On August 25, 2015, the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia agreed to finalize four agreements regarding the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina at a European Union-facilitated dialogue. High Representative/Vice President Federica Mogherini issued a statement regarding the successful negotiations, noting that Serbia and Kosovo agreed to “finalize implementation arrangements of four key agreements: on energy, telecoms, establishment of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities as well as the Freedom of Movement/Mitrovica Bridge.” The plan for the...
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 August 28, 2015, the UN Security Council welcomed the signatures of South Sudan’s President Kiir and Riek Machar Teny, who signed on behalf of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition, on the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan. The Security Council stated that the signing of the agreement is “the first step in reversing the difficult political and economic situation, and humanitarian, and security catastrophe resulting from this crisis, calls upon the parties, with support from the United Nations and international community, to fully implement...
Arbitral Tribunal Orders Russia to Pay Compensation for Seizure of Greenpeace Ship (August 14, 2015)
On August 14, 2015, a tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention) rendered its award on the merits in Arctic Sunrise Arbitration (Netherlands v. Russia), ordering Russia to pay compensation for seizing and arresting the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and its thirty crewmembers during a protest against offshore drilling in Arctic waters in 2013. The Court decided that “by boarding, investigating, inspecting, arresting, detaining, and seizing the Arctic Sunrise without the prior consent of the Netherlands, and by arresting,...
On August 26, 2015, a Guatemalan court held that that former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt may stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity but that he may not be sentenced as he suffers from dementia. The charges relate to Ríos Montt’s actions during Guatemala’s civil war under his dictatorship in 1982 and 1983. According to a news article, the court found that “the law allows for a special trial where all evidence and witnesses will be presented behind closed doors with a representative of Ríos Montt. He can be found guilty or not guilty, but will not receive a sentence because of...
On August 24, 2015, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, condemned the destruction of the ancient temple of Baalshamin in the Syrian site of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to a news article, Syrian’s head of antiquities stated that Islamic State militants used explosives in the temple on August 23 and that “[t]he cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed.” The Director-General stated that “[s]uch acts are war crimes and their perpetrators must be...
On August 24, 2015, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued provisional measures in The “Enrica Lexie” Incident (Italy v. India) that ordered Italy and India to “both suspend all court proceedings and . . . refrain from initiating new ones which might aggravate or extend the dispute.” The case, which Italy brought to the Tribunal in July 2015, concerns an incident in which two Italian marines allegedly killed two Indian fishermen in 2012. According to the press release, the provisional measures were instituted by Italy to request that India “refrain from...
On August 21, 2015, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for one year, until August 31, 2016. According to the press release, the Security Council determined “the situation in Lebanon continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security” and “urged further international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, in areas where they are most critically in need of support, including counter-terrorism and border protection.” In the resolution, the Security Council also...
On August 19, 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urged the U.S. to stay the execution of Bernardo Abán Tercero, a Nicaraguan citizen who was sentenced to be executed on August 26. According to the press release, the IACHR issued a report that concluded, among other findings, that the U.S.’s failure “to inform Bernardo Abán Tercero of his right to consular notification and assistance deprived him of a criminal process that satisfied the minimum standards of due process and a fair trial required under the American Declaration” and that “his court-appointed counsel...
On August 19, 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (Appeals Chamber) reversed the Trial Chamber’s decision to reject the Prosecutor’s “application for a finding of non-cooperation against the Kenyan Government, alleging that the Government had failed to comply with a request to produce records relating to Mr Kenyatta.” According to the press release, the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber “erred by failing to address whether judicial measures had been exhausted to obtain the Kenyan Government's cooperation, as well as by assessing in an inconsistent...
On August 19, 2015, the European Commission and Greece signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to financial assistance for Greece from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in exchange for fiscal reforms. According to a press release, the ESM “will be able to disburse up to EUR 86 billion in loans over the next three years, provided that Greek authorities implement reforms to address fundamental economic and social challenges, as specified in the MoU.” Greece also signed a Financial Assistance Facility Agreement with the ESM to detail the terms of the loan. Within the MoU,...