On October 1, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (E.C.J.) issued its judgment in Case C-673/17, Planet49, following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtsof (Federal Court of Justice) in Germany. According to a press release from the Court, the German court asked the E.C.J. to interpret Directive 2002/58/EC on the protection of e-communications privacy. In particular, the E.C.J. was asked whether requiring users to deselect a pre-checked checkbox to refuse their consent to cookies satisfies the meaning of “consent” in the Directive. 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 September 27, 2019, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights announced verdicts in four cases under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights ('the Charter'). In Godfrey Antony and Another v. United Republic of Tanzania, the Applicants challenged their sentences of 30 years for conspiracy to commit a felony and armed robbery, and alleged that the Respondent State unlawfully failed to provide them with free legal representation and discriminated against them under Article 7 of the Charter.
Shukurani Mango and Others v. United Republic of Tanzania ...
On September 25, 2019, at its 30th meeting, the Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS), adopted a resolution primarily aimed at identifying individuals and entities associated with the Nicolas Maduro regime. In addition to strengthening efforts to identify those linked with the regime, the resolution includes elements of enhanced legal, judicial, and police cooperation and involvement of national financial intelligence units in the identification of regime associates. The Ministers will meet again within two months of the date of the...
On September 24, 2019, the UK Supreme Court unanimously held in R (Miller) v. The Prime Minister that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend, or prorogue, the UK Parliament was unlawful. The judgment affirmatively responded to the question of whether the matter was justiciable because of its political nature. As noted in both the judgment and an official summary of the judgment, the Court further held that the decision to suspend Parliament was "unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional...
On September 23, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first Political Declaration on healthcare, titled "Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World". The Declaration is aimed at reaffirming the commitment of U.N. member states to "achieve universal health coverage by 2030" in recognition that health is a key part of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Declaration commits states to a number of actions relating to promoting active and healthy lifestyles, affordable health financing policies, high-quality and affordable...
On September 12, 2019, the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça (Supreme Court, Portugal), issued a judgment in the Cofemel - Sociedade de Vestuário, SA v. G-Star Raw CV case, Case-683/17 (in Spanish). The Court of Justice of the European Union Press Release 109/19 summarized the Court’s findings. The dispute concerned an accusation by G-Star that Cofemel was “producing and selling jeans, sweatshirts and t-shirts copying some of its own designs.” The Court discussed its settled case law that “any original subject matter constituting the expression of its author’s own intellectual creation can be...
On September 3, 2019, the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts in Yemen released its “Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Yemen, Including Violations and Abuses Since September 2014,” UN Document A/HRC/42/CRP.1*. The Report found “reasonable grounds to believe that the parties to the conflict in Yemen are responsible for an array of human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law. Some of these violations are likely to amount to war crimes.” Further, it...
On September 10, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued its judgment in the Pryanishnikov v. Russia case, Application No. 25047/05. In a Press Release issued by the Registrar of the ECtHR, the findings of the case were summarized. In this case, the applicant, Sergey Viktorovich Pryanishnikov, a Russian national, challenged the refusal by domestic courts to grant him a film reproduction license because he was suspected of producing or distributing pornography. Pryanishnikov is the producer of erotic films and owns the copyright to over 1,500 such films. He applied to the...
In June 2019, the Council of Europe released its Recommendation regarding the “protection of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants travelling by sea,” titled “Lives Saved. Rights Protected. Bridging the Protection Gap for Refugees and Migrants in the Mediterranean.” The Recommendation sets forth that “states have clear obligations to aid any person found in distress at sea, to rescue people in distress and to ensure that their rights—including the right to life and to protection from refoulement—are upheld.” The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights put forward this...
On September 4, 2019, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi released its Report, UN Document A/HRC/42/49. The Report states: “Serious human rights violations have continued to be committed in Burundi since May 2018, in a general climate of impunity. Some of these violations constitute international crimes. Members of the youth league of the ruling party, the Imbonerakure, are the main perpetrators. Officers of the National Intelligence Service and the police, along with local administrative officials, are also frequently identified as perpetrators of such violations. Burundi has been...