In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Books

18 Jun

[Doreen Lustig is a Senior Lecturer at Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law and the author of Veiled Power: International Law and the Private Corporation 1886-1981 (Oxford University Press, 2020).] Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller’s edited volume Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories (Oxford University Press, 2021) (hereinafter: Contingency) is a rare editorial accomplishment. A coherent and multifaceted...

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17 Jun

[Marina Veličković is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge and a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Her research interests include International Criminal Law, Political Economy and Critical Theory. I The author extends many thanks to Francisco-Jose Quintana and Justina Uriburu for their comments on an earlier draft.] ‘Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories’, an ambitious volume edited by Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller which was...

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17 Jun

[Vidya Kumar is an Associate Professor of Law at Leicester University, UK. Twitter: @DrVidyaKumarUK] Between you and me, Professors Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller’s edited collection reads like a classic expositional text on the ways to think about contingency in international law – not unlike Susan’s Mark’s timeless work “False Contingency”. Composed of no less than 30 innovative readings of the operation – and non-operation – of contingency...

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16 Jun

[Kanad Bagchi is a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. The author would like to thank the editorial team for thier comments and feedback.] Edited collections often tend to surface within the hegemonic voice of the editors – they introduce the concept, set the frame, determine the contours, and also illustrate the specific set of argumentative...

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16 Jun

[Hirofumi Oguri is a Senior Assistant Professor of International Law at Okayama University in Japan.]  In his famous series of lectures delivered at Cambridge University, E. H. Carr displayed a cynical attitude towards those who tend to ask what if an event had happened otherwise. Carr dismissed this ‘might-have-been’ school of thought as no better than a ‘parlour game’. However, asking ‘what if’ questions is...

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15 Jun

[Ntina Tzouvala is a Senior Lecturer at Australian National University College of Law.] At a time when overseas travel, in-person academic events, and mediocre conference food were still commonplace, I attended the conference in Amsterdam that forms the backdrop for this impressive volume. The event, organised by Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller, was lively, joyful, and not without controversy, which...

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14 Jun

[Adeel Hussain is an Assistant Professor of Legal and Political Theory at Leiden University and a Senior Research Affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. Twitter: @adeelh693.] Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller’s Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories, an edited volume with thirty distinct contributions just published by...

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14 Jun

This week, along with Völkerrechtsblog we are thrilled to co-host a symposium on Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller’s latest edited volume, Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories (OUP 2021). Scholars and practitioners who will be contributing include: Adeel Hussain, Ntina Tzouvala, Doreen Lustig, Vidya Kumar, Kanad Bagchi, Marina Veličković and Hirofumi Oguri. The symposium will close with a rejoinder by the editors....

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03 Jun

[The author is a Lecturer in International Humanitarian Law at Egerton University.] Introduction Contemporary armed conflicts in Africa and elsewhere continue to pose significant challenges for the legal protection of life, limb, livelihood and property of the individuals and communities caught up in those situations. Most of the unlawful conduct that typifies recent armed conflicts in Africa – including intentionally directing attacks...

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01 Jun

[Helen Stamp is a PhD candidate in the Minderoo Tech & Policy Lab at the University of Western Australia and researches concepts of control, responsibility, and accountability regarding the development and use of autonomous vehicles and autonomous weapons.] The ongoing discussions by the international community regarding the challenges posed by emerging technologies and the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to the use...

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31 May

[Ata R. Hindi is Research Fellow in International Law, Institute of Law at Birzeit University. Twitter: @atarhindi] Eve Massingham and Annabel McConnachie’s edited volume, Ensuring Respect for International Humanitarian Law, is a meticulous and necessary contribution to the study and practice of international humanitarian law (IHL). The volume focuses on Common Article 1 (CA1) to the four Geneva Conventions (GCs), which...

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31 May

[Dr Ray Murphy is Professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway. ] Leanne Smith’s chapter seeks to examine the complexities posed by ensuring respect for IHL in the peacekeeping context.  It also explores the relationship between humanitarian actors and peacekeepers.  A real strength of the chapter is that much of it is written from what the author refers to on page 153 as a...

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