On September 16, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Hassan v. The United Kingdom that the capture and detention of Tarek Hassan in Iraq by British armed forces during hostilities in 2003 did not constitute a violation of Article 5 §§ 1, 2, 3 or 4 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights and that complaints under Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) were inadmissible for lack of evidence. According to the press release, “[t]he Court found that there was no...
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 September 10, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Ben Alaya v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland that a Member State must admit a third-country national who wishes to stay in the country more than three months for study purposes if that national meets the general and specific conditions listed in an EU Directive dealing with the conditions for such admissions. According to the press release, the Court noted “that the directive is intended to promote the mobility of students from third countries to the EU in order to promote Europe as a world centre...
On September 4, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Air Baltic Corporation AS v Valsts robežsardze that third-country nationals may enter the territory of the European Union if they present a valid visa inside an invalid passport in addition to a valid passport. According to the press release, the case concerned an individual who “presented a valid Indian passport without a visa and a cancelled Indian passport to which a valid uniform visa issued by Italy was affixed. The Indian citizen was refused entry into Latvia on the ground that he did not...
On September 11, 2014, Trial Chamber IV of the International Criminal Court (the Court) issued an arrest warrant against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain regarding charges of war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur, Sudan. According to the press release, Trial Chamber IV had previously requested the Government of Sudan's cooperation to facilitate the accused's presence at trial, but because such assistance has not been forthcoming and there were no guarantees the accused would voluntarily appear before the Court, Trial Chamber IV “concluded that an arrest warrant is now necessary to ensure...
On September 5, 2014, United Nations agencies and partners of the Child Online Protection Initiative released new guidelines entitled, “Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection.” The guidelines “are aimed at establishing the foundation for safer and more secure use of internet-based services and associated technologies for today’s children and future generations.” According to a press release, the guidelines, which were “developed in alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles,” seek to “provide advice...
On September 4, 2014, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Trabelsi v. Belgium that Belgium’s extradition of a Tunisian national to the US, where he is being prosecuted for terrorist offenses and is liable to life imprisonment, entailed a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). According to the press release, “[t]he Court considered that the life sentence to which Mr Trabelsi was liable in the United States was irreducible inasmuch as US law provided for no...
On September 1, 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (the Council) held a “Special Session on the human rights situation in Iraq in light of abuses committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups” after receiving a request for a special session from the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the Council. According to a press release, the Council also adopted a resolution requesting that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “urgently dispatch a mission to Iraq to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law” by these...
On August 29, 2014, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a renewed commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests. According to a news article, at the initiation of Kazakhstan, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/35 in December 2009, declaring August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The resolution “calls for increasing awareness and education ‘about the effects of nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.’” Accordingly...
On August 29, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights congratulated the Mexican Supreme Court for the adoption of a Protocol (Spanish only) involving sexual orientation and gender identity. According to a press release, the Protocol is “aimed at aiding judges in deciding cases related to sexual orientation and gender identity in conformity with human rights and internationally recognized and binding human rights standards.” Although not binding, “the Protocol identifies some common stereotypes and misconceptions about LGBTI persons, which usually hinder their right to access to...
On August 11, 2014, the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) granted Moinina Fofana Conditional Early Release, to be implemented after he has served six more months in prison. According to the press release, during his six remaining months in prison, the RSCSL Registrar and the Rwandan Prison Authorities “will certify that he understands the nature and seriousness of the crimes for which he was convicted, that he understands that what may be a legitimate cause does not justify the use of illegal means, and that he acknowledges his own responsibility and the leadership role he...