On October 26, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution admonishing the Untied States for its role in the continuing economic, commercial, and financial embargo against Cuba. According to news reports, the vote occurs on an annual basis with the United State historically voting no until this year, when it abstained. The United States has recently been pursuing a relaxing of tensions with Cuba by restoring diplomatic ties and easing various aspects of the long-standing restrictions. The symbolic vote at the United Nations came just days before the death of Fidel Castro...
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 October 25, 2016, in Khan v. Obama, a federal judge from the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia dismissed a habeas corpus lawsuit by a former detainee of Guantanamo Bay seeking to clear him of any affiliation with terrorism. According to reports, previous courts had upheld the detention of Shawali Khan based on information that was not provided to the defense at the time. The government later changed its mind on the information’s credibility and transferred Khan to a different facility. The judge based his dismissal on the mootness of the case as Khan was no longer...
On October 21, 2016, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court approved and ordered the implementation of a proposal by the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) for symbolic collective reparations of the victims in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. In July 2016, the Chamber requested that the TFV conduct a study on the feasibility of implementing symbolic collective reparations, which “may take the form of, inter alia, a commemoration and/or building a statute for child soldiers who have suffered from the events.” According to the press release, “[t]he Chamber agreed with the TFV that...
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Al Shimari v. CACI that the former inmates of Abu Ghraib may continue their legal case against the civilian military contractors that they allege tortured them. According to coverage of the decision, “[t]he case had previously been dismissed under the political question doctrine, but the court held the doctrine does not prevent the judiciary from deciding the case.” Agents of the defendant, CACI Premier technology, allegedly subjected the plaintiffs to various forms of torture during their time in the...
On October 19, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland that website operators may have legitimate interests in maintaining records of the internet protocol addresses (IP addresses) of digital visitors to their sites. According to the press release, the plaintiff brought an action seeking an injunction against the German government websites on which he consults as a contractor that would prevent them for storing his IP address. The Court ruled that “according to EU law, the processing of personal data is lawful, inter alia, if...
On October 15, 2016, almost 200 countries endorsed the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. According to the press release, the amendment will “reduce the emissions of powerful greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in a move that could prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of this century.” The amendment calls for developed countries to start reducing their consumption of HFCs by 2019 and for developing countries to freeze their levels of HFCs by 2024 for some states and 2028 for others. Manufacturers have used HFCs to replace chlorofluorocarbons (...
On October 13, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly appointed António Guterres of Portugal as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. According to the press release, these were “[t]he first-ever public hearings on the selection of a Secretary-General opened the process to the world.” Various officials, including current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, lauded the process and the credentials of Guterres, who most recently served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Prime Minster of Portugal before that. The United Nations Security Council had previously...
On October 13, 2016, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution expanding the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Haiti. According to the press release, the resolution “maintain[s] the current authorized troop strength of up to 2,370 military personnel and 2,601 police, as recommended by the Secretary-General in his latest report.” The renewal of the mandate comes “without major changes in its configuration or objectives for six months, until 15 April 2017.” Haiti was ravaged by Hurricane Matthew in early October, and the state suffered over 800 casualties...
On October 6, 2016, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2312 in response to “the continuing maritime tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea that have resulted in thousands of casualties.” According to the press release, “the Council extended the authorization, first established by resolution 2240 (2015), for Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels they had reasonable grounds to suspect were being used for migrant smuggling or human trafficking from Libya and to seize those confirmed to be engaging in those activities.” The...
On October 11, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in European Commission v. Italian Republic that Italy violated EU law “by failing to adopt all the measures necessary to guarantee the existence of a compensation scheme for victims of all violent intentional crimes committed on its territory.” According to the press release, Italy is obligated under Council Directive 2004/80/EC to provide a general compensation scheme for the victims of violent, cross-border crimes. Italy contended that it was in compliance with the directive because member states were “merely...