On May 7, 2015, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) ruled in ACLU v. Clapper that the National Security Agency (NSA) bulk metadata telephone collection program is unlawful. The Court found that “the district court erred in ruling that § 215 [of the USA PATRIOT Act] authorizes the telephone metadata collection program, and instead hold that the telephone metadata program exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized and therefore violates § 215.” Because the Court ruled that the program exceeds the scope of what Congress authorized, the Court “dismiss[ed] 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 April 29, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Geoffrey Léger v. Ministre des Affaires sociales, de la Santé et des Droits des femmes and Établissement français du sang that permanently barring men who have had sex with other men from donating blood may be justified under a European Union Directive under certain conditions. According to the press release, the state must “establish[] whether those persons are at a high risk of acquiring severe infectious diseases, such as HIV, and that there are no effective detection techniques or less onerous...
On April 29, 2015, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded its 72nd regular session, at which it adopted the final text of the “Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of His or Her Liberty by Arrest or Detention to Bring Proceedings Before Court.” The draft basic principles, “drawn from international standards and recognized good practice, aim to provide guidance to States on the fundamental principles on which the laws and procedures regulating this right should be based and on the elements required for its effective...
On April 23, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Zuchtvieh-Export GmbH v Stadt Kempten that requirements relating to animal protections during transportation extend beyond the boundaries of the European Union (EU). According to the press release, in the case of animal transportation between member states and third countries, the organizer must submit a journey log to the competent authority at the place of departure that details the travel plan and “indicates that the provisions of the regulation will be complied with, including for the stages of...
On April 25, 2015, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered its order in the Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Cote d’Ivoire). According to the press release, Cote D’Ivoire submitted a request for provisional measures requiring Ghana to, among other demands, “take all steps to suspend all ongoing oil exploration and exploitation operations in the disputed area; refrain from granting any new permit for oil exploration and exploitation in the disputed area”...
On April 22, 2015, the National Transition Council of the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) voted to create a special criminal tribunal to address the atrocities that have taken place in the country in recent years. According to one report, the court will “be made up of 27 judges including 14 from CAR and 13 from other countries” and “presided over by a CAR judge while the chief prosecutor will be a foreign judge.” In September 2014, the International Criminal Court opened its second investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity occurring in the CAR, and in January...
On April 27, 2014, the High Court of Uganda submitted a matter to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to determine whether national courts have the jurisdiction to interpret provisions of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (EAC Treaty). According to the press release, the senior state attorney representing the attorney general of Uganda argued that “Article 27 of the Treaty specifically provides initial jurisdiction to interpret and apply the provisions of the Treaty and that there is no similar provision conferring jurisdiction to interpret the Treaty on...
On April 6, 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published a report titled Greece as a Country of Asylum- UNHCR’s Recommendations in which it set out a series of guidelines for “[Greece’s] consideration to address the challenges in the asylum system and protection environment.” The document addresses the following areas: (1) border management and access to territory, (2) first reception and administrative treatment of asylum-seekers upon arrival, (3) access to and quality of the asylum procedures, (4) second-line reception of asylum-seekers, (5)...
On April 20, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (the Court) denied certiorari in Cardona v. Chiquita Brands International, Inc., a case in which the relatives of the victims of Colombia’s paramilitary violence sued Chiquita Brands International, Inc. for funding paramilitaries. The plaintiffs petitioned the Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, quoting Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, dismissed the case in 2014 on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a “case seeking relief for violations of the law of nations occurring outside...
On April 15, 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced its partnership with the International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) “to help strengthen cross-border investigations into match-fixing . . . as well as bolstering measures to prosecute offenders.” The organizations will develop training resources “aligned with the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) that will identify key themes related to prosecutions and investigations.” UNODC’s efforts arise from its finding that “[m]atch-fixing is...