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.
ITLOS Delivers Judgment in M/V “Virginia G” Case (April 14, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 25, 2014 |

On April 14, 2014, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its judgment in The M/V Virginia G Case (Panama/Guinea-Bissau). ITLOS found that Guinea-Bissau had violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention) “by confiscating the M/V Virginia G and the gas oil on board” and “by failing to notify Panama, as the flag State, of the detention and arrest of the M/V Virginia G and subsequent actions taken against the vessel and its cargo.”

According to the press release, the authorities of Guinea-...

IACHR Expresses Deep Concern over Migrant “Stash House” in the United States (April 11, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 25, 2014 |

On April 11, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human (IACHR) rights issued a press release stating that it is “deeply concerned about the discovery of 110 migrants in an irregular situation being held against their will in a small house in a Houston, Texas.” In the press release, the IACHR “urges the United States to maximize its efforts in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of these crimes” and “to protect and provide assistance to migrant victims of crime, in cases such as the present, to ensure their physical, psychological, and social recovery.”

U.N. Security Council Establishes New Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (April 10, 2014)
| By: Nicole R. Tuttle : April 25, 2014 |

On April 10, 2014, the U.N. Security Council, acting under Chapter VII, unanimously adopted Resolution 2149 establishing the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). According to a press release, MINUSCA’s mandate includes: “protecting civilians; supporting for transition process; facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance; protecting United Nations personnel and properties; promoting and protecting human rights; supporting national and international justice and the rule of law; and ensuring the disarmament,...

Court of Justice of the European Union Declares Data Retention Directive Invalid (April 7, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 25, 2014 |

On April 7, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) issued its judgment in the Digital Rights Ireland case, declaring invalid the Data Retention Directive (a 2006 Directive, which requires communications providers to retain traffic, location and identification data so that it is available in the fight against serious crime, including terrorism). According to the press release, the Court found that the retention and access to communications data permitted by the Directive “interferes in a particularly serious manner with the fundamental rights to respect for...

Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Issues Severance Decision in Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea Trial (April 4, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 25, 2014 |

On April 4, 2014, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) issued a new severance decision, defining which alleged crime sites and factual allegations will be included in the trial in Case 002/02 against former Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea. According to the press release, “[c]harges related to genocide, forced marriages and rape, treatment of Buddhists, internal purges, targeting of former Khmer Republic officials, four security centers, three worksites and one cooperative will form the basis for Case 002/02.” In ordering severance...

IACHR to Create Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (April 3, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 25, 2014 |

On April 3, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human (IACHR) issued a press release announcing the initiation of a process to create an Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Commissioner Paulo Vannuchi, who will coordinate the process, said “Latin America continues to be the region with the highest levels of inequality in the world, while in recent decades the United States has seen an increase in inequality in income distribution. These facts simply reaffirm the overriding need to give priority to the protection of economic, social, and cultural...

African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights Delivers Judgment in Matter of Late Norbert Zongo and Others (April 1, 2014)
| By: Emily MacKenzie : April 03, 2014 |

On April 1, 2014, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in the Matter of the Beneficiaries of Late Norbert Zongo and others v. Burkina Faso, finding violations of Articles 7 and 9 (2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Norbert Zongo was an investigating journalist and Director of the weekly paper, l’Indépendant, who was found dead, along with his companions, in Burkina Faso in 1998. According to the press release, the Court concluded that Burkina Faso “failed in its obligation to take measures, other than legislative,...

ICC Trial Chamber Adjourns Commencement Date of Kenyatta Trial (March 31, 2014)
| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : April 03, 2014 |

On March 31, 2014, Trial Chamber V(b) of the International Criminal Court adjourned the commencement date in the Prosecutor v. Uhuru Kenyatta trial until October 7, 2014.  According to the press release, the Chamber did so in order to provide the government of Kenya “with a further, time-limited opportunity to provide certain records, which the Prosecution had previously requested on the basis that the records are relevant to a central allegation to the case.”  The Chamber directed the Prosecutor to submit to the Kenyan authorities within two weeks a revised request to produce...

ICJ Rules in Case Concerning Whaling in the Antarctic (March 31, 2014)
| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : April 03, 2014 |

On March 31, 2014, the International Court of Justice rendered its Judgment in the case concerning Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening).  According to the press release, the Court ruled that “Japan’s whaling programme in the Antarctic (JARPA II) is not in accordance with three provisions of the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.”  The Court ordered Japan to “revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance of that...

The Philippines Files Case With UN Permanent Court of Arbitration Concerning China’s Claims in South China Sea (March 30, 2014)
| By: Adom Malcolm Cooper : April 03, 2014 |

On March 30, 2014, the Philippines submitted its Memorial to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in its dispute with China over the South China Sea. This deadline was set in accordance with the first Procedural Order of the Arbitral Tribunal in the case. According to a news story, the Memorial of the Philippines is “nearly 4,000 pages long, includes more than 40 maps and is aimed at countering Beijing’s argument that controlling mostly submerged features such as reefs or shoals provides China with sovereignty over the sea, including some 80% of the Philippines’ UN-declared exclusive...

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