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.

Haiti Cholera Victims File Lawsuit against the United Nations in US Federal District Court (October 9, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 26, 2013 |

Click here for news story (approximately 2 pages); click here for complaint (approximately 67 pages)

Advocates for victims of the 2010 Haitian cholera outbreak have initiated class-action litigation against the United Nations, claiming that the organization is responsible for the epidemic that has killed over 8,300 and sickened over 650,000 Haitians. A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by lawyers from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti alleges that the “reckless, negligent, and tortious behavior” of the UN contributed...

The European Union and Canada Strike Free Trade Deal (October 18, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 19, 2013 |

Click here for fact sheet (approximately 3 pages); click here for press release (approximately 2 pages)

On October 18, 2013, The European Union (EU) and Canada concluded a political agreement on the key elements of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). According to the press release, CETA will bring “almost all tariffs to zero, . . . liberalise trade in services, in particular financial services, telecommunications, energy and transport. For the first time ever, all Canadian levels of government will open up their public procurement markets to European suppliers....

International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber Finds Case Against Al-Senussi Inadmissible (October 11, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for decision (approximately 152 pages); click here for press release (approximately 3 pages)

Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court has held that the case against Abdullah Al-Senussi is inadmissible. The Court ruled that the same case “is currently subject to domestic proceedings being conducted by the competent authorities of Libya—which has jurisdiction over the case—and that Libya is not unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out its proceedings in relation to the case against Mr Al-Senussi.” The Chamber noted that if the Prosecutor is “fully...

Expert Panel Finalizes “Draft Statute for a Syrian Extraordinary Tribunal to Prosecute Atrocity Crimes” (October 3, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for draft statute (approximately 32 pages); click here for press release (approximately 3 pages)

A panel of former international tribunal chief prosecutors and leading experts has prepared a “Draft Statute for a Syrian Extraordinary Tribunal to Prosecute Atrocity Crimes.” According to the press release, the panel—which is co-chaired by Professors M. Cherif Bassiouni, David Crane, and Michael Scharf—finalized the Draft Statute in the wake of the August 2013 International Humanitarian Law Dialogs conference at Chautauqua Institution.

According to the preamble to the...

Judges Re-elected President and Vice-President of the ICTY (October 1, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for press release (approximately 3 pages)

In a special plenary, the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) re-elected Judge Theodor Meron as President of the Tribunal and Judge Carmel Agius as Vice-President. Both will serve two-year terms scheduled to begin November 17, 2013. Judge Meron, of the United States, has served as ICTY President twice before. Judge Agius, of Malta, has served as ICTY Vice-President since 2011.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Closes the Castañeda Gutman v. México Case (September 11, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for press release in Spanish (approximately 1 page); click here for the Decision in Spanish (approximately 15 pages)

The Inter-American Court of Human rights ruled to close and archive the case of Castañeda Gutman v. México. The case concerned a dispute over the lack of effective remedy for Mr. Castañeda Gutman, a Mexican presidential candidate in 2006, to challenge the State’s refusal to register him as a candidate. The Court found that the State, through various domestic legal reforms, has now complied with the orders of the court and the provisions of the...

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Announces the Death of Judge Soji Yamamoto (September 19, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for press release (approximately 1 page)

Judge Soji Yamamoto, a Member of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea from 1996 to 2005, passed away on September 19, 2013. Judge Yamamoto was a renowned international lawyer and member and past president of the Japanese Society of International Law. Prior to his election as judge of the Tribunal, Judge Yamamoto served as Adviser and Special Adviser for Japan at several international meetings, including the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. He also held chairs in international law at Seikei University and Tohoku...

Agreement Reached in ARA Libertad Arbitration (Argentina v. Ghana) (September 27, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for press release (approximately 2 pages); download of Agreement available via link, here (approximately 5 pages)

Argentina and Ghana have concluded an Agreement regarding their dispute over the ARA Libertad, an Argentine frigate detained in Port of Tema, Ghana, in October 2012, and the subject of subsequent court proceedings. The Agreement signals the end of an arbitration proceeding initiated at the Permanent Court of Arbitration pursuant to Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The States agreed that, among other conciliatory gestures, the...

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Indicts Hassan Habib Merhi (October 10, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for Order on Partially Lifting the Confidentiality of the Indictment (approximately 4 pages); click here for redacted public Indictment (approximately 35 pages); click here for press release (approximately 2 pages)

A Pre-Trial Judge of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has partially lifted the confidentiality on its July 2013 decision to confirm an indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi. According to the press release, the confirmed indictment and an arrest warrant were transmitted to the Lebanese authorities so that they could search for Merhi, arrest him, and...

Caribbean Court of Justice Delivers Judgment in Shanique Myrie v. The State of Barbados (October 4, 2013)

| By: Kathleen A. Doty : October 15, 2013 |

Click here for Judgment (approximately 60 pages); click here for press release (approximately 1 page)

The Caribbean Court of Justice has awarded Jamaican national Shanique Myrie Bds$2,240 in pecuniary damages and Bds$75,000 in non-pecuniary damages to be paid by the State of Barbados. According to the press release, the Court “found that Ms Myrie had been wrongfully denied entry into Barbados, subjected to a humiliating cavity search and unlawfully detained overnight in a cell and expelled from Barbados.” In making its ruling, the Court held that Caribbean Community (CARICOM)...