In association with the International Commission of Jurists

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12 Nov

[Omar Grech is Associate Professor within the Department of International Law, University of Malta] Several excellent posts on this blog have already explored different facets of the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change, including its treatment of state responsibility and obligations erga omnes. This post takes a different tack. It argues that the Opinion marks a doctrinal breakthrough for the concept...

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12 Nov

[Jyoti Singh is a member of the Statelessness Asia Pacific Research Network at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness (University of Melbourne). She is an advocate and researcher based in New Delhi] Understanding nationality and statelessness against the backdrop of armed conflict is crucial, given the mutually reinforcing relationship between the two. At present, more than 120 armed conflicts are ongoing...

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10 Nov

[Axana Soltan is a U.S. Eisenhower Scholar at the University of Oxford and a Global Affiliate of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. She is an international lawyer and legal scholar.] In July 2025, the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber II issued arrest warrants for Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani on charges...

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07 Nov

[Amir Abbas Kiani is a collaborating researcher in International Law at Shiraz University, Iran] On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its ‘historic’ Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. As part of its reasoning, the Court examined the issue of lex specialis derogat legi generali (lex specialis) to determine “…the relationship between...

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07 Nov

[Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott is the author of State Responsibility for Non-State Actors: Past, Present and Prospects for the Future (Oxford: Hart | Bloomsbury, 2022, re-issued in paperback 2024)] This is the second part of a two-part post; see Part I here. But wait! How silly of me. Apologies for jumping the gun. There are other attribution tests under the ILC Articles...

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07 Nov

[Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott is the author of State Responsibility for Non-State Actors: Past, Present and Prospects for the Future (Oxford: Hart | Bloomsbury, 2022, re-issued in paperback 2024)] This is the first part of a two-part post; see Part II here. Information operations can impact societies in many ways. Whether by undermining specific human rights, for example, as a result of crossing...

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06 Nov

[Safia Southey is an independent researcher and consultant specializing in post-conflict justice and international human rights law, with current projects at International Center for Transitional Justice and the Quincy Institute] In Gaza, starving Palestinians face a brutal choice: surrender your personal data, or go without food. Operating outside established UN coordination frameworks, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been accused of...

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06 Nov

[Dr Marika McAdam is an independent international law and policy advisor who works globally on human rights-based criminal justice responses to organized crime and other issues] As the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime opened for signature last month, one would like to imagine cybercriminals pulling their computers from their sockets, anxious about their doors being kicked down when that instrument enters...

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05 Nov

[Jens Iverson is an assistant professor of international law at Leiden University]  The Trump Administration has sanctioned ICC high officials, UN officials, and human rights groups. There is concern this is not the end of the US bullying — without pushback, further sanctions against individuals, organizations, and the ICC itself may continue throughout President Trump’s term and beyond.  States Parties face a...

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05 Nov

[Helen Duffy runs Human Rights in Practice and is a professor of human rights and humanitarian law at the University of Leiden. Karolína Babická is a Senior Legal Adviser at the International Commission of Jurists] Human Rights in Practice and the International Commission of Jurists have earlier this year published a report, Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe, that maps the...

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05 Nov

[Coline Minguet is an FNRS-funded PhD candidate at UCLouvain researching reparations for victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts under international law, with prior experience as a Brussels-based lawyer and academic background in international and European law] During its 80th Ordinary Session in 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the “ACHPR”) adopted its Communication No. 700/18—IHRDA & Ors...

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