International Law in Brief | ASIL

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.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Rejects Guantanamo Detainee’s Challenge to Continued Confinement (December 3, 2013)

| By: Adom Malcolm Cooper : January 07, 2014 |

In Ali v. Obama, the federal appeals court in Washington, DC denied the petitioner’s writ of habeas corpus petition, holding that “determining whether an individual is part of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or an associated force almost always requires drawing inferences from the circumstantial evidence, such as that individual’s personal associations.” In March 2002, the petitioner was captured in Pakistan while staying at a guesthouse of Abu Zubayadah (an ally of Osama bin Laden), declared an enemy combatant, and subsequently detained at Guantanamo Bay.

The petitioner denied any...

International Court of Justice Decides Against Provisional Measures in Disputes Between Nicaragua and Costa Rica (December 13, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 13, 2013, the International Court of Justice ruled in Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) and Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) that the circumstances, as they now present themselves . . . are not such as to require the exercise of its power . . . to indicate provisional measures.” According to the press release, Nicaragua had requested provisional measures “to protect certain rights which, in its view, are affected by the road construction works being...

ICC Appeals Chamber Dismisses Appeal Relating to Temporal Scope of Charges in The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang (December 13, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 13, 2013, a majority of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court dismissed the Prosecutor’s appeal relating to the temporal scope of charges in The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang case. According to the press release, in January 2012, Pre-Trial Chamber II confirmed the charges against the two accused for, inter alia, crimes against humanity allegedly committed between January 1, 2008 and January 4, 2008 in the greater Eldoret area in Kenya. In July 2013, after the Trial Chamber was constituted and had set the date for...

European Court of Human Rights Rules Against Norway in Deep Sea Divers Dispute (December 5, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 5, 2013, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled by majority in Vilnes and Others v. Norway that, according to the press release, “Norwegian authorities failed to provide deep sea divers with essential information about risks associated with their employers’ use of rapid decompression tables” and thus violated Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) but not Article 2 (right to life) or Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr. Vilnes and other divers argued that they...

United Nations Mission Reports on Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria (December 12, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 12, 2013, the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic issued a report concluding “that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic.” The report stated that “clear and convincing evidence” existed “that chemical weapons were used … against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013.” The Mission also collected information on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan Al Asal on March...

Court of Justice of the European Union Rules on Benefits for Same-Sex Civil Partnerships (December 12, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 12, 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Frédéric Hay v Crédit agricole mutuel de Charente-Maritime et des Deux-Sèvres that, according to the press release, “[e]mployees who enter into a civil partnership with a partner of the same sex must be granted the same benefits as those granted to their colleagues upon their marriage, where marriage is not possible for homosexual couples.” Mr. Hay, who had entered into a PACS arrangement (civil solidarity pact) with his same-sex partner, was an employee of Crédit agricole mutuel, which grants certain...

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Rules on Inherent Jurisdiction to Order the Return of a Child (December 4, 2013)

| By: Steven Arrigg Koh : December 20, 2013 |

On December 4, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruled in In the Matter of KL (A Child) that UK courts have inherent jurisdiction to order the return of a child. The case concerned a child, K, who had been born in Texas to an American father and a Ghanaian mother with indefinite leave to remain in the UK. After the parents divorced and K was taken to the UK with his mother pursuant to U.S. federal district court order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed and the lower court later ordered K’s return to the United States. The father’s...

The PCA Arbitral Tribunal Commences Hearing on the Merits in Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India (December 9, 2013)

| By: Djurdja Lazic : December 19, 2013 |

According to a Permanent Court of Arbitration press release, the hearing on the merits in the matter of the Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Republic of India commenced on December 9, 2013 at the Peace Palace in The Hague. The hearing will end on December 18, 2013.

Bangladesh instituted arbitral proceedings concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and India in October 2009 pursuant to Article 287 and Annex VII, Article 1, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

ICSID Tribunal Finds Lack of Jurisdiction in Metal-Tech Ltd. v. Republic of Uzbekistan (October 4, 2013)

| By: Djurdja Lazic : December 19, 2013 |

In Metal-Tech Ltd. v. Republic of Uzbekistan—a dispute arising under the Israel-Uzbekistan bilateral investment treaty (BIT) relating to a joint venture to process minerals—an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal found that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim as the initial investment failed to fulfill the requirements of Article 1(1) of the BIT, which provides that the investment be “implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Contracting Party in whose territory the investment is made.” The tribunal concluded that “...

The Amritsar Dialogue Statement on Green Courts and Tribunals (November 24, 2013)

| By: Adom Malcolm Cooper : December 16, 2013 |

On November 24, 2013, the Jawaharlal Nehru Chair in International Environmental Law, Jawaharlal University, and the Centre for Advanced Study on Courts and Tribunals in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank adopted the Amritsar Dialogue Statement on Green Courts and Tribunals. The statement was adopted as a sequel to the New Delhi Dialogue on the Role of Courts & Tribunals in the Changing Global Order, which took place on March 15, 2013. The six themes of the dialogue are: International Environmental Dispute Settlement; Judiciary & the Environment; Effectuating Access to...