UK Supreme Court Decides Smith (No. 2) v. The Ministry of Defence Last week the UK Supreme Court delivered its judgment in Smith (No. 2) v. The Ministy of Defence (judgment; BBC News report). This is a follow-up to the Smith (No. 1) case decided three years ago, with a …
Leer »Iran’s (Non-)Compliance with its Non-Proliferation Obligations Revisited
Iran’s (Non-)Compliance with its Non-Proliferation Obligations Revisited A recent statement issued by the EU entitled ‘Common messages regarding EU sanctions against the Iranian nuclear programme’, posted on the websites of various EU embassies in Tehran (and translated into Farsi), attempts to sum up the reasons which have allegedly justified not …
Leer »Human Rights: Member State, EU and ECHR Levels of Protection
Human Rights: Member State, EU and ECHR Levels of Protection Article 53 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union caused, already at its inception, a hermeneutical conundrum: Nothing in the Charter shall be interpreted as restricting or adversely affecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized, in …
Leer »Court between A Rock and a Hard Place: Comoros Refers Israel’s Raid on Gaza Flotilla to the ICC
Court between A Rock and a Hard Place: Comoros Refers Israel’s Raid on Gaza Flotilla to the ICC Comoros has referred the action of Israeli troops in boarding the flotilla headed to Gaza on 31 May 2010 to the International Criminal Court. The ICC Prosecutor has announced that she is …
Leer »Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)
Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) The Court rules on the counter-claims submitted by Nicaragua: it finds that the first claim is without object, that the …
Leer »Does Use of Chemical Weapons Justify Intervention in Syria?
Does Use of Chemical Weapons Justify Intervention in Syria? Over the last few days, various media outlets have reported that the US, UK and other countries believe that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict (see BBC report). Apparently, there is not yet conclusive evidence of this …
Leer »What is the Meaning of “Consensus” in International Decision Making?
What is the Meaning of “Consensus” in International Decision Making? On 28 March, the negotiators at the Final UN Diplomatic Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty failed to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty (see BBC report here) by consensus. A few days later the Arms Trade Treaty was adopted by the …
Leer »Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan) – Order – Declaration of Intervention by New Zealand
Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan) – Order – Declaration of Intervention by New Zealand – Declaration of Intervention by New Zealand (54 Kb) Read more … [via International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands]
Leer »Boyle and Crawford on Scottish Independence
Boyle and Crawford on Scottish Independence Last month, Joseph Weiler’s post on Catalonian independence and the European Union triggered a lively discussion here on EJIL!Talk (including Nico Krisch’s reply). Yesterday’s publication by the British government of a legal opinion by Alan Boyle of the University of Edinburgh and James Crawford of the …
Leer »Incorporating UN General Assembly Declaratory Texts into Domestic Law?
Incorporating UN General Assembly Declaratory Texts into Domestic Law? Last week in Canada, with federal MPs returning to Parliament amidst the continuation of countrywide protests by indigenous peoples, an opposition MP introduced a private member’s bill (Bill C-469) to require the Canadian government to ensure that all federal laws are …
Leer »Incorporating UN General Assembly Declaratory Texts into Domestic Law?
Incorporating UN General Assembly Declaratory Texts into Domestic Law? Last week in Canada, with federal MPs returning to Parliament amidst the continuation of countrywide protests by indigenous peoples, an opposition MP introduced a private member’s bill (Bill C-469) to require the Canadian government to ensure that all federal laws are …
Leer »Iceland not responsible for the liabilities of its deposit insurance scheme
Iceland not responsible for the liabilities of its deposit insurance scheme In a landmark decision, the EFTA Court on 28 January 2013 dismissed all claims brought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority against Iceland in the Icesave case. The Authority had alleged that Iceland had breached its obligations under Directive 94/14/EC …
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