On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) granted provisional measures in the Jadhav Case brought by India against Pakistan. This unremarkable order is in line with the Court's ordinary approach to requests for interim relief in death penalty cases. The Court ordered Pakistan to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national, pending a final decision in the proceedings instituted by India. It reiterated that orders on provisional measures are binding on the parties to whom they are addressed.

On September 5, 2017, a decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Bărbulescu v. Romania (Bărbulescu) helped define the boundaries regarding employee privacy in the European workplace. The Bărbulescu decision held that a Romanian employee's legally protected right to privacy was violated when his employer monitored personal messages he sent from a company account, reversing a previous decision by the ECHR in this case that had expanded employers' rights to monitor employees.

In the joint cases of Tele2 Sverige AB v. Post-och telestyrelsen and Secretary of State for the Home Department v. Tom Watson, Peter Brice, and Geoffrey Lewis (the Decision), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that member states are precluded from adopting legislation that allows a general and indiscriminate retention of all traffic and location data. While targeted retention of data is allowed for the specific objective of fighting serious crime, retention must be proportionate and access to the data must be limited to what is strictly necessary. To ensure that this is achieved, adequate safeguards must be set in place and access to the data must be subject to prior review by a court or independent administrative body.

In response to the large number of irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to southern Italy, frequently using overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels, and often facilitated by migrant smugglers, on October 9, 2015, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2240. This resolution authorizes member states to intercept, inspect, and seize vessels suspected of being used to smuggle migrants or to traffic persons. Initially limited to one year, these measures were renewed through two further UNSC resolutions on October 6, 2016, and October 5, 2017.

On May 24, 2017, the Security Council (Council) adopted Resolution 2354 on countering terrorist narratives, endorsing a proposal developed by its Counter-Terrorism Committee for a “Comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives” (Comprehensive Framework). With this resolution, adopted unanimously by the Council and co-sponsored by close to sixty governments, the Council urged member states to implement the Framework in order to promote positive and credible alternatives to audiences receptive to extremist ideology.