On March 12, 2024, a Montana man pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes – a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act.  The charges resulted from activities that occurred for approximately a decade to develop giant sheep hybrids in the United States with the purpose of selling the species to captive hunting facilities.[1]

On March 12, 2024, a Bucharest court approved the extradition of Andrew and Tristan Tate to the United Kingdom to answer charges of sexual aggression.  The court ruled that the Tate brothers will only be extradited to the U.K. after their trial in Romania on separate charges of human trafficking, rape, and participating in a criminal group to sexually exploit women concludes.[1]

On March 25, 2024, a U.S. District Court in Arizona denied the motion to dismiss by five gun dealers. It ruled that the Government of Mexico could continue its lawsuit to hold the gun dealers liable for allegedly facilitating gun trafficking from the U.S. into Mexico and causing substantial gun violence in Mexico.

On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the proposal for a directive on asset recovery and confiscation. [1]

On February 20, 2024, the Council of the European Union issued a revised list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, which includes American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, the Russian Federation, Samoa, Trinidadand Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.[1]

In the West, advocacy groups and families of Palestinian victims of Israeli violence in Gaza are mobilizing through judicial channels to challenge foreign policy pertaining to aiding the Israeli state and military.  The outcomes have yielded mixed results, but the cases signal efforts to exercise control over foreign policy by using the judiciary to regulate executive actions.  Two recent cases in the U.S. and the Netherlands highlight the successes, shortcomings, and broader effects of these efforts.

       On March 5, 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants of arrest for two suspects, Mr. Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Mr. Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, for alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine between October 2022 and March 2023.

       The two arrest warrants come two years after the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) opened an investigation into the situation in Ukraine, and one year following the issuance of the warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their role in the abduction of Ukrainian children (as war crimes and crimes against humanity).[1]

 On March 12, 2024, the European Parliament approved new rules to harmonize the enforcement of EU sanctions across member states.

       With 543 votes in favor, 45 against, and 27 abstentions, the European Parliament has adopted a directive, agreed with member states, on criminalizing the violation and circumvention of EU sanctions. It will introduce a common definition of, and minimum penalties for, violations.

       After the vote, rapporteur Sophie in’t Veld (Renew, the Netherlands) said: “The Russian invasion benefits from crooks breaking the law in Europe. They must be caught, and forum shopping must stop.”[1]

On March 11, 2024, the United States Department of Justice announced the unsealing of a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida charging a Florida man with conspiring to defraud the U.S. by hiding income and assets offshore pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 371and with making a false statement to the IRS pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3).[1]

On March 14, 2024, the European Parliament adopted an unprecedented resolutionon the return of Romanian national treasure illegally appropriated by Russia. The Parliament, in a historic vote, has approved a motion submitted by the Romanian MEPs and passed a resolution, through which MEPs have nearly unanimously asked that Russia return Romania’s treasure and that the EU executive and other competent European institutions do everything possible to support this approach.[1]