On July 11, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (the Court) confirmed by majority (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda) the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber II, which rejected the requests of Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Fidèle Babala Wandu and Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo for interim release (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda). According to the press release, the majority “found no clear errors materially affecting the Pre-Trial Chamber's decisions.” Judges Anita Ušacka and Erkki Kourula each wrote dissenting opinions (Kilolo, Babala, Mangenda). The accused are detained on charges of...
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 July 10, 2014, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) approved the draft Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (draft Convention) at its 47th session in New York. According to a press release, “[t]he purpose of the convention on transparency is to provide a mechanism for the application of the [UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration] to arbitration cases arising under the almost 3,000 investment treaties concluded before 1 April 2014.” In light of UNCITRAL’s approval, the draft Convention “...
On July 10, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) issued a preliminary ruling in Naime Dogan v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, finding unlawful the introduction of legislation requiring a basic knowledge of the German language as a condition for the issue of a visa to a non-resident spouse wishing to join his or her sponsor in Germany. The Court held that the legislation constituted a “new restriction” breaching the “standstill” clause in Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol (unofficial translation) to the Agreement Establishing an Association Between the...
On July 7, 2014, the Arbitral Tribunal established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Tribunal) rendered its award in the case of Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration Between Bangladesh and India, regarding the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two states. According to the press release, the Tribunal, upon accepting jurisdiction, unanimously “identif[ied] the location of the land boundary terminus between Bangladesh and India and in determining the course of the maritime boundary in the territorial sea.” By a vote of four to...
On June 30, 2014, India became the first to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. According to a press release, more than seventy-five World Intellectual Property Organization member states have signed the Treaty. The treaty, adopted on June 27, 2013, “require[s] its contracting parties to adopt national law provisions that permit the reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in accessible formats—such as Braille—through limitations and exceptions to the rights...
On July 2, 2014, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (the Tribunal) issued Award No. 602 in Cases A15 (IV) and A24. The Tribunal awarded $842,468.14 to Iran to compensate for legal expenses that Iran incurred when it was “reasonably compelled in the prudent defense of its interests to make appearances or file documents in United States courts.” The Tribunal held that the United States had not complied with its obligations under General Principle B of the General Declaration to “terminate all litigation as between the government of [Iran and the United States] and to bring about the...
On July 3, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in Georgia v. Russia (I), finding that the arrest, detention and expulsion from Russia of large numbers of Georgian nationals from September 2006 until January 2007 violated Russia’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). According to the press release, the Court found, upon examining the evidence, that “a coordinated policy of arresting, detaining and expelling Georgian nationals, amounting to an administrative practice, had been implemented in...
On June 30, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (the Court) delivered its judgment on the appeals lodged by Augustin Bizimungu, a former Chief of Staff of the Rwandan army, and the Prosecution against Trial Chamber II’s judgment in The Prosecutor v. Augustin Bizimungu. According to the press release, the Court “affirmed, in part, Bizimungu’s convictions for genocide, extermination, murder, and rape,” in relation to certain incidents but reversed in relation to others where “the Trial Chamber erred in its assessment of evidence.” The...
On June 11, 2014, the International Labour Organization (ILO) approved amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention. According to a press release, the amendments were adopted at the 103rd International Labour Conference, with the “aim to further protect seafarers from abandonment and ensure rapid compensation in case of death or disability.” As such, “ships will be required to carry certificates or other documents to establish that financial security exists to protect seafarers working on board.”
On July 1, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) issued its judgment in S.A.S. v. France, holding that France’s 2010 law “prohibiting the concealment of
one’s face in public places” did not breach Article 8 (private and family life), Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), or Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). According to the press release, the applicant complained that the law prevented her from wearing a full-face veil in public “in accordance with her...