In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Foreign Relations Law

27 Nov

[Miranda Lalla is a Canadian-Italian jurist and an Advanced LL.M. candidate at Leiden Law School’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies] In the 2002 Arrest Warrant case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favor of upholding the immunity of the sitting Congolese Foreign Minister from the jurisdiction of Belgian Courts. The dissenting Judge Al-Khasawneh urged for an interpretation of the customary...

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04 Jul

On June 24, 2023, members of the Wagner mercenary group staged an armed revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin and began an advance on Moscow that ended suddenly, after intervention and mediation by Belarusian President Lukashenko, on the same day. In this post, I present, analyse and systematise the statements and reactions of fifty-nine states. Before we start, let me...

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20 Jun

On the morning of June 6th, 2023, Ukraine accused Russia of destroying the Kakhovka Dam in the Dnieper River. A few hours later, during the afternoon on the same day, Russia blamed Ukraine for the destruction. Since then, I searched and collected statements by forty-nine other states addressing the destruction. This post analyses and systematises these forty-nine reactions in order to offer a clearer outlook...

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28 Oct

[Ralph Janik is a researcher in international, European, and constitutional law at Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna. Twitter: @RalphJanik] From A for Alcoholism to Z for Zombies – first aired in 1989, the Simpsons creators have obviously covered countless different topics in the longest running TV series in US history.  Among them are also several classic themes of international law, first and...

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04 Oct

[Beatrice Lau is a humanitarian professional from Hong Kong who has worked in Niger, Haiti, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Libya, Tunisia, and Belarus. She holds an LL.M in Advanced Studies in Public International Law from Leiden University.] Brittney Griner, the American Women National Basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted in Russia on August 4 for drug possession and sentenced to...

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01 Aug

[Simona Ross is a doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge and until recently served as an advisor for the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group. Previously, she worked with the United Nations in Libya and Iraq. The views expressed in this paper are her own.] 1. Introduction  Crafting a dynamic, multi-dimensional peace settlement between the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Ukrainian separatist...

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27 Jun

Call for Papers Human Rights and International Investment Law PhD Workshop - Call for Abstracts: The Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity (Erasmus University Rotterdam) is pleased to announce a call for abstracts for a Human Rights and International Investment Law PhD Workshop, taking place online on 27 and 28 October 2022. The Workshop will bring together PhD candidates and investment...

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14 Jun

[Christine Bell is Director of PeaceRep (Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform), Assistant Principal (Global Justice) and Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Edinburgh. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s own. Thanks are due to the PeaceRep programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for support to write the piece.] Introduction: Need for a Geopolitical Dimension to Settlement This contribution...

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13 May

[Jed Odermatt is Lecturer at the City Law School, City, University of London, where he is co-convenor of the International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG) and member of the Institute for the Study of European Law (ISEL). The opinions expressed herein are the author’s alone.] The Russian Federation has demanded that Ukraine should renounce potential NATO membership. Early on in the...

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06 May

[Grant Dawson served as the Principal Legal Officer of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons from 2014–2021. He has regularly published and lectured on the topic of disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s alone.] The Russian Federation has alleged that Ukraine was developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons before the...

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22 Apr

[Walter Kemp is Director of the Global Strategy against Transnational Organized Crime at the Global Initiative against Organized Crime, a former Senior Adviser at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and former Vice President of the International Peace Institute. He also teaches at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. He is author of Security through Cooperation: To the Same...

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21 Apr

A little-known aspect of the war in Ukraine is that both Russia and Ukraine have deployed weapons that are capable of being used fully autonomously: for Russia, Lancet drones; for Ukraine, Punisher drones. Both weapons are capable of being operated semi-autonomously, and it is not clear whether Russia or Ukraine has used them in their fully autonomous mode. But the...

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