The International Court of Justice (ICJ) published its 2018-19 Annual Report on October 30, 2019. The Report notes that the workload of the Court has "grown considerably," and that "the Registry has sought to maintain a high level of efficiency and quality in its work." During the period under review, the ICJ delivered judgments in three cases, issued one Advisory Opinion, and handed down 16 orders. As of July 31, 2019, there were 16 cases on the Court's List. The Report highlighted the "crucial role" the ICJ plays in maintaining and promoting the rule of law and noted that "[e]verything...
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.
The German Public Prosecutor's office announced [in German] on October 29, 2019, that it has filed charges against two Syrian nationals for crimes against humanity. According to the Guardian's coverage, the two individuals were arrested in February 2019, as a result of a coordinated operation by German and French police. Anwar Raslan has been indicted with crimes against humanity, murder, rape, and severe sexual assault in connection with a prison investigative unit known as Branch 251 that was run by Raslan. The other individual, Eyad al-Gharib, has been charged with aiding the commission...
On October 25, 2019, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network designated Iran as a "jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern" under section 311 of the US Patriot Act. According to a press release from the Department of the Treasury, this means that "the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account in the United States for or on behalf of an Iranian financial institution" is prohibited. It also prevents "foreign financial institutions' correspondent accounts at covered U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions involving Iranian financial institutions." In...
On October 24, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in J.D. and A. v. the United Kingdom that a reduction in housing benefits based on occupancy violated Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the ECHR. A press release issued by the Court explains that the applicant in the case challenged UK housing benefits rules that require a reduction in housing benefits for under-occupation of social housing. The applicant, a victim of violent sexual crime,...
On October 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it removed sanctions on Turkey imposed on October 14, 2019. According to a press release issued by the Treasury, the sanctions were removed following Turkey's ceasefire in its military operations in Syria, agreed on October 17. The October 14 sanctions were covered previously on International Law in Brief.
The European Union (EU) and Norway have signed an agreement on interim dispute resolution in the event of trade disputes under the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement is the second of its kind, the first having been established between the EU and Canada earlier this year. The agreements are an effort to address the long-standing blockage of appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, and to ensure the dispute resolution mechanisms are in place, should the WTO Appellate Body cease functioning completely.
On October 17, 2019, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled unanimously in G.B. and Others v. Turkey that Turkey violated ECHR Article 3 (prohibition on human and degrading treatment), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), and Articles 5(1) & (4) (right to liberty and security & right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court). According to a press release issued by the Court, the case involved the four-month detention of a mother and her three children prior to their deportation from Turkey. In particular, the "Court found...
On October 11, 2019, a tribunal of the International Centre for the Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) found the Government of Tanzania to be in breach of 1995 Implementation Agreement under which Tanzania made various undertakings and assurances in favor of Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL), "including undertakings against discriminatory action and expropriation". Tanzania also "granted IPTL the exclusive right to design, finance, insure, construct, complete, own, operate and maintain" its facility in Tanzania. Tanzania also agreed to a guarantee to pay IPTL any unpaid costs owed to...
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday, October 14, 2019, authorizing the U.S. Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to impose sanctions on Turkey, as a result of increased violence in northern Syria. The Executive Order imposes sanctions and visa bans on leading members of the Turkish Government, as well as the Government's Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. A press release issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that the Department is "prepared to impose additional sanctions on Government of Turkey...
At the UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness held this week in Geneva, UN member states made over 300 pledges to tackle statelessness. A press release issued by the UNHCR revealed that pledges included commitments to accede or ratify the UN statelessness conventions, to improve naturalization processes for stateless people, to ensure universal birth registration, to provide protection to stateless people, and to reform national laws that require citizenship to be inherited from the father and not mother. As the UNHCR explains, it is now up to the UN member states to implement their...