On December 18, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in International Stem Cell Corporation v. Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks that under the EU Biotech Directive (the Directive)—which prohibits patenting human embryos for industrial and commercial purposes—an organism incapable of developing into a human being is not considered a human embryo and that the use of such an organism for industrial or commercial purposes may be patented. According to the press release, the Court found that under the Directive, a non-fertilized...
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.
Court of Justice of the European Union Rules Obesity Can Constitute a Disability (December 18, 2014)
On December 18, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Fag og Arbejde v. Kommunernes Landsforening that under certain conditions, obesity may fall within the concept of “disability” within the meaning of the European Union Employment Equality Directive (the Directive). According to the press release, the Court determined that no EU treaties or legislation explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of obesity, and consequently held that, “in the area of employment and occupation, EU law does not lay down a general principle of non-discrimination...
On December 18, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Appeals Chamber) delivered its first appeal judgment in the case of The Prosecutor v. Augustin Ngirabatware, affirming the conviction of Ngirabatware in part. According to the press release, “[t]he Appeals Chamber unanimously affirmed Ngirabatware’s conviction for direct and public incitement to commit genocide. A majority of the Appeals Chamber also affirmed Ngirabatware’s conviction for instigating and aiding and abetting genocide.” The Appeals Chamber also “unanimously...
On December 17, 2014 the United States and Cuba agreed to begin restoring diplomatic and economic ties that have been severed since January 1961. According to a statement by President Barack Obama, going forward, the United States will take steps to ease restrictions on commerce, travel, and telecommunications and will reestablish an American embassy in Havana. The Cuban government has decided to “provide more access to the Internet for its citizens” and to increase cooperation with international organizations like the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Obama...
On December 11, 2014, the United Nations Secretary-General released a report on children and armed conflict in South Sudan, the first of its kind since South Sudan seceded from the Sudan in July 2011. The report “contains information on the six grave violations against children and, more broadly, on the situation of children affected by armed conflict during the period from 1 March 2011 to 30 September 2014.” It further “demonstrates that all parties to the conflict in South Sudan were responsible for grave violations against children during the reporting period, including killing and...
On December 16, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Ibrahim and Others v. The United Kingdom that British police did not violate Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) when they did not allow suspects in an attempted train bombing access to their lawyers while police searched for the suspects’ accomplices immediately after the attempt. According to the press release, the Court ruled that, due to the interviews being “conducted urgently for the purpose of protecting life and preventing serious damage...
On December 16, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled (French only) in Chbihi Loudoudi and Others v. Belgium that Belgium did not violate Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) when it refused to allow a child to be adopted by her aunt and uncle, who had become her Kafala guardians, an Islamic institution undertaken voluntarily “to provide for a child’s welfare, education and protection.” According to the press release, the Court decided that, “taking into account the...
The United Nations Released a report, “We the Peoples: Celebrating Seven Million Voices,” (the Report) that details the findings of a survey given to seven million people throughout the world. The survey was primarily given to “young people under 30 from low to medium HDI (Human Development Index) countries.” According to the press release, the Report asked participants what they would like to see included in future development goals by voting for “six out of 16 issues which are most important to them and their families.” The four most popular issues were good education, better...
On December 11, 2014, the International Criminal Court (the Court) confirmed four charges against Charles Blé Goudé in connection with the violence in Côte d’Ivoȋre in 2010–2011. According to the press release, the pre-trial chamber found “sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that Charles Blé Goudé is individually criminally responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder, rape, other inhumane acts or – in the alternative – attempted murder, and persecution.” Mr. Goudé was charged with “individual criminal responsibility for committing these crimes,...
On December 10, 2014, the United Nations finished its review of the International Law Commission’s final report on “The Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute” (the Report). The Report examined provisions of several international instruments regarding the obligation to extradite or prosecute and made several clarifications “in order to assist States in this matter.” The Report notes that the view that “the obligation to extradite or prosecute plays a crucial role in the fight against impunity is widely shared by States [and] the obligation applies in respect of a wide range of crimes of...