International Law

[Gustavo Leite Neves da Luz is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University. He holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Hamburg. His research focuses on public international law, the law of the sea, and international environmental law] International law has not died. Its treaties remain in force, courts continue to decide, and institutions still organise the vocabulary through which power...

[Luigi Daniele is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Molise, Italy, where he recently moved after working as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in IHL and ICL at Nottingham Law School (NTU)] The first part of this rejoinder has detailed why ‘incidental’, as qualifier of the foreseeable civilian harm object of proportionality assessments, cannot be understood as synonymous of ‘accidental’ or ‘fortuitous’...

[Luigi Daniele is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Molise, Italy, where he recently moved after working as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in IHL and ICL at Nottingham Law School (NTU)] Last year, the Journal of Conflict and Security Law hosted an interesting debate on a surprisingly neglected topic, that is how to understand the notion of incidental civilian harm under...

[Erard de Schaetzen is a Belgian lawyer, holding a Master’s degree in European law from the Université catholique de Louvain and an LL.M. in Public International Law from Utrecht University] On January 9th, 2026, the European Commission and the Mercosur concluded over two decades of negotiations with the signing of the Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and the Interim Trade Agreement (iTA) – the two legal pillars...

[Ayşe Didem Sezgin is an assistant professor of international law at Boğaziçi University, Faculty of Law, Istanbul] Should an olive tree rooted in occupied Palestine, surviving in the shrinking open-air prison ruled under the Israeli apartheid regime be held differently than any other olive tree rooted anywhere else in the world? Could the uprooting of this olive tree be a testimony...

[Geoff Gilbert is a Professor at the School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, Senior Adviser to PPLA, DIPS, UNHCR and Head of Research for the Criteria Volume of the new Handbook] The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is celebrating its 75th birthday. In the same way as if it were a human being, after...

[The Honourable Russel W. Zinn is a retired Justice of the Federal Court of Canada and President of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges] The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [the Convention] was adopted on July 28, 1951.  It is the foundational international treaty defining who a refugee is and their rights.  Originally limited to European refugees...

[Karolína Babická is a Senior Legal Adviser with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Rosa Tibbetts is a Legal Intern with the ICJ. Stavros Papageorgopoulos is a Senior Legal Officer with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.] Across Europe, some political actors are nowadays questioning the ability of the international legal order, including instruments such as the 1951 Refugee Convention and the...

[Liliana Lyra Jubilut and James Milner are Co-Chairs of the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network from the Global Compact on Refugees] The global refugee regime is experiencing two relevant 75th anniversaries: first of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last year; and, second, of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in July 2026. Celebratory...

[Guy S. Goodwin-Gill is Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, Emeritus Professor of International Refugee Law, University of Oxford, and Honorary Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice and Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney. Jane McAdam is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Law at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law,...

[Elizabeth Tan is the Director of UNHCR’s Division of International Protection and Solutions] In 1951, in the aftermath of one of the most devastating wars the world had ever known, the international community recognized the need for international cooperation, grounded in law and humanity, for people who had fled their countries in need of safety and protection. In response, States adopted...