Search: extraterritorial sanctions
09 Jun Emailing Does Not Pass the Kiobel Test: US Court Dismisses ATS Case Against Anti-Gay Pastor
Distracted by #ComeyDay and other international crises, I missed this recent U.S. federal court decision in Sexual Minorities of Uganda v. Lively, dismissing an Alien Tort Statute lawsuit on Kiobel extra-territoriality grounds. While using unusually critical language to denounce U.S. pastor-defendant Scott Lively’s involvement in Uganda’s anti-homosexual laws and actions, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts held: …Defendant’s status as an American citizen and his physical presence in the United States is clearly not enough under controlling authority to support ATS extraterritorial jurisdiction. The sporadic trail of emails sent by...
18 Dec The War on Drugs is not a War (Part I): Foreign Military Interventions Against Drug Cartels
...models: the United States’ claim of extraterritorial self-defense, China’s consent-based cross-border enforcement on the Mekong, and Afghanistan’s joint operations grounded in host-State consent. Counternarcotics Playbooks Tested: Military Interventions against Narcos United States: Extraterritorial Self-defence The current U.S. approach appears episodic, externally oriented, and largely unilateral, consisting of a series of air-to-surface strikes against small maritime craft in the Caribbean and, more recently, the eastern Pacific. These operations are publicly justified as defence actions against “narco-terrorist” vessels allegedly linked to Venezuelan or Colombian networks. Since early September 2025, several such strikes...
17 Jul Symposium on PMSCs: Ukraine’s New Bill on PMSCs – A Possible Pandora’s Box for Operations Abroad?
...jurisdiction. However, no investigation against PMSC personnel has been initiated by the Court. Even in countries like South Africa where the legal framework contemplates special provisions for applying its regulations beyond its border, no steps have been taken to prosecute alleged violations against civilians. In the case of Ukraine, serious accountability gaps remain, as there is no clear legal provision ensuring extraterritorial application of the Draft Law on PMSCs. The aforementioned examples, along with dozens of other cases, illustrate that prosecution, accountability, and oversight of PMSC activities during armed conflicts...16 Dec Using State Tort Laws to Combat Terrorism Abroad
million against Iran. But it did so on the basis of state tort laws for wrongful death, battery, and the intentional infliction of emotion distress. That’s right, the state tort laws of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia were applied extraterritorially to combat terrorism in Beirut. Notably absent from this decision, or any other Dammarrell decision, is the word “extraterritorial.” There was absolutely no discussion of the presumption against extraterritoriality for this patchwork of state tort laws. I am a strong advocate of...25 Oct The Inter-American Court’s Advisory Opinion on Asylum and Its Impact for the Human Rights of Refugees Worldwide
...human rights system. This will be the focus of this piece. The Inter-American Court, taking into consideration all asylum treaties, and, in particular, the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees of 1951, has held that the right to seek and receive asylum through recognition of refugee status “sets certain specific obligations upon the State: i) the obligation of non-refoulement and its extraterritorial application; ii) the obligation to allow to file asylum applications and not to push back at the border; iii) the obligation not to criminalise or sanction...
25 Jun Business and Human Rights Symposium: Rejecting Jurisdiction to Avoid Imperialism– That Simple?
...to either ignore or downplay that it is people from host states who file extraterritorial complaints in home states and that host states are typically either indifferent or actively supporting claimants. Instead, home states often support the companies incorporated within their territories operating abroad through several means. This includes signing investment and trade agreements aimed at protecting home states corporations from foreign laws and courts (See e.g. Sornarajah) or filing amicus curiae in support of home states’ corporations (See e.g. the Netherlands and UK amicus curiae in Kiobel). Therefore, to...
06 May Targeting a Social Group Through Mass Convictions in Turkey: A Brief Crimes Against Humanity Analysis
...under domestic law, as suggested by Dr. Yeşil. Moreover, these actions remain subject to customary international law and the extraterritorial reach of universal jurisdiction. The possibility that such conduct may be prosecuted through universal jurisdiction mechanisms or give rise to Magnitsky-type sanctions further underscores the significance of this discussion. The targeting of a social group numbering in the hundreds of thousands on the territory of a founding member of the Council of Europe should be regarded as a matter that calls for the attention and responsibility of the international community....
11 Jul The Rise of the Global Legal Order
...significantly lower. Over the course of her 300-year rule, the UK extracted approximately $45 trillion from India, leaving behind a devastated economy and populace. China was never formally colonised, but a succession of unequal treaties kept it subservient to European interests – like Egypt, a remote-control colony. These treaties concluded the formalities of Chinese defeat in the Opium Wars. They gave Britain and other European powers, and the USA control over freeports, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and control over economic and farming policies. They destroyed the Chinese economy to enrich Europe. Asia...
08 Aug Symposium on Unbroken Bond: Tracing the Ties Between African and Palestinian Anti-Colonial Struggles – Peoples’ Rights Without Borders? The Significance of the African Charter’s Liberation Ethos to the Palestinian Struggles
...the situation violates both the Charter and general international law. Any support or cooperation with an apartheid state contravenes both the AU Constitutive Act and the Charter. When the OAU was formed, it called for sanctions against apartheid South Africa and called on its member states to contribute 1% of their budget to the liberation struggle. Other countries suspended their diplomatic relations with South Africa, boycotted its companies, and refrained from doing business with South Africa. Second, the right to self-determination has an extraterritorial reach in the sense that States...
28 Nov Profiting from Atrocity: The Emerging Legal Threat to Companies Enabling War Crimes
...from the sales. Such cases highlight a troubling scenario: corporations that manufacture TNT or other bomb components may be aiding grave violations of international law by serving as an essential link that makes commission of crimes possible. What are avenues of potential criminal liability faced by corporations when their products are used to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity? Are there alternative theories of liability, such as for financial crimes, terrorist financing, or sanctions evasion? For a more in-depth examination of corporate liability in war crimes, visit the prior...