International Law and Domestic Law

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Civil liability for violations of IHL: are the US and UK moving in opposite directions?

October 28, 2022

Mark Lattimer

On 25 August 2022 the US Department of Defense published its Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), outlining a major three-year programme of institutional change in how the US deals with civilian harm occasioned by military operations. The plan was ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in January following the release of information, in the New York Times and elsewhere, detailing patterns of failure in the Pentagon’s investigation of, and response to, thousands of civilian casualties from US operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The release of the CHMR-AP has been welcomed (see here and here), including by current and former US defense officials, but also met by some scepticism as to whether it will produce an effective improvement in civilian protection. This post considers just one – elsewhere unremarked – aspect of the new Plan, which is the extent to which it signals a departure from the long-held policy of the US not…

Equatorial Guinea v. France (No. 2): A First Attempt at International Litigation on Stolen Asset Recovery

October 18, 2022

Cecily Rose

On 29 September 2022, Equatorial Guinea instituted proceedings against France before the International Court of Justice. In its application, Equatorial Guinea alleges that France is failing to comply with its asset recovery obligations under the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). This case represents yet another legal twist in a long-running saga concerning the misappropriation…

The subtle erosion of democracy in Latin America: the case of Lula in the Human Rights Committee

June 3, 2022

Tainá Garcia Maia

On 12 March 2022, the Human Rights Committee delivered its views on the complaint filed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former President of the Federal Republic of Brazil who was imprisoned in 2018 in the context of the anti-corruption operation known as ‘Operation Car Wash (in Portuguese, ‘Operação Lava Jato’). The representatives of Lula asked the…

Prosecuting Atrocity Crimes Committed in Northern Ethiopia: The Need for Special National Prosecution Mechanism

April 4, 2022

Wubeshet Tiruneh

Over the last four years, serious human rights violations and abuses, have been committed in Ethiopia in and outside of the context of an armed conflict. These violations may constitute international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. The situation particularly worsened and garnered international attention after an armed conflict broke out in Tigray on…

A Former Danish Minister for Immigration is Sentenced: A new Chapter in the Danish ‘Migrants Saga’

December 29, 2021

Jacques Hartmann

On December 13 2021 the Danish Court of Impeachment (Rigsretten) convicted Inger Støjberg, a former Minister of Immigration, for having unlawfully instructed public authorities to separate migrant couples one of whom was a minor. This special Court, which Parliament assembles, exists to try ministers accused of maladministration. Although nominally a permanent body, the assembly of the Court…

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The Julian Assange Affair: May the UK Terminate the Diplomatic Status of Ecuador’s Embassy? UPDATED

August 17, 2012

Dapo Akande

Ecuador has announced that it is granting asylum to Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, who has taken refuge in the Ecuardor's embassy in London. Assange sought refuge in the Embassy after the UK Supreme Court ruled a few weeks ago that he may be extradited to Sweden where he is wanted for trial on allegation of committing…

UK Supreme Court Decides R (Smith) v SSD

June 30, 2010

Marko Milanovic

Today the UK Supreme Court decided R (Smith) v Secretary of State for Defence [2010] UKSC 29 (press summary), yet another fascinating addition to the unfolding saga on the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties. The plaintiff was the mother of a UK soldier stationed in Iraq who died there from a severe heatstroke. She demanded an inquiry…

Is there a place for sovereign immunity in the fight against terrorism? The US Supreme Court says ‘no’ in Bank Markazi v. Peterson

May 19, 2016

Victor Grandaubert

The US Supreme Court’s judgment of 20 April 2016 in the case of Bank Markazi, aka The Central Bank of Iran, Petitioner v. Deborah Peterson, et al. highlights the increasingly isolated nature of US practice on sovereign immunity. As well as addressing issues of constitutional law, the judgment is also significant from an international law perspective; the…

International Law in the Age of Trump

February 28, 2017

Monica Hakimi

In the second month of Donald Trump’s presidency, we still know little about his foreign policy agenda. He regularly said things during the campaign that suggested a radical departure from longstanding tenets of U.S. foreign policy. And during his first month in office, he caused more than his fair share of diplomatic offense and confusion.