Middle East and North Africa

Introduction

Tunisians captivated the world's attention in January 2011 when they flooded the streets to protest unemployment, corruption, and the lack of basic freedoms.  They ousted the autocratic President Zine Abidine Ben Ali in short order and inspired the "Arab Awakening."  Tunisia claimed a major success in October 2011, when the country held elections to choose representatives for a National Constituent Assembly (NCA).  The NCA is tasked with writing a constitution and governing Tunisia until the new constitution and permanent government are in place.

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Introduction

Tensions between Lebanon and Israel have been running high during the last months due to a legal dispute over rights to newly discovered natural oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea. Formally at war for years, and without diplomatic relations, Israel and Lebanon have never agreed on a delimitation of their maritime boundaries.

Rising Conflict Between Israel and Lebanon

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On February 25, 2010, in its ruling in Brita GmbH v. Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Hafen, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled on the trade implications of one of the hot-potato issues of international law: the status of the territories occupied by Israel.

Introduction

Introduction

I. Introduction