Public International Law

On the morning of June 6th, 2023, Ukraine accused Russia of destroying the Kakhovka Dam in the Dnieper River. A few hours later, during the afternoon on the same day, Russia blamed Ukraine for the destruction. Since then, I searched and collected statements by forty-nine other states addressing the destruction. This post analyses and systematises these forty-nine reactions in order to offer a clearer outlook...

[Matthew Gillett is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the University of Essex Law School and a United Nations Special Mandate holder (Vice-Chair of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention), who previously prosecuted cases before the international courts. The views herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any other person or organization. The author was...

[Matthew Gillett is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the University of Essex Law School and a United Nations Special Mandate holder (Vice-Chair of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention), who previously prosecuted cases before the international courts. The views herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any other person or organization. The author was...

[Dylan Jesse Andrian studies law at Universitas Gadjah Mada and Maastricht University and has drafted legal opinions for Amnesty International and the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (KOMNAS HAM). He is an associate editor at Maastricht University’s student law journal and has contributed to the Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals.] The International Court of Justice’s (“ICJ”) 2023 Preliminary Judgment on Venezuela’s Objection to Admissibility in the...

[Dr Claire Lougarre is a Lecturer in Law at Ulster University, School of Law. Her primary research expertise lies at the intersection of human rights law and health, with a particular interest in the right to health, as well as in sexual and reproductive health & rights.] Introduction According to Article 3(5) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the European Union...

[Stephen A. Lamony is an international lawyer.] Last March, the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. The arrest warrant has sparked a worldwide discussion on international cooperation with the ICC; mainly whether South Africa will arrest Putin if he visits the country for the 15th BRICS Summit. The South African Government is facing...

[Sami Jaber is a Public International Law LLM student at Leiden University whose thesis explores the forgotten right to the continuous improvement of living standards and its potential as a signal of human rights violations.] Attempts to enshrine the right to development have been ongoing for over 40 years. While a lack of sufficient political will from developed nations is undoubtedly largely to...

[Alexander Talel is an American attorney. He previously served as law clerk to Judge Jon O. Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Judge Sidney H. Stein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.] Hoda Muthana of Hackensack, New Jersey joined ISIS when she was 19. She wants to come home...

[Dr. Pouria Askary is an Associate Professor of International Law at Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU).] This post is based on a presentation delivered in a webinar organized by AALCO on 6 April 2023. Since the very beginning, the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) on the topic of general principles of law has surprised many States as well as commentators by introducing a second category...

[Wubeshet Tiruneh holds a Ph.D. in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland.] It has been six months since the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) – the two main parties to the armed conflict in Ethiopia – signed an agreement on permanent cessation of hostilities.The parties, among others, agreed on permanent cessation of hostilities, protection...

[Carlos Lusverti is the Latin America Legal advisor with the International Commission of Jurists] The principle of presumption of innocence in criminal cases is core to the rule of law. It is also a universally recognized general principle of law, incorporated into general international human rights treaties, the Venezuelan Constitution and domestic law as part of the Criminal Proceedings Code. However,...