The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held in a judgment (currently available only in French and Spanish) issued on December 19, 2019, that Members of the European Parliament (MEP) acquire that status from the moment the election results are declared and therefore enjoy, from that moment, the privileges and immunities attached to that status. According to a press release (in English) released by the Court, Case C-502/19 Junqueras Vie, concerned the provisional detention of Mr. Junqueras Vies, who was involved in the organization of a referendum on self-determination in...
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 December 11, 2019, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation aimed at making the guardianship of unaccompanied migrant children more effective. A press release issued by the Council of Europe states that the "Recommendation seeks to ensure that unaccompanied and separated children's rights and their best interests are respected in line with international and European standards." The Resolution itself consists of a brief preamble and five main recommendations. Detailed "guiding principles and implementing guidelines" are contained in an Appendix. These...
On December 11, 2019, the United States and the European Union gathered in Washington for their twice-annual meeting to discuss priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. A joint statement following the meeting explains that the aim of the Ministerial Meeting is "to oversee transatlantic cooperation in the area of Justice and Home affairs and address common security threats." Chief among priorities for the two Transatlantic Partners is "fighting terrorism in all its forms," and an emphasis on sharing information derived from combat zones to assist in criminal prosecutions. The...
The European Union and the Council of Europe have each adopted instruments seeking to address the protection of whistleblowers. EU Directive 2019/1937 of October 23, 2019, on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law represents the first effort of the EU to adopt a Union-wide legislative instrument on the subject matter. A press release from April 2018 at the start of the legislative process states that the new law “will establish safe channels for reporting both within an organisation and to public authorities” and “will also protect whistleblowers against dismissal,...
On December 5, 2019, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) published its annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities. The ninth of its kind, the Report details the Office's determinations under Article 53(1)(a)-(c) of the Rome Statute from December 1, 2018 to November 30, 2019. A press release issued by the Court highlights that the Prosecutor's Office "received 795 communications pursuant to article 15 of the Statute" and that of those, "617 were found to be manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Court." The aim of these reports is to "promote...
Also over Thanksgiving week, on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. As reported in the Washington Post, the Act "authorizes sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in human rights abuses and requires the State Department to perform an annual review of the special trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong.
On November 28, 2019, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously held in Mustafa v. Belgium (in French only) that a civilian tried within the Bulgarian military court system suffered a violation of his fair trial rights under Article 6 of the Convention because the Bulgarian military courts lacked safeguards to preserve their independence and impartiality that are available in the ordinary courts. According to a press release issued by the Court (in English), the applicant in the case, Mr. Mustafa, was one of several defendants convicted of illegal cross-...
On November 21, 2019, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights announced its judgment in Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary. This was the first time the Court was asked to apply the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to a transit zone located on a land border between two Council of Europe states where asylum-seekers stay pending the outcome of their applications. According to a press release issued by the Court, the case involved two migrants from Bangladesh who, after transiting through several countries, including Serbia, arrived at a Hungarian land border transit...
On November 21, 2019, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in Z.A. and Others v. Russia, a case involving prolonged detention in an airport transit zone in Moscow. According to a press release from the Court, the case involved the detention of four men, three of whom were held for between five and seven months, and the fourth who was detained for one year and nine months. The men challenged their detention under ECHR Articles 5(1) (right to liberty) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment). The Grand Chamber unanimously held that...
On November 20, 2019, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution on the "Situation in Bolivia". The resolution resolves to calls upon Bolivian authorities to "urgently" hold elections and "to promptly adopt an electoral schedule". In addition, it resolves to urge political and civil actors in Bolivia to "immediately cease from violence, preserve peace, and seek a frank dialogue to promote national democratic reconciliation." The Permanent Council also resolves to instruct the OAS General Secretariat "to grant all the requested technical support...