New Issue: American Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the American Journal of International Law (Vol. 119, no. 2, April 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Pierre-Hugues Verdier, International Finance and the Return of Geopolitics
• Editorial Comment
• Monica Hakimi & Jacob Katz Cogan, The End of the U.S.-Backed International Order and the Future of International Law
• International Decisions
• Marco Longobardo, Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem
• Diego Mejía-Lemos, Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC v. Government of Canada, Case No. UNCT/20/3
• Ori Pomson, Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela)
• Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
• President Trump Begins Second Term by Withdrawing the United States from International Agreements and Institutions and Contravening U.S. International Legal Obligations
• The United States Sanctions Georgians Overseeing Crackdown
• The Department of Justice Issues Regulations to Prevent Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data by Foreign Adversaries
• Secretary of State Blinken Concludes that the Rapid Support Forces Have Committed Genocide in Sudan
• The United States and France Facilitate Cessation of Hostilities Between Israel and Hezbollah
• Recent Books on International Law
• Sannoy Das, reviewing States-in-Waiting: A Counternarrative of Global Decolonization, by Lydia Walker
• Taylor St John, reviewing The Many Paths of Change in International Law, edited by Nico Krisch and Ezgi Yildiz
• Oliver Diggelmann, reviewing Law for Leviathan: Constitutional Law, International Law, and the State, by Daryl J. Levinson
• Julian Ku, reviewing China's Diplomacy and International Law, by Huikang Huang

Call for Papers: Systemic Integration of Climate Change in International Law

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "Systemic Integration of Climate Change in International Law," to take place August 28-29, 2025, in Singapore (in person only). The conference will be hosted by the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore in partnership with Durham University's Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy. The call is here.

New Issue: Michigan Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Michigan Journal of International Law (Vol. 46, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Bryan Druzin, Anatole Boute, & Michael Ramsden, Confronting Catastrophic Risk: The International Obligation to Regulate Artificial Intelligence
• J. Benton Heath, Economic Sanctions as Legal Ordering
• Jeffrey Kucik, Lauren Peritz, & Sergio Puig, Rewriting Precedent: How International Adjudicators Influence Compliance

Calls for Papers: IG Workshops – 2025 ESIL Annual Conference (Updated)

In the context of the 2025 ESIL Annual Conference in Berlin, ESIL Interest Groups are inviting submissions for their pre-conference workshops. The calls currently open include:

• IG on Energy and International Law: Reconstructing International Energy Law in Times of Crisis (deadline: 25 April 2025)
• IG on the Law of the Sea: Reconstructing International Law of the Sea (deadline: 25 April 2025)
• IG on Critical Approaches to International Law: Critical Methodologies for Reconstructing International Law: Rethinking Legitimacy, Authority, and Inclusion (deadline extended: 27 April 2025)
• IG on the European and International Rule of Law: Reevaluating the Rule of Law in an Era of Geopolitical Tensions: Necessity and Prospects for Reform (deadline: 30 April 2025)
• IG on International Organizations: (Re-)constructing International Organizations in the Work of the United Nations International Law Commission (deadline extended: 5 May 2025)
• IG on International Health Law: Global Health Law under Pressure: Facing Acute and Chronic Challenges (deadline: 10 May 2025)

New Issue: Ocean Development & International Law

The latest issue of Ocean Development & International Law (Vol. 56, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Zhen Sun, Coastal State Jurisdiction over Acts against Transiting Submarine Pipelines in the Exclusive Economic Zone and on the Continental Shelf—The Case of the Nord Stream Incidents
• Osvaldo Urrutia S., Andrew Friedman & Adriana Fabra, Untangling Squid: Regulatory Gaps and Opportunities to Improve High Seas Squid Fisheries Management
• Klaas Willaert & Anemoon Soete, The Interaction Between the BBNJ Agreement and the International Deep Sea Mining Regime: More Questions than Answers?
• Iva Parlov, Remotely Controlled Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), the “Genuine Link” Requirement, and the “Effectiveness” of Flag State Jurisdiction: Key Problems and Prospects
• Julian Roberts, Joanna Mossop & M. Rezah Badal, Planning for the Management of the Extended Continental Shelf: The Unique Situation of the Mascarene Plateau Region of the Western Indian Ocean

Rieu-Clarke: Implementing Transboundary Water Agreements

Alistair Rieu-Clarke (Northumbria Univ. - Law) has published Implementing Transboundary Water Agreements (Edward Elgar Publishing 2025). Here's the abstract:

Interdisciplinary and international in scope, this detailed book examines the types of compliance and implementation mechanisms that can support transboundary water cooperation.

Alistair Rieu-Clarke draws upon a range of theoretical accounts, case studies from the Danube, Orange-Senqu and Mekong rivers, and treaty practice to provide recommendations for the design and revision of transboundary water agreements. Delving into the role of international law in promoting treaty implementation and compliance, Rieu-Clarke reviews the extent to which these mechanisms are considered within the text of over 400 transboundary water agreements.

Wirthle: Immediate and Progressive Realisation in International Human Rights Law

Tobias Wirthle has published Immediate and Progressive Realisation in International Human Rights Law (Hart Publishing 2025). Here's the abstract:

This book makes a new and original contribution to the old debate about differences between socio-economic and civil and political rights, which has engaged human rights discourse over several decades.

Although scholars and practitioners now agree that these categories are more alike than originally assumed, they continue to delineate them based on the alleged difference between immediate and progressive realisation. The book asks whether this differentiation is still valid by exploring the historical and theoretical background, the text of relevant UN human rights treaties, and the practice of the UN human rights committees. By so doing, it shows that the standards of realisation converge more than diverge and that this last remaining distinction should be abandoned.

New Issue: Arbitration International

The latest issue of Arbitration International (Vol. 41, no. 1, March 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Eugene Thong & Yvonne Guo, Reasons and reasoning in arbitral awards
• Lucas Clover Alcolea, ‘The King[’s] Courts as the fountain of justice’ and the supremacy of ordinary law: implications for English arbitration
• Dominik Stefer & Victoria Fricke, From algorithms to awards: exploring the technological and legal boundaries of AI’s contributions to the work of arbitrators
• João Ilhão Moreira & Jiawei Zhang, ChatGPT as a fourth arbitrator? The ethics and risks of using large language models in arbitration
• Markus Burgstaller & Auriane Negret, Investment protection standards: Can EU law fill the shoes of investment treaties?
• Aleksander Godhe, Tribunal duties and the exclusion of evidence in international arbitration: the tug-of-war of fairness and efficiency
• Sebastián Mantilla Blanco, Eduardo Zuleta Jaramillo, & Santiago Zuleta Ríos, The rise and fall of parochialism: Colombia and the New York Convention
• M Emirhan Havan, How to approach expropriation risk as a controversial component of country risk in investment arbitration
• Vladimir Kostcov, Is it just about the parties? A social welfare approach to familiar problems of international arbitration
• Jagriti Vij, Singapore’s stance on enforcement of foreign awards set aside at the seat: some recent developments
• Case Note
• Kanishka Bhukya, From inconsistency to coherence: examining the SGCA’s quest for a comprehensive approach to determining pre-award arbitrability

Azaria: State Silence Across International Law: Meaning, Context, and Developments

Danae Azaria (Univ. College London - Law) has published State Silence Across International Law: Meaning, Context, and Developments (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The words and actions of states have a significant influence on international law. But what of silence and inaction? During the twentieth and twenty-first century, the framework of international law underwent profound transformation. As a result, the contexts in which State silence may be interpreted have become complex and are not well understood. In light of these new realities, this ground-breaking volume explores the evolving legal meaning and effects of State silence in international law-making.

Across sixteen chapters, this book questions the circumstances that necessitate a State's reaction, the factors influencing a State's ability to respond, and how a period of silence should be assessed. It also investigates whether and how the shift in international law from bilateralism towards community interests, multilateralism, intergovernmental institutions, and expert bodies, including international courts and tribunals, affect the interpretation of State silence. Furthermore, it probes whether and how advancements in communication, the increased number of States, and their diverse characteristics influence this interpretation.

Examining these issues across multiple facets of international law, the book demonstrates the ubiquity of State silence and its legal significance in different fields, and the contextual factors that come together to interpret State silence in a particular instance. Through this exploration, the broad question of state silence's role in either maintaining stability or enabling change is scrutinised.

Sarvarian: The Law of State Succession: Principles and Practice

Arman Sarvarian (Univ. of Surrey - Law) has published The Law of State Succession: Principles and Practice (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). Here's the abstract:

Arman Sarvarian's The Law of State Succession: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive, practical, and empirical overview of the topic, establishing State succession as a distinct field with a cohesive set of rules.

From the secession of the United States of America in 1784 to that of South Sudan in 2011, the book digests and analyses State practice spanning more than two centuries. It is based on research into a wide and diverse range of case studies, including archival and previously unpublished data. Reconstructing the intellectual foundation of the field, the book offers a vision for its progressive development - one that is rooted in an interpretation of State practice that transcends the politics of the codification projects in the decolonization and desovietization eras.

The book examines international law on State succession with respect to territorial rights and obligations, State property (including archives) and debt, treaties, international claims and responsibility, as well as nationality and private property (including concessions and investments). Its central focus is identifying the general rules of international law in order to guide States in the negotiation of succession agreements, the interpretation of ambiguous or incomplete provisions, and the regulation of succession in default of specific agreement.

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 85, no. 1, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Comment
• Gordon M. Friedrichs, The Age of the Disaffected Voter: American Democracy and US Foreign Policy under the Second Trump Presidency
• Re-Reading Historic Articles in the ZaöRV: Anniversary Series
• Felix Lange, Claiming Legality – German Lawyers under the Swastika and the Aggression against Poland
• Abhandlungen
• Letizia Lo Giacco & Brian K. McGarry, Common Interests and Common Spaces: Visions of the Past and Future of International Justice
• Sarah Thin, ‘Proxy States’ as Champions of the Common Interest? Implications and Opportunities
• Vladyslav Lanovoy & Miriam Cohen, Climate Change Before International Courts and Tribunals: Reflections on the Role of Public Interest in Advisory Proceedings
• Elisa Ruozzi, Repairing Harm to Common Interests and Common Spaces: Recent Institutional Developments Across Public Inter- national Law
• Carlos A. Cruz Carrillo, The Implementation and Compliance Committee of the ABBNJ: a Legal Prospection on Potential Modalities and Pro- cedures
• Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Bringing in Community Interests Under Inter- national Environmental Law: Substantive and Procedural Paths
• Isabel Walther, Über jeden Zweifel erhaben – Feststellung von Völker- gewohnheitsrecht in der BGH-Rechtsprechung zur funktionellen Immunität ausländischer Staatsbediensteter
• Alexander Blankenagel, Smart Sanctions gegen russische Oligarchen – weder smart noch rechtmäßig!
• Finn Preiss, Fleisch auf dem Verhandlungstisch – Die Tierhaltung im völkerrechtlichen Klimaschutzsystem des Pariser Abkommens

Mansouri & Quiroga-Villamarín: Ways of Seeing International Organisations: New Perspectives for International Institutional Law

Negar Mansouri (Copenhagen Business School) & Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín (Univ. of Vienna) have published Ways of Seeing International Organisations: New Perspectives for International Institutional Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

For decades, the field of scholarship that studies the law and practice of international organisations -also known as 'international institutional law'- has been marked by an intellectual quietism. Most of the scholarship tends to focus narrowly on providing 'legal' answers to 'legal' questions. For that reason, perspectives rarely engage with the insights of critical traditions of legal thought (for instance, feminist, postcolonial, or political economy-oriented perspectives) or with interdisciplinary contributions produced outside the field. Ways of Seeing International Organisations challenges the narrow gaze of the field by bringing together authors across multiple disciplines to reflect on the need for 'new' perspectives in international institutional law. Highlighting the limits of mainstream approaches, the authors instead interrogate international organisations as pivots in processes of world-making. To achieve this, the volume is organised around four fundamental themes: expertise; structure; performance; and capital. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Call for Papers: Technology is Global

The Law and Technology Interest Group of the International Law Association - Swiss Branch has issued a call for papers for its inaugural roundtable on "Technology is Global," to take place July 3, 2025, at the University of Lausanne. The call is here.

New Issue: Netherlands International Law Review

The latest issue of the Netherlands International Law Review (Vol. 71, no. 3, December 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Public Interest Litigation
• Xandra Kramer, Public Interest Litigation at the Intersection of Public Law and Private Enforcement
• María Carlota Ucín, In the Name of Human Rights: Sketching a Definition of Public Interest Litigation
• Gizem Halis Kasap, Defending Privacy Across Borders: Public Interest Litigation in the Fight Against Data Exploitation
• Ignacio Vásquez Torreblanca & Pablo Neupert Kaplan, Public Interest Climate Litigation in Latin America Leading the Way in Addressing Climate Change? The New Focus on Ecocentric and Intergenerational Dimensions
• Charlotte de Meeûs, Investing in Responsible Litigation: Third-Party Funding for Public Interest Litigation

Urs: The Articulation of Obligations Erga Omnes and Erga Omnes Partes by the International Court of Justice: Coherence or Confusion?

Priya Urs (Univ. of Oxford) has posted The Articulation of Obligations Erga Omnes and Erga Omnes Partes by the International Court of Justice: Coherence or Confusion? (International and Comparative Law Quarterly, forthcoming). Here’s the abstract:

Which international obligations are characterised as obligations owed erga omnes or erga omnes partes is today a crucial question for the enforcement of international law, particularly through adjudication before the International Court of Justice. The Court, however, has not given sufficiently clear indication as to how it understands and identifies obligations erga omnes and erga omnes partes. The lack of clarity and consistency permits varied approaches to the articulation of such obligations, ultimately leaving uncertain the enforceability, through adjudication and otherwise, of a wide variety of obligations.

Shereshevsky & Shany: Programmed to Obey: The Limits of Law and the Debate over Meaningful Human Control of Autonomous Weapons

Yahli Shereshevsky (Univ. of Haifa - Law) & Yuval Shany (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law) have posted Programmed to Obey: The Limits of Law and the Debate over Meaningful Human Control of Autonomous Weapons (Columbia Human Rights Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

New military technologies are transforming the contemporary battlefield and raise complex ethical and legal questions previously unaddressed. This essay makes three novel contributions to the significant debate on Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) and military AI in the legal and ethical literature. First, it puts forward a normative argument against AWS—even if they outperform humans in adhering to the rules governing the conduct of hostilities. This argument is grounded in the critical importance of the human capacity to act beyond the strict letter of the law. The essay contends that this capacity is central to the regulation of warfare, which permits, rather than obligates, the use of force against legitimate targets. Second, it offers a doctrinal analysis of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL)—the two principal legal regimes that regulate armed conflicts under international law—providing a fresh perspective on how they intersect in the context of AWS. Finally, the essay explores the extent to which its normative argument is persuasive in the context of military AI beyond AWS, an area that is rapidly evolving and already extensively employed in current conflicts. It examines the similarities and differences between these emerging technologies, and reflects on the implications of those differences for the desirable regulation of both technologies.

New Issue: Swiss Review of International and European Law

The latest issue of the Swiss Review of International and European Law (2025, no. 1) is out. Contents include:

• Benjamin Meret, Les accords en matière de sécurité et coopération entre l’Ukraine et divers Etats : zoom sur des textes atypiques
• Mpoi Leuta Hilpert, Swiss Novel Foods Regulation: From Autonomous Adaptation to a Bilateral Treaty

New Issue: Asian Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Asian Journal of International Law (Vol. 15, no. 1, January 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Notes and Comments
• Tien-Duc Nguyen, Viet Nam’s Dynamic Approach to Lawfare
• Lixin Chen, Human rights at sea: Analyzing states’ responses to cruise ships during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Articles
• Hafiz Gaffar & Saleh Albarashdi, Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Works: Exploring Originality and Ownership in a Digital Landscape
• Ka Lok Yip, Reconceptualizing Norm Conflict in International Law
• Javier García Olmedo, In Fairness to Nottebohm: Nationality in an Age of Globalization
• Carl Landauer, C.H. Alexandrowicz's India and the Kautilyan Moment
• Champika Thushari Roshanie Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s Sustainable Development Act (2017) on the 2030 Agenda: Lessons from Canada’s Federal Sustainable Development Act
• Rahul Mohanty, Need For Fairness In Climate Change Negotiations: A Third World Perspective

New Issue: Journal of Conflict & Security Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Vol. 30, no. 1, Spring 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Akira Kato, Revitalizing the obligatory abstention rule in the UN Security Council: an interpretation of the Proviso in Article 27 (3) of the UN Charter
• Walter Rech, Indirect aggression and the North Atlantic Treaty
• Chosen Udorji, Reconceptualizing the meaning of indirect force and the scope of its regulation under international law
• Chris McQuade, The use of human shields in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• Ilias Bantekas & Safaa S Jaber, The human rights obligations of belligerent occupiers: Israel and the Gazan population
• Elisabeth Hoffberger-Pippan & Christian Pippan, Inherited obstruction: the complaint procedure under the Biological Weapons Convention and the UN Charter rule on obligatory abstention in the Security Council
• Martin Fink, The Newport Manual: The new kid on the block on the laws of naval warfare

Lecture: Milanović on "The Notion of an Illegal Occupation in the ICJ's 2024 Palestine Advisory Opinion"

On April 24, 2025, Marko Milanović (Univ. of Reading - Law) will deliver a lecture on "The Notion of an Illegal Occupation in the ICJ's 2024 Palestine Advisory Opinion" at the Technische Universität Dresden. Details are here.

Call for Papers: The Principle of Good Faith in International and European Union Law (Young Scholars)

A call for papers has been issued for the XXII edition of the Conference of Young Scholars of International Legal Studies, to take place December 4-5, 2025, at the University of Ferrara Department of Law. The theme is: “The Principle of Good Faith in International and European Union Law.” The call is here.

New Issue: Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 28, no. 1, March 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Martina F. Ferracane, Simón González Ugarte & Erik van der Marel, The Brussels effect in Africa: is it beneficial for intra-regional trade in digital services?
• Andrew D. Mitchell, Home remedies: flexibilities to onshore pharmaceutical manufacturing under WTO rules
• Karishma Banga, Alexander Beyleveld & Martin Luther Munu, Trading away tax sovereignty? How trade rules shape taxation of the digital economy in Africa
• Caroline Henckels, General and security exceptions and the question of compensation in international investment law
• Alina Papanastasiou, Lost in conversion: rethinking investment treaty protection against retroactive regulation in the wake of the ‘Francogeddon’
• Damien Charlotin, David Restrepo Amariles & Arnaud van Waeyenberg, From conflict to coexistence ? The consolidation of the pluralist era for intra-EU investment arbitration

Kato: Revitalizing the obligatory abstention rule in the UN Security Council: an interpretation of the Proviso in Article 27 (3) of the UN Charter

Akira Kato (Kindai Univ. - Law) has posted Revitalizing the obligatory abstention rule in the UN Security Council: an interpretation of the Proviso in Article 27 (3) of the UN Charter (Journal of Conflict & Security Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

According to the proviso in Article 27 (3) of the UN Charter, members of the UN Security Council, including the permanent members, shall abstain from voting under Chapter VI of the UN Charter if they are parties to a dispute. This obligatory abstention rule has had significant implications in recent years, especially in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although Russia has deviated from this rule by repeatedly vetoing draft resolutions regarding this matter, only a few demands for implementing the obligatory abstention rule has been voiced within the Council. This is somewhat understandable given the legal difficulties surrounding the obligatory abstention rule, which are responsible for the longstanding non-applications of this rule. In this context, this article explores three legal issues related to the rule in question with the goal of revitalizing obligatory abstention in the Council. First, the prolonged non-application of the obligatory abstention rule has resulted in suspicion among scholars that the rule has fallen into desuetude. Second, it has been argued that if a matter has the character of a ‘situation’ rather than a ‘dispute’, the obligatory abstention rule cannot be applied. Third, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the definition of a ‘dispute’ under Article 27 (3) and the method for determining who are considered parties to a dispute. This article mainly asserts that the obligatory abstention rule is still legally valid and that a draft resolution could serve as the basis for determining who the parties to a dispute are.

New Issue: Ethics & International Affairs

The latest issue of Ethics & International Affairs (Vol. 38, no. 4, Winter 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Roundtable: The Future of UN Peacekeeping
• Jennifer Welsh & Marie-Joëlle Zahar, What Future for Peace Operations?
• Emily Paddon Rhoads, The Future of Protection in UN Peace Operations
• John Karlsrud, UN Peacekeeping and Impartiality: A Fading Relationship
• Victoria K. Holt, A Positive Legacy? UN Peace Operations and Renewable Energy
• Dirk Druet, Knives Out: Evolving Trends in State Interference with UN Peacekeeping Operations
• Feature
• Silje A. Langvatn, What Is It We Disagree about When We Disagree about the Legitimacy of an Institution? A Framework for Analyzing Legitimacy’s Institutional-Context Sensitivity
• Review Essay
• Kok-Chor Tan, Global Justice in Wildlife Conservation

Claussen, Elsig, & Polanco: The Concept Design of a Twenty-First Century Preferential Trade Agreement: Trends and Future Innovations

Kathleen Claussen, Georgetown Univ. - Law), Manfred Elsig (Universität Bern - World Trade Institute), & Rodrigo Polanco (Universität Bern - World Trade Institute) have published The Concept Design of a Twenty-First Century Preferential Trade Agreement: Trends and Future Innovations (Cambridge Univ. Press 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The Concept Design of a 21st Century Preferential Trade Agreement describes the current status and possible future evolution of trade agreements. The individual contributions provide fine-grained analyses of the various challenges trade agreements face and how these differ across countries. The book brings together leading researchers from international law and international relations to provide conceptual and empirical insights to inform the ongoing reform debates. By taking stock of scholarly advances, the book further aims at stimulating cross-fertilization in the study of trade agreements in the field of international economic law. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

New Issue: Revista de Direito Internacional

The latest issue of Revista de Direito Internacional (Vol. 21, no. 3, 2024) is out. The theme is "International Food Law (II)." The table of contents is here.

Chehtman, Huneeus, & Puig: Latin American International Law in the Twenty-First Century

Alejandro Chehtman (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella - Law), Alexandra Huneeus (Univ. of Wisconsin - Law, & Sergio Puig (European University Institute) have published Latin American International Law in the Twenty-First Century (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Latin America has been a pivotal site for influential and innovative developments in international law since the colonial era. Throughout much of the twentieth century, Latin American politics were entangled with the political and economic interests of the United States. Today, as the global order shifts, scholars and legal practitioners are grappling with the current restructuring and potential transformation of international relations—and what this means for international law in the region.

This collection of essays brings together a group of highly regarded scholars to present a broad survey of Latin Americaâs approaches and contributions, historically and presently, to the field of international law.

Comprehensive, diverse, and multidisciplinary, the book covers recent developments in areas like environmental regulation, internet regulation, Indigenous rights, LGBTIQ rights, and public health, among others. It also considers more traditional themes, such as law and development, the doctrine of nonintervention, human rights, and jurisdictional disputes in the Spanish colonies.

Mavroidis: Industrial Policy, National Security, and the Perilous Plight of the WTO

Petros C. Mavroidis (Columbia Univ. - Law) has published Industrial Policy, National Security, and the Perilous Plight of the WTO (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). Here's the abstract:

The WTO is facing an unprecedented crisis, one that threatens to critically erode its relevance and destabilize global trade. Some member states have become increasingly distrustful of other WTO members, invoking trade-restrictive measures in the name of economic security.

Petros C. Mavroidis's new book provides insight into current international trade, national security, and environmental challenges facing the world community, of which the World Trade Organization (WTO) is at the epicenter. Even if the WTO overcame its current crisis, its adjudication branch is insufficiently equipped to address the aforementioned challenges and the WTO contract itself is in dire need of updating. Yet, as Mavroidis argues, ensuring the survival of the WTO is crucial for rebuilding the trust of the global trading community. In this direction, Mavroidis offers concrete proposals toward improving the function of the WTO and reigniting global collaboration.

New Volume: Netherlands Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 53, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Reparations in International Law: A Critical Reflection
• Julie Fraser, Emmanuel Giakoumakis, & Otto Spijkers, Introduction: New Frontiers in Reparations since Factory at Chorzów
• Deborah Casalin, Reparations for Displacement since Chorzów: Moving from the ‘Problems of Displacement’ to the ‘Problems of the Displaced’ via International and Regional Human Rights Bodies
• Jemima García-Godos & Lisa J. Laplante, Administrative Reparations Programs and Transitional Justice: Dilemmas, Debates and New Directions
• Edward J. Perez, Structural Remedies as Policy Making: Data, Rationales and Opportunities of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• Pietro Sferrazza Taibi & Francisco Félix Bustos, Justice without Time Limits—The Impact of International Law on Chilean Case Law on Reparation in Relation to Crimes Committed during the Dictatorship
• Meagan Wong, Satisfaction and State Responsibility at the International Criminal Court: The Curious Crime of Aggression
• Alice Ollino, Satisfaction as a Remedy for Internationally Wrongful Acts: A Reassessment in Light of Inter-State Judicial Practice
• Christoph Sperfeldt, Extraordinary Experiments in Reparations: The Pursuit of Reparations at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Extraordinary African Chambers
• Alina Balta, Mijke de Waardt, & Marola Vaes, ECCC Reparations Inside and Out: Unpacking Rhetorics on Reparative Justice for Victims of Mass Crimes
• Luke Moffett, A Century on from the Chorzów Factory: Reparations, National Wars of Liberation and the Limits of Wiping out the Consequences of Armed Conflicts
• Karina Theurer, Racism as an Obstacle to Reparations for Colonial Crimes? The Doctrine of Intertemporal Law in the German-Namibian Context
• Ebba Lekvall, Repairing “Historical” Wrongs: The Church of Sweden’s Approach to Redressing Colonial Abuses against the Sami

van Aaken & Hirsch: International Legal Theory and the Cognitive Turn

Anne van Aaken (Univ. of Hamburg - Law) & Moshe Hirsch (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law) have published International Legal Theory and the Cognitive Turn (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Significant changes in social sciences often herald changes in legal theory, including in international legal theory. In light of the cognitive turn in social sciences, this volume seeks to explore the implications of this ‘turn’ for international legal theories. Cognitive and behavioural studies are making inroads into international law literature and international policy-making, yet their implications for international legal theory remain under-explored. The book aims to fill this gap by systematically analysing if, to what extent, and how insights gained from cognitive-behavioural sciences influence the principal theoretical approaches to international law. The chapters indicate that while insights drawn from cognitive and behavioural literature often underlie or complement some international legal theories, interactions between some legal theories and cognitive-behavioural studies are characterized by tensions. Exploring the implicit and explicit cognitive-behavioural assumptions of international legal theories has the potential to build bridges between these fields.

Call for Papers: 2025 ASIL Research Forum

The American Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its 2025 Research Forum, a part of the Society's Midyear Meeting, which will be held September 25-27, in Cleveland. The deadline is May 7, 2025, at 5:00PM EDT. The call is here.

New Issue: Review of International Organizations

The latest issue of the Review of International Organizations (Vol. 20, no. 1, March 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Kathleen J. Brown, Why hide? Africa’s unreported debt to China
• Devin Case-Ruchala, A paradox of openness: Democracies, financial integration & crisis
• Marius Mehrl, Daniel Seussler, & Paul W. Thurner, Sharing rivals, sending weapons: Rivalry and cooperation in the international arms trade, 1920–1939
• Rachel J. Schoner, Empowering your victims: Why repressive regimes allow individual petitions in international organizations
• Anna M. Meyerrose & Irfan Nooruddin, Trojan horses in liberal international organizations? How democratic backsliders undermine the UNHRC
• Matthias Ecker-Ehrhardt, Building bridges or digging the trench? International organizations, social media, and polarized fragmentation
• Timm Betz & Amy Pond, Governments as borrowers and regulators

Call for Engaged Listeners: “International Law in the Quest for Truth on the Battlefield” Roundtable

A call for engaged listeners has been issued for a roundtable on “International Law in the Quest for Truth on the Battlefield,” to take place July 4, 2025, at the University of Milan (and online). Applications are invited from early-career researchers and doctoral candidates. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Oceanic Echoes: Unveiling the Genocide-Maritime Connection, Sea by Sea

A call for papers has been issued for a workshop on "Oceanic Echoes: Unveiling the Genocide-Maritime Connection, Sea by Sea," to be held September 19, 2025, at the University of Reading (and online). The call is here.

New Volume: Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 18, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Aritz Obregón Fernández, El deber de comunicar al Consejo de Seguridad. Estudio de esta obligación a la luz de la práctica reciente y las aportaciones estatales
• Aline Beltrame de Moura, Brasil-UE bajo el EUDR: Modelando la Sostenibilidad Global y el Comercio
• Andrés Felipe López Latorre & Maria Camila Ospina Navarro, Empresas transnacionales y arbitraje de derechos humanos: ¿fracaso o promesa?
• Leandro Baltar & Luciana Scotti, Herramientas tecnológicas en los conflictos privados transfronterizos en Argentina Con especial referencia a la “Guía de buenas prácticas en materia de cooperación jurisdiccional internacional para las Américas”
• Facundo Rodriguez, La conciliación como método alternativo para solucionar la disputa de soberanía respecto a la Cuestión de las Islas Malvinas

Yang: Legitimacy of International and Hybrid Criminal Tribunals: Political, Normative, Economic, and Sociological Perspectives

Suhong Yang (Univ. of Hong Kong - Law) has posted Legitimacy of International and Hybrid Criminal Tribunals: Political, Normative, Economic, and Sociological Perspectives (Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, Vol. 53, no. 1, March 2025). Here's the abstract:

This article examines the legitimacy of international and hybrid criminal tribunals that try atrocities crimes in post-conflict situations. It addresses legitimacy from political, normative, economic, and sociological perspectives. Political legitimacy focuses on the creation of authority. Normative legitimacy emphasizes the criteria for justifications, considering justice, independence, fairness, legality, and effectiveness as metrics. Economic legitimacy explores the cost, i.e., time and money, to address cases, as delayed or expensive justice suffers. Sociological legitimacy reflects the acceptance of the institution by the public, focusing on audiences' perceptions of legitimacy. Multi-layered audiences make determinations about an institution's legitimacy based on their cognitions, which may relate to their culture, identity, and knowledge. Eventually, the least legitimacy requirement asks for (1) a proper authority of creation, (2) well-defined justice the court pursues, (3) process with fairness, (4) independent, unbiased, and competent adjudicators, and (5) a certain degree of public trust especially among the affected populations.

New Issue: Revue Générale de Droit International Public

The latest issue of the Revue Générale de Droit International Public (Vol. 128, no. 4, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Monica Lugato, La tradition, facteur structurel de la information du droit international général
• Robert Charvin, L'UNRWA et le conflit Israélo-palestinien Gaza. 2023-2024

Mulgrew: Early Release in International Criminal Law

Róisín Mulgrew (Univ. of Galway - Law) has published Early Release in International Criminal Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2025). Here's the abstract:

This book provides a comprehensive and critical account of the law, policy and practice underpinning early release systems in international criminal law. Róisín Mulgrew explores the distinct forms that early release can take and investigates key questions. Who makes and influences early release decisions? What factors are taken into account? Can conditional release be granted? And if so, who supervises this and what happens if conditions are breached?

Highlighting both institutional-specific discussions and systemic critiques of early release in international criminal law, this book provides fresh insights into the reach, depth and impact of international punishment. Mulgrew assesses and compares the systems in place at a variety of international criminal courts for unconditional and conditional early release, and sentence reduction. She also examines key topics including recall, victim participation and compassionate release.

Call for Nominations: 2024 ESIL IG History of International Law Article Prize

The ESIL IG History of International Law invites its members to nominate an article (published in any academic journal in 2022, 2023, or 2024) that they believe has had or will have a major impact on the field of international legal history. The call for nominations is here.

New Issue: Questions of International Law

The latest issue of Questions of International Law / Questioni di Diritto Internazionale (no. 109, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• The execution of ICC arrest warrants in domestic legal orders: Challenges from the Elmasry case
• Introduced by Maurizio Arcari and Beatrice Bonafé
• Etienne Henry, The execution of ICC arrest warrants and requests for surrender under Swiss law
• Guillaume Langle, The surrender of persons by France to the ICC: A strict application of the Rome Statute

Book Launch: The Legacy of the Wimbledon Case

On May 16, 2025, Jagiellonian University in Kraków will host a program to celebrate the publication of The Legacy of the Wimbledon Case: Centenary of the First Judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Details are here.

Call for Papers: The Mixed Courts of Egypt, 1876-1949: between imperial internationalism and shared legal knowledge

The Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory has issued a call for papers for a workshop on "The Mixed Courts of Egypt, 1876-1949: between imperial internationalism and shared legal knowledge," to take place February 23-24, 2026, in Frankfurt am Main. The call is here.

Marrella: Arbitrage transnational d’investissement et conflits armés

Fabrizio Marrella (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia - Law) has published Arbitrage transnational d’investissement et conflits armés (Pedone 2025). Here's the abstract:

Le monde devient de plus en plus violent. On pense au conflit armé entre la Fédération de Russie et l'Ukraine, au coeur du continent européen, à la situation au Moyen-Orient ou encore en Afrique subsaharienne.

Le présent ouvrage traite pour la première fois exclusivement de l'arbitrage international des litiges liés aux investissements étrangers dans un contexte de conflit armé, national ou international. Les guerres du 21ème siècle ayant évolué pour dépasser les schémas traditionnels des conflits armés du 20ème siècle, les «nouvelles formes» d'utilisation de la force militaire, telles que la responsabilité de protéger, la «guerre contre le terrorisme» et la cyberguerre, doivent être prises en compte.

La première partie est consacrée aux effets des conflits armés sur les traités d'investissement et sur l'arbitrage mixte. Sont ainsi examinées les questions épineuses de compétence des tribunaux arbitraux d'investissement et de droit applicable au fond du litige en situation de guerre et d'occupation militaire.

La seconde partie traite des effets des conflits armés sur les règles secondaires de responsabilité. Ces éléments sont examinés sous l'angle du droit positif et de la pratique arbitrale, dans une perspective critique et prospective, dans le but de mieux comprendre le rôle du droit international humanitaire dans un contexte de contentieux arbitral.

Kraska & Ryou-Ellison: Cultural Influences on the Law of the Sea: History, Legacy, and Future Prospects

James Kraska (US Naval War College) & Hayoun Ryou-Ellison (National Defense Univ.) have published Cultural Influences on the Law of the Sea: History, Legacy, and Future Prospects (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). Here's the abstract:

Cultural norms underpin oceans law and policy, shaping rules for everything from maritime shipping to deep seabed mining. The doctrine of freedom of the seas, for instance, is an expression of Western European notions of liberty as much as it reflects geopolitical interests. Similarly, Latin American concepts of dependency theory and anti-colonialism support expansive coastal state rights, while envisioning ocean resources as the 'common heritage' of mankind reflects African communitarianism. The East Asian belief in Confucian social hierarchy reflects deference to authority, stability, and structure.

Drawing on evidence from the origins of civilization to the present, this volume examines how cultural norms have impacted international maritime law. It brings together an expert cast of contributors - representing both the Global South and North - to explore how different regions culturally express and understand the law of the sea. Its chapters offer a breadth of perspectives on major elements of the law of the sea, including marine environmental protection, marine resource conservation, sustainable development, maritime security, and freedom of navigation.

New Issue: Chinese Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Chinese Journal of International Law (Vol. 24, no. 1, March 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Jiawei CHU, Autonomous Weapon Systems and Autonomous Cyber Weapons: Convergence in respect of Concepts, Features, Scope, and Implications on International Law
• Jaemin Lee, Fragmentation Further Entrenched?—Sustainability Chapters in Trade Agreements and Their Systemic Implications
• Prajjwal Gour & Sakshi Bagdi, Low-tide Elevation-Based Quasi-Islands as a New Feature Type Eligible for Maritime Entitlements
• Letters to the Journal
• Oktawian Kuc & Miłosz Gapsa, Right to Strike Advisory Proceedings: Some Procedural Aspects
• Minna YU, The U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards under the New York Convention: Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Co. Ltd v. Nigeria

New Volume: Irish Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Irish Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 16, 2021-2022) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Aminul Islam, The Use of Force Beyond Self-Defence by UN Peacekeepers: Justifications and Implications for the Future of UN Peacekeeping
• Valentina Chabert, The Exploitation of Mineral Resources of the Moon and Celestial Bodies in International Law and Practice
• Adriana Borsellino, From Food Security to the Right to Food

Conference: Society of International Economic Law Ninth Biennial Conference

On July 9-11, 2025, the Society of International Economic Law will hold its ninth biennial conference in Taipei. The theme is: "Navigating New Horizons: International Economic Law in a Changing World." Details are here.

Joyner: Economic Nationalism as the Fourth Era of International Trade Law

Daniel Joyner (Univ. of Alabama - Law) has posted Economic Nationalism as the Fourth Era of International Trade Law (Manchester Journal of International Economic Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article contextualizes and explains, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, some of the most recent and impactful changes to international trade law development in critical and emerging technology areas. It begins by describing developments in international trade law in the 20 th and 21 st centuries through the identification of four eras of that development: 1) prewar protectionism (1921-1934); 2) postwar multilateralism (1947-2000); regionalism (2001-2016); and finally, post-multilateral economic nationalism (2017-present). It then focuses on this fourth era, which has been marked by unprecedented uses of unilateral regulatory barriers to trade including discriminatory tariffs, anti-dumping and countervailing duty impositions, export controls, sanctions, investment restrictions, and industry-specific subsidies, imposed by multiple countries, and led by the three largest economies (the US, China, and the EU), all in a significant deviation from the trade law and policy of these countries in previous eras. Understanding this turn to economic nationalism, as manifest in the current era of trade law development, is key to understanding current dynamics in global trade law and policy, particularly in critical and emerging technology areas such as artificial intelligence, microcomputing, quantum computing, neurotechnology, robotics, and biotechnology.

New Issue: London Review of International Law

The latest issue of the London Review of International Law (Vol. 12, no. 3, November 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium
• Alain Pottage, The responsibility function: symposium introduction
• Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Thinking about a Natural Contract: with Michel Serres (1930–2019)
• Naomi Oreskes, Power, futuristic framings, and the problem of techno-fideism or How climate change breaks the promise of progress
• Thomas Scheffer, Responding before responseability: the delayed realisation of climate change as discrepant discourse formation
• Paul N Edwards, Is climate change ungovernable?
• Andrew Lang, Performances of responsibility: market-based sustainability governance and the ‘responsibility economy’
• Andreas Folkers and Nadine Marquardt, Planetary response-inability: Gaia, the Anthropocene, and the world without us

Conference: The Politics of International Dispute Settlement

On June 6, 2025, Utrecht University will host a conference on "The Politics of International Dispute Settlement." Details are here.

Lubin & Tang: Data Injustice in Global Justice

Asaf Lubin (Indiana Univ., Bloomington - Law) & Cherry Tang have posted Data Injustice in Global Justice (UC Davis Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

In May 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General unveiled a sweeping “Data Strategy for Action by Everyone, Everywhere,” seeking to unlock the UN’s “full data potential.” The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor followed suit, declaring in 2023 its intent to acquire advanced cyber forensic tools so to hold the “widest range of digital evidence globally.” Across international institutions, data-driven governance has become the norm, with humanitarian agencies and tribunals transforming into “data hubs and information clearinghouses.”

This paper critiques the unfettered datafication of global justice by international courts and organizations. These entities have aggressively expanded their data-driven operations in the last decade—deploying AI to predict crises, satellites to monitor conflict zones, biometric-enabled blockchain systems to track refugee movements, and social media evidence to prosecute crimes. Yet, the data that fuels these systems is often extracted from the world’s most vulnerable communities. This exposes these communities to grave risks of surveillance, hackability, and exploitation—risks further entrenched by the privileges and immunities that shield these international institutions from independent oversight. In sum, the regulatory and accountability vacuum surrounding data protection in global justice not only reinforces existing power hierarchies but also undermines the legitimacy of the very courts and organizations purporting to dismantle them.

Against this backdrop, the paper calls for a fundamental reorientation of the way international institutions govern data—recasting these institutions not as data aggregators in a digital supply chain, but as fiduciaries of the communities they aim to serve. In resisting both nation-driven and corporate-driven technological authoritarianism, international courts and organizations have an opportunity to present an alternative vision of data governance. Such a vision should draw from the international legal principles of good faith and self-determination as fundamental obligations constraining the datafication practices of these institutions. Without such a shift, international courts and organizations risk making data injustice the next frontier of global inequality.

Deeks & Hollis: Large Language Models and International Law

Ashley Deeks (Univ. of Virginia - Law) & Duncan B. Hollis (Temple Univ. - Law) have posted Large Language Models and International Law (Chicago Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to transform public international lawyering. ChatGPT and similar LLMs can do so in at least five ways: (i) helping to identify the contents of international law; (ii) interpreting existing international law; (iii) formulating and drafting proposals for new legal instruments or negotiating positions; (iv) assessing the international legality of specific acts; and (v) collating and distilling large datasets for international courts, tribunals, and treaty bodies.

The article uses two case studies to show how LLMs may work in international legal practice. First, it uses LLMs to identify whether particular behavioral expectations rise to the level of customary international law. In doing so, it tests LLMs’ ability to identify persistent objectors and a more egalitarian collection of state practice, as well as their proclivity to produce orthogonal or inaccurate answers. Second, it explores how LLMs perform in producing draft treaty texts, ranging from a U.S.-China extradition treaty to a treaty banning the use of artificial intelligence in nuclear command and control systems.

Based on our analysis of the five potential functions and the two more detailed case studies, the article identifies four roles for LLMs in international law: as collaborator, confounder, creator, or corruptor. In some cases, LLMs will be collaborators, complementing existing international lawyering by drastically improving the scope and speed with which users can assemble and analyze materials and produce new texts. At the same time, without careful prompt engineering and curation of results, LLMs may generate confounding outcomes, leading international lawyers down inaccurate or ambiguous paths. This is particularly likely when LLMs fail to accurately explain or defend particular conclusions. Further, LLMs also hold surprising potential to help to create new law by offering inventive proposals for treaty language or negotiations.

Most importantly, we highlight the potential for LLMs to corrupt international law by fostering automation bias in users. That is, even where analog work by international lawyers would produce different results, LLM results may soon be perceived to accurately reflect the contents of international law. The implications of this potential are profound. LLMs could effectively realign the contents and contours of international law based on the datasets they employ. The widespread use of LLMs may even incentivize states and others to push their desired views into those datasets to corrupt LLM outputs. Such risks and rewards lead us to conclude with a call for further empirical and theoretical research on LLMs’ potential to assist, reshape, or redefine international legal practice and scholarship.

Biddolph: Queering Governance and International Law: The Case of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Caitlin Biddolph (Univ. of Technology Sydney - International Relations) has published Queering Governance and International Law: The Case of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Oxford Univ. Press 2025). Here's the abstract:

International law is brought into existence by actors from a variety of perspectives--international lawyers, state representatives, bureaucrats, and organizations--and as such, international law is riddled with contradictions. It is violent and violating, reducing complex lives and histories to "good" (lawful) and "bad" (criminal) bodies subject to protection, praise, or punishment. And yet it has potential to be a means of hope, resistance, and justice for victims, survivors, and oppressed communities.

In Queering Governance and International Law, Caitlin Biddolph examines the international legal space through queer, feminist, and postcolonial lenses. In doing so, she queers governance and international law, exposing the gendered and sexualized meanings behind legal concepts like violence, and critiquing legal status quos so that more transformative, liberatory, and queerer paths to justice might be dreamt and manifested within and beyond international law. Using as a case study the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Biddolph traces the cis-heteronormative underpinnings of legal violence, and identifies ways that violence can be resisted and international law subverted to dismantle the very gendered and racial hierarchies it has reinforced.

Symposium: The Juridification of Justice

On April 29, 2025, the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambrdige will host a symposium on "The Juridification of Justice." Details are here.

Lieblich: The Death and Life of the Prohibition on Forcible Reprisals

Eliav Lieblich (Tel Aviv Univ. - Law) has posted The Death and Life of the Prohibition on Forcible Reprisals (Yale Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

That forcible reprisals between states are unlawful is taken for granted in contemporary international law. However, events in recent years have highlighted the resurgence of retaliatory force, challenging the foundational principles of the prohibition. This article seeks to uncover the normative assumptions underlying the prohibition on reprisals, demonstrate how these assumptions are challenged in the current international moment, and propose ways in which the prohibition can be revitalized.

In the pre-UN Charter era, forcible reprisals were considered lawful on the basis of three normative assumptions: that there was no "common judge" among sovereigns and thus self-help was justified; that self-defense and punishment were intertwined; and that international law was concerned with the rights of states rather than those of individuals. The UN Charter, in its prohibition on reprisals, sought precisely to counter these assumptions. However, as the article shows, international polarization and permissive doctrines on the use of force – in particular, those blurring the distinction between defense and punishment – have consistently eroded these foundations. The article exemplifies these erosive dynamics by focusing on the retaliatory cycle between Iran and Israel in 2024, situating it within the current moment of international polarization.

The article then proposes a normative framework to revitalize the prohibition. Chiefly, it offers a novel theoretical definition of reprisals as a form of opportunistic harm, one that cannot be justified even in the absence of a common judge. By doing so, the article acknowledges the fragmentation of the current global order while reaffirming the intrinsic wrong of reprisals even in turbulent international times.

Seminar: The European Union and international law in times of Trump II

On April 16, 2025, a seminar on "The European Union and international law in times of Trump II" will take place at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Milan. Details are here.

Calls for Papers: IG Workshops – 2025 ESIL Annual Conference (Updated)

In the context of the 2025 ESIL Annual Conference in Berlin, some ESIL Interest Groups are inviting submissions for their pre-conference workshops. The calls currently open include:

• IG on International Criminal Justice: Reconstructing International Criminal Justice as It Unfolds (deadline: April 1, 2025)
• IG on the International Law of Culture: The Future and Past of ‘Progress’ in Cultural Heritage Law (deadline: 4 April 2025)
• IG on Migration and Refugee Law: De/Re-Constructing Asylum: New Actors, Processes and Spaces (deadline: 11 April 2025)
• IG on Feminism and International Law: Feminist Visions for Reconstructing International Law (deadline: April 15, 2025)
• IG on International Business and Human Rights: Reconstructing International Law: Structural Shifts Under the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights (deadline: 15 April 2025)
• IG on International Environmental Law: Reconstructing International Environmental Law Through Adjudication (deadline: 20 April 2025)
• IG on International Human Rights Law: The Reconstruction of Victimhood in International Human Rights Law (deadline: 20 April 2025)
• IG on International Organizations: (Re-)constructing International Organizations in the Work of the United Nations International Law Commission (deadline: 20 April 2025)
• IG on Energy and International Law: Reconstructing International Energy Law in Times of Crisis (deadline: 25 April 2025)
• IG on International Health Law: Global Health Law under Pressure: Facing Acute and Chronic Challenges (deadline: 10 May 2025)

Skordas & Mardikian: Research Handbook on the International Court of Justice

Achilles Skordas (Univ. of Bristol) & Lisa Mardikian (Brunel Univ. London) have published Research Handbook on the International Court of Justice (Edward Elgar Publishing 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

This Research Handbook presents an in-depth examination of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Contributing authors dissect the global governance functions of the ICJ and its impact on national legal orders worldwide.

Incorporating a comprehensive analysis of the key functions of the ICJ, including the attainment of international peace and law-making, leading experts situate the jurisprudence of the Court in a broader theoretical framework. They identify its core judicial practices and delineate its interactions with international and supranational courts and tribunals such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Ultimately, this Research Handbook interrogates the centrality, power and authority of the ICJ and encourages further research in the field.

New Issue: La Comunità Internazionale

The latest issue of La Comunità Internazionale (Vol. 80, no. 1, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articoli e Saggi
• Irini Papanicolopulu & Daniele Mandrioli, Combating Transnational Crime at Sea: The Unfinished Integration Between UNTOC and UNCLOS
• Giada Giacomini, Emanuele Fratto Rosi Grippaudo, Spectrum of Anthropocentric Approaches to the Ecological Continuum: Environmental Protection Effectiveness and Legal Standing in Italy’s New Constitutional Framework
• Marco Argentini, La nozione di “contratto internazionale di investimento” alla luce dei lavori del working group UNIDROIT-ICC: un’estensione applicativa del test Salini?
• Osservatorio Diritti Umani
• Michela Chianese, La confisca di beni culturali illecitamente acquisiti dinanzi alla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo: riflessioni a margine del caso dell’Atleta di Fano
• Osservatorio Europeo
• Andrea Maria Pelliconi, La decisione Fronte Polisario II della Corte di giustizia dell’Unione europea e il diritto all’autodeterminazione del popolo Sahrawi
• Note e Commenti
• Mariaida Cristarella Oristano, Ancora sul dialogo tra corti e il primato del diritto dell’Unione europea: la sentenza della Corte costituzionale n. 181 del 2024

New Issue: International Journal of Refugee Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (Vol. 36, no. 4, December 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Mariana Ferolla Vallandro do Valle, Fleeing Deprivation: Deducing Non-Refoulement Obligations from Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Erna Bodström, A Matter of Individual Discretion: Facilitating Performative Credibility in Asylum Interviews
• Arjumand Bano Kazmi, Pakistan’s Judicial Engagement with International Refugee Law
• Özlem Gürakar Skribeland, The Turkish Council of State’s Engagement with International Refugee Law in Cases Involving ‘Non-European’ Refugees

Arato: The Institutions of Exceptions

Julian Arato (Univ. of Michigan - Law) has posted The Institutions of Exceptions (Michigan Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

International economic law binds states’ hands in the interest of liberalizing markets in various ways, including cross border trade in goods and services (trade) and capital (investment). The treaty regimes for both trade and investment do this by disciplining states through legal rules, while preserving a modicum of governmental power over policy. Though not always recognized as such, the preservation of policy space in these regimes typically involves exceptions-style reasoning by adjudicators – formally in the case of most trade and some investment treaties, and informally in the investment treaty regime more generally. This "exceptions paradigm" of justification has worked well in the trade regime, where it has been especially key to securing a workable balance between market disciplines and regulatory policy space in the WTO/GATT context. But it has been less successful at striking a reasonable balance in the investment regime – irrespective of whether the paradigm has been formally codified in an exceptions clause. This Article seeks to explain why, by focusing on the institutions within which this mode of justification is embedded. Certain institutional differences between these regimes help explain the varied success of exceptionalism in trade and investment, in particular: the right of action (public vs private); the degree of judicial centralization (ad hoc arbitration vs court system); and the available remedies (retrospective compensation vs prospective injunctive relief). I argue that it is trade law’s public-oriented institutions that have made the exceptions clause workable – not the other way around. By contrast, investment law’s private-oriented institutions make that system particularly inhospitable to exceptions-style justification.

Conference: Cambridge International Law Journal 14th Annual Conference

On April 28-29, 2025, the Cambridge International Law Journal will hold its 14th Annual Conference at the University of Cambridge. The theme is: "Navigating a Multipolar World: Challenges to the Post-WWII Status Quo of International Law." Details are here.

Lecture: Mälksoo on “Russian and Soviet justifications of war and approaches to jus ad bellum: from the Great Nordic War (1700-1721) to Ukraine in 2022”

On April 7, 2025, Lauri Mälksoo (Univ. of Tartu - Law) will give the next lecture of the TwoLaW Lecture Series on the Laws of War. The topic is: “Russian and Soviet justifications of war and approaches to jus ad bellum: from the Great Nordic War (1700-1721) to Ukraine in 2022.” Details are here.