International Legal News - 02 February 2026
- Ned Vucijak
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
The following media round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world for the period of 26 January to 30 January 2026.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates from the International Criminal Court, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, European Union and other sources. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
30 January 2026
International Humanitarian Law: Untapped oil field linked to Human Rights Abuses
The BBC reports that campaigners have warned the UK Government over its potential approval of a project to excavate Rosebank - Britain’s largest untapped oil field. They say approval of the project would risk breaching international law, as it would be giving license to the Delek Group who owns a majority stage in Ithaca Energy which itself, owns 20% of Rosebank.
Legal advice commissioned by the environmental group Uplift say that the project would result in profits being realised by the gas company Delek Group.
The UN human rights commissioner has accused Delek of “supporting the maintenance and existence” of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Uplift’s advice refers to potential breaches of Article 49 and Article 53 of the Geneva Conventions, which relate to the occupation, deportation, and the destruction of property. It is further alleged that Delek’s activities could be regarded as “ancilliary” to war crimes and crimes against humanity under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Act 2001.
For more on this story, see here.
29 January 2026
UK News: Ministry of Justice announces plans to expand court estate
The Ministry of Justice has reportedly announced its plans to expand the court estate by making the operation of four temporary courts, permanent.
Four so-called ‘nightingale courts’, in Fleetwood, Telford, Chichester, and Cirencester, will continue to operate.
The name is borrowed from nightingale hospitals, themselves named after the nurse Florence Nightingale, who came to prominence as the founder of modern nursing during the Crimean war.
Both courts and hospitals were set up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is expected that the continuation of the aforementioned courts will secure 11 additional court rooms across the country.
However, data from the UK Law Society shows that the backlog of criminal cases unheard as of March 2025, had reached 77,000 cases, with more than 18,000 Crown Court cases outstanding for a year or more.
For more on this story, see here.
28 January 2026
Climate Litigation: The Dutch Government discriminated against Bonaire islanders
The Hague District Court has held that the Netherlands had discriminated against people in one of its most vulnerable territories by not helping them to adapt to climate change.
Announced on Wednesday, the judgment has found that people on the island of Bonaire, in the Caribbean were treated differently to inhabitants of the European part of the country, in respect to doing its fair share to cut national emissions.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of people from Bonaire with Greenpeace Nederland in early 2024.
For more on this story, see here.
To read this judgment, (Dutch) see here.
27 January 2026
International Arbitration: Rwanda brings claim against UK over scrapped deal
It has been reported that the State of Rwanda has taken legal action against the UK over the latter’s refusal to disburse payments under the Rwanda Deal, now scrapped, that would have seen payments in return for the deportation of asylum seekers.
The deal between the two nations was brokered under the second Johnson Ministry in 2022, but scrapped under incumbent Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer in 2024 after he assumed Office.
Under proceedings through the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Rwanda now seeks 50 million GBP in compensation after the UK failed to “formally terminate” the controversial agreement about two years ago.
The chief technical adviser to the Rwandan minister of justice has been reported to have said that diplomatic engagement was sought before legal action was taken.
For more on this story, see here.
26 January 2026
International Criminal Law: ICC Deputy Prosecutor briefs UN on ongoing investigation in Sudan
It has been reported that the ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan has briefed the United Nations on her office’s ongoing investigation into Darfur, Sudan.
Khan, had to attend remotely, having been unable to travel to New York, as a consequence of a sanction imposed on her alongside a number of ICC officials in 2025 under the Trump administration.
The briefing alleges that the so-called Rapid Support Forces had carried out mass killings and other grave abuses in North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher.
For more on this story, see here.