests deferral to demonstrate “concrete and...

CJEU Rules on Applicability of Withdrawal Agreement and EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement to Ireland
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : November 18, 2021 |

 On November 16, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled, in the Case C-479/21 PPU Governor of Cloverhill Prison, that Withdrawal Agreement provisions “concerning the European arrest warrant regime with respect to the United Kingdom” and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provision “concerning the new surrender mechanism” are binding on Ireland. According to a CJEU press release, the case concerned two fugitives arrested in Ireland who contested their extradition to the UK. The case eventually reached the Irish Supreme Court, which referred the...

CoE Adopts Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime
| By: Şeymanur Yönt : November 17, 2021 |

On November 17, 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) adopted a Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. According to a CoE press release, “the Protocol provides a legal basis for disclosure of domain name registration information and for direct co-operation with service providers for subscriber information, effective means to obtain subscriber information and traffic data, immediate co-operation in emergencies, mutual assistance tools, as well as personal data protection safeguards.”

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