On March 7, 2014, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a declaration on the situation in Venezuela. The Permanent Council expressed “its condolences to and solidarity with the victims and their family members,” and called for peace and human rights, “[rejecting] all forms of violence and intolerance.” The Council stressed “its respect for the principle of nonintervention in the domestic affairs of states” and expressed its “appreciation, full support, and encouragement for the initiatives and the efforts of the democratically-elected Government 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 March 7, 2014, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2143, calling for increased efforts to protect children in armed conflict. According to the press release, “a new element in [the] resolution is references to the use of schools by armed forces.” In particular, the Security Council expressed “deep concern at the military use of schools in contravention of applicable international law, recognizing that such use may render schools legitimate targets of attack, thus endangering children’s and teachers’ safety as well as children’s education.” As such, the Security...
Further to the ILIB post of February 20, 2014, on March 6, 2014, the European Council brought into force, by decision and implementing regulation, restrictive measures which freeze the assets of “persons having been identified as responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian State funds and persons responsible for human rights violations in Ukraine.” Those persons, who are listed in the annexes to the decision and regulation, include the former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Vitalii Zakharchenko, and sixteen other former Ministers and...
On March 5, 2014, the United States Supreme Court in Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez unanimously ruled that the equitable tolling doctrine does not apply to Article 12 of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Under Article 12, when a parent abducts a child and flees to another country, that country must return the child immediately if the other parent requests return within one year. Equitable tolling is a federal legal doctrine which “pauses the running of . . . a statute of limitations when a litigant has pursued his rights diligently but some...
On February 27, 2014, the General Court of the European Union (the Court) decided Ahmed Ezz and Others v. Council, the first European court judgment on the European Union’s sanctions relating to Egypt. The Court upheld the restrictive measures, finding, inter alia, that they were “lawfully adopted” and that the relevant acts “disclose in a clear fashion the Council’s reasoning.” The Court further found that the rights to defense, property and the freedom to conduct a business had not been breached.
On March 7, 2014, a majority of Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga case found (French language) Katanga guilty as an accessory to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property, and pillaging). The crimes were committed on February 24, 2003 during the attack on Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In her dissent, Judge Van den Wyngaert reasoned that the Trial Chamber’s recharacterization of Katanga’s mode of liability violated...
The European Union Heads of State or Government and the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) both released statements, on March 6 and 7, 2014, respectively, expressing support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The EU statement “[condemned] the unprovoked violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Russian Federation.” Similarly, in its press release, PACE “expressed its full support for the territorial integrity and national unity of Ukraine,” and “strongly condemned the violation by the Russian Federation of the...
On March 5, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (the Court) dismissed the appeal in Stott v. Thomas Cook Tour Operators Ltd. The Appellant, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down, claimed damages for injury to feelings after being unable to sit with his wife, on whom he relies for his care, on a flight with the Respondent airline. The Respondent argued, under Article 17 and Article 29 of the Montreal Convention, that damages can only be awarded for harm to passengers in cases of death or bodily harm. According to the press release, the Court held that “the Convention...
On March 5, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held in BG Group v. Argentina that, when reviewing an arbitration award made under an investment treaty between the United Kingdom and Argentina, federal courts should review with deference an arbitrators’ interpretation of a precondition to arbitration. The case arises from a tariff dispute between Argentina and BG Group, a British firm that belonged to a consortium owning a majority interest in an Argentinian gas distributor. After an amendment to Argentinian law affected tariff rates, BG Group sought arbitration in Washington, D.C. It...
On March 4, 2014, the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United Kingdom. The Court found that the U.K. had not violated Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience, and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by refusing to grant a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints an exemption from local property taxes given to “place[s] of public religious worship.” According to the...