On Monday, August 30, 2021, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the situation in Afghanistan. The Council condemned the "deplorable attacks" near the Hamid Karzi Airport in Kabul and "[d]emand[ed] that Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist attacks." It called on "all parties to allow full, safe, and unhindered access for the United Nations" and other humanitarian actors and encouraged the reaching of an "inclusive, negotiated political settlement . . . that responds to the desire 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.
The working group established under the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has proposed a mandate, terms of reference, and method of work for itself. The proposed mandate states that the Working Group will collect information, develop a recommended set of initial principles, and study the existing legal framework with regard to "activities in the exploration, exploitation and utilization of space resources." It will also evaluate whether it would be beneficial to expand the existing legal framework, identify areas for further study, and make recommendations for next...
On August 13, 2021, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued a press release concerning a decision made in June of this year regarding the Colombian reelection process. This decision concerned the question of whether unlimited reelection terms are lawful in the context of Inter-American human rights policy and the notion of representative democracy. The Court’s key arguments were the following: 1) reelection is not a singular human right; 2) the ban on this practice is both justified and supported by the rule of law; 3) the loss for individuals who feel their rights are...
On August 10, 2021, the Government of Sudan deposited an instrument of ratification for the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel (CAT), Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and an instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). Sudan is the 172nd party to the CAT and the 64th party to the ICPPED. Sudan's ratification of the CAT included a declaration that it will not be bound by Article 30(1) relating to the settlement of disputes under the Convention. Similarly, its accession to the ICPPED...
On August 9, 2021, an indigenous peoples' group called the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples from Brazil (APIB) requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate the alleged genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil. As report by JURIST, APIB's complaint is focused on social and environmental policies that are, in its view "systematic and anti-indigenous," such as the "dismantling of public structures for social and environmental protection" which, according to APIB, has led to an "escalation of invasions in Indigenous Lands,...
On June 22, 2021, a judgment was issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the case of Joanna Reczkowicz and the Polish government, which had been filed almost two years prior. On August 6, 2019, Joanna Reczkowicz, a barrister and Polish citizen, formally issued a complaint against the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, which she believed had failed to remain objective in its handling of her case. In 2017, she was suspended due to a compromise of bar ethics, which lasted for a period of three years. When this issue was readdressed, Reczkowicz felt it was not...
On July 16, 2021, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights issued an advisory opinion on the right to participate in the government of one's country in the context of an election held during a public health emergency or a pandemic, such as the COVID-19 crisis. Filed by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) in June 2020, the request sought the Court's opinion on a number of issues relating to the impact of a health emergency on electoral processes in African Union member states. According to a press release from the Court, the Court grouped the issues identified by the PALU into three...
On July 15, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in favor of permitting workplaces to prohibit the wearing of articles of clothing that display religious or political alignment. The issue in IX and MH Müller Handels GmbH v. WABE eV and MJ originated from an incident involving two female employees that refused to remove their dressings that indicated their identity as practicing Muslims. Two exterior courts (Labour Court of Hamburg and the Federal Labour Court of Germany) sought the perspective of the CJEU to determine whether the termination of their...
On June 2, 2021, the Intern-American Court of Human Rights was referred a case from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights concerning Fabio Gadea Mantilla, a former candidate in the 2011 Nicaraguan presidential race. According to a press release from the OAS, it was contested that the country possessed the primary responsibility of securing and upholding Gadea Mantilla’s right to become an electoral candidate, which it failed to accomplish. This is in reference to his past participation in 2011, where he was listed as a prime candidate for the presidency. In March of 2011, the...
The European Union (EU) Commission has adopted a proposal for the EU's accession to the 2019 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (the 2019 Hague Judgment Convention). Though there is a framework for the recognition and enforcement of judgments from EU member states, EU citizens can have difficulties having judgments obtained in the EU enforced outside of the EU. The 2019 Hague Judgment Convention would, in the words of Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, "improve legal certainty and save citizens and companies time and...