Opinio Juris » Weekday News Wrap w29/12

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, July 20, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

As we reported earlier this week, today the ICJ will deliver its judgment in the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal) at 3:00 p.m. in The Hague (CET). The reading of the decision will be broadcast live on the Court’s website.
France, the United Kingdom and the United States denounced China and Russia’s veto on yesterday’s Security Council resolution regarding placing stiffer sanctions on Syria. Syrian borders are now in rebel hands and battles rage on in Damascus.
A trial date of March 25, 2013 has been set in the Hariri case before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have plans to resume talks on Afghanistan’s peace process.
China has condemned Russia for firing on and detaining dozens of Chinese fisherman who had entered Russia’s exclusive economic zone.
As we’ve posted on before, the ICC will open an investigation into the violence since January 2012 in Mali. Mark Kersten at Justice in Conflict offers some preliminary analysis as does Professor Schabas at his blog, PhD Studies in Human Rights.
Charles Taylor has appealed his conviction and sentencing for war crimes at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
China has promised $20 billion to African countries. Foreign Policy takes a look at what China might want for its money.
There is bipartisan agreement in the US Congress to grant ‘permanent normal trade relations’ to Russia.
The IMF has agreed to changes in its surveillance policies, to take into account the economic spillovers of domestic policies on global financial instability.

July 20th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/20/weekday-news-wrap-friday-july-20-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, July 19, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

Fighting is still raging in Damascus, where yesterday many officials were killed by bombing attacks in Syria’s capital city. Meanwhile, China remains silent on its position ahead of a UN Security Council vote threatening with non-military sanctions.
Al Jazeera offers the profiles of the slain ministers as well as an analysis of how these deaths will affect the regime. Foreign Policy outlines “Assad’s death spiral,” suggesting this may be the beginning of the end for Syria’s current regime.
Laszlo Csatary, the “most-wanted” accused Nazi war criminal still at large was arrested this morning in Hungary.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed a lawsuit against the US Government regarding the deaths of Anwar al-Awlaki, Samir Khan and Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, three American citizens killed in Yemen drone strikes last fall.
As Kevin Jon Heller has pointed out and analyzed on Opinio Juris, Mali has asked the ICC to investigate atrocities that have been going on there since January 2012.
China has strengthened its ties to Africa by promising $20 billion in loans over the next three years.
ASEAN countries are working to find common ground on the wording of a statement regarding controversial activities in the South China Sea.
Following the earlier example of Honduras and Ukraine, the Dominican Republic has now also requested WTO consultations with Australia about the latter’s plain packaging policy of tobacco products.
A suicide bomber has killed 7 tourists, of whom 6 were Israeli, in a terrorist attack outside the airport close to the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Israel has blamed Hezbollah and Iran, but the latter has denied any involvement.
The EU has accused Romania for failing to respect the rule of law following moves by the Prime Minister to impeach the President.
The European Commission has proposed starting free trade talks with Japan.

July 19th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/19/weekday-news-wrap-thursday-july-19-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, July 18, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The UN Security Council prepares for a new vote on Syria today, amidst raging battles in Damascus and tension between Russia and the West. Among the battles, a suicide attack in Damascus has killed the Syrian Minister of Defense.
Foreign Policy looks in-depth into whether it matters that the ICRC has labeled the violence in Syria a non-international armed conflict. For more from Lawfare on the discussion surrounding the label of NIAC, click here and here.
The European Court of Human Rights has asked Poland hand over secret documents detailing the CIA black site outside of Warsaw allegedly used for the extraordinary rendition of detainees in the “war on terror.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christof Heyns, has urged the United States to stop the execution of two people with disabilities.
Happy 94th birthday to Nelson Mandela!
Parties seen as liberal have won the most seats in the first Libyan elections since the overthrow of Gaddafi.
An Australian woman has won a multi-million dollar settlement against the Australian distributors of Thalidomide in the 1950s and 1960s.
China has rescued 26 fisherman, mostly Chinese and Vietnamese, held by Somali pirates for 18 months.
With more about piracy, Foreign Policy offers a piece analyzing piracy’s spread from East to West Africa.
Iran has offered to insure foreign ships entering its waters in order to avoid an EU ban on insuring ships carrying Iranian crude oil.
In other Iran news, it and other Middle-Eastern countries are being targeted in a cyber-espionage campaign.
Justice in Conflict has a post analyzing whether the African Union and the ICC will mend fences with new leadership.
And, for a little food-for-thought for every one of us working in international law, Foreign Policy in Focus highlights what they call the “Impotence of International Law.”

July 18th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/18/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-july-18-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, July 17, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The ICJ is set to deliver its judgment in Belgium v. Senegal, this Friday, July 20, 2012. The press release from the Court is found here.
The UN Security Council has condemned the rebel attacks in eastern Congo and demanded an end to outside support for the conflict on the Rwanda-Congo border.
The African Union has urged the group Mali Ansar Dine to break its ties with al-Qaeda in order to be part of negotiations reuniting the divided country.
An activist in the UAE working for the rights of stateless people has been deported to Thailand after a two-month detention.
Three elderly Kenyans alleging torture by British colonial forces from 1952-1960 are taking their case to London’s High Court. Foreign Policy has more here.
Foreign Policy also takes a look at just how dangerous Syrian President Assad’s forces really are.
The UN reports that cross-border criminals make approximately $870 billion per year.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a new Kyoto Protocol when current commitments expire at the end of 2012.
A WTO Panel has issued a report on China-Electronic Payment Services. International Law Prof Blog has a brief summary. Todd Tucker at Eyes on Tradeis more critical about the implications of the case for domestic financial services trade regulation in general.
The WTO released its flagship World Trade Report yesterday in which it focused on the challenges posed to the trade system by the increased use of non-tariff measures.
An Afghani soldier was sentenced to death over his killing of five French soldiers in January.
The highest profile defector from Syria has warned that the Assad regime may deploy chemical weapons.
Hungary is investigating whether a suspected WWII war criminal is living in Budapest.

July 17th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/17/weekday-news-wrap-tuesday-july-17-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Monday, July 16, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The sudden announcement that North Korea’s military chief was relieved of his duties for health reasons has spurred rumors about a possible power struggle.
Cambodia and Thailand have announced that they will redeploy some of the troops stationed at the Preah Vihar temple from Wednesday onwards, to comply with last year’s order of the ICJ.
Maritime disputes between China and Japan and China and the Philippines continue. Foreign Policy points out that China was caught red-handed with a naval frigate that had run aground Friday.
The highest profile diplomatic defector so far has called for foreign military intervention in Syria amid the continued conflict and the fiercest fighting yet reported in Damascus.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has labeled the Syrian conflict a non-international armed conflict (civil war) within the country, triggering the application of international humanitarian law ; previously, the conflict zones were restricted to just a few areas. Lawfare blog has some preliminary analysis of what implications this label might carry and IntLawGrrls also offers information about prosecuting war crimes in the country, even before the conflict was classified as a NIAC.
Iran has renewed its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates has started work on an overland pipeline to bypass the Strait, were Iran to make good on its threats.
Tuaregs in Mali have halted their bid to secede into an independent state after forces lost control of the north, though they still desire economic and political independence.
South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected as the first female head of the African Union Commission.
Saudi Arabia is considering the passage of a law criminalizing insults on Islam, including in social media.

July 16th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/16/weekday-news-wrap-monday-july-16-2012/ |