Lawyer Victor Koppe (together with his colleagues Marieke van Eik, Tamara Buruma and Marina den Houdijker) requested the General Court of the European Union to annul Council Implementing Regulation 83/2011. The Implementing Regulation, which is based on Council Common Position on Terrorism, reassigns the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ('LTTE') on the EU terrorism list.
The LTTE was involved in an armed conflict with the Sri Lankan government from 1987 until 2009 in the pursuit of the right to self-determination for the Tamil population. Koppe argues that the proscription of the LTTE as a terrorist organization has frustrated the exercise of this right. Furthermore, the Council Decision is argued to be nul land void as it is based on outdated facts and as it does not take account of the current situation. The LTTE was militarily defeated during the final stage of the war in May 2009 and is no longer active in Sri Lanka. It has declared that it will no longer engage in military strategies to further its political goals, thus the organization, as described in the Council Decision, does no longer exist. Finally, Koppe argues that the decision is not sufficiently reasoned and does not meet the procedural criteria required by EU law to proscribe terrorist entities.
The LTTE wishes to emphasize the political character of this decision, the European Union and her member states should not lend themselves for 'victor's justice'. When armed forces, engaged in an armed conflict, violate international humanitarian law, they should be held accountable for those violations according to international humanitarian law. By subjecting one of the parties to anti-terrorism legislation, the course of justice is perverted.
Read the full text of the Action for Annulment here.