[Dan Byam Shaw is a DPhil candidate in Law at the University of Oxford, writing on self-determination, who has previously worked as a teacher in London, as well as in refugee camps in Greece and Lebanon] The International Court of Justice’s recent advisory opinion – on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations,...
[Dr Nora Jaber is a Lecturer in Law in the Globalised Muslim World at the University of Edinburgh Law School, where she also serves as Programme Director of the Human Rights LLM and Deputy Director of the Al-Waleed Centre for the Study of Islam] In February 2026, a two-day convening was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, to reflect on and advance proposals...
[Melanie O’Brien is Professor of International Law and Deputy Head of School (Research) at the University of Western Australia Law School; and visiting scholar with the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center] In June 2023, I wrote here about the defamation case relating to the media reporting on allegations of war crimes by Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith (‘BRS’). The...
[Dr Saeed Bagheri is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in International Law at the University of Reading School of Law. His research focuses on the law on the use of force and international humanitarian law] An Iranian individual traverses the streets of Tehran, with life dictated by meticulous calculation. Words are carefully considered prior to being spoken. Opinions are scrutinised, gestures are moderated,...
[Davit Khachatryan is an international law expert and lecturer specializing in public international law, alternative dispute resolution, investment law, international humanitarian law, and security] The prohibition on the use of force is international law’s foundational rule. But not every violation of that rule is the same. When force is used not merely to coerce a state but to dismantle and replace its government, something...
[Rosa Villar is a PhD Candidate in International Law at the University of Aberdeen with research focused on AI-enabled targeting systems, international humanitarian law and international criminal law] Introduction In February 2026, Anthropic declined to use its large-language models for fully autonomous weapons, escalating a dispute with the U.S. Department of Defense. While such a red line on unsupervised systems may be ethically valuable, it seems...
[Alexander Blanchard is Senior Researcher in the Governance of AI Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Sweden] In recent weeks, there has been a good deal of commentary about military applications of artificial intelligence (AI), prompted by the US military’s public spat with the AI company Anthropic and the use of AI in its war on Iran. But another set of headlines...
[Nataly Santana Sánchez is a doctoral candidate at the University of Essex. Her research focuses on reproductive violence and transitional justice. Prior to joining the University of Essex, she worked advising the Ministry of Women of the Dominican Republic on the implementation of international human rights law into domestic laws and policies.] Throughout history, forced sterilisation has been a weapon of...
[Paola Gaeta is a Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute] For many years, I have worked on international criminal law, but I have only touched upon the interaction between arrest warrants and peace processes in earlier work. I also recall the debates following the arrest warrant against President Al Bashir and the African Union’s requests for a deferral...
[Oded Hen is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. His research focuses on moral philosophy, particularly just war theory and the ethics of modern warfare. His work addresses questions of civilian immunity, legitimate targeting, moral responsibility, and the application of normative principles in contemporary asymmetric conflicts] This post examines the legal and moral responsibilities of the international community...
[Yiannis Bamnios is a researcher at the University of Ghent whose research focuses on the law of naval warfare. He holds an LLM in international humanitarian law and human rights from the Geneva Academy and an LLB from the Democritus University of Thrace.] The Facts After the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday 28 February, Iran has effectively shut the...
[Lisa Davis is a professor of law at CUNY Law School, and the ICC special adviser on Gender and Other Discriminatory Crimes. Kirby Anwar is Visiting Associate Professor of Law at the Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic, CUNY School of Law. Wendy Isaack is Senior Legal Fellow at MADRE. Huma Saeed is Senior Transitional Justice Fellow at Human Rights and Gender Justice...