Public International Law Notes

European Court Of Human Rights finds first violation of Convention rights based on climate change

The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR“) has delivered three highly anticipated judgments on the application of the European Convention on Human …

Enforcement of arbitral awards: Award creditor successfully seeks remedy from European Court of Human Rights for Albania’s extraordinary delay in recognising arbitral award

Climate Change: Dutch Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the Hague District Court in Urgenda Foundation v Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Dutch Court of Appeal (the “Court”) has upheld the 2015 decision of the Hague District Court in the case of Urgenda Foundation v Kingdom of the …

The human right to water: defences to investment treaty violations

At times, and for a variety of reasons, states will regulate the market in the furtherance of public-policy objectives—including to implement specific …

English Court of Appeal confirms that the estate of a head of state who dies in office enjoys immunity only in respect of official acts

In the recent decision of Harb v HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz [2015] EWCA Civ 481, the English Court of Appeal (the Court) confirmed …

UK Government plan to replace the English Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights

After winning an outright majority at the general election, the new UK Government is pressing ahead with its manifesto promise to "scrap the Human Rights …

The erosion of state and diplomatic immunity by European law? Two recent English Court of Appeal cases

In the case of (1) Benkharbouche and (2) Janah v (1) Embassy of the Republic of Sudan and (2) Libya, the English Court of Appeal (the Court) considered …

Constitutional rights vs. state immunity: implementation of an ICJ decision on sovereign immunity declared unconstitutional

A recent decision by the Italian Constitutional Court calls into question the applicability of generally accepted principles of sovereign immunity to …