Symposia

[Madhumita Jayashankar is a final-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, specialising in international law with a major in political science] In recent decades, the landscape of global security has undergone a quiet but profound transformation. The privatization of military and security functions and services has surged since the end of the Cold War, fundamentally reshaping how states...

[Dr Asaf Lubin is an associate professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, an affiliated faculty at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and an affiliated fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project.] This post has been cross-posted on Private Security...

[Vincent Bernard is visiting lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He previously worked as senior policy advisor to the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) and wrote the research report “Ensuring Responsible Security in the Digital Age: The application of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers to Advanced Technologies”] The...

[Méryl Schwitzguébel, CFE, is a project officer at DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance. Dr Ilia Siatitsa is currently programme director and senior legal officer at Privacy International.] Recently, surveillance technologies have captivated the public’s attention. From targeted attacks with spyware, like Pegasus or earlier FinFisher, to massive data scandals like Cambridge Analytica, these new technologies raise serious concerns for privacy, human...

[Dr Jelena Aparac is a senior academic and consultant, and former chair and member of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries] Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have significantly expanded their operations, sectors of activity, and client base over the past decades. They operate not only in armed conflict zones but also in areas of peace, across diverse industries such as extractive sectors,...

[Manon Blancafort is a project assistant at the Small Arms Survey and previously served for three years as an operational reservist in the French Air and Space Forces, within a Protection Squadron. Callum Watson is the gender coordinator and programme manager at the Small Arms Survey. Florence Foster is a senior project manager at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Jowita...

[Andres Macías-Tolosa is a professor and researcher at Universidad Externado de Colombia, coordinator of the OPERA Research Group and editor of the OPERA Journal.   Joana de Deus Pereira is a senior research fellow at RUSI Europe, co-founder of the Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC) Research Group at King's College London, adjunct professor at Sciences Po, Paris, and visiting senior fellow...

[Gabriella Citroni is an adjunct professor of international human rights law at the University of Milano-Bicocca and senior legal advisor atTRIAL International. Chiara Gabriele is head of program for the Accountability for Private Military and Security Actors Program at TRIAL International. Danaé van der Straten Ponthoz is head of international advocacy and policy at Global Survivors Fund. Julie Bardèche is a senior legal advisor...

[Marina Aksenova is an Associate Professor of International and Comparative Criminal Law at IE University] In this concluding post, I would like to offer a few observations on the themes raised by the participants of the symposium. Above all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the contributors for taking time to reflect on my book and offer their...

[Jed Odermatt is a Reader at The City Law School, City St George's, University of London] Academic debates often begin with the assertion that international law is in a period of unique crisis. In the face of complex, wicked problems, from climate change to massive human rights abuses, international lawyers question whether international law’s toolkit remains fit for purpose. The responses...

[Sofia Stolk is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and Public International Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam] When I had the privilege of collaborating with Marina on an exhibition and performance around art and international justice in The Hague in 2019, I witnessed how she theorizes, practices, and preaches art as an act of love. Her book is the culmination...

[Emiliano J. Buis is a Professor of Public International Law (Law School) and Ancient Greek (Department of Classics) at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina and Permanent Researcher at the CONICET (National Research Council for Science and Technology)] In her inspiring monograph Art, Aesthetics and International Justice, Marina Aksenova presents a profound reimagining of the foundations of international legal authority. She...