Two Weeks in Review, 23 November – 6 December 2020

Covid-19 related posts

Sofia Galani writes about the ‘unprecedented humanitarian crisis at sea’ which is affecting the human rights of almost all persons at sea and in particular looks at the impact of port restrictions or post closures on persons at sea through the lens of international human rights law and labour law.

Anna Holzscheiter and Julian A. Hettihewa argue there is a need to recognise the agency and creativity of young people in the context of political, legal, economic and societal responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue for the increased participation of young people in decision making at an international level including in the WHO bodies.

Other posts 

Douglas Guilfoyle discusses the findings of the Brereton Report, the result of a inquiry into reports of war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian special forces. Guilfoyle covers some of the major issues related to this inquiry, including those related to the envisaged difficulties concerning prosecutions and of command responsibility. 

Marko Milanovic looks at some of the issues concerning extraterritoriality that will be implicated if reports that the widow of Alexander Litvinenko has revived the claim previously filed against Russia before the European Court of Human Rights are true. Milanovic considers the UK’s perspective and the likelihood that it will not intervene formally because doing so might affect future UK interests in any potential proceedings concerning the legality of the uses of legal force by the British military abroad. 

Melanie Fink asks “why is it to hard to hold Frontex accountable?” and reviews the responses by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Ombudsman to a recent investigation which alleged Frontex has been complicit in human rights violations at the Greek maritime border. Fink exposes the shortcomings in Frontex’s accountability that are present both as a result of institutional design and the EU’s outdated remedies system.

Misha Plagis and Oliver Windridge look at whether Mauritians can use the African human rights system to hold the state responsible for how it handled the the oil spill when the MV Wakashio ran aground in Mauritian waters earlier this year and the potential for ‘judicial environmentalism’.

Kushtrim Istrefi analyses the findings of the GCEU in Kingdom of Spain v. EC which ruled on whether certain acts by the EU in relation to Kosovo amounted to its recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign State, in particular the conclusion by the EU of international agreements with Kosovo and recognition by the EU of its representations in different EU mechanisms. The GCEU distinguished between a state and a country, finding that ‘countries’ can sign international agreements under international law. As Istrefi puts it, this case will ‘surely become an important footnote in any textbook of public international law dealing with treaties and subjects.’

Dr. Danae Azaria responds to Jan Klabbers on the proper role, mandate, and representativeness of the International Law Commission in light of their recent debate in the EJIL. You can read Azaria’s EJIL article here and Klabbers’ article here.

Gail Lythgoe examines the impact of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on international law now that the treaty has received its 50th ratification and will enter into force on 22 January 2021. Lythgoe looks at the relationship between the TPNW and the NPT and clarifies some of the relevant international law considerations, including the status of the legal obligations contained in the TPNW. 

Júlia Miklasová considers the key terms of the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire deal signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Russian Federation and their implications for various legal issues, including peacekeeping, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and effective control of territories, arising from this conflict.

As always, you can read all the recent Announcements and Events here.