On August 1, 2014, the UN welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court of Uganda (the Court) to annul the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. According to a news article, the anti-homosexuality law, which was promulgated in February, made “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life in prison. The Court ruled that the law “was invalid because it had been passed by Parliament without proper quorum.” The Court’s ruling “on narrow technical grounds, preserv[es] the possibility that the measure could be revived.”
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 August 1, 2014, the UN welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court of Uganda (the Court) to annul the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. According to a news article, the anti-homosexuality law, which was promulgated in February, made “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life in prison. The Court ruled that the law “was invalid because it had been passed by Parliament without proper quorum.” The Court’s ruling “on narrow technical grounds, preserv[es] the possibility that the measure could be revived.”
On August 1, 2014, the UN welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court of Uganda (the Court) to annul the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. According to a news article, the anti-homosexuality law, which was promulgated in February, made “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life in prison. The Court ruled that the law “was invalid because it had been passed by Parliament without proper quorum.” The Court’s ruling “on narrow technical grounds, preserv[es] the possibility that the measure could be revived.”
On August 3, 2014, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shelling outside of a United Nations School in Gaza, which was housing thousands of civilians, as a violation of international humanitarian law. According to a news article, the Secretary-General stated that “[t]he attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law, which clearly requires protection by both parties of Palestinian civilians, UN staff and UN premises, among other civilian facilities.” The statement was released “after the collapse . . . of a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by...
On August 1, 2014, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, entered into force. Adopting legally-binding standards, the Convention, “appl[ies] to all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, which affects women disproportionately.” According to a news article, “[t]his is the first time that gender-related persecution is explicitly mentioned in an international convention.” As such, the Convention “requires state parties to ensure that gender-based violence against...
On July 31, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled on the question of the application of Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the European Convention on Human Rights in Oao Neftyanaya Kompaniya Yukos v. Russia, ordering the Russian Federation to pay 1,866,104,634 euros in pecuniary damages to the shareholders of Yukos and another 300,000 euros for costs and expenses to the Yukos International Foundation. According to the press release, “the case concerned the tax and enforcement proceedings brought in 2004 against the Russian oil company, OAO Neftyanaya Kompaniya...
On July 24, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed in The Case of the Prosecutor v. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I declaring inadmissible the case against Abdullah Al-Senussi. According to the press release, the Appeals Chamber determined “that there were no errors in the findings of the Pre-Trial Chamber that Libya is not unwilling or unable to genuinely prosecute Mr Al-Senussi, or in the exercise of its discretion in the conduct of the proceedings and in the evaluation of the evidence.” ...
From June 26–27, 2014, the Assembly of the African Union at its 23rd Ordinary Session adopted the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights. According to a news story, the proposed amendments include a provision that “[n]o charges shall be commenced or continued before the Court against any serving African Union Head of State or Government, or anybody acting or entitled to act in such capacity, or other senior state officials based on their functions, during their tenure of office.” The Assembly also adopted, inter alia...
On July 24, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Čalovskis v. Latvia that a suspect indicted for cybercrime-related offenses would not be exposed to a real risk of ill-treatment if he was extradited to the U.S. The Court held the applicant’s argument that “if extradited to the United States he would be subjected to torture and a disproportionate prison sentence” did not reach the threshold required to show a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). According to the...
European Court of Human Rights Rules on CIA Secret Rendition and Detention in Poland (July 24, 2014)
On July 24, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Chamber judgments on Al Nashiri v. Poland and Husayn (Abu Zubaydah) v. Poland that Poland had violated provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) in regard to the two applicants’ allegations of torture, ill-treatment, and secret detention at a CIA “black site” in Poland after they were suspected of terrorist acts. According to the press release, the Court found in both cases that Poland had failed to comply with Article 38 of the Convention (obligation to furnish all...