A few weeks ago the Grand Chamber of the Court ruled in a case concerning the jurisdiction of state parties on the High Seas: Medvedyev v. France. The case concerned the seizure of a Cambodian ship by the French authorities in order to arrest the crew, which they suspected of drugs smuggling. Materially the case focuses on Article 5 ECHR, amongst others on the legality of the arrests. The Grand Chamber found violations of the right to liberty, contrary to an earlier ordinary Chamber judgment. Since I am not an expert of the law of the seas, I am very happy to refer the interested reader to an insightful post on the judgment by Douglas Guilfoyle (University College London) on EJIL Talk. Also worth reading for all ‘jurisdiction’-afficionados!
ECHR at Sea
