Category: Uncategorised

Published: 1 May 2020 Author: Rohan Sinha

On 10 July 2019, the Regional Court in Wiesbaden sentenced Ali Bashar Ahmad Zebari to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Susanna Feldmann. The criminal trial attracted large public attention in Germany because, following the crime, the accused had fled to northern Iraq, from where he was repatriated to Germany under rather unusual circumstances. After an arrest warrant had been issued against the accused, he was traced to the autonomous region of Kurdistan-Iraq, where he was arrested on 8 June 2018 by Kurdish security forces at the request of the German Federal Police. The next day, the head of the Federal Police himself travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan to bring him back. The head of the Federal Police and two members of his staff met with Kurdish officials at Erbil International Airport “for reasons of protocol” while other federal officers who were accompanying him remained in the plane. According to the Federal Police, the Kurdish security forces delivered the accused right to the door of the plane and handed him over to Federal Police officers. He boarded the plane voluntarily and was brought back to Germany without being handcuffed or otherwise restrained. The Federal Government insisted that the police officers on board were present only to ensure aviation security. The operation was described as a “deportation”, rather than an extradition. The accused arrived back in Germany on 9 June 2018, where he was formally arrested. He was interrogated and brought before an investigating judge who ordered his pre-trial detention. The accused confessed the murder of the 14-year old schoolgirl but denied raping her. (more…)

Published: 29 April 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

In February 2011, in the early stages of the civil war in Libya, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the country. The implementation of the arms embargo and other sanctions is monitored by a Committee of the Security Council. In March 2011, the Security Council also established a Panel of Experts to examine and analyse information regarding the implementation of the arms embargo; in particular, incidents of non-compliance. These measures, however, did not stop the influx of arms into Libya. In its report of November 2019, the Panel of Experts remarked that “the arms embargo was ineffective, and resulted in regular maritime and air transfers to Libya of military materiel.” The Panel identified Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as routinely and sometimes blatantly supplying weapons to the parties to the conflict, employing little effort to disguise the source. (more…)

Published: 27 April 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 3 January 2020, the United States killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and several members of his entourage in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. General Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, a military unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran responsible for its foreign operations, supporting non-State actors in neighbouring 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. (more…)

Published: 20 April 2020 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

Since 2005, Yemen has faced unrest following uprisings, most notably by the Houthi rebels in the north. Over the years, the conflict has developed into a full-blown civil war. In September 2014, the Houthis took control of the country’s capital Sana’a, as well as much of the north of the country. Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi was made to resign and placed under house arrest. In January 2015, the Houthis appointed a presidential council to replace him. However, in February 2015 Hadi managed to escape to the southern Yemeni port of Aden. He rescinded his resignation and on 24 March 2015, he sent a letter to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States asking them (more…)

Published: 16 April 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 19 January 2020, Germany hosted a “Conference on Libya” in Berlin in order “to create new political impetus and rally international support for finding a solution to the conflict in Libya.” The conference was attended by the Governments of Algeria, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of the Congo, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, and High Representatives of the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the League of Arab States. The leaders of the two main warring factions – the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the self-styled Libyan National Army with its headquarters in Benghazi – were also present in Berlin but did not formally take part in the conference. (more…)

Published: 14 April 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

Since mid-2014, Yemen has been gripped by a devastating civil war between the Houthi rebels and the government of President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi which is backed by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In September 2014, the Houthi rebels captured the capital Sana’a and have been controlling large areas of northern Yemen ever since. In January 2015, the Houthis declared that President Hadi was deposed and established their own government in Sana’a, dissolved parliament and took over the government institutions located in the north. President Hadi fled first to the port city of Aden in the south of the country and later to Saudi Arabia. (more…)

Published: 09 April 2020 Author: Stefan Talmon

Throughout the year, Germany makes numerous statements on international law. Not all of these statements form part of a case study presented on GPIL. However, these statements may nevertheless be of interest to international lawyers. We therefore compile these statements on a monthly basis. (more…)

It is with great sadness that we share the news of Rudolf Dolzer’s passing on 3 April 2020. Rudolf Dolzer was Director of the Institute for Public International Law at the University of Bonn from 1996 to 2009. He was a titan of general international law and a pioneer of international investment law. We say goodbye to a truly exceptional human being and a remarkable international jurist. Our thoughts and sympathies are with his family.

Rudolf Dolzer

(20 March 1944 – 3 April 2020)

Category: News

Published: 08 April 2020 Authors: Sebastián Mantilla Blanco and Stefan Talmon

With 52 parties, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is one of the most important multilateral investment treaties. Germany signed the ECT on 17 December 1994 and ratified it on 16 December 1997. The ECT has a prominent place in the German investment treaty landscape. By March 2020, German investors had been  party to 25 ECT arbitration proceedings and Germany had appeared as a respondent in three ECT arbitrations. The European Union (EU) and its Member States, including Germany, were leading an effort to amend and modernise the ECT. In response to a parliamentary request for information, the Federal Government on 21 February 2020 clarified several aspects of the German position on the future of the ECT. (more…)

Published: 06 April 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Philip Wimmer

On 26 July 2019, the Higher Regional Court in Munich sentenced Ahmad Zaheer D. to two years’ probation for, inter alia, the war crime of outrages upon human dignity. At the same time, the Court found that the beating of three enemy prisoners during interrogation did not amount to the war crime of inhuman treatment of protected persons under international humanitarian law. Handing down the relatively lenient sentence, the Court considered in favour of the accused that he had made a full confession, had cooperated with the police authorities, had no other criminal record, and had made every effort to integrate in Germany. It also took into account that the crimes occurred long ago and that the accused was just 21 years old at the time of the crimes. (more…)