In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Symposia

09 Jul

I truly enjoyed reading Monica Hakimi’s “Making Sense of Customary International Law” (CIL). It is an exceptional paper, where Monica elegantly brings the entire concept of CIL back to the drawing board. The argument, I believe, can only be properly understood if the reader takes a few steps back and accepts that international law is a construct built by the assembling and disassembling of different legal...

|
08 Jul

[Jean d’Aspremont is the Chair in Public International Law at the University of Manchester.] That international lawyers constantly feel a need to revisit their doctrinal fundamentals is no sign that the international legal discipline is running out of steam (and out of inspiration). Even if international lawyers feel the world is crumbling in front of them and demanding urgent interventions, there...

|
08 Jul

[Martin Scheinin is a Professor of International Law and Human Rights at European University Institute and a former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism.] Professor Monica Hakimi’s article ’Making sense of customary international law’ is both rewarding and thought-provoking. It fully merits this Symposium. She makes a convincing case that most if not all mainstream doctrinal writing on the topic has serious flaws. She rightly criticizes...

|
07 Jul

[Jutta Brunnée is University Professor and Metcalf Chair in Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto.] With her provocative new article Making Sense of Customary Law, Monica Hakimi challenges doctrinalists as well as theorists of international law to engage in a sophisticated conversation about a classical problem: how do we know when customary international law (CIL) exists as “a general practice...

|
07 Jul

Introduction Monica Hakimi’s new article, “Making Sense of Customary International Law,” is my favourite kind of scholarship: bold, critical, revisionist, tendentious. Too few scholars are brave enough to confront the sacred cows of public international law this forthrightly, and for that reason alone Hakimi deserves our thanks and praise. That said, I disagree with nearly every word in Hakimi’s article. An adequate response would require an article of its...

|
06 Jul

[David Stewart is Professor from Practice; Co-Director, Global Law Scholars Program; Director, Center on Transnational Business and the Law at Georgetown Law.] As a general proposition, the law prizes clarity, precision and certainty.  Tolerance of ambiguity is not a virtue taught in most law school classrooms.  That’s one reason why beginning students of international law often find it difficult to grasp...

|
06 Jul

[Monica Hakimi is the James V. Campbell Professor of Law at Michigan Law School.] I’m extremely grateful to Opinio Juris for hosting this symposium on my recent article on customary international law (CIL). And I’m honored by the fantastic group of contributors. In the article, I aim to dismantle a common conception of CIL—an idea that shapes how many international lawyers think...

|
06 Jul

This week, we have the pleasure of hosting a robust discussion on Monica Hakimi's latest article, Making Sense of Customary International Law. Abstract: This Article addresses a longstanding puzzle about customary international law (CIL): How can it be, at once, so central to the practice of international law—routinely invoked and applied in a broad range of settings—and the source of...

|
19 Jun

I want to call readers' attention to an upcoming Opinio Juris symposium that is being organized by two fantastic young critical international law scholars, Mohsen al Attar (Warwick) and Rohini Sen (O.P. Jindal). They are looking for a few more contributions, per the Call for Papers -- really a Call for Posts -- below. Note that they would like to...

|
04 Jun

[Dr. Jelena Aparac is lecturer and legal advisor in international law, with a research focused on Business and Human Rights in Armed Conflicts; and a Member of the UN Working Group on mercenaries. This is the second part of a two-part post. This is part of a series of blog posts examining International Criminal Law and the Protection of the Environment, and stems from an expert meeting...

|
04 Jun

[Dr. Jelena Aparac is lecturer and legal advisor in international law, with a research focused on Business and Human Rights in Armed Conflicts; and a Member of the UN Working Group on mercenaries. This is the first part of a two-part post. This is part of a series of blog posts examining International Criminal Law and the Protection of the...

|