On 14 October 2014, a World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel issued a report in response to a U.S. claim against India, ruling that India had violated WTO rules in implementing import prohibitions concerning poultry and other agricultural products from countries reporting Notifiable Avian Influenza (AI). According to the summary of key findings, the U.S. “complained that India's AI measures amounted to an import prohibition that was not based on the relevant international standard (the [World Organisation for Animal Health] Terrestrial Code) or on a scientific risk assessment.” The panel...
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 October 9, 2014, the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber (the Court) dismissed William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang’s appeals against the Trial Chamber’s decision requiring witnesses to appear before it and obligating the government of Kenya to facilitate the witnesses’ appearance. According to the press release, “in the view of the Appeals Chamber, article 64(6)(b) of the Rome Statute expressly gives Trial Chambers the power to compel witnesses to appear before it, thereby creating a legal obligation for the individuals concerned.” In their decision, the Trial Chamber “...
On October 3, 2014, the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) celebrated the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Relationship Agreement, recommitting to the relationship between the two organizations. According to a news article, under the agreement, which entered into force on October 4, 2004, “the ICC and the UN recognize each other’s mandates and status, and agree to cooperate and consult each other on matters of mutual interest.” According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and ICC President Judge Sang-Hyun Song, the agreement was founded “on the...
On October 2, 2014, an Appeals Panel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) decided in an appeal related to Case STL-14-05 that the STL has jurisdiction to hear cases of obstruction of justice against legal persons. In its decision, the Appeals Panel found “that the ordinary meaning of the word ‘person’ in a legal context can include both natural human beings and legal entities.” In their reasoning, the Appeals Panel determined that “[i]n light of the Tribunal's inherent power to protect the integrity of its proceedings, the need to uphold the rule of law, execute and maintain the...
On September 30, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) declared inadmissible the case of Gross v. Switzerland, which concerned the inability of an elderly woman, who was not suffering from a clinical illness, to obtain the Swiss authorities’ permission to be given a lethal dose of a drug in order to commit suicide. According to the press release, the Court found that because the applicant had committed suicide in 2011, but taken steps to keep this information from her attorney so that her case might still move forward, “her conduct had...
On September 30, 2014, American and Afghan officials signed a bilateral security agreement, which will allow about 12,000 foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after the end of the year. According to a news article, the agreement “will allow 9,800 American and at least 2,000 NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan after the international combat mission formally ends on Dec. 31. Most of them will help train and assist the struggling Afghan security forces, although some American Special Operations forces will remain to conduct counterterrorism missions.” Under the agreement, “both...
On September 26, 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (the Council) concluded its twenty-seventh session, having adopted thirty-two resolutions on a variety of issues. According to a press release, the Council adopted resolutions “on sexual orientation and gender identity, on the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Syria, on civil society space, and on foreign debt.” Additional resolutions included those on “technical assistance and capacity building, including in Yemen and Sudan, the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and on the right of the child to...
On September 29, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the ICTR (Appeals Chamber) delivered judgments in the cases of Édouard Karemera and Matthieu Ngirumpatse; Ildéphonse Nizeyimana; and Callixte Nzabonimana. According to the press release, “[t]he Appeals Chamber reversed certain findings of the Trial Chamber, which, however, did not result in the overturning of any of Karemera’s or Ngirumpatse’s convictions” and affirmed their life sentences. In the case of Nizeyimana, the Appeals Chamber affirmed a number of his convictions, but also “found that the Trial Chamber...
On September 28, 2014, eight states ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), bringing the total number of states parties to 53. According to Article 22 of the ATT, the “Treaty shall enter into force ninety days following the date of the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval with the Depositary.” The object of the Treaty is to “[e]stablish the highest possible common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms,” and to “[p]revent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and...
On September 26, 2014, the Dutch Supreme Court upheld (Dutch only) an arbitration award of US$106 million with post-award interest in favor of Chevron and its affiliates, Texaco Petroleum Co., against Ecuador. The award was in relation to an oil extraction and exploitation concession agreement in the Amazon territory from 1964, which Ecuador allegedly breached. According to the press release, Chevron initiated proceedings against Ecuador under a 1997 Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between Ecuador and the US, arguing that their “claims should be deemed ‘investments’ within the meaning...