On November 9, 2016, the United Nations Security Council, acting under its Chapter VII authority, passed a resolution that renewed authorization for international naval forces to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. According to the press release, the Council affirmed that while the Somali government had the primary responsibility in the efforts, it “renewed the call upon States and regional organizations that were able to do so to cooperate with those authorities and each other in deploying naval vessels and military aircraft, by providing logistical support, and by seizing and...
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 November 9, 2016, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Protocol entered into force. According to the press release, the ratifying member states must now “take effective measures to prevent and eliminate forced labour, and to protect and provide access to justice for victims.” The current high contracting parties are Argentina, the Czech Republic, France, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Norway, Panama, and the United Kingdom. There are an estimated 21 million victims of forced labor throughout the world.
On November 8, 2016, the United Nations Security Council, acting under its Chapter VII authority, passed a resolution renewing its authorization of the European-led multinational stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR ALTHEA) for another year. According to the press release, “Council members took the floor to urge leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to pursue reconciliation under compliance with the Dayton Accord, with most expressing concern over tensions that surrounded the referendum on Republika Srpska Day.” A large portion of the region's Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic...
On November 7, 2016, the Chinese parliament moved to effectively bar two elected Hong Kong politicians from taking office. According to reports, the response came after the two displayed a banner saying "Hong Kong is not China" and pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" during their swearing-in ceremony. The parliament’s ruling imposes an obligation “that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and that candidates would be disqualified if they changed the wording of their oath of office or if they failed to take it in a sincere and solemn manner.” On November 15...
On November 6, 2016, reports circulated that Scotland would join the plaintiffs in the legal battle over Parliament’s role in Brexit. A British court ruled last week that Parliament had to authorize the process that would begin the country’s departure from the European Union; an appeal to the country’s highest court is expected before the end of the year. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, said that “[t]he Scottish government had a representative observing proceedings throughout this case and we are currently considering whether we should now seek to become participants in the...
On November 4, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published its report on the legal standards for persons in the context of human mobility. According to the press release, the purpose of the report “is to lay out the legal standards developed by the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights . . . with regard to the scope and content of the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees” and other vulnerable groups. To do so, the report looks at the underlying causes of migration in the region, such as “growing socioeconomic...
On November 4, 2016, the Paris Agreement on climate change entered into force. The official summary states that the goal of the Agreement is “to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.” According to commentators, “the Paris Agreement is potentially pivotal, because it completes the paradigm shift from the bifurcated world of the Kyoto Protocol, which rigidly...
On November 4, 2016, the International Chamber of Commerce modified its Rules of Arbitration to improve transparency and efficiency in the arbitral process. According to the press release, the new rules will apply an expedited procedure automatically to all disputes under $2 million with a possibility to opt in for higher disputes. Under the expedited procedure rules, “there will be no Terms of Reference and the tribunal will have discretion to decide the case on documents only, with no hearing, no requests to produce documents and no examination of witnesses.” Also, the expedited rules...
On November 3, 2016, the justice minister of South Africa presented a bill to parliament that would allow the state to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. According to reports, “Pretoria last year announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticized it for disregarding an order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during a visit to South Africa. Bashir faces charges of orchestrating genocide and war crimes—charges that he dismisses.” The South African government said there was conflict between its obligations under the Rome Statute and its Diplomatic...
On November 3, 2016, the U.K. High Court ruled that before the U.K. can invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would officially begin the process of withdrawing from the European Union, it must receive approval from Parliament. According to reports, the government was “relying on a power called the royal prerogative that lets the government withdraw from international treaties.” The Court ruled, however, that the royal prerogative was subject to parliamentary approval in this circumstance because invoking Article 50 would remove rights that were introduced by an act of Parliament...