Update on the Hoshinmaru Case

On Friday the ITLOS announced that Russia had released the Japanese fishing vessel Hoshinmaru and its crew following the courts judgment of 6 August 2007 (see earlier reports here, here and here). I guess this is another good example of the fact that public international law is indeed being followed by (most) States and that it provides a functional framework for inter-State relationships. And although one has to keep in mind that it probably wasn’t to difficult for Russia to fulfil its obligation in this case, it nevertheless consolidates the significance of public international law.