On January 21, 2016, the U.K. announced sanctions against two men thought to be the killers of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer and critic of the Russian government. According to a news report, Litvinenko died in London in 2006 from radiation poisoning. An official report produced for the British parliament concluded that there is a “strong probability” that the murder was ordered by the Russian security service FSB and “probably approved” by Russian President Putin. The British Treasury’s notice imposes asset freezes against the two men, which will be added to already existing...
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 January 21, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (Court) ruled (judgment only available in French) that Greek authorities had treated a criminal complaint lodged by a human trafficking victim in a manner incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention). According to the press release, the case concerned L.E., a Nigerian national who was brought to Greece by K.A., who confiscated her passport and forced her into prostitution after their arrival in Europe. After having filed for asylum, L.E. brought a criminal complaint against K.A. and his partner D.J. arguing...
On January 21, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (Court) ruled (judgment only available in French) that defamation judgments against the chairman of a French television channel and a reporter interfered with their right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the press release, the case arose from the controversy about a “documentary on the France 3 television channel concerning complaints lodged by families of the victims of the 11 September 2001 attacks.” Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was interviewed...
On January 20, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court) ruled that in the area of competition law, the leniency programs of the EU and those of member states can coexist autonomously. According to the press release, the European Competition Network (ECN) ensures the coherent application of competition laws between the European Commission and member states. In 2006, the ECN adopted a leniency program, designed “to promote the uncovering of unlawful conduct by encouraging participants in cartels to report them” and “based on the principle that the competition authorities are...
On January 19, 2016, the General Court of the European Union (Court) upheld the imposition of fines on Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric for their participation in the cartel on the market for gas insulated switchgear (GIS). According to the press release, the Commission determined in 2007 that the two Japanese companies had participated in a cartel with twenty European companies who also produced gas insulated switchgear, a “major component for electric substations to convert electrical current from high to low tension and vice versa,” and ordered them to pay individual fines as well as a...
On January 16, 2016, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Agency inspectors confirmed Iran’s compliance with all required preparatory steps under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to a news report, Iran pledged in the plan to “never under any circumstances to seek, develop or acquire nuclear weapons, and the UN Security Council is to consider ending sanctions imposed for its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) violations.” The UN Secretary-General welcomed “Implementation Day” by stating, “This is a significant milestone that reflects...
On January 18, 2016, the United Nations human rights office announced that Peru agreed to compensate a woman whose human rights had been violated when she was denied an abortion. According to the press release, K.L., a seventeen-year-old girl from Peru was fourteen weeks pregnant when her doctors diagnosed the fetus with a fatal birth defect and recommended an abortion to avoid putting her life at risk. An abortion in such circumstances was legal in Peru, but the hospital refused to perform the procedure citing missing regulations as the reason. K.L carried the pregnancy to term, and was...
On January 15, 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands issued a statement on the establishment of the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution, a special tribunal that will try crimes committed during the Kosovo War. Although the court is a national court of Kosovo, it will be located in The Hague, which was chosen after consultations between the European Union, the Kosovan, and Dutch governments and will be paid for with EU funds. The decision to move the tribunal outside Kosovo takes into account the sensitive nature of the issues raised by the proceedings and...
On January 13, 2016, Tamara Fields, the widow of a man killed during a terrorist attack in Jordan, filed suit against Twitter, alleging that the social media network has violated federal law prohibiting the support of terrorist organizations. According to the complaint, “Twitter has knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS to use its social network as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits. This material support has been instrumental to the rise of ISIS and has enabled it to carry out numerous terrorist attacks, including the November 9,...
On January 13, 2016, the European Commission initiated its inquiry into recent developments in Poland and their impact on the rule of law as a fundamental value of the European Union. According to the press release, “the political and legal dispute concerning the composition of the Constitutional Tribunal . . . [and] the changes in the law on the Public Service Broadcasters” prompted the assessment under the Rule of Law Framework. According to a news report, the new laws allow the government “to appoint more sympathetic judges to the nation’s Constitutional Tribunal . . . [and] rein in the...