Nov 5, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and Amnesty International presented a third party intervention in the case Al Nashiri v Poland before the European Court of Human Rights.
In the third party intervention, the ICJ and AI outlined developments on the principle of non-refoulement, on the human rights obligations in breach in the practice of “renditions” and “secret detention”, on enforced disappearances, on the international law of state responsibility both for human rights violations occuring on the territory of a High Contracting Party committed by another State and following return of a person to a third State, and the right to a remedy and to reparation.
ECtHR-ICJAI-AmicusBrief-AlNashiri_v_ Poland-2012 (download the third party intervention)
Sep 26, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and others argue that Spain should assume jurisdiction, as the US has allowed for impunity of top officials who facilitated torture.
The ICJ joined the Center for Constitutional Rights, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights and other leading organizations and scholars, arguing that the Spanish Supreme Court should reopen the investigations for participation in or aiding and abetting torture and other human rights abuses against six senior legal officials of the Bush Administration.
The brief argues that Spain should exercise jurisdiction under Spanish law because the US itself has failed to carry out any meaningful investigations and prosecutions against the officials, who are alleged to have provided legal authorisation for torture practices against “war on terror” detainees.
The officials are David Addington (former Counsel to, and Chief of Staff for, former Vice President Cheney): Jay S. Bybee (former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); Douglas Feith (former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense (DOD); Alberto R. Gonzales (former Counsel to former President George W. Bush, and former Attorney General of the United States); William J Haynes (former General Counsel, DOD); and John Yoo (former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC, DOJ).
SpainUSA-Bushlawyers-AmicusBrief-2012-eng (download third party intervention)
Sep 11, 2012 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
During the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council (10-28 September 2012), the ICJ made an oral statement relating to the report of the UN Secretary-General on reprisals against persons cooperating with the UN and its mechanisms.
In a general debate concerning reports of the UN Secretary-General, including his report on reprisals against human rights defenders (HRDs), the ICJ delivered an oral statement on 11 September 2012 concerning impunity for attacks against HRDs in Sudan.
The ICJ’s statement called on the Human Rights Council to urge Sudan to:
- Protect the rights of HRDs, including those cooperating with the UN;
- Initiate a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation into incidents brought to the attention of the Council;
- Hold criminally accountable those responsible and ensure access to a remedy and reparations for the victims of such attacks;
- Guarantee the safe return and reintegration in Sudan of the human rights defenders concerned; and
- Repeal all laws that describe human rights activities as spying and espionage.
Sudan-HRC21-Item2-OralStatementReprials-2012 (download statement)
Apr 17, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and Amnesty International presented a third party intervention in the case El Masri v. the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.
In the third party intervention, the ICJ and AI outlined developments on the principle of non-refoulement, on enforced disappearances, on the international law of state responsibility and on the right to truth.
Macedonia-written submission-legal submission-2012 (full text in English, PDF)
Mar 23, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
On 22 March the ICJ together with 8 other organizations submitted and amicus curie brief in support of an action by the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain information under the US Freedom of Information Act about the CIA’s use of drones to carry out targeted killings around the world.
CIATargetedKillingsMemos-AmicusBrief-Joint-USA (download the joint amicus brief)
Sep 28, 2011 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
The Senior Legal Advisor for the SOGI Project provided expert testimony at the Inter-American Court’s hearing in Bogota, Colombia.
The case concerns the decision by the Supreme Court of Chile to remove Karen Atala’s three daughters from her custody because she had begun living with another woman.
The expert testimony focused on the best interest of the child principle and how courts have held that discrimination on the basis of parental sexual orientation violates this fundamental principle of child custody decisions.
