Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
02 May Beyond Territoriality: Symposium on Jurisdictional “Hooks” for (Extraterritorial) Human Rights Obligations – ‘Not-a-State’, a Duty-bearer Nonetheless: Attaching Obligations to Corporations
in the technical sense is instigated by the duty proscribed by the vigilance law and not (international) human rights or environmental law. This reliance on domestic law (or “municipal law” as the International Court of Justice called it in Barcelona Traction) is perhaps unsurprising given the sustained inertia of international law in tackling political, social, ecological, economic and technological challenges that defy its traditional territory-based statist conceptions, particularly when it comes to rectifying power imbalances between states, as well as between states, individuals and non-state actors. How international law in...17 Oct Book Discussion Informal International Lawmaking: Legality and Normativity – A Reaction to Tai-Heng Cheng
small step to raise the question whether it is not possible (or perhaps even more logical) to view these prima facie non-legal phenomena as law. A key element here may be the notion of ‘presumptive law’. This notion was developed by Prof. Jan Klabbers in his important publication ‘Law-making and Constitutionalism’ in his co-edited volume The Constitutionalization of International Law. In building his argument, Klabbers departs from the more or less pragmatic concept of law developed by Tamanaha: law is “whatever people recognize and treat as law through their social...07 Feb The Parochialism of Western Cosmopolitanism in a Competitive World Order
more likely to be found in China than the reverse (the power of diffusion), but Chinese international law academics are more likely to exhibit broad comprehension of Western perspectives on international law than the reverse (the power of knowledge). As China becomes an increasingly significant international player, it will want to disseminate its own approaches to international law more widely, whereas international lawyers in the West will need to deepen their knowledge of China’s interests, interpretations and approaches. Conclusion International law aspires to be universal; but it is also, and...17 Mar Guest Post: China As a Shaper of International Law?
this is an area where China’s arch-sovereigntist approach could shift in the future; and Many Chinese international lawyers were deeply disappointed by China’s decision not to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and international criminal law is a fast developing sub-discipline of international law in China. To find out more, read the summaries of our roundtable meetings prepared in accordance with the Chatham House Rule: Chinese Approaches to Public International Law and the Rights of Individuals Chinese Approaches to Public International Law and the Rights of Individuals...27 Sep The SCSL’s Incoherent — and Selective — Analysis of Custom
...determining whether the specific-direction requirement has a customary foundation, domestic law is irrelevant, because that law may rest on “differing values and principles.” That’s quite literally nonsense. And even worse, it’s nonsense designed to make defendants as easy to convict as possible. To be clear, I am not arguing that aiding and abetting under customary international law requires specific direction. I strongly doubt that it does. Still, it’s important to note, as the defence did, that one of the primary reasons you don’t find specific direction in national law is...18 May On Reviving the Commissions
level, and then also to place their work in the framework of the modern laws governing war, both international and domestic. It is a return to first principles in order to see how events have shaped or discarded them. The fundamental principle I think they established is that in the absence of a statute, the laws governing the U.S. armed forces in war are the laws of war. I do believe several aspects of the MCA violate international law. You can read another article of mine regarding Article 5 status...26 Jun Reading a Couple of Books on Legal History, and a Comment on Fragmenting International Law
independent weight, for example, of how large and powerful states see the law. The fundamental problem of the “doctrine of sources” in the law of nations looms larger these days, not smaller. One of the effects of this is to raise uncertainties as to these most basic assumptions about the nature and authoritative sources of law – and that raises the costs of using international law as a means to try and settle things, because the fragmentation of authority means there is no “institutional settlement” by means of the law...02 Feb Events and Announcements: 2 February 2025
Environment under International Law during Occupation: Join Westminster Law School and International Law at Westminster (ILaW) Research Group on 5 February 2025, 5.30 pm, in London, to discuss the new book by Dr Waad Abualrob on Protection of the Environment under International Law during Occupation (Routledge 2024) with Dr Saeed Bagheri (University of Reading), Dr Meagan Wong (University of Essex), Dr Waad Abualrob (University of Westminster) and Dr Marco Longobardo (University of Westminster). More info and free registration are available here. Job Ad Astra Fellowship: The UCD Sutherland School of Law wishes to appoint...
30 Nov UNSC Veto Power Symposium: Are there Jus Cogens Limits to UN Security Council Vetoes in Atrocity Crime Contexts?
Even, counter intuitively, in the context of jus cogens crimes. For its part, the International Law Commission (ILC) has affirmed the jus cogens status of genocide and “the basic principles of international humanitarian law” (IHL), these being in the words of the ICJ Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion (1996) “intransgressible” customary law principles applicable in armed conflict. (Para. 79). Concerning war crimes, there is a question of scope and whether these are limited only to the “grave breaches” of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Professor Trahan wisely took a cautious approach. She...