International Legal News - 2 March 2026
- 21 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The following media round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world for the period of 23 February to 02 march 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.
28/1 March 2026
Armed Conflict: Iran’s Ayatollah killed following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed following a joint series of strikes launched by the United States and Iran. It is reported that US President Donald Trump has called for Iranian forces to lay down their arms, expressing support for the nation’s populace in their struggle against the regime. The aim of the operation according to the US president is to: “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon”.
A series of ballistic missiles and drones have been launched by Iran against US assets and allies across the Middle East, affecting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan as well as civilian infrastructure in Dubai.
This is a developing story. For what was reported at the time of writing, see here.
27 February 2026
Human Rights: UN calls for increased efforts to combat human trafficking in Chad
The UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Siobhan Mullally, has called for increased global efforts to combat the trafficking of children and refugees in Chad, following a statement given at a press conference in the country.
In her recent report, the Chad Government has been lauded for its efforts in tackling the issue through the establishment of special bodies such as the National Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons and new legislation, such as Presidential Ordinance 006/18 which mandates investigations into traffickers.
For more on this story, see here.
To read the Special Rapporteur’s statement, see here.
26 February 2026
Arbitration: EU Advocate General delivers Opinion on CJEU Reibel case
The Advocate General Biondi of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or ECJ) has delivered his Opinion on questions referred to the CJEU by the Svea Court of Appeal in Case C-802/24 also known as the Reibel case, which is expected to have significant implications on the intersection between EU law and arbitration.
The case concerns a Belgian logistics company (NV Reibel) and JSC VO Stankoimport (Stankoimport) a Russian importer of metal products. After both entered into a sale and delivery of goods and services agreement Belgian authorities refused Reibel an export license in March 2017 on the basis of EU dual-use and Russian sanction regulations. This happened only after Stankoimport had paid an advance. After Reibel allegedly failed to deliver on its contractual obligations Stankoimport initiated arbitral proceedings which resulted in an award obliging Reibel to repay the advance plus interest on the basis that this would restore the parties to the pre-contractual positions. This remedy was made with the rationale that this would not be prohibited under Article 11 of EU Regulation No 833/2014 (the No Claims Clause). Reibel challenged the award in the Svea Court of Appeal, which referred questions to the CJEU.
For brevity’s sake, the headline findings appear to affirm that while the No Claim Clause does not prevent parties from submitting their claims to arbitration, the opinion reemphasises the obligations of the domestic courts of Member States to set aside awards in such cases so as to give effect to EU public policy. The clause itself in such cases does allow national courts to preclude repayments of the kind described above.
The Advocate General’s Opinion is not binding on the CJEU, and a Judgment of the EU’s Court is expected at a later date.
To read a more detailed analysis of the opinion, see here.
To read the Opinion, see here.
25 February 2026
Blog Corner: “From Managed Trade to Managed Investment Through Trade”
A post on EJIL: Talk! by Victor Crochet and Tessa Sophie Hoffman, will be of interest to both legal academics and legal practitioners specialising in trade and investment law.
They provide an historical and contemporary commentary on the current role of tariffs in international trade. They consider how the classic example of so-called “tariff-jumping” through host investment and relocation may no longer hold true with the reemergence of tariffs as a means of leverage to secure legally binding obligations in international negotiations to secure investment commitments.
To read this article, see here.
24 February 2026
International Criminal Law: UN Body finds hallmarks of Genocide in Darfur
The UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan has released a report on atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their takeover of El Fasher in North Darfur in late October 2025.
The report concludes that the RSF has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity and that its “conduct, and inferred intent, present indications pointing to genocide”. It also includes a roadmap on protection and accountability as conflict expands into the Kordofan region.
To read more on this story, see here.
To read the report, see here.
23 February 2026
Ukraine: Further conflict as Hungary and Slovakia take measures to resume oil deliveries
The Guardian Newspaper reports that Russia has fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine razing a residential house in the capital. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Kremlin had launched 297 drones and nearly 50 missiles on Sunday, “a significant proportion” of which had been shot down.
The news comes around the four-year anniversary since Russia launched its land invasion.
The news comes amid rising tensions in neighbouring countries. It is reported that Hungary has threatened to block a raft of new EU sanctions, while Slovakia has said it will shut off electricity supplies to Ukraine. Both countries are reportedly demanding the resumption of Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline which crosses through Ukraine.
For more on this story, see here.