On January 23, 2015, the England and Wales Court of Appeal issued a judgment in BB, PP, U and Others v. Secretary of State for the Home Department upholding the appeals of Algerian nationals against deportation after the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission (SIAC) found them to be a threat to U.K. national security. The individuals had, for years, resisted deportation through protracted litigation. On several occasions, SIAC dismissed their appeals after receiving assurances from the Algerian government that the appellants’ human rights would not be violated upon their...
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 February 3, 2015, the International Court of Justice (the Court) rejected mutual claims of genocide by Serbia and Croatia in its decision on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia). According to the press release, the Court ruled that although serious crimes were committed by each side against the other, establishing the actus reus of genocide, the crimes did not amount to genocide because they lacked the required intent. The Court dismissed both states’ claims, finding...
On January 30, 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia (the Court) issued its judgment in Prosecutor v. Popovic et al., upholding the convictions of five senior Bosnian officials for crimes perpetrated by Bosnian Serb troops in 1995. According to the press release, the Court “dismissed, unanimously or by majority, most of the Appellant’s challenges” and affirmed convictions for genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The Court also affirmed the sentences of three of the defendants and...
On January 29, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) declared inadmissible an application in the case of Aswat v. the United Kingdom challenging the sufficiency of the U.S. government’s assurances concerning the extradition and detention of Haroon Aswat, a British national suspected of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism in the United States. According to the press release, the Court had declared in a decision from 2013 that the extradition of Aswat, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, would be in violation of article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading...
On January 28, 2015, UN human rights experts released a statement welcoming El Salvador’s decision to pardon a woman convicted of aggravated homicide after she suffered a miscarriage. The experts noted that the decision “must mark a turning point for the authorities to review the sentences against all women jailed for pregnancy-related complications.” Noting that the country had “one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world,” the experts urged El Salvador to “comply with its international obligations and ensure access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including...
On January 27, 2015, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) began the transfer of its judicial documents to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the Mechanism). The Mechanism was established by Security Council Resolution 1966 (2010) “to carry out a number of essential functions of the Tribunals, including the trial of fugitives who are among the most senior leaders suspected of being most responsible for crimes, after the closure of the Tribunals.” According to the press release, the ICTY’s records, which include “a complete index, as...
On January 26, 2015, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported its adoption of the WTO Appellate Body’s report finding Argentina’s unwritten import measures in breach of WTO rules. In their respective complaints against Argentina—DS 438, DS 445, and DS 444—the European Union, Japan and the United States contested Argentina’s “unwritten trade-related requirements measure[s] (such as a request to importing companies to export at least as much as they import or to increase the local content of products made in Argentina), and the Advance Sworn Import...
On January 25, 2015, the U.S. and India released a Joint Statement listing various forms of cooperation between the two states discussed during President Obama’s recent visit to India, including the finalization of the 2015 Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship. In a statement, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the “renewed framework will support stronger military-to-military engagement, including deeper maritime cooperation and increased opportunities in technology and trade.” According to a news article, the agreement “included the joint production of drone aircraft...
On January 21, 2015, delegates from three factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed an agreement laying out steps to reunite the opposing party factions. According to a news article, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the agreement and “calls for its immediate implementation, particularly the recommitment of President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement, and encourages the signatories to resolve the leadership issues of the SPLM.” The conflict between the party factions began in December 2013 “and subsequently turned...
On January 22, 2015, acting under chapter VII of the UN Charter, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution renewing the sanctions regime and imposing additional measures against the Central African Republic (CAR). The resolution renewed the measures imposed by resolutions 2127 (2013) and 2134 (2014) and extended a travel ban and asset freeze against designated individuals “through 29 January 2016.” The Council defined designated individuals as those determined by the Central African Republic Sanctions Committee, established by resolution 2127 in 2013, to be “engaging in or...