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 July 13, 2020, Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, announced that the U.S. considers that “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful…” The statement issued on Monday explained that the U.S. is “aligning [its] position on the [People’s Republic of China’s] maritime claims in the [South China Sea] with the [Arbitral] Tribunal’s decision of 2016, highlighting three aspects in particular addressing (1) PRC assertions of maritime claims in relation to the Philippines; (2) U.S. rejection of PRC claims to “waters beyond a 12-nautical mile...
On July 14, 2020, the International Court of Justice published its judgment in the appeals relating to the jurisdiction of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO) Council under Article II, Section 2, of the 1944 International Air Services Transit Agreement (Bahrain, Egypt and United Arab Emirates v. Qatar [full judgment and press release]) and under Article 84 ICAO (Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates v. Qatar [full judgment and press release]). The Court unanimously rejected the appeals in both cases and held fifteen to one in each case...
On July 6, 2020, the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) and the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) requested that the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) open an investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed by Chinese officials in East Turkistan (or Xinjiang). A press release posted on the ETGE’s website states that the complaint focuses on crimes “committed against the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples.” The list of crimes to be investigated includes “murder, unlawful imprisonment, torture, forced birth control and...
On July 2, 2020, the Permanent Court of Arbitration released an extract of its award in The Italian Republic v. The Republic of India, a case regarding the 2012 Enrica Lexie incident. Italy submitted that India had breached the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in several ways, including “by interdicting the Enrica Lexie,” “investigating those on board,” and “exercis[ing] its criminal jurisdiction over” two Italian Marines. India asserted that the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to decide this case and that Italy had committed several violations of...
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) published Directive 2311.01 on its Law of War Program. The policy assigns responsibility for the Program and establishes the Department of Defense Law of War Working Group. The Law of War Working Group is tasked with advising the DoD General Counsel "on law of war matters to develop and coordinate on law of war initiatives and issues." The Directive applies to a number of offices and departments, collectively referred to as "DoD Components." It states that it is DoD policy that: (1) members of DoD components comply with the laws of war, including Common...
On July 1, 2020, the U.N. Security Council adopted resolution 2532 calling on states to immediately cease hostilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Security Council expressed "grave concern about the devastating impact" of the pandemic and underscored the enhanced need for cooperation on the national, regional, and international levels. In recognition that the "pandemic is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security," the Council demanded "a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on its agenda" and called upon states that are parties...
On June 17, 2020, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, released a statement about “the Human Rights Council Urgent Debate on current racially inspired human rights violations.” In her statement, Bachelet acknowledges that the murder of George Floyd “symbolise[s] the systemic racism that harms millions of people of African descent” and is “emblematic of the excessive use of disproportionate force by law enforcement…across the globe.” She calls for “decisive action … to address the … racism that” leads to a variety of inequalities around the world, including “refusals of...
On June 18, 2020, the Council of Europe's Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) published its opinion on draft amendments to the Russian Constitution that address the extent to which international agreements, treaties, and the decisions of international bodies apply to Russia. In particular, the draft amendments make three main changes: (1) they prohibit the execution of decisions of interstate bodies where such decisions contradict the Russian Constitution; (2) they empower the Constitutional Court to decide upon questions concerning the enforcement of decisions by such...
On June 11, 2020, the Trump administration announced a series of sanctions against employees of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The travel restrictions and economic sanctions were established by an Executive Order in response to the ICC's decision to authorize an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan and crimes alleged to have been committed on its territory since May 1, 2003 (including other alleged crimes that are sufficiently linked to Afghanistan, but committed elsewhere since July 1, 2002). The Executive Order states that the ICC investigation "threaten[s] to...
Reuters reports that the District Court for the District of Columbia has been asked to compel Facebook to "release 'all documents and communications produced, drafted, posted or published on the Facebook page' of military officials and police forces" in Myanmar in the context of The Gambia's case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On January 23, 2020, the ICJ ordered a series of provisional measures to safeguard the rights of the Rohingya group in Myanmar, as requested by The Gambia. The case is ongoing, and The Gambia has until October 23, 2020, to file its...