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.
Nicaragua Files Case at ICJ against Germany over Support to Israel
| By: Brita Jelen : March 04, 2024 |

On March 1, 2024, Nicaragua initiated proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging Germany violated international law by funding Israel and halting aid to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). 

In its official application, Nicaragua accuses Germany of failing to fulfill its obligation under the Geneva Conventions to prevent "serious violations of peremptory norms of international law" in Gaza. Nicaragua also alleges that Germany not only failed to prevent genocide from being committed...

ICC Orders Largest Ever Reparations for Ongwen Victims
| By: Brita Jelen : February 29, 2024 |

On February 28, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges delivered the largest reparation order (see summary here) in the Court's history, awarding over 56 million dollars to the nearly 50,000 victims of Ugandan war criminal Dominic Ongwen. 

 

Ongwen, one of the top commanders of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, was convicted in 2021 on 60...

UK Criminal Court Hands Down Sentencing in First-of-its-Kind FGM Case
| By: Brita Jelen : February 22, 2024 |

On February 16, 2024, the UK Central Criminal Court handed down its sentence in the unprecedented female genital mutilation (FGM) case against British national Amina Noor for her role in carrying out an FGM procedure performed on a UK citizen abroad. 

 

In 2006, Noor took the victim, who was three years old at the time, to Kenya, where a woman performed the FGM procedure....

ICJ Delivers Judgment in Ukraine v. Russia Case Concerning Terrorism Financing and CERD
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : January 31, 2024 |

On January 31, 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered its judgment in Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism [ICSFT] and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [CERD] (Ukraine v. Russian Federation). The case was instituted by Ukraine in 2017 and addresses events which occurred from 2014 in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine alleged that Russia failed to take measures to prevent and suppress terrorism financing as required under ICSFT in relation to...

ICJ Orders Provisional Measures in South Africa v. Israel
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : January 26, 2024 |

On Friday, January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published its order on provisional measures in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). In particular, the Court upholded the standing of South Africa to institute proceedings, but rejected it contention regarding suspension of the military operations in the Gaza Strip. It ordered the following:

In relation to Palestinians in Gaza ("the group"), Israel must take all necessary measures to prevent (1) the killing of...

US Indicts Russian Soldiers for War Crimes against US National
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : January 04, 2024 |

The U.S. has announced the unsealing of war crimes charges in the Eastern District of Virginia against four Russian military officers for their conduct concerning a U.S. civilian national in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (see: U.S. v. Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan et al., U.S. District Court, E.D. Va., Case 3:23-cr-00161, Indictment dated December 5). The indictment specifically charges torture, inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement, and conspiracy to commit war crimes. As reported in International Enforcement Law Reporter (subscription required...

UK Signs New Asylum Agreement with Rwanda
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 06, 2023 |

On December 5, 2023, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly signed an agreement with Rwanda concerning asylum seekers. The agreement follows a recent decision by the UK Supreme Court striking down a previous agreement with Rwanda blocking the government's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda because, among other things, it concluded that Rwanda was not a safe third country and as such, returning asylum seekers to Rwanda would violate the principle of non-refoulement as contained in the Refugee Convention. As reported by JURIST, Secretary Cleverly noted that the new agreement "addresses all...

Ukraine Register of Damages Elects Board
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 01, 2023 |
On November 16, the Conference of the Participants of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine has elected seven members to Register's Board. The Board is responsible for drafting the rules and regulations that govern the Register and, according to a press release from the Council of Europe, it is "ultimately responsible for recording eligible claims in the Register. "   The Board consists of the following members who will serve for a term of three years (with the possibility of one further three year term): Yulia Kyrpa (Ukraine), Norbert...

ICJ Organizes Proceedings for Advisory Opinion on the Right to Strike
| By: Michael G. Bergin, Jr. : December 01, 2023 |

On November 16, 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an order organizing proceedings for rendering an advisory opinion on the question of whether the right of workers to strike is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention of 1948. The ICJ decided that the International Labor Organization (ILO) and States parties to the Convention “are considered likely to be able to furnish information on the question submitted to the Court….” Additionally, the six consultive organizations of the ILO “(the International Organization of...

ICJ Indicates Provisional Measures in Guyana v. Venezuela
| By: Justine N. Stefanelli : December 01, 2023 |

On December 1, 2023, the International Court of Justice indicated provisional measures in the case of Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). Guyana requested that the Court order Veneuzela to refrain from holding a referendum planned for December 3, 2023, that Guyana argued was aimed at "abandon[ing the current proceedings before the Court], and to resort instead to unilateral measures to 'resolve' the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds...

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