On January 14, 2014, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office submitted an official response to questions posed by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee “regarding the United Kingdom’s position on humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect.” In the response, the government articulated its position that “intervention may be permitted under international law in exceptional circumstances where the UN Security Council is unwilling or unable to act in order to avert a humanitarian catastrophe subject to . . . three conditions.” These conditions require that that...
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 January 23, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern about the recent entry into force of Law 30151, which amends Article 20(11) of Peru’s Criminal Code. The relevant provision exempts from liability to criminal prosecution any “personnel of the Armed Forces or National Police of Peru who cause injury or death in the performance of their duties and through the use of their weapons or other means of defense.” The IACHR recalled Peru’s duty, pursuant to the American Convention on Human Rights, to effectively investigate any deprivation of the right...
On January 23, 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia partially granted the appeals of both the Defence and the Prosecution in the Prosecutor v. Šainović et al. case. According to the press release, the Appeals Chamber reduced the sentences of Nikola Šainović, Sreten Lukić, and Vladimir Lazarević, while affirming the sentence of Nebojša Pavković. The Appeals Chamber also concluded, Judge Tuzmukhamedov dissenting, that “specific direction” is not an element of the aiding and abetting mode of liability. The accused are “four...
On January 22, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the application for stay of execution of sentence to death and petition for writ of certiorari of Mexican national Edgar Tamayo. He was then executed via lethal injection in Texas. According to a news story, Tamayo was arrested in 1994 on charges of murdering a police officer and authorities failed to advise him of his right under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to notify Mexican diplomats. Tamayo’s case was one of those considered by the International Court of Justice in the 2004 case Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (...
On January 17, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued its Report on the Use of Pretrial Detention in the Americas. According to the press release, the Report states that “excessive use of pretrial detention[] runs counter to the very essence of democratic rule of law, which prohibits its use as a sort of anticipated punishment or swift justice without trial.” The press release also notes that the Report urges for “extreme precautions” to be put in place whenever pretrial detention is applied “in order to respect due process rights.” The Spanish language report is now...
On January 16, 2014, the first trial at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon began in Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. According to the press release, the trial commenced with opening statements by the Prosecutor, which will be followed by those of the legal representatives of the victims, as well as the defense counsel for Mr. Badreddine and Mr. Oneissi. Given that the accused—Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra—are still at large, the proceedings are being held in absentia.
On January 16, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European ruled in the joint cases of Nnamdi Onuekwere v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for the Home Department v.M.G. on the effect of periods of imprisonment upon the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004. According to the press release, the Court ruled that “[p]eriods in prison cannot be taken...
On January 14, 2014, the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) issued its judgment in Jones and Others v. United Kingdom. The Court found that the United Kingdom (UK) had not violated the right of access to court under Article 6 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights when UK courts granted immunity to Saudi Arabia and its State officials, thus dismissing the Applicants’ claims for compensation for torture they allegedly suffered at the hands of Saudi Arabian officials. The Court stated that “measures taken by a State which reflect generally...
On December 20, 2013, the Court of Arbitration constituted in the matter of Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration (Pakistan v. India) rendered its Final Award in the dispute between Pakistan and India regarding the Kishenganga Hydro-Electric Project (KHEP) located on the Kishenganga/Neelum River. Pakistan instituted arbitral proceedings against India in 2010, challenging, in particular, the permissibility of the planned diversion by the KHEP of the waters of the Kishenganga/Neelum and the effect that this diversion would have on Pakistan’s own hydro-electric project under...
On December 19, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.45/Rev.1 as recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on cyberspace privacy. According to the press release, the resolution “underscore[ed] that the right to privacy is a human right and affirm[ed], for the first time, that the same rights people have offline must also be protected online. It called on States to ‘respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital communication.’”
The UNGA was reportedly concerned that electronic...