New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 95, no. 3, 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Sarah Thin & Wim Muller, The Rebels in the Room: The Role of Individual Opinions in the Development of Community Interests at the ICJ
• Ulf Linderfalk, Legislating in the Common Interest – The Legal Implications of the Åland Islands Autonomy Regime
• Monica Naime, A Codification Like No Other: The ILC Process Behind the Law of State Responsibility
• Frédéric Mégret, Shadow Proportionality: Moderating Aggression?
• Simon Hinrichsen & Michael Waibel, Inability to Pay: A Defense Against Paying War Reparations

O'Hara: Consensus in International Law: Critical History, Queer Reimaginings

Claerwen O'Hara (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has published Consensus in International Law: Critical History, Queer Reimaginings (Oxford Univ. Press 2026). Here's the abstract:

Consensus in International Law: Critical History, Queer Reimaginings critically explores the idea of 'consensus' by retracing its history in two settings: in consensus decision-making in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organisation, and the European Court of Human Rights' use of 'European consensus' as a method of treaty interpretation. Employing a unique theoretical framework informed by queer theory and jurisdictional thinking, the book argues that consensus in international law is best understood as a technique of authorization, which functions by gesturing towards a widespread, yet unfixed, level of agreement.

Claerwen O'Hara demonstrates that the gesture towards widespread agreement works to imbue institutional practices with an air of equality and project visions of unity onto a decision, helping to ground the authority of international institutions and their legal worlds. At the same time, the variable nature of the agreement means that the idea of consensus can be applied flexibly, including in situations in which no such equality or unity exists. Consequently, despite the positive discourses surrounding the idea of consensus in international law, it has often worked to suppress difference and dissent and uphold existing power relations. The book suggests that this gap between discourse and reality has been a contributing factor in some of the problems facing international law and its institutions today. To overcome these problems, Consensus in International Law calls for a shift in imagination in which the idea of the world or a particular region routinely reaching a widespread agreement is decentred in international law. In its place, the book proposes a vision of the international as a 'meeting place' for a plurality of peoples and their laws.

New Issue: Netherlands International Law Review

The latest issue of the Netherlands International Law Review (Vol. 73, no. 1, May 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Gábor Levente Kozma & Murilo Lubambo de Melo, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation in a Cross-Border Context: Anti-SLAPP Legislation and the Role of the Private International Law Regimes in the EU and England
• Louisa Handel-Mazzetti, Space Defense or Space Weapon? Assessing the Legality of the Golden Dome Under International Law
• Tamer Morris, Information Warfare and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
• Shuyuan Zhang & Gustavo Arosemena, Theorizing the Adjudication of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Legal Process Perspective on Jurisprudence from the Global South
• Christian Riffel, Good Faith in Exception Clauses: An Abus de Bonne Foi?

New Issue: Chicago Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Chicago Journal of International Law (Vol. 27, no. 1, Summer 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Elena Baylis, Returning Looted Cultural Heritage
• Gregory H. Fox, Neutralizing Neutrality: Aid to Victim States in Armed Conflict
• Rosa Kim, Preparing Globally Competent Lawyers

New Issue: Journal of World Investment & Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Investment & Trade (Vol. 27, no. 4, 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Michelle Qingzi Zang, Rekindling the Multilateral Discourse on Process and Production Methods under the Contemporary Trade-Environment Nexus
• Sébastien Noël, Assessing the Barriers to the EU’s Green and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Imports
• Yanwen Zhang, Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform in and by International Organisations
• Anastasios Gourgourinis & Alexandros Papadimitriou, Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Owned or Led by Members of Under-Represented and Disadvantaged Social Groups: Inclusive Entrepreneurship through Free Trade Agreements

New Issue: Climate Law

The latest issue of Climate Law (Vol. 16, nos. 1-2, 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Environmental Impact Assessment
• Mateusz Slowik & Benoit Mayer, Editorial Introduction: Environmental Impact Assessment and Climate Change
• Yanmei Lin & Xiangbai He, Integrating Climate Change into Environmental Impact Assessment: China’s Pilot Policy and Practice
• Chris Joseph & Tara Marsden, Gitanyow Climate Test: Intersection of Major Projects, Climate, and Indigenous Reconciliation
• Rafaela Santos Martins da Rosa & Bruno Teixeira Peixoto, Incorporating Climate Change into Licensing and Environmental Impact Assessment in Brazil
• Orla Kelleher, Climate Assessments, Framework Climate Laws, and Public Sector Climate Duties: Lessons from Planning Cases in the United Kingdom and Ireland
• Santiago Salvador, Regulatory Simplification of Environmental Impact Assessment in Spain: Accelerating Renewable Energy at What Cost?
• Laura Hildt, The European Climate Law Consistency Assessment: A Persistent Failure Turned Litigation Opportunity?
• Alessandra Accogli, The Irish Case of Coyne v. An Bord Pleanála: Assessing Indirect Climate Impacts Under the EU EIA Directive
• Special Issue: Advisory Opinions on Climate Change
• Margaret A. Young & Beatriz Martinez Romera, The Advisory Opinions’ Remarkable Significance for International Law
• Catherine Amirfar, David Freestone, Duncan Pickard, & Beatrice Walton, When Science Meets Law: Climate Law and International Environmental Adjudication After the ICJ and ITLOS Advisory Opinions
• Nilüfer Oral, Convergence and Coherence: A Judicial Dialogue Between the ITLOS and ICJ Advisory Opinions on Climate Change
• Daniel Bodansky, How Authoritative is the ICJ Climate Change Advisory Opinion?
• Yoshifumi Tanaka, Legal Consequences of Obligations Erga Omnes in the Context of Climate Change: Some Observations on State Responsibility in the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change
• General Articles
• Katja Kurki & Seita Vesa, Proceduralization of EU Climate Governance: Advancing Understanding of the Implementation Challenge
• Calum MacLaren, Measuring Accountability in European Corporate Climate Litigation

Call for Nominations: Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Director)

The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law has issued a call for nominations, including self-nominations, for a director who will lead a research department at the Institute and contribute to the Institute’s mission. The call is here.

Seminar: The Law of Neutrality and the Prohibition of Aggression: Framing an Old Debate in the Light of Recent State Practice

On September 18, 2026, Bocconi University will host in the hybrid format a seminar on "The Law of Neutrality and the Prohibition of Aggression: Framing an Old Debate in the Light of Recent State Practice." The speakers will include Evelyne Schmid (Univ. of Lusanne), Alessandra Gianelli (Sapienza Univ. of Rome), and Alexander Wentker (Max Planck Institute). Those intending to attend in person are requested to register here. The event will also be streamed live via Microsoft Teams here. No registration is required to attend online.

Casas Martinez: Avoidance in International Dispute Settlement: Jurisdiction, Admissibility, and Justiciability

Manuel Casas Martinez (Twenty Essex) has published Avoidance in International Dispute Settlement: Jurisdiction, Admissibility, and Justiciability (Hart Publishing 2026). Here's the abstract:

This book offers a bold new perspective on how international adjudication operates.

While international courts claim to decide all disputes over which they have jurisdiction, this book argues that sometimes they strategically choose not to. Through detailed case studies and a close analysis of international procedural law, it reveals that courts decide most disputes most of the time - but not all.

By unpacking how courts use doctrines of jurisdiction and admissibility to avoid or narrow down certain issues, the book exposes the covert techniques of judicial avoidance. It shows how the flexibility of international procedural law allows judges to manage politically sensitive disputes without openly acknowledging that they are relying on avoidance doctrines.

This book offers a nuanced and realistic account of international adjudication, one that recognises how legal principle is often weighed against political and practical realities.

Di Marco: L’interpretazione del diritto internazionale consuetudinario

Riccardo Di Marco (Università degli Studi di Roma ‘Tor Vergata’) has published L’interpretazione del diritto internazionale consuetudinario (CEDAM – Wolters Kluwer Italia 2026). Here's the abstract:

L’interpretazione del diritto internazionale consuetudinario costituisce una delle questioni più complesse e dibattute della teoria e della pratica del diritto internazionale contemporaneo. Tradizionalmente, l’analisi di tale fonte del diritto si è concentrata esclusivamente sul momento della sua identificazione, attraverso la ricerca della prassi e dell’opinio iuris. Questo approccio, tuttavia, ha lasciato poco esplorato il successivo momento della determinazione del significato e della portata delle norme consuetudinarie. La presente monografia tenta di colmare simile lacuna. Attraverso un’analisi sistematica della prassi degli Stati e della giurisprudenza internazionale, si offre un quadro metodologico per comprendere i criteri che governano l’interpretazione del diritto consuetudinario. L’indagine mostra come l’attività interpretativa rivesta un ruolo fondamentale non soltanto nell’applicazione di norme consuetudinarie previamente identificate alle fattispecie concrete sopravvenute, ma anche nel coordinamento tra la consuetudine e le altre fonti del diritto, nella prevenzione e nella risoluzione di antinomie, nonché nell’adattamento di simile fonte ai mutamenti di fatto e di diritto. L’opera si rivolge a studiosi e operatori del diritto internazionale che intendano approfondire le dinamiche teoriche sottese all’interpretazione della consuetudine internazionale.

Contesse & Huneeus: Moral Conservatives and the Future of Latin American Human Rights

Jorge Contesse (Rutgers Univ. - Law) & Alexandra Huneeus (Univ. of Wisconsin - Law) have posted Moral Conservatives and the Future of Latin American Human Rights (American Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Human rights institutions are under stress around the world. Threats of non-compliance, denunciation, and other forms of backlash are more likely in the current context than in the recent past. But it is also the case that social movements from a greater variety of ideological camps are engaging with international human rights law and institutions. In this essay, we explore the rise of moral conservative engagement with the inter-American human rights system (IAHRS) and consider the implications for the future of human rights. These actors have grown in sophistication and number since they first began to engage with the IAHRS in the early 2010s on issues of gender, sexuality, and reproductive justice. Today, they work through highly successful Transnational Activists Networks (TANs) that encompass academic circles and political actors in positions of significant power. We argue that greater engagement by moral conservatives with the IAHRS may help it survive Latin America's "revolution to the right"-the dramatic recent rise of far-right governments in the region, some with authoritarian tendencies. Survival, however, may come at a cost.

Jeutner: On the Lotus: Postcards 1898-1931

Valentin Jeutner (Lund Univ.; Univ. of Oxford) has published On the Lotus: Postcards 1898-1931 (Media-Tryck 2026). This volume is available open access. Here’s the abstract:

Love letters, travel updates, expressions of grief, boredom, excitement, and longing: this book brings together more than 150 postcards written by passengers aboard the Lotus, a French liner that connected Marseille with the great ports of the eastern Mediterranean between 1898 and 1931. Written by pilgrims and poets, soldiers and scholars, royals and revolutionaries, the messages offer rare glimpses into everyday life during one of the most transformative periods of modern history.

An afterword explores the ship’s enduring legal legacy as the vessel at the center of international law’s famous Lotus Case of 1927.

Call for Papers: Workshop on Human Rights and International Relations

The International Race and Rights Lab and the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame have issued a call for papers for a workshop on human rights and international relations broadly understood. It will take place in South Bend, Indiana on May 6-7, 2027. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Protection of Liberty at Sea

BlueRights has issued a call for papers for a conference on "Protection of Liberty at Sea," which will take place February 11–12, 2027, at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan. The call is here.

Mulder: Solidarity in International Disaster Response Law

Thomas Mulder (UNSW Sydney) has published Solidarity in International Disaster Response Law (Hart Publishing 2026). Here's the abstract:

This is the first book to comprehensively explore the role of solidarity in international disaster response law (IDRL), offering a timely and transformative vision for this regime governing cooperation in disaster response.

As disasters intensify due to climate change, solidarity is increasingly invoked by states and others as a principle guiding disaster response. Yet its role remains underexplored and underutilised, risking solidarity to function as a mere rhetorical device. This book responds to that gap, offering a comprehensive examination of the meaning, legal status and implications of solidarity in IDRL. It demonstrates solidarity can reorient IDRL from a sovereignty-centred regime characterised by state autonomy and voluntarism to one focused on the protection of disaster-affected persons through differentiated international cooperation and assistance.

The book further explores how solidarity could reshape specific legal and practical issues that challenge international disaster response. By analysing these issues through the lens of solidarity, the book offers novel perspectives that can break new ground in finding concrete solutions for persistent challenges within the regime.

This analysis comes at a pivotal moment. In 2024, the United Nations initiated negotiations for a multilateral convention for international disaster response, signalling growing recognition of the need for a universal treaty in this area. Against this backdrop, the book is both timely and ambitious. It not only exposes the untapped potential of solidarity but also provides a practical roadmap for its implementation, seeking to shape the development of IDRL to meet the demands of an increasingly disaster-prone world.

Conference: New Technologies and International Legal Accountability

On October 22-23, 2026, a conference will be held on "New Technologies and International Legal Accountability," both online and at the University of Perugia. The program is here. Registration is here.

Quackelbeen: Judicial Discretion in the Interpretation of International Crimes: Revisiting the Legality Principle

Ligeia Quackelbeen (Tilburg Univ. - Law) has published Judicial Discretion in the Interpretation of International Crimes: Revisiting the Legality Principle (Hart Publishing 2026). Here's the abstract:

This book sets out a legality-centred model to better understand the interpretation of crimes in international criminal law.

It offers a new way of understanding the interpretation of crime as a two-dimensional process: determining what the law is and interpreting whether that law in fact criminalises the conduct in question. This model affects the process and the outcome of judicial interpretation. The book moves beyond the abstract by applying the model to two case studies: (1) organisational policy as a contextual element of crimes against humanity, and (2) the crime of forced marriage. It brings often-overlooked criminal law theory into the field of international criminal law, offering a fresh, innovative perspective on interpretation and placing the legality principle back at the centre of crime interpretation.

Call for Submissions: Central Asia Yearbook on International Law

A call for submissions has been issued for volume 2 of the Central Asia Yearbook of International Law. The call is here.

Cakal: Torture and the Recognition of Psychological Suffering in International Law

Ergün Cakal (Univ. of Copenhagen - Law) has published Torture and the Recognition of Psychological Suffering in International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2026). Here's the abstract:

Torture and the Recognition of Psychological Suffering in International Law finds that psychological suffering has posed difficulties for international human rights advocates and adjudicators working on the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. A systematic survey of the relevant international caselaw, the book presents, reveals a vast variation in how psychological suffering is found to violate the prohibition (or not). When singled out in cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), psychological suffering has never been specifically categorized as torture. What is more, psychological suffering has often been excluded altogether from the purview of the prohibition, categorized instead as ‘lawful sanctions’ or as falling below the ‘minimum level of severity’ threshold, and therefore not found to be a violation. Coupling caselaw analysis and interviews, this book provides numerous inter-related reasons: that socio-political standards recognizing the significance of psychological suffering are selectively applied or altogether overlooked; that categorization is subject to caution and conservatism; that scientific expertise documenting health impacts has not compelled adjudicators in all cases; and that interpretation still depends on sense-centric reasoning (intuition–emotion–presumption), potentially undercutting scientific expertise and perpetuating preconceptions associating severe suffering with the physical.

New Volume: Yearbook of International Disaster Law

The latest volume of the Yearbook of International Disaster Law (Vol. 7, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Thematic Section: ‘Armed Conflicts and Disasters’
• Gloria Gaggioli, The Relationship between Disaster Law and International Humanitarian Law: Reflections on Draft Article 18(2) of the ILC Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters
• Liam Bagshaw, Analysing the Disaster Risk Reduction Obligations of Occupying Powers
• Mina Radončić, The Underdogs of Disaster Response? The Legal Framework Governing the Conduct of Organised Armed Groups in Disaster Settings
• General Section
• Gian Luca Burci & Claudia Nannini, Amending the International Health Regulations (2005): Technical Progress or Political Advancement?
• Enrico Milano, A Model for Interaction between the International Law Commission and the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly: The Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disaster
• Anna Marie Brennan, Outer Space Law and Disaster Management on Future Extraterrestrial Human Settlements: Constructing an Interstellar Governance Framework
• Claire Methven O’Brien & Agustín Miguel Lago-Montúfar, Post-Disaster Public Procurement: Achieving Resilience through Sustainability and Human Rights Due Diligence
• Fia Hamid-Walker, Situating Historical Disaster Governance in Indonesia: Feminist TWAIL Critique of Colonial and International Legal Orders
• Emika Tokunaga, The Protection of Persons and Assistance in the Event of Disasters: Japan’s Triple Disaster
• Holly Faulkner, From Black Swans to Legal Black Elephants: Analysis of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Disaster Preparedness Frameworks

Call for Submissions: Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law

The Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law has issued a call for submissions for its Volume 30 for contributions for "a special thematic forum examining a central yet relatively under-explored dimension of international law in practice: the structure, functioning, and evolution of the diverse institutions and entities that comprise the wider United Nations (UN) system, including subsidiary organs, specialised agencies, related organisations, and other components of the broader UN-centred multilateral framework." The call is here. Abstracts are due by August 28, 2026.

Call for Engaged Listeners: Human Rights: Rising under Distress? The African Court at 20

To mark the 20th anniversary of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law is hosting a one-day workshop on October 14, 2026. The topic is: "Human Rights: Rising under Distress? The African Court at 20." A limited number of places are available for engaged listeners, who will participate in the workshop as audience members. Details on how to apply are here.

Cavari, Efrat, & Yair: Contemplating Conquest: Public Opinion on the Forcible Seizure of Territory

Amnon Cavari (Reichman Univ.), Asif Efrat (Reichman Univ.), & Omer Yair (Reichman Univ.) have posted Contemplating Conquest: Public Opinion on the Forcible Seizure of Territory (PS: Political Science & Politics, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The norm against conquest—a central tenet of the international order—is eroding. This study is among the first to examine public support for this norm, using a real-world case: Israel’s seizure of Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024. Our survey experiment in Israel reveals that citizens are sensitive to the prohibition on conquest. They demonstrate greater support for an occupation that involves only military control of the forcibly seized territory and weaker support for civilian settlement in or annexation of the foreign territory: policies that amount to conquest. Our finding—a stronger preference for legally acceptable occupation over illegal settlement or annexation—sends a positive signal for the constraining power of norms.

Hilpold: Neutrality in the Age of the UN Charter, with Special Consideration of the Ukraine Conflict

Peter Hilpold (Univ. of Innsbruck - Law) has published Neutrality in the Age of the UN Charter, with Special Consideration of the Ukraine Conflict (Nomos 2026). The table of contents is here. The book is available open access. Here's the abstract:

The war in Ukraine has tested core elements of contemporary international law. Against this backdrop, the continued viability of neutrality under international law has come under renewed scrutiny. This volume brings together experts from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy to examine the issue from the perspectives of international, public, and European law, as well as history. They conclude that, within the United Nations peace-law framework, states are obliged to show solidarity with the victim of aggression, and that neutrality may ultimately jeopardize even the security of neutral states.

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 108, no. 931, 2026) is out. The theme is: "Upholding Humanity in War." Contents include:

• Upholding humanity in war – the ICRC’s Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law: Interview with Cordula Droege and Anne Quintin
• Leveraging research on norm and behaviour change to better prevent violations of IHL: Interview with Sophie Legros
• Etienne Kuster, The ICRC and academia: An untold story about preserving humanity in war through international humanitarian law
• Luke Moffett, Steven van de Put, Mark Lattimer, & Mae Thompson, Upholding humanity: The role of redress in preventing and responding to civilian harm
• Jody M. Prescott, Internalizing IHL: Melding humanitarian law with military ethics for junior leaders
• Steve Martial Tiwa Fomekong, The African Union’s Peace and Security Council and the strengthening of international humanitarian law
• Nigeria’s National Committee on the Implementation of IHL: Interview with Abimbola Ajileye
• Cristina Azzarello, Tommaso Natoli, & Giulio Bartolini, “Bringing IHL home”: The case study of Italy and the Italian Red Cross
• Anna Kaufmann, Pranamie Mandalawatta, & Claire Cayzer, An Australian perspective on the role of national IHL committees in fostering government and National Society collaboration
• Jean Franco Olivera Astete & Juan José Alencastro Moya, Why do we need national IHL committees? Experiences, challenges and opportunities from Latin America
• International humanitarian law and mediation – building pathways to peace: Interview with Ghassan Elkahlout
• Simon Robins & Jill Stockwell, Missing persons and peacebuilding: The transformative role of families of the missing
• Ioanna Voudouri, Two wrongs don’t make a right: Reflections on reciprocity and its impact on the path to peace
• Caroline Baudot, Tobias Ehret, David Kaelin, & Marnie Lloydd, Beyond infrastructure: The protection of essential services personnel in the spirit of international humanitarian law
• Bárbara Morais Figueiredo, Strengthening the protection of civilian infrastructure in armed conflict: Practical measures to operationalize IHL and reduce civilian harm
• Protection of hospitals: Interview with Nicolas Gérard, Claire Bertouille, Vaios Koutroulis and Claude Maon
• Thibaud Jourdan, When loss of protection does not permit attack: Distinguishing acts harmful to the enemy from the notion of military objectives
• Upholding IHL in the use of ICTs during armed conflict – key legal and humanitarian considerations: Interview with Kubo Mačák, Mariana Salazar Albornoz and Mohamed Helal
• Marta Stroppa, The use of autonomous cyber capabilities in armed conflict and States’ due diligence obligations to avoid unintended violations of international humanitarian law
• The law of naval warfare – perspectives from an archipelagic State: Interview with Ambassador Dindin Wahyudin
• Prize law: Unjustifiable in the twenty-first century? Interview with Professor Andrew Clapham
• Dita Liliansa, Belligerent activities in neutral exclusive economic zones: Balancing war and neutrality in contemporary naval warfare
• Some current (and enduring) challenges in the application and interpretation of the law of naval warfare Rob McLaughlin
• Pornomo Rovan Astri Yoga, Between warships and merchant ships: The legal status, operational functions and targeting rules of auxiliary vessels
• Barbara Stępień, Sea drones: warships or weapons? Legal status and implications
• Dale Stephens & Abby Zeith, Waging war at sea: Land warfare but just add water?