On March 11, 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution addressing sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. The Security Council “express[ed] deep concern about the serious and continuous allegations and under-reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers and non-United Nations forces, including military, civilian and police personnel” and “stress[ed] that sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers undermines the implementation of peacekeeping mandates, as well as the credibility of United Nations peacekeeping.” It further...
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 8, 2016, the Appeals Panel for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon issued a judgment reversing the conviction of Ms. Karma Al Khayat and affirming TV station Al Jadeed’s acquittal on charges of contempt of court. According to the press release, the “case concerned the broadcast of five episodes, regarding purported confidential Tribunal witnesses, by Al Jadeed TV in Lebanon in August 2012, and their online availability in violation of an Order issued by the Pre-trial Judge on 10 August 2012.” Al Jadeed and Al Khayat, who was the station’s Deputy Head of News and Political Programs at...
On March 4, 2016, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a new report recommending special measures for protection from sexual exploitation by peacekeepers. The report lists ninety-nine allegations of sexual misconduct for 2015, sixty-nine of which occurred in countries with peacekeeping missions, while the largest numbers of incidents were reported for the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti. According to a news article, the report includes measures such as improving assistance to victims, enhanced transparency, as well as stronger...
On March 2, 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning the nuclear tests it conducted in January and imposing new sanctions on North Korea. Acting under Chapter VII, the Council decided “that all States shall inspect the cargo within or transiting through their territory, including in their airports, seaports and free trade zones, that has originated in the DPRK, or that is destined for the DPRK” and “that Member States shall prohibit their nationals and those in their territories from leasing or chartering their flagged vessels or aircraft or...
International Criminal Court Begins First Trial for Destruction of Cultural Property (March 2, 2016)
On March 2, 2016, the International Criminal Court opened its first war crimes trial for the destruction of cultural property. According to a news report, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is charged with having destroyed “medieval shrines, tombs of Sufi saints and a mosque dating back to the 15th century” during a conflict that displaced over 280,000 people. Al-Mahdi was a leader in the Ansar Dine jihadist organization and is the first member of an Islamic terrorist group to appear before the Court. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stated, “The charges we have brought against Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi involve...
On March 1, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided that place-of-residence conditions may be imposed on beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in a member state in order to address integration difficulties. According to the press release, Ibrahim Alo and Amira Osso are Syrian citizens who travelled to Germany in 1998 and 2001, respectively, where they were granted subsidiary protection status and residence permits subject to place-of-residence conditions. The Court found that an EU Directive requires member states “to allow persons to whom they have granted subsidiary...
On February 12, 2016, the German Constitutional Court (Court) published a decision confirming that the German legislature is not prohibited from adopting laws that contravene international treaties. According to the press release, the case arose from a question posed by the Federal Court of Finance, which sought clarification on whether a newly adopted law may infringe rights conferred on tax payers under a double taxation treaty between Germany and Turkey. The law at issue in the case provides that “the exemption ‘will only be granted, irrespective of the applicable [double taxation]...
On February 24, 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued the panel’s report on India’s domestic content requirements for solar products, finding they violated India’s national treatment obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs). According to a news report, the U.S. initiated the proceedings at the WTO in 2013, arguing that an Indian law from 2011 which requires certain cells be produced domestically violated WTO rules by discriminating against imports. The Panel agreed with the U.S. argument...
On February 29, 2016, Argentina reached an agreement with several U.S. hedge funds, settling a fifteen year legal struggle arising from the country’s financial collapse in 2001 when it defaulted on $100 billion in bonds. According to a news report, the deal will now be reviewed by Argentina’s Congress, which will have to adapt domestic laws before it can be implemented. One such change will affect a 2014 law, which allows the country to pay creditors with renegotiated debt despite a New York court order expressly prohibiting such arrangements. While many creditors agreed to renegotiate...
On February 26, 2016, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing the Joint Statement of the United States and the Russian Federation on Cessation of Hostilities in Syria. According to a news report, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the agreement as “our best chance to end the brutal violence.” The resolution “demands that all parties to whom the cessation of hostilities applies . . . fulfil their commitments . . . and urges all Member States . . . to use their influence . . . to ensure fulfilment of those commitments and to support efforts to create conditions for a...