International Law Prof Blog

Following a Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Costa Rica Elects Its Next President

News reports from Costa Rica suggest that Carlos Alvarado Quesada (PAC), a 38-year-old former labor minister and a novelist, will be elected as the 48th President of Costa Rica with approximately 61 percent of the votes. He appears to have defeated his opponent, Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz (PRN), a former television journalist and an evangelical Christian singer who campaigned on his strong opposition to same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage became a key electoral issue in Costa Rica because the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (which has its seat in the capital of Costa Rica) ruled in January 2018 that parties to the American Convention on Human Rights (including Costa Rica) must recognize same-sex marriage.  In the Americas, same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the United States, and Uruguay. It is also legal in some Mexican states, but under Mexican law all states of Mexico must recognize the validity of those marriages even if the state itself does not yet perform same-sex marriage. The new ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is expected to extend same-sex marriage throughout other countries in the Americas.

The President of Costa Rica is the head of state and head of government of Costa Rica. The current President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís, was ineligible to run for a second term. (Under Costa Rican law as we understand it, an incumbent president must wait at least eight years before running to be President again.)

Click here for the decision (in Spanish) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on same-sex marriage.

Hat tip to rw.

(mew)

Civilian Death Toll in Gaza Continues to Rise

The civilian death toll in Gaza has continued to rise since the new wave of violence between the territory and Israel intensified last week, the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees warned today, reiterating its call for all sides to stop the violence.  

“The situation [for civilians] is bad,” said the spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Christopher Gunness. “This is a very densely populated place. There are many, many civilians. More than half of Gaza’s 1.7 million people are children, and what we are seeing are rockets flying out of this area, populated largely by civilians, and airstrikes coming in.”

“The civilian death toll is rising and it will continue to rise, unless the words of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are heeded by the parties on the ground,” Mr. Gunness added.

The recent wave of violence – which includes rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza – have reportedly resulted in more than 90 Palestinians and three Israelis having been killed, with many others wounded.

UNRWA has 1.2 million beneficiaries in Gaza, where, last week, one of its staff members was killed in an Israeli airstrike. “We are echoing the call of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in appealing to all sides to exercise utmost restraint, to de-escalate so that peace can begin to take hold,” Mr. Gunness said. “All sides must honour their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians.”

Mr. Ban, who is currently in Cairo, Egypt, renewed his appeal for an end to the ongoing violence, and strongly urged the parties to achieve an immediate ceasefire.  During a briefing to reporters this afternoon, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said Mr. Ban will meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Nabil El-Araby, and, later this week, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr. Gunness said that UNRWA, which distributes food, provides health services, and operates schools, would continue to carry out its work. He added that while UNRWA’s schools have been forced to close, teachers have been able to establish a distance learning television channel with classes in Arabic, English and mathematics lessons. “Children who cannot make it to UNRWA’s schools have been able to tune in and carry on with their education as best they can under these terrible circumstances,” Mr. Gunness added.

(adapted from a UN Press Release)

No Progress on Restoring Democracy to Fiji

Radio Australia reports that Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, has said that talks have stagnated on restoring democracy in Fiji.  As you might remember, Fiji was suspended from the commonwealth in 2009 following a military coup in that country.  The military ruler, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has refused all pressures to hold elections and restore the government to civilian power.  Mr. Sharma noted that instead of moving toward democracy, "the abrogation of the constitution, the emergency order, and the decision making format which now avails by decree - all this has actually put the clock back." Mr Sharma was in the Pacific region this week to discuss ways the Commonwealth can strengthen its partnership with the nations of Samoa and Tonga.

Hat tip to the East-West Center and Radio Australia.  We extend our continued concern for the lawyers and people of Fiji.

(mew)

Panel at ABA Annual Meeting Will Examine the International Court of Justice

  The 2009 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago this August will have a number of panels and events of interest to readers of this blog.

 

One of the featured panels is "A New Era for the International Court of Justice," which will be on Sunday, August 2, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  The panel is sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of International Law.  Here is the full description:
 
A New Era for the International Court of Justice

 

The International Court of Justice has more cases before it than at any time in its history. This panel will survey pending and recent cases before the International Court of Justice and examine compliance with decisions of the court. After that survey, the panel and audience will engage in an interactive discussion on the court and whether its increasing docket suggests a new role for the court in international dispute resolution.

 

Speakers:

Professor Kenneth S. Gallant, University of Arkansas William H. Bowen School of Law, Little Rock, Arkansas

Professor Andrew Strauss, Widener School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware

Dr. Kyriaki Topidi, University of Lucerne, Switzerland

Professor Mark Wojcik, The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois