Topic 1

In early November 2007, the Spanish Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber ("Supreme Court") released its judgment upholding, by a vote of 11-4, the conviction of former Argentine naval officer Adolfo Scilingo for his involvement in murders and illegal detentions in Argentina. Scilingo was convicted by a trial chamber of the Audiencia Nacional ("Audiencia"), Spain's special court for serious international crimes.

On September 16, 2007, security guards employed by Blackwater USA (Blackwater) fired on a crowd in Baghdad's Nisour square, killing 17 people. At the time of this incident, Blackwater was under contract with the U.S. Department of State to provide security for U.S. diplomats in Iraq. This incident triggered controversy in Iraq, the United States, and the international community concerning what law applied to Blackwater's actions and to the actions of other private security contractors (PSCs) hired by the United States to provide services in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Introduction

Introduction

On July 17, 2007, Rwanda notified the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that it plans to import the HIV-drug TriAvir from the Canadian company Apotex and will not enforce any patents granted in that respect in Rwanda.[1] Two months later, Canada issued a compulsory license allowing Apotex to use nine patented inventions for manufacturing and exporting TriAvir to Rwanda.

On August 2, 2007, Russian explorers in a submersible planted their national flag on the seabed below the North Pole in symbolic support of Russia's 2001 claim relating to its extended continental shelf. This claim was first made on December 20, 2001 in the context of Russia's submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in accordance with Article 76(8) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In a 94-page judgment issued October 8, 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) found unanimously that Honduras, not Nicaragua, has sovereignty over four disputed islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Update to ASIL Insight Vol. 10, Issue 19

In the second week of September 2007, leading U.S. military and diplomatic officials provided long-awaited reports to Congress and the President on U.S. political and military activities in Iraq. These hearings focused attention on how much progress U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts have made in Iraq. Although debate surrounding these events centered on the question of the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the testimony and hearings connect the ongoing attempts by the U.S. government to adjust to the challenges presented by waging COIN campaigns.

Update: The Mercosur Exemption Reversed – Conflict between WTO and Mercosur Rulings and Its Implications for Environmental Values (December 31, 2008)