On April 27, 2014, the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (Joint Mission) called on the removal of remaining chemical weapons in Syria. According to a U.N. news report, as the June 30, 2014 deadline approaches, almost “eight percent of Syria’s declared chemical weapons material remains on its territory.” The Joint Mission stated that the remaining material should be “removed in the shortest possible timeframe, despite the difficult security situation.”
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 25, 2014, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) found, in two separate decisions, that Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea are fit to stand trial in Case 002/02. According to the press release, the ECCC “concluded that it was satisfied that neither of the two accused is suffering from any mental or physical impairment which would make them unable to participate meaningfully in the proceedings of Case 002/02.” Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, both former Khmer Rouge leaders, are charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva...
On April 25, 2014, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (the Court), Fatou Bensouda, opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Ukraine. According to the press release, on April 17, 2014, Ukraine lodged a declaration under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute accepting the Court’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on its territory from November 21, 2013, to February 22, 2014. The Prosecutor opened the preliminary examination as a “matter of policy” following receipt of Ukraine’s declaration. The Prosecutor must now consider “whether the Rome Statute criteria...
On April 24, 2014, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (the Tribunal) issued an order lifting confidentiality on a decision of January 31, 2014 which directed that two journalists and two media organizations be charged with contempt of court and obstruction of justice in relation to the Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. case under Rule 60 bis (A) of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. According to the press release, “[t]he charges follow an investigation into three events by an amicus curiae . . . who was appointed by the Registrar on the request of the Contempt Judge.” The...
On April 17, 2014, Trial Chamber V(A) of the International Criminal Court (the Court) granted, by majority, the Prosecutor’s request to subpoena eight Kenyan witnesses to give evidence in the Prosecutor v. Samoei William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang trial. According to the press release, the Court considered that States Parties to the Rome Statute “must be presumed to have created a court with every necessary competence, power, ability and capability to exercise its functions and fulfil its mandate in an effective way,” and so the court must have the power to subpoena witnesses....
On April 16, 2014, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2150, which calls on States “to recommit to prevent and fight against genocide, and other serious crimes under international law.” The resolution “underscores the importance of taking into account lessons learned from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed.” It also “condemns without reservation any denial of this Genocide.”
On April 25, 2014, the Marshall Islands filed applications (UK-related application only) that accuse nine States (China, North Korea, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) of, according to the press release, “fail[ing] to fulfil their obligations with respect to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.” In its applications, the Marshall Islands invokes, inter alia, Article VI of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which provides that: “Each of the Parties to the Treaty...
On April 23, 2014, the United Kingdom and China signed a co-production film treaty that will, according to a press release, “allow qualifying co-productions to access national benefits including sources of finance and an easier passage to audiences.” According to a U.K. Department for Culture, Media & Sport news, under the treaty, co-productions “will be able to access the second highest box office in the world, worth US$2.7 billion and forecast to grow to US$5.5 billion by 2017.”
On April 22, 2014, Andorra became the tenth country to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Resultantly, the Convention will enter into force on August 1, 2014. The treaty recognizes a gender gap in protecting fundamental rights and requires States Parties to prevent violence, protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators.
On April 15, 2014, Trial Chamber I of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (the Tribunal) dismissed the defense request for acquittal in the Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladić case. Ratko Mladić is the former Commander of the VRS Main Staff and is charged with genocide and other crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina from May 1992 to late 1995. He had requested acquittal on two counts of genocide and various other charges . According to the press release, the Tribunal also rejected “arguments relating to the Accused’s command responsibility for...