Harvard ILJ

The Office of the United States Trade Representative today announced that, on Tuesday, it would file a case against China for deficiencies in its protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.  The U.S. also filed a second suit, seeking to eliminate distribution barriers for literary and audiovisual products. The press release is here.

The finance ministers of ASEAN member nations met in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last week to discuss recent economic developments in the region. The meeting also addressed ways to strengthen capital markets, liberalize financial services, fund projects in infrastructure, and cooperate in taxation efforts. In addition, the ministers discussed further steps toward the goal of realizing [...]

The United Nations Development Programme plans to set up a new internationally-recognized designation, much like UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, in an effort to protect hundreds of thousands of sacred places around the globe. The spiritual sites, ranging from Jerusalem’s Garden Tomb to a “spiritual park” in the Peruvian Andes, are in particular danger as the [...]

The New York Times and other news sources are reporting that the ICJ may not have had the opportunity to fully review Serbia’s national archives while making its decision in the genocide case brought by Bosnia. The article cites interviews and other sources who claim that Serbia obtained the Court’s permission to redact documents on [...]

The president of Peru, Alan García, announced over the weekend that the country will turn to the International Court of Justice in the Hague to resolve its maritime border controversy with Chile. Peru says that this border has never been legally set, while Chile sees as binding a pair of treaties signed by the two [...]

The Organization of American States (OAS) inaugurated a new chairman of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Jorge Valero of Venezuela, on Wednesday in Washington. Valero’s first task upon succeeding Ambassador María del Lujan Flores of Uruguay will be to prepare for the next OAS General Assembly session, to be held in Panama City in June. The [...]

On April 5, International Roma Day, Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis issued a statement calling for fairer treatment of Europe’s Roma population. For the text of the statement, see here.

The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has concluded an 11-day meeting, during which it discussed registering satellites and other objects launched into outer space, as well as legal aspects of various aspects of outer space treaties. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22149

According to the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE), the International Labour Organization this week called for the repeal of North Carolina General Statute § 95-98, a state law that prohibits public employee collective bargaining. The UE press release also describes an ILO finding that the United States, as a member state, [...]

The Japanese government has donated $247 million to ASEAN to support youth exchange programs in east Asia in addition to various projects related to the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The donation was made pursuant to an agreement signed by Japan and ASEAN during the January summit in Cebu. See here for more information. In other [...]

On March 27, Georgia lodged an application against the Russian Federation following alleged acts of espionage by Russian service personnel arrested in Tbilisi. According to Georgia, the reaction of the Russia amounted to breaches of several provisions of the Convention and its Protocols. Violations allegedly consist of harassment of the Georgian immigrant population in the [...]

The trial chamber of the ICTY today sentenced Dragan Zelenovic to fifteen years imprisonment, based on seven counts of torture and rape as crimes against humanity. Zelenovic pled guilty to these crimes as part of a plea deal. The chamber gave mitigating weight to his guilty plea, noting that it would help to establish truth [...]