On June 10, 2015, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Syed Mohammed Hasan Ali, who was put on trial in absentia, to death for crimes that included murder, genocide, abduction, confinement, and torture. The crimes relate to his activities during the 1971 Liberation war in Bangladesh, where Ali was claimed to have been a member of an auxiliary force of the Pakistani troops with the purpose of “identifying and eliminating all those who were perceived to be sympathized with the liberation of Bangladesh, individuals belonging to minority religious groups especially the...
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 June 8, 2015, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea released a report on the human rights situation in Eritrea. The report states that based on the evidence the commission of inquiry gathered in its investigation in to the situation in Eritrea, they “found that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed in Eritrea under the authority of the Government. Some of these violations may constitute crimes against humanity.” According to the press release, “[t]he commission of inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights...
On June 8, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court (the Court) held in Zivotofsky v. Kerry that an Act of Congress that would allow U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to have their place of birth listed on their passports as “Israel” infringes on the President’s exclusive power to grant formal recognition to foreign states. The Court notes that the law “forces the President, through the Secretary of State, to identify, upon request, citizens born in Jerusalem as being born in Israel when, as a matter of United States policy, neither Israel nor any other country is acknowledged as having...
On June 4, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) held in P, S v. Commissie Sociale Zekerheid Breda that EU member states may require third-country nationals who have long-term resident status, as member states are required to grant under an EU directive after five years of continuous residency, to pass a civic integration examination. According to the press release, “the Court holds that the directive does not preclude the imposition of the obligation to pass a civic integration examination, provided that the means of implementing that obligation are not...
On May 26, 2015, the U.K. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in AR v. RN, finding that when determining the habitual residence of a child for custody purposes, the intentions of the parents are only one factor to be considered. The case concerned two children born in France, whose parent agreed to temporarily move them to Scotland with their mother for the period of a year, and whether they should be returned to France or kept in Scotland after their parents’ relationship ended before the completion of that year. According to the press release, the case revolved around Article 3...
On May 20, 2015, a Swiss Court ordered an Israeli oil company, the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation regarding the revenues from an oil pipeline that began as a joint venture between the states before the Islamic Revolution. According to a news article, the project was begun in 1968 as a means for selling Iranian oil to Europe via Israel, but the “jointly-owned pipeline was effectively nationalized by Israel after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which Iran turned from being Israel’s ally to its enemy, and Iran's assets were expropriated.” Israel...
On May 13, 2015, the United Nations released a report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) titled “Report of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office on International Humanitarian Law Violations Committed by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Combatants in the Territory of Beni, North Kivy Province, Between 1 October and 31 December.” According to a news article, the report “says that a Uganda-based rebel group has committed grave violations of international humanitarian law in crisis-riven north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.” It further states that “ADF combatants...
On May 12, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Identoba and Others v. Georgia that the failure of Georgian police to protect individuals taking part in a march against homophobia violated the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the press release, approximately thirty people who were taking part in the march were threatened and attacked by counter-demonstrators and that police at the scene, “when asked for help by the marchers, replied that they were not part of the police patrol and it was not their duty to intervene.” The Court found...
On May 14, 2015, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on the U.S. to reform the National Security Agency’s (NSA) bulk metadata collection program. The Special Rapporteur noted that “legislation on the collection of intelligence and national security information has remained inadequate to advancement in technologies, allowing for an indiscriminate and unprecedented access to information related to the communications between individuals that can have a chilling effect on free expression and the search for and...
On May 12, 2015, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Gogitidze and Others v. Georgia that a court-imposed confiscation of property from a government official in the autonomous republic of Ajaria in Georgia did not violate Article 1 (protection of property) of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Ajarian Supreme Court entered a judgment against the applicants after they were charged with abuse of authority and extortion, among other charges, and ordered the confiscation of property after they failed to refute the claims. ...