In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Asia-Pacific

29 Jul

[Aakash Chandran (X: @ChandranAakash is the Legal Advocacy and Communications Manager at Asia Justice Coalition.] The international community is currently navigating a turbulent phase marked by armed conflicts, aggression, and manifest violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. The situation in South, Southeast, and East Asia also continues to present alarming developments, including the escalating situation in Myanmar, exacerbated...

|
21 Jul

[Dr Nina Araneta-Alana (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian National University (ANU) under an ARC fellowship, where her research examines state engagement with and backlash against the international legal order] The arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a moment of rare consequence in the often-elusive pursuit of accountability for heads of...

|
11 Jul

[Joanna Kulesza is an Assistant Professor of International Law, and Executive Director at Lodz Cyber Hub, University of Lodz, Poland] Following the initial escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan, marked by India’s missile strikes on Pakistan-administered Kashmir on May 7, 2025, tensions quickly de-escalated. Despite this rapid decrease in hostilities, the episode left significant implications for the contemporary understanding of...

|
03 Jun

[Melanie O’Brien is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Javaid Rehman is Professor of Law at Brunel University of London and former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (2018–2024). He is currently Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University Law School...

and |
02 May

[Dr Henrique Marcos is a lecturer at the Foundations of Law Department, Faculty of Law Maastricht University] This text is inspired by the discussions held at the event “Whatever Happened to TikTok” organised by the Law & Popular Culture Network at Maastricht University Faculty of Law in February 2025. In this post, I discuss the recent ban and subsequent unbanning of TikTok...

|
11 Mar

When the news broke that the former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had been arrested and detained upon arrival at Manila’s airport from an overseas trip, by Philippine police executing an international arrest warrant, it was the culmination of months of speculation. The political feud and infighting in the Philippines halls of power certainly facilitated this moment. But let us not forget, it’s been the relentless work...

|
10 Feb

[Nurul M. Azmi is a Legal Researcher and Ciara Laverty is a Legal Adviser with UpRights, an NGO which builds partnerships with victims, civil society, and judicial authorities to document human rights violations and international crimes, and identify and pursue effective legal pathways to accountability, including in the contexts of Ukraine and North Korea] Recent reporting has confirmed the deployment of...

and |
07 Feb

The adoption of General Recommendation 40 by the CEDAW Committee in October 2024 represents a significant milestone in the push for greater representation of women in international decision-making spaces.   This post will focus on an area that General Recommendation 40 will have an impact: the leadership of women from the Asian region in international justice and accountability. This long-overdue discussion is...

|
28 Jan

The inimitable Sam Moyn and I have a chapter on the Vietnam War and international law in the Cambridge History of the Vietnam War: Volume 3, Endings and Aftermaths, which was just published by Cambridge University Press. Here are the opening paragraphs: There have been thousands of histories of the Vietnam War, but none assigns a pivotal role to international law....

|
20 Jan

[Alexandros Bakos is a Postdoctoral Fellow (Industrial Policy and Digital Development Project) at the College of Law, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Amna Zaman is a S.J.D. Candidate and Fellow at the Industrial Policy and Digital Development Project, College of Law, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Georgios Dimitropoulos is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research at the College of Law, Hamad Bin...

, and |
18 Oct

[Z.M. Yacoob is a former Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa] ‘The Court of the Citizens of the World’ – a people’s tribunal – was organized by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, relating to alleged crimes committed by Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.  The tribunal considered confirmation of an indictment for the crime of aggression,...

|
17 Oct

[Bhavani Fonseka is a constitutional law and transitional justice expert from Sri Lanka] ‘The Court of the Citizens of the World’ – a people’s tribunal – was organized by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, relating to alleged crimes committed by Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.  The tribunal considered confirmation of an indictment for the crime of aggression,...

|