Digest

Digest

European Parliament Supports Closing of Guantánamo

The European Parliament recently passed a resolution supporting President Obama’s decision to close Guantánamo Bay within a year. The Member of the Parliament asked the U.S. to ensure that that rights and freedoms of the detainees are protected during the process. 

In its resolution, the European Parliament said that there were three options for dealing with detainees. First, if the U.S. has sufficient evidence against detainees, then they should be tried without delay and upon conviction be imprisoned in the U.S. Second, detainees who are not charged but cannot return to their home country for fear of torture or prosecution should be given admittance to the U.S. Finally, detainees who are not charged and are willing to return to their home country should be allowed to return as soon as possible.

In addition, the resolution called for European cooperation with the U.S. The European Parliament asked that Member States be prepared to accept Guantánamo inmates in the E.U. upon request. However, the Parliament made clear that it believes primary responsibility for closing Guantánamo should rest with the United States.

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Digest

ICC's First Trial Commences

The trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a former Congolese militia leader, commenced on January 26, 2009 at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. He is charged with War crimes of enlisting, conscripting, and using child soldiers under the age of 15 in the conflict in the Ituri region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2002 and 2003.

The beginning of the trial marks a notable step forward for the tribunal, which was created to try large-scale human rights violations. The trial of Mr. Lubanga has taken almost three years to commence since he was first taken to The Hague. Judges halted proceedings last July, citing both legal and strategic errors by the prosecution and stating Mr. Lubanga should be set free because the “prosecution’s handling of evidence amounted to ‘wholesale and serious abuse’ of the process and ruled that fair trial was not possible at that point.” (NYT). The errors have been addressed and the case is now being tried by three judges who are from Britain, Costa Rica, and Bolivia.

This trial will be using a new technique in international law by allowing victims to play a direct role in the trial and be represented by their own lawyers. 93 victims are expected to participate in the Lubanga case.

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Digest

UN to Investigate Bhutto Killing

Following an official visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, February 4, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the creation of a special commission to investigate the killing of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Ban made the decision after what a UN spokesperson described as “extensive consultation” with Pakistani and UN Security Council representatives.

Prior to her death on December 27, 2007, Bhutto was the head of the political opposition to then-President Pervez Musharraf. She died at a political rally as a result of a bomb blast. Bhutto had previously announced that Musharraf would be responsible for any harm that came to her and during her campaign she sent Musharraf a letter alleging that Pakistani government officials were plotting to kill her.  Musharraf and his party lost the February 2008 elections in a landslide and Bhutto’s aide, Yousaf Raza Gilani, became the new prime minister. In August, Musharaf resigned his post of President, ceding power to Asif Ali Zardi, Bhutto’s widower.

The Pakistani government and CIA officials have stated that Baitulah Mehsud, the leader of Panistan’s Talban, was responsible for Bhutto’s death. Nevertheless, a December Gallup Poll showed that nearly fifty percent of Pakistanis believe that Musharraf had a role in Bhutto’s assassination. A UN spokesperson confirmed that Ban had sent a letter to the UN Security Council with his plans for the three-member investigation commission.

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Digest

EC and China Sign Nine Cooperation Agreements

A Chinese delegation led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao finalized agreements on education, policy exchange, clean energy, environment, and intellectual property during a diplomatic visit with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso last month.

The agreements include a program to provide opportunities for thousands of Chinese and European students and academics to pursue their studies in Europe and China, as well as a project to create a permanent center in Beijing to promote clean energy. An action plan intended to strengthen the application of customs controls to combat counterfeiting and piracy was also discussed.

Additionally, Premier Wen and President Barroso discussed overall EU-China relations, the international financial crisis and climate change. They confirmed their states’ mutual interest on pursuing the High Level Dialogue on economy and trade, and agreed on a second round to take place in April.
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Digest

ICJ Settles Black Sea Border Dispute

The International Court of Justice resolved a dispute on Tuesday regarding a border in the Black Sea between Romania and Ukraine. The boundary has been disputed for the last 40 years, and there have been 24 rounds of failed negotiations between the two nations. The region was so highly contested because it is rich in natural resources, including an estimated 10 million tons of oil and billions of cubic meters of natural gas. Although the decision has been praised by both countries as a fair compromise, the ICJ did not mention in the final judgment how these valuable resources are to be divided.

In order to decide how to create the boundary, the Court first drew a provisional equidistant line.  It then looked for other factors including disproportion in the lengths of the coasts, any division already affected in the reason, the conduct of the parties (including fishing rights and natural resource rights) and security considerations. Finally, the Court verified that the new line would not lead to inequitable results for either party.

Both countries submitted arguments and maps showing how they thought the line should be drawn and submitted “base points” that they thought the line should follow. Ultimately, the ICJ largely discounted the arguments of both sides in drawing their final boundary. Romania was given a larger share of the disputed area, but Ukraine was given a large part of the northeast side of Romania’s original claim.

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Digest

WTO Panel Rules on Challenges to Chinese Copyright Law

In a January 26th Panel Report, a WTO Panel has concluded that certain aspects of Chinese Copyright Law and Customs Measures were inconsistent with Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.  Specifically, the Panel found that Article 4 of Chinese Copyright Law, which prevented the works of foreign authors whose publication and distribution has not been authorized by Chinese Authorities from enjoying the same rights as Chinese authors, was inconsistent with WTO regulations  It also found that the Chinese Customs Measure provision allowing infringing goods to be released into the channels of commerce in some circumstances was inconsistent with Chinas obligations under Article 59.  Lastly, the Panel ruled in favor of China on the charge that the criminal procedures and penalties for violation of Copyright and other Intellectual Property Laws were inconsistent with China’s obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.

The Panel recommended that China bring the provisions of Copyright Law and Customs Measures that were inconsistent with the TRIPS Agreement in compliance with its international obligations.  In response to the ruling, China expressed regret over the ruling and promised to “to promote international exchanges and co-operation on IPR and promote the healthy development of global trade relations.”

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