Outline Chambers Briefings | International Legal News

03 August 2026 Each week, Outline Chambers provides a concise overview of key developments across international law, arbitration and global governance. This week's edition examines significant developments across criminal justice, international criminal law, arbitration and state immunity. It also highlights a timely EJIL: Talk! analysis on human rights at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, offering insight into one of the most debated issues in contemporary international law.

International Legal News | 03 August 2026

31 July 2026

Justice: New UK Prime Minister signals Jury Trial curbs to be scrapped

The UK’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has indicated that plans introduced by the previous Ministry to greatly limit jury trials will be scrapped. He was reported as stating:

“I have my concerns about the plan to restrict a jury trial, partly from my personal experience, particularly in Hillsborough,” he said. “So I want to really look in detail at that proposal, and my instincts are that we need to find ways of not reducing access to jury trial.”

The reforms were introduced by the former Deputy Prime Minister and barrister David Lammy, which would have withdrawn jury trials from defendants likely to receive a sentence of three years or less.

The move will be welcome news to the Criminal Bar and advocates up and down England and Wales who have been concerned that the reforms would undermine a fundamental pillar of the English justice system.

For more on this story, see here.

30 July 2026

Blog Corner: “The Spanish Supreme Court on Rejection at the Borders of Ceuta and Melilla: What About Human Rights at Sea?”

In a very timely post for EJIL: Talk! Desislava Dimitrova provides a legal analysis following events which have taken place in the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla which reside on the northern African coast.

Dimitrova considers the Spanish Organic Law on Public Security which amended Spanish legislation governing the rights and freedoms of foreigners, to create a special legal regime for the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. Those reforms at the time attracted widespread criticism from international legal scholars and human rights bodies for the tension those reforms created with the principle of non-refoulement amongst other rights.

To read this article see here.

29 July 2026

International Criminal Law: UN Fact-finding mission urges Venezuela to reverse ICC withdrawal

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela called on the Venezuelan government to U-turn on its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

The Venezuelan government has reportedly announced its intention to withdraw because the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) has been accused of demonstrating an alleged political and geographic bias by disproportionately investigating countries in Africa and Latin America.

It so happens that the ICC has been investigating crimes against humanity in Venezuela since 2021. Although withdrawal takes one year to be processed pursuant to Article 127 of the Rome Statute, the ICC retains jurisdiction over matters that have taken place in a country at the time in which that country was still a member state to the Rome Statute. In other words, even if withdrawal takes place, it is unlikely that this would impinge on the ICC’s jurisdiction to continue its investigation into atrocities which are alleged to have taken place there.

For more on this story, see here.

28 July 2026

Arbitration: Cameroon ordered to pay 600 million USD to Sundance Resources

A mining dispute between the State of Cameroon and Sundance Resources regarding the exploitation of the iron ore deposit at Mbalam-Nabeba has resulted in an award.

The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chambers of Commerce in Paris, has ordered the State pay nearly 350 billion CFA Francs to the Australian junior mining company.

This was reportedly revealed in a press release by Burford Capital Limited, an international asset management company that entered into a litigation financing agreement with Sundance Resources.

For more on this story, see here.

27 July 2026

State Immunity: UK Supreme Court hands down judgement on State Immunity

On 27 July 2026, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in Kingdom of Bahrain v Shehabi [2026] UKSC 25.

The respondents alleged that they had suffered psychiatric injury upon learning what they alleged was their discovery that from around 2011, persons acting on behalf of Bahrain infected their computers with spyware.

The issue was whether the respondent’s claim, now heard on assumed facts, fell within Section 5 of the State Immunity Act 1978, which excepts personal injury from immunity proceedings where that injury was caused by an act or omission in the United Kingdom. Dismissing the appeal, a majority of the bench held that hacking a computer in the UK from abroad is an act in the United Kingdom. There were dissenting judgments from Lord Leggatt and Lord Burrows, who held that the view of the majority was in breach of customary international law.

For more on this story, see here.

To read the Judgment, see here.