GPIL – German Practice in International Law

Authors: Rohan Sinha and Stefan Talmon  Published: 24 October 2024

In 2013, a new term entered German political discourse – ‘Völkerrecht des Netzes’, a term translated into English in official documents as ‘International Network Law’. Political parties expressed their wish for or their commitment to an ‘international network law’, and politicians vowed to work for an ‘international network law’. A translation better capturing the meaning of the term would have been ‘International Law of the Internet’ or ‘International Internet Law’ as the idea behind the term was that international law should be used to regulate the Internet, to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens in the digital world and to augment opportunities for democratic participation in the global communications network. This led Germany, together with Brazil, to table a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly in December 2013 on ‘The right to privacy in the digital age’. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously, affirmed for the first time that ‘the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including the right to privacy.’ (more…)

Published: 22 October Author: Rohan Sinha 

On 19 May 2021, the Federal Government adopted a white paper setting out Germany’s engagement in international organisations. Published in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the white paper sought to outline how the multilateral order could be adapted to the changed conditions and address the challenges of the 21st century. With this document, the Federal Government aimed ‘to take a stand, declare its position and justify why and how Germany is more prepared than ever before to invest, both politically and materially, in multilateral cooperation and the mechanisms and institutions that facilitate this collaboration.’ (more…)

Published: 17 October 2024  Author: Rohan Sinha

In recent years, Germany has repeatedly been the target of Russian cyber attacks, including cyber espionage. Such cyber attacks are often part of disinformation campaigns, for example when websites or well-known social media accounts are hacked in order to spread false information. The intention is to destabilise the target country by sowing uncertainty among its population, influencing public opinion, emotionalising controversial debates, amplifying social tensions and stoking distrust in State institutions and the government. When such disinformation campaigns are State-sponsored, the Federal Government speaks of a ‘hybrid threat’. When States like Russia combine such operations with traditional military action, economic pressure and subversive activities, the Federal Government refers to this approach as ‘hybrid warfare’. (more…)

Published: 19 September 2024  Authors: Pauline Brinkmann, Iria Lores Wallenfang and Stefan Talmon

On 11 July 2011, the Regional Court in Darmstadt sentenced Graham S. (G.S.) to life imprisonment for the murder of businessman Michael Meng (M.M.). Graham S. was the lover of Salina Meng (S.M.), the murder victim’s wife. She had been summoned during the trial as a witness, but refused to testify, as she was by then engaged to Graham S. (more…)

Published: 17 September 2024  Authors: Rohan Sinha and Stefan Talmon

On 15 December 2021, the Higher Regional Court of Berlin sentenced Russian national Vadim Krasikov (Vadim K.), alias Vadim Sokolov (Vadim S.), to life imprisonment for the murder of Tornike Khangoshvili (T. Ka.), a Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity, in central Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten park on 23 August 2019. The Court determined that Krasikov ‘had been commissioned by State authorities of the central government of the Russian Federation to eliminate the victim, among other things because of his role in the second Chechen war between 2000 and 2004 and as the leader of a Chechen militia.’ In an unprecedented act, the Court stated explicitly in its ruling that the murder ‘was an act of State terrorism.’ The Court held: (more…)

Published: 3 September 2024  Author: Stefan Talmon

On 3 May 2019, German customs and federal police stopped a car with diplomatic registration plates on the A17 motorway from Prague to Dresden for a routine inspection. During the search of the vehicle, officers found 70kg of heroin in two suitcases, neatly packed in 140 packs of 500 grams each, with a street value of more than €3 million. When the two vehicle occupants — Battushig B., Vice-Consul of the Mongolian Consulate General in Istanbul, and Erdenebayar S., his driver, from the domestic service at the same consular post — were to be arrested, they claimed consular immunity. As the two men were not accredited to Germany, however, they were provisionally detained by the police. The following day, the Dresden District Court issued an arrest warrant and ordered their pre-trial detention. (more…)

Published 29 August 2024  Author: Stefan Talmon

In a judgement of 2 August 2024 on a civil law claim for damages, a German judge invented the concept of ‘nature’, or an individual ecosystem such as a river or forest, as an ‘ecological person’ with its own subjective rights. Based on Articles 2 and 3(1) in connection with Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the doctrine of human rights documents as ‘living instruments’, the Regional Court of Erfurt, siting as a single judge, found a comprehensive right of ecological persons ‘to have their existence, preservation and regeneration of their life cycles, structure, functions and development processes respected and protected.’ The Court argued that ‘the recognition of specific rights of ecological persons through the interpretation and application of existing Union law is necessary because of the importance and urgency of the ecological challenges – climate change, species extinction and global littering – and the threat of irreversible damage’ (LG Erfurt, Urteil vom 02.08.2024 – 8 O 1373/21). (more…)

Published 29 August 2024  Author: Stefan Talmon

On 24 August 2024, Namibia denied the German-owned cargo vessel MV Kathrin, sailing under the flag of Portugal, access to its port of Walvis Bay on the ground that the vessel was carrying ‘explosive material destined for Israel.’ (more…)

Published 25 July 2024 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its advisory opinion in the case concerning Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In response to questions posed by the UN General Assembly, the ICJ found, inter alia, that the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is unlawful and that Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence there as rapidly as possible. (more…)

Published: 23 July 2024 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Antonia Mirbach

In response to the terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, Israel embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip, followed by a large-scale ground invasion of the territory. Israel’s military operation led to a large number of deaths and injuries among the Palestinian civilian population, especially women and children, widespread destruction in Gaza, and the internal displacement of more than 80 per cent of the territory’s population, a situation that has been described as ‘an ongoing human tragedy of semi-apocalyptic proportions’. Germany has been widely perceived as one of the countries offering unconditional support to Israel, including by supplying weapons and other military equipment. In 2023, according to reports, Germany was the second-largest weapons exporter to Israel after the United States. This led Nicaragua on 1 March 2024 to institute proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Germany, alleging breaches of certain international obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (more…)