EJIL Analysis

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China’s Recent Restrictions on Trade and the SPS Agreement

January 18, 2021

Since June 2020, China turned its eye on trade measures to battle the spread of COVID-19 in its country. It introduced several measures, from extensive testing of containers and content of imported food and agricultural products to complete import bans of specific products (such as pork from Tönnies and poultry products from Tyson Foods Inc. and OK Foods). These measures have been met by harsh criticism from other WTO members which question their legality under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement; if not indicated otherwise, all articles and annexes are such of this Agreement). The matter has been brought to the attention of the SPS Committee, most recently by a notification submitted on 18 November 2020 by the United States, and was discussed during its last meeting in November 2020, where China defended its measures. This contribution aims to shed light on the most invasive measure imposed by China, namely the suspension of imports, by discussing said measure on the example of Tyson…

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ECtHR Grand Chamber Declares Admissible the Case of Ukraine v. Russia re Crimea

January 15, 2021

Yesterday the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rendered its admissibility decision in the interstate claim brought by Ukraine against Russia regarding systematic human rights violations allegedly committed by the latter in Crimea. This is one of several interstate cases brought by Ukraine against Russia; others deal, for example, with the situation…

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An Irish Claim to Rockall

January 14, 2021

Due to Brexit, dispute has again arisen between the UK and Ireland over Rockall, a small rock in the North-East Atlantic Ocean, and its surrounding waters. On January 4th a Marine Scotland patrol boat stopped and boarded an Irish fishing trawler, forcing it to leave waters within 12 nautical miles of the rock. Scotland asserted the UK…

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Old Habits Die Hard: Applying Existing International Law in Cyberspace and Beyond

January 5, 2021

In the past few years, a growing number of states have expressed their official positions on the applicability of international law in cyberspace. Most recently, New Zealand and Israel shared their own views on the topic to beef up the crowd. Initiatives of this kind are welcome and contribute to the gradual clarification of the extent…

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Jam v IFC’s complications: the Pan-American Health Organization

January 4, 2021

The landmark judgment by the US Supreme Court in Jam v International Finance Corporation (IFC) has given rise to anxious reactions by US-based international organizations and generated a lively academic debate including at least three insightful comments on this blog (by respectively Diane Desierto here, Julian Arato here and Sachintha Dias here).  The case…

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