Recent Posts

[Maya Nirula is a dual-qualified international human rights lawyer with multi-jurisdictional experience consulting and litigating on issues of business and human rights] Introduction  This is the first of a two-part series, the Role of Business in War. Part I: The Old Offense will evaluate the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and International Criminal law (ICL) in governing...

To have your event or announcement featured in next week’s post, please send a link and a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) to ojeventsandannouncements@gmail.com. Calls for Applications Research Prize of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy to Participate in the Adamas Residencies 2025: The Adamas Residencies are a European residency programme for legal researchers at the Château de Goutelas in Marcoux, France. From 5...

[Ilias Bantekas is Professor of Law at Hamad bin Khalifa University (Qatar Foundation) and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service Andrew Dahdal is an Associate Professor at the College of Law and Legal Advisor in the Office of General Counsel at the College of Law, Qatar University] Modern international law is an outgrowth of the...

[Javier Urizar is a Guatemalan human rights lawyer, currently working at the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)] A Spanish version of this post has been published on Agenda Estado de Derecho here. National courts have always had an inseparable relationship with human rights. As the controlbody by excellence, they have been fundamental in limiting the acts of authority and sanctioning those...

Featured Announcement The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) has announced its 2025 short course programme. Led by BIICL experts and external partners, BIICL's training integrates world-leading research with insights from practice around the world.  This year’s programme includes its highly acclaimed courses: in public international law, climate change law, artificial intelligence, cultural heritage, business and human rights and law...

[Luciano Pezzano is Professor of Human Rights at the University of Business and Social Sciences (UCES, Argentina) and Lecturer of Public International Law at the National University of Cordoba (UNC, Argentina)] On 5 March 2025, the Republic of Sudan instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for breaches of the Genocide Convention. The...

To have your event or announcement featured in next week’s post, please send a link and a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) to ojeventsandannouncements@gmail.com. Calls for Papers Workshop - Narratives in International Courts and Tribunals: The Latin American Society of International Law (LASIL) Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals is pleased to invite submissions for an online pre-conference workshop on ‘Narratives in...

[Michael A Becker is Assistant Professor of International and European Human Rights Law at Trinity College Dublin] On 5 March 2025, Sudan instituted proceedings against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to alleged violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Based on allegations that UAE is supporting genocidal...

[Frédéric Mégret is the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law at the Faculty of Law, McGill University and the James S. Carpentier Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School] The question of how Mexico and Canada police their borders has emerged as a considerable symbolic stake in the current crisis with the US. The US President has made a number of...

[Dr Erica Harper is Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] International humanitarian law (IHL) stands at a crossroads. Once a universal touchstone for safeguarding basic human dignity during conflict, its foundational norms are eroding at an alarming pace. The IHL in Focus: Annual Report (June 2023-July 2024) (‘the Report’) paints...

[Yonah Diamond is Senior Legal Counsel at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights] In recent years, States have increasingly turned to the ICJ to consider claims under the Genocide Convention, particularly to intervene in outbreaks of mass violence, based on its Article IX compromissory clause, giving the Court jurisdiction over disputes under the Convention. The full provision reads as follows:  Disputes...

When the news broke that the former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had been arrested and detained upon arrival at Manila’s airport from an overseas trip, by Philippine police executing an international arrest warrant, it was the culmination of months of speculation. The political feud and infighting in the Philippines halls of power certainly facilitated this moment. But let us not forget, it’s been the relentless work...