15 In Gaurav Sureshbhai Vyas, the Gujarat High Court did not agree with the petitioner's contention that only social media sites should be blocked as against a blanket ban on the access to the internet.*° It held that the strategy for dealing with the situation should be left to the discretion of the authorities. Further, it held that the threat of future shutdowns is hypothetical and thus do not warrant any intervention by the court. Reference to international law There were limited references to international law in judgements, even though they were referred to in some petitions (such as in Amnesty International Togo) and several amicus curiae briefs.*7Most judgements revolved around substantive and procedural domestic questions of law. Bucking this norm was the decision in Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI).The all-women panel of judges comprising of Nelvy Christin, S.H., M.H., Baiq Yuliani, S.H., M.H. and Indah Mayasari, S.H., M.H., in addition to domestic constitutional and human rights provisions, made extensive references to international instruments to derive a three-pronged test for testing the lawfulness of the throttling and termination of internet access in Papua and West Papua. Specific reference was made to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation of Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;The Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information; The Camden Principles on Freedom of Expression and Equality and General Comment No. 34 ICCPR concerning Article 19 of the ICCPR which regulates the right to freedom of expression.*® Reference to amicus curiae Reference to third-party interventions have been limited. The only exception was the ECOWAS case where the Court stated that it took note of the opinions provided by various experts in the amicus curiae briefs and while they were found instructive, the Court stated that the material provided by the parties sufficiently guided the Court to reach an informed decision.*° Costs In none of the cases analysed for this report was the petitioner ordered to pay costs, including in cases where the petitioner lost the case. In fact, both the Constitutional Council and the High Court in Cameroon explicitly stated that there was no mala fide intention on part of the petitioner as they were guided by human rights and a desire to serve society and as a result of which no costs should be imposed. In CM Pak, the single-judge of the Islamabad High Court also suggested that internet shutdowns may trigger claims of compensation, stating that the unlawful suspension of telecommunication services “may expose the Federal Government or the Authority to claims of compensation or damages by the licensees or the users of the mobile cellular services.”®° Recommendations for effective litigation Advocacy efforts can be directed towards better coordination with telecommunications service providers: Based on an assessment of six telecommunication companies by the Global Network Initiative (GNI), David Sullivan suggests a set of recommendations that the industry should uphold when confronted with government mandated shutdowns. This includes clarifying their legal obligations, documenting all demands which can serve as an evidence base for future litigation, narrow the 48 Aziezi, T. (2020, 19 June). The Implementation of Human Rights Principles i in J akarta Administrative Court Judgement on Internet Access in Papua and West Papua. https: . on-internet-access-in-papua-and- -west-papua 49 Amicus Curiae Submission of Access Now on Amnesty International Togo. https: //www.accessnow.org /cms /assets /uploads /2020/06/ KIO ECOWAS _Togo-Intervention.pdf 50 CM Pak Limited v Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, Para 12. 51 Sullivan, D. (2020, 23 August). Five ways telecommunications companies can fight internet shutdowns. https: //www.lawfareblog.com /five- ways-telecommunications-companies-can-fight-internet-shutdowns 52 Marchant, E & Stremlau, N. (2019). Africa’s Internet Shutdowns: A report on the Johannesburg Workshop. Programme in Comparative InternetMedia Law and Policy (PCMLP), University of Oxford, p. 17-18, h Shutdown-Workshop-Report-171019.pdf 53 Rydzak, J. (2018). Disconnected: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Network Disruptions. The Global Network Initiative. https: // globalnetworkinitiative.org /wp-content /uploads /2018 /06 /Disconnected-Report-Network-Disruptions.pdf