On July 16, 2015, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (the Court) granted Comoros’ request that the Court review the Prosecutor’s decision not to investigate the Israeli Armed Forces attack against a humanitarian aid flotilla in 2010. The case stemmed from a referral by Comoros in 2013 requesting that the Prosecutor consider attacks by the Israeli Army on “other flotilla vessels bearing State party flags in addition to the Mavi Marmara [registered in the Comoros]” bound for Gaza Strip on a humanitarian mission. According to the press release, the Prosecutor...
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 July 20, 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was signed in Vienna on July 14 by the five permanent members of the Council, plus Germany, the European Union, and Iran. According to a press release, the resolution sets “out a rigorous monitoring mechanism and timetable for implementation, while paving the way for the lifting of United Nations sanctions against that country.” The resolution “reaffirmed that Iran should cooperate fully with the [...
On July 20, 2015, a special court in Senegal opened the trial of Hissène Habré, the former President of Chad, for crimes against humanity. According to a news article, “On 22 August 2012, Senegal and the African Union (AU) signed an agreement establishing the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese justice system to try alleged perpetrators of international crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990 – including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, called the trial “a...
On June 24, 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released “Guidelines on International Protection No. 11: Prima Facie Recognition of Refugee Status.” The Guidelines were created “to provide legal interpretative guidance for governments, legal practitioners, decision-makers, as well as UNHCR staff carrying out refugee status determination under its mandate and/or advising governments on the application of a prima facie approach.” According to the Guidelines, the prima facie approach refers to “the recognition by a State or UNHCR of refugee status on the basis of...
On June 24, 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in H. T. v. Land Baden-Württemberg that a state may revoke the residence permit of an individual who has refugee status if that individual has provided support to a terrorist organization. The Court found that support for a terrorist organization “may constitute one of the ‘compelling reasons of national security or public order’” that would allow for the revocation of a residence permit, but went on to state that a competent authority must determine whether the actions of the refugee justify the...
On June 24, 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a manual titled “The Case Law of the European Regional Courts: the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.” The report presents a “thematic guide to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that is of relevance to refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons.” It also “summarizes and analyses the key case law on each issue covered, with the aim of providing a quick reference for legal...
On June 24, 2015, the Gauteng High Court of South Africa (the Court) ruled in Southern Africa Litigation Centre v. Minister of Justice and Others that South African law required the government to arrest Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity—and that the government could not contravene a prior decision ordering his arrest. In the previous decision from June 14, 2015, the Court had ruled that the government must take steps to arrest Al-Bashir “and detain him, pending a formal...
On June 23, 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution on “Improving the Protection of Whistle-Blowers.” In the resolution, the Council “stresses the importance of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, upholding the right to privacy, freedom of speech and the protection of whistle-blowers, including in the fields of national security and intelligence.” Specifically, the resolution calls on member states to “enact whistle-blower protection laws also covering employees of national security or intelligence services and of private firms...
On June 5, 2015 (with a rectified version released on June 25, 2015), the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Lambert and Others v. France that there was no violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights in the implementation of a previous judgment that authorized the withdrawal of the artificial nutrition and hydration of an individual named Vincent Lambert. According to the press release, the Court stated that “that there was no consensus among the Council of Europe member States in favour of permitting the withdrawal of life-...
On June 22, 2015, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict (the Commission) released a report on its findings from the conflict. The report states that the mandate of the Commission was to “examine alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law occurring between 13 June and 26 August 2014 across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular in Gaza, and in Israel, and to determine whether such violations had been committed.” According to the press release, the Commission “gathered substantial information pointing to...