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10 March 2017 / Khawar Qureshi KC
Issue: 7737 / Categories: Features , Public
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The highs & lows of public international law

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Khawar Qureshi QC reviews the headline-catching public international law cases before the English Courts in 2016

  • Abuse of immunity considered.
  • Enforcement of judgments and awards and the “commercial” exception.
  • Act of state/non-justiciability and a state as a trustee discussed.

Last year saw the Supreme Court confirm the limited scope for judicial review of a decision to include a person’s name on the UN sanctions list (Youssef v SSHD [2016] UKSC 3 27/1/16). The UK policy of recognising states rather than governments was vividly illustrated in the long running saga concerning disputes as to which rival faction in Libya (“Tripoli” or “Tobruk”) controls the Libyan sovereign wealth fund (Hassan Bouhadi v Abdulmagid Breish [2016] EWHC 602 (Blair J) 17/3/16). The Divisional Court comprehensively reviewed the Customary International Law rule reflected in the common law, which requires a state which had agreed to receive a special mission to secure the inviolability and immunity from criminal jurisdiction of the mission’s members during the period of the mission

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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