Critical Approaches

Every juristic tradition has at least one point in common: they seek to distinguish between lawful and unlawful behaviours, usually extrapolating a normative parallel between right and wrong or, with ecclesiastical fervour, between good and bad. Tied up with this narrative are notions of accountability (for wrongdoers) and restoration (for those wronged). Of course, morality almost always morphs into moralisation,...

[Hüseyin Dişli is a PhD candidate at the University of Kent and convening Legal History and Legal Philosophy modules at Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law. He serves as a legal counsel to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). Ömer Erkut Bulut is an Assistant Professor at Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law in Istanbul, Türkiye. Hasan Basri Bülbül works as an Assistant Professor of...

[Ihsan Adel is the Founder and Chair of Law for Palestine and an international lawyer currently pursuing a PhD in Germany] The Israeli occupation of Palestine has long tested the limits and efficacy of international law. However, recent legal developments, particularly the ICJ's advisory opinion, have intensified the call to recognise this occupation not only as an illegal act but as...

[M Beheşti Aydoğan holds a PhD from the University of Warwick’s School of Law and is a member of the Istanbul Bar Association. Ömer Erkut Bulut is an Assistant Professor at Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law in Istanbul, Türkiye.] It is common to hear claims about trade’s value in preventing conflicts. It is a central notion of liberal theories of international relations:...

[Dr Brendan Ciarán Browne is an Assistant Professor Conflict Resolution and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin] Introduction At this time of ongoing ‘scholasticide’ against our colleagues in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the destruction of all 12 universities, the murder of thousands of university staff and students, and with restrictions placed on access to campuses across the West Bank, the need to speak up...

[Bana Abu Zuluf is a Palestinian PhD researcher in International Law at Maynooth University, Ireland] In Gaza, the sky continues to rain fire as international law remains paralyzed. The scholars and institutions that uphold its legitimacy—those who claim to champion justice—are biding their time. They await the ICJ’s judgment as though a ruling from the Hague could stop the Gaza omnicide...

[Victor Kattan is Assistant Professor in Public International Law at the University of Nottingham School of Law] The conference “Rethinking International Law After Gaza” held at Boğaziçi University’s Faculty of Law in Istanbul in early August marked a significant engagement by Türkiye with the Question of Palestine. The conference was noteworthy for bringing together distinguished scholars from the Global South and Global...

[Hasan Basri Bülbül works as an Assistant Professor of Public International Law at Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law in Istanbul, Türkiye. Hüseyin Dişli is a PhD candidate at the University of Kent and convening Legal History and Legal Philosophy modules at Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law. He serves as a legal counsel to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).] Since its establishment, the...

[Saul J. Takahashi is Professor of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University. From March 2009 to May 2014, Saul served as Deputy Head of Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine.] The resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 18 September 2024, subsequent to the Advisory Opinion by...

[José Manuel Barreto works on decolonizing human rights and international law based on TWAIL and Decolonial Theory. He teaches law at the Javeriana University in Bogotá and will publish ‘Decolonial Theory and the History of Human Rights’ in 2025.] The Palestinian genocide has unveiled the deep colonial structure of the international legal order. The so-called Westphalian system has been inveterately depicted...

[Jinan Bastaki is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at New York University, Abu Dhabi.] [Harun Halilović is an Assistant Professor at IUS Law School. He holds a BA in Law from the University of Sarajevo, and an LL.M. from Queen Mary University of London. He obtained PhD in Law from the University of Tuzla Faculty of Law. He is an author...

[Professor Lena Salaymeh is a jurist and historian who teaches at the École Pratique des Hautes Études-PSL. She was previously Professor of Law at Tel Aviv University. She co-founded the Decolonial Comparative Law Program at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and Private International Law in 2019 and co-directed it until 2023.] Horrifying images of children in Palestine and Lebanon murdered and...