GPIL – German Practice in International Law

Published: 23 January 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Miriam Heipertz

On 3 January 2020, at about 1am local time, the United States launched a drone strike, killing Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and nine members of his entourage near Baghdad International Airport. General Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, a military unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran responsible for its foreign operations, supporting non-State actors in neighboring countries, including Shia militias in Iraq. The United States considered Soleimani as the mastermind behind numerous attacks by Iranian proxies against American troops in the Middle East.

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Published: 16 January 2020 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

On 4 June 2016, an Israeli citizen used an online booking website to book a seat on a Kuwait Airways flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok, with an approximately five-hour stopover in Kuwait City. When he later filled in the passenger details – including his Israeli citizenship – the airline cancelled his flight and offered to arrange alternative transport with another airline at their own expense. The man declined the offer and instead brought a claim before the Regional Court in Frankfurt, asking that Kuwait Airways either be required to fulfil their contractual obligations to fly him to Bangkok, or else that he be compensated for discrimination.

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Published: 14 January 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

Amid heightened military tensions between Iran and the United States, Iranian air defences on 8 January 2020 accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (PS752) which had taken off from Tehran International Airport, killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board.

In the evening of 11 January 2020, Rob Macaire, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Iran, attended an event at Amir Kabir University in Tehran advertised as a vigil for the victims of the PS752 tragedy. When the vigil turned into an anti-government protest, the ambassador, according to his own account, left the scene. Half an hour after leaving, at around 7.10pm, on his way back to the British embassy, he was arrested by Iranian security forces on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions in front of Amir Kabir University.

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Published: 13 January 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Zoé Flöer

In 2019 Germany signed some 70 bilateral agreements. The most significant agreement in political terms was the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation and Integration, signed in Aachen on 22 January 2019 (the “Aachen Treaty”). The Treaty, signed on the 56^th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, further developed and enhanced the cooperation between the two countries. By far the most bilateral agreements were concluded with the United States concerning the exemption and benefits of U.S. enterprises serving U.S. troops in Germany under the Supplementary Agreement to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement.

In contrast, Germany signed just two multilateral treaties during that period. In addition, Germany signed numerous non-binding Memoranda of Understanding and Declarations of Intent. The following is an incomplete list compiled from public sources: (more…)

Published: 10 January 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

In the early hours of 8 January 2020, Iran launched missile attacks on U.S. military forces in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing of General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran. Iranian forces fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles against two airbases at al-Asad and in Irbil which hosted troops of the United States and other members of the global coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq. No American or coalition soldiers were killed or injured in the attack.

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Published: 10 January 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 7 January 2020, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif claimed in a news interview that the United States had denied him a visa that would have allowed him to attend a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York scheduled for later in the week. The spokesperson for the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations said that the visa application had been lodged with the U.S. authorities on 20 December 2019, one day after the Foreign Minister had received an invitation from the Security Council to speak at a ministerial meeting on 9 January 2020 on “Upholding the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

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Published: 9 January 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

In November and December 2019, Iran-backed Shia militias repeatedly attacked bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq. During a rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk on 27 December 2019, a U.S. civilian contractor was killed and four American service members were injured. In response, the United States conducted air strikes against the Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah (KH) in Iraq and Syria killing at least 25 members of the militia. This triggered thousands of angry supporters of the KH militia on 31 December 2019 to lay siege to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the biggest and most heavily fortified U.S. embassy in the world.

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Published: 8 January 2020 Authors: Rohan Sinha and Stefan Talmon

On 6 April 2018, the United States announced sanctions against Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and companies owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by him, including United Company Rusal Plc (Rusal). Rusal is the world’s second largest supplier of aluminium and alumina (an essential ingredient in processing aluminium), providing about 6% of the global supply of alumina and aluminium. Announcing the sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin declared: (more…)

Published: 7 January 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

Germany considers itself “a firm supporter of international law”. For example, during a debate in the United Nations Security Council on 23 July 2019, the German permanent representative stated:

“As the Ambassador of Germany, I must say that, for us, international law is relevant; international law is not futile. We believe in the United Nations […]. We believe in Security Council resolutions; for us, they are binding international law.
As I said, we believe in the force of international law and we do not believe in the force of the strongest. For us, international law is not an à la carte menu.”

While Germany regularly emphasizes the importance of international law and calls for its respect and promotion in general terms, it very rarely comments on the international legality of particular events or actions.

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Published: 20 December 2019 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Mareike Höcker

On 22 October 2013, the Sultan of Brunei issued the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013. The Code provided for extreme corporal punishments such as death by stoning for extramarital sex, adultery, or gay sex; amputation of limbs for stealing; and 40 strokes with a whip for lesbian sex. The Code prescribed the death penalty for a wide range of offences including robbery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Mohammed. Those who persuaded, told or encouraged Muslim children under the age of 18 to accept the teachings of religions other than Islam could be fined or jailed. Children who had reached puberty and were convicted of serious offenses could receive the same punishments as adults, while younger children could be subjected to whipping.

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