Topics in Brief

• Author: International Law Group

Libya agrees to compensate for 1986 Berlin nightclub bombing

On August 10, the State of Libya has consented to compensate more than 160 victims of the 1986 bombing of "La Belle," a West Berlin nightclub and disco, a favorite of U.S. soldiers. The blast killed two American soldiers and a Turkish woman and injured over 200 persons. In 2001, a German court found that the Libyan secret service had engineered the scheme and convicted four individuals -- including a former Libyan diplomat. According to the Libyan ambassador to Germany and the German government, the amount to go to non-U.S. citizens would add up to $35 million. German lawyers worked out the arrangements with members of Muammar Gaddafi's charitable foundation. Separate litigation is going on in the U.S. over the losses or injuries to Americans.

Citation: Reuters News Service (via Findlaw), Berlin, Tuesday, August 10, 2004 (byline of Moritz Doebler).

Highest Israeli Court strikes down ban on Palestinian journalists

On April 25, 2004, an Israeli Supreme Court panel had invalidated a policy by the Israeli government dating back to September 2000 to deny press cards to Palestinian journalists working for foreign media even though they pass security checks and have permits to work in Israel. To cover events that involve the prime minister and other senior officials and to get inside official buildings such as the Parliament and the foreign ministry, a journalist must have a press card. After an enlarged seven-judge panel reheard the case, it also ruled against the government on August 5 last. It rejected the government's explanation that some of these journalist are subversives and that the coverage of most of them is biased against Israel.

Citation: Associated Press (online), Jerusalem, Thursday, August 5, 2004, 16:55:01 G.M.T. (byline of Laurie Copans).

New Protocol approved by Council of Europe

On Thursday, May 13, 2004, the Council of Europe adopted Protocol No. 14 (Pro. 14) to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). One of its main purposes is to improve the productivity of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) at Strasbourg...