Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg encompasses three distinct courts (Court of Justice, General Court, and Civil Service Tribunal) that exercise the judicial functions of the European Union (EU), which aims to achieve greater political and economic integration among EU Member States. However, the Civil Service Tribunal only considers labor disputes raised by EU civil servants against

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Benin and Côte d’Ivoire to Withdraw Individual Access to African Court

Access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) is likely to further shrink next year, following announcements by Côte d’Ivoire and Benin that they will withdraw their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction over human rights complaints by individuals and non-governmental organizations. [RFI; Government of Benin Press Release] News of the announcements came days after the AfCHPR issued provisional measures

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International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s Annual Report Previews Eight Possible Investigations

On December 5, 2019, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) published the 2019 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities, detailing the status of nine initial assessments by her office of possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide around the world. See ICC, Report on Preliminary Examination Activities (2019), para. 14. The ninth annual Report covers the

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As African Court Releases New Judgments, Tanzania Withdraws Individual Access

Tanzania has announced it will no longer allow individuals and non-governmental organizations to submit complaints against it to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), amid growing concern for human rights conditions in the country. [Amnesty International] When it withdrew its declaration under Article 34 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on

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European Court Holds Secret Surveillance Did Not Violate Employees’ Privacy

Overturning a previous chamber decision, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that employees’ right to privacy was not violated when a Spanish supermarket used visible and secret cameras to record public areas of the store when it suspected significant theft by employees. See ECtHR, López Ribalda and Others v. Spain [GC], nos. 1874/13 and

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European Court Rejects Complaint of Man Who “Insulted” the Court

On July 16, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rejected a complaint by Nikolay Alekseyev, a well-known Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activist, due to posts he made on his social media sites that the ECtHR considered “personally offensive and threatening.” See ECtHR, Zhdanov and Others v. Russia, nos. 12200/08 and 2 others, Judgment of 16

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African Union Elects Four Judges to the African Court

In June, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (the Assembly) elected four judges to replace vacancies on the 11-member African Court on Human and People’s Rights. [AfCHPR Press Release] See IJRC, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: 2018 Elections. The election occurred at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the

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U.S. Supreme Court Limits Corporate Liability for Human Rights Abuses

On April 24, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Jesner v. Arab Bank that foreign citizens cannot sue foreign corporations for civil damages in U.S. federal courts for serious violations of international law, such as torture or extrajudicial killings. See Jesner et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC, No. 16–499, slip op. (April 24, 2018). The case was brought against

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European Court Delivers Landmark Judgment on Universal Jurisdiction & Torture

On March 15, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a landmark decision finding that States are not required to allow victims of torture to sue perpetrators in civil proceedings, in the absence of criminal proceedings, for compensation when the act of torture occurred outside of the territory of the State and the perpetrators are not nationals and are

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