GPIL – German Practice in International Law

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

In 2019 Germany signed some 90 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  DOI: 10.17176/20220127-113443-0

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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Published: 18 December 2019  Authors: Rohan Sinha and Stefan Talmon  DOI: 10.17176/20220127-112949-0

The Republic of China (ROC) was founded on 1 January 1912 upon the downfall of the Qing dynasty in China. The island of Taiwan lies some 180 kilometres off the south-eastern coast of mainland China. Taiwan and its outlying islands were ceded to Japan by China in 1895 after the First Sino-Chinese War. After the Japanese surrender in the Second World War on 25 October 1945 ROC troops occupied Taiwan and its neighbouring islands. In the Treaty of San Francisco, which re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers, Japan renounced “all right, title and claim” to the island. In the last phase of the Chinese civil war, the Nationalist Government of the ROC under General Chiang Kai-shek was forced by its Communist opponents to abandon mainland China and to relocate to Taiwan. By proclamation of 8 December 1949, the Nationalist Government transferred the capital of the ROC from mainland China to Taipei, the capital of the island of Taiwan. On 1 September 1949, the Communist counter-government under Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Communist Government in Beijing informed all States that it considered itself the sole legal Government of China, and that it was ready to establish diplomatic relations “with any foreign Government willing to observe the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect of territory and sovereignty.” Precondition for diplomatic relations with the PRC Government was, however, that foreign governments severed their relations with the Nationalist Government in Taipei. (more…)

Published: 16 December 2019  Author: Stefan Talmon  DOI: 10.17176/20220127-112409-0

On 11 November 2019, the Republic of The Gambia instituted proceedings against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar before the International Court of Justice, alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group”.  The Gambia argued that during military operations against the Rohingya group, in particular since August 2017, the Myanmar military and other Myanmar security forces had committed genocidal acts which were intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, the systematic destruction by fire of their villages, as well as so-called “clearance operations”. (more…)

Published: 05 December 2019  Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon  DOI: 10.17176/20220127-111809-0

On 31 March 2019, the German ambassador to Rwanda returned to Germany prior to the expiry of his regular term after the Rwanda Government informed the German Federal Foreign Office that it would no longer work with him. In the media, it was reported that in a “private email” at the end of 2018 the ambassador had expressed criticism of the Rwandan President Paul Kagame which had led to diplomatic tensions between Germany and Rwanda. It was further reported that in the past the ambassador had held meetings with Rwandan opposition politicians and had voiced concerns about the human rights situation in Rwanda. Commenting on the matter, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs stated on 5 April 2019:

“We informed his government of the unacceptable behaviour of the ambassador, gave them evidence of this behaviour and requested them to take appropriate action. They decided to recall him before the end of his term.”

This was echoed by the Rwandan Minister of State in charge of the East African Community, who stated:

“[H]e was not expelled because of a private email that was intercepted. In fact, he was recalled by his own government because of a message which was not private, but rather sent to the German community in Rwanda, in which there were inappropriate remarks against the head of State.”

“He made inappropriate remarks about Rwanda and about our President. We wrote to Germany showing why we could no longer work with him and they decided to recall him. But our relationship with Germany remains strong.”

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