Longobardo: Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court

Marco Longobardo (Univ. of Westminster - Law) has published Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court (Edward Elgar Publishing 2026). This is the latest volume in the Elgar International Law Series. Here's the abstract:

Challenging the view that sufficient gravity is mainly a tool for prosecutorial discretion, this book reconstructs the interpretation of this criterion and argues for its assessment in objective and legally grounded terms. Marco Longobardo expertly examines case law and prosecutorial practice pertaining to situations and cases under Article 17(1)(d) of the Rome Statute of the ICC to inform his criticism of the assessment of sufficient gravity.

The book reviews the assessment of sufficient gravity to evaluate the decisions of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) and case law of the Chambers. Chapters explore case studies such as the Lubanga and Ntaganda arrest warrants and the boarding of the Mavi Marmara. Combining jurisprudential and international law perspectives, Longobardo analyses the rules of treaty interpretation and applies them as a methodological framework to assess sufficient gravity.

Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court is a crucial resource for scholars and students in international criminal law and justice and public international law. This book’s scrutinisation of sufficient gravity provides guidance to ICC organs and parties and contributes to the reinforcement of the ICC project. It is also beneficial for practitioners and NGOs working on issues pertaining to sufficient gravity before the ICC.

Krieger, Jokubauskaite, Ozcelik, & Buser: From Protracted Conflict to Sustainable Peace? The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and International Law

Heike Krieger (Freie Universität Berlin - Law), Giedre Jokubauskaite (Univ. of Glasgow - Law), Asli Ozcelik (Univ. of Glasgow - Law), & Andreas Buser (Freie Universität Berlin - Law) have published From Protracted Conflict to Sustainable Peace? The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2026). Here's the abstract:

Across the globe, the number of protracted armed conflicts is rising, with many societies enduring the consequences of violence and conflict-related socio-economic disruption for decades. These enduring conflicts present complex and evolving challenges—legal, (geo)political, institutional, humanitarian, developmental, and environmental—that demand new approaches. In response, policy frameworks increasingly advocate for the so-called humanitarian-development-peace nexus (the ‘triple nexus’), which seeks to bridge traditionally siloed agendas in favour of a more integrated response to protracted conflict. Yet, despite growing policy interest, the legal dimensions of protracted conflict and the implications of the triple nexus remain under-explored in international law. From Protracted Conflict to Sustainable Peace? offers the first comprehensive legal and interdisciplinary examination of how international law engages with the realities of protracted conflict. Drawing on a wide range of legal fields—including international humanitarian law, development law, economic law, refugee law, human rights law, international criminal law, and peacebuilding law—contributors explore how legal regimes interact, overlap, and at times conflict in these complex settings. Through a conceptual framework and a series of thematic chapters, the volume addresses the lived impacts of protracted conflict, the role of international institutions and the challenges they face, and the potential of human rights frameworks to respond to long-term crises. It provides scholars and practitioners with a vital resource for rethinking legal strategies in the face of enduring violence and for imagining pathways toward sustainable peace.

New Issue: Questions of International Law

The latest issue of Questions of International Law / Questioni di Diritto Internazionale (no. 115, 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Bridges and shields in the law of immunity of international organizations? The 2025 ICJ’s advisory opinion and the issue of UNRWA’s immunities (Part I)
• Introduced by Beatrice Bonafè and Maurizio Arcari
• Eleonora Castro, United Nations’ immunities: Abuses and disputes settlement
• Bernardo Mageste Castelar Campos, The inviolability of the United Nations in armed conflicts: International Humanitarian Law and the ICJ’s UNRWA Advisory Opinion
• Rafael Fonseca Melo, Qualifying UN organs for purposes of immunities recognition: The status of UNRWA in light of Estate of Kedem Simon Tov v UNRWA and the 2025 ICJ Advisory Opinion
• Franco Di Pede, From provisional agreement to unilateral termination: The Michelmore–Comay Exchange of Letters in the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 22 October 2025

New Volume: Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

The latest volume of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (Vol. 27, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• International Humanitarian Law Under Pressure
• Zoi Lafazani, Sieges as Indiscriminate Attacks Under International Humanitarian Law: Is a Lawful Siege of a Populated Area a Contradiction in Terms?
• Antonio Mariconda, International Humanitarian Law’s Protection of Healthcare Under Pressure: An Assessment of the IDF’s Approach to “Hospital Shields” and “Acts Harmful to the Enemy” in the Conduct of Hostilities in Gaza
• Eitan Diamond & Ellen Nohle, Humanitarian Displacement? The (Mis-)Appropriation of Humanitarian Principles to Justify Mass Displacement
• Mark Lattimer, Objective and Subjective Tests for Determining Violations of the Law of Targeting: The Unreasonable Commander and the Guilty Mind
• Jessica Dorsey & Luke Moffett, The Warification of International Humanitarian Law and the Artifice of Artificial Intelligence in Decision-Support Systems: Restoring Balance Through the Legitimacy of Military Operations
• Audrey Fino, Silently Present: The Overlooked Prohibition of Harmful Speech in International Humanitarian Law
• Carolina Trejos Carvajal, Incorporating the Protection of Marine Species into the Obligations of the Occupying Power
• Year in Review
• Hendrik Mathis Drößler, Cheya Took and Katerina Lefkidou, Year in Review 2024

Book Launch: Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court

On April 24, 2026, The research center International Law at Westminster will host a book launch of Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court (Edward Elgar 2026) by Marco Longobardo (Univ. of Westminster), at Westminster Law School, in person. The book is latest volume in the Elgar International Law Series. Speakers include: Diane Marie Amann (LSE), Olympia Bekou (Univ. of Nottingham), William A. Schabas (Middlesex Univ.), and Marco Roscini (Univ. of Westminster). Details are here.

Hammoudi: Manufacturing Sovereignty: International Law, Labour Struggle, and the Making of Iraq

Ali Hammoudi (Univ. of Windsor - Law) has published Manufacturing Sovereignty: International Law, Labour Struggle, and the Making of Iraq (Hart Publishing 2026). Here's the abstract:

This book delves into the legal and labour history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq to explore the role international law and its institutions played in Iraq's state formation.

Focusing on a turbulent period in global and Middle East history, it shows how the case of Iraq became a laboratory for experimentation with the concept of sovereignty by the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations in Geneva. This resulted in the development of a doctrine of 'semiperipheral sovereignty' to justify Iraq's independence from the Mandate process. This novel doctrine and its operation within the provisions of the 1930 Anglo-Iraq Treaty ensured the maintenance of British dominance over Iraq, especially to safeguard the extraction and transportation of its valuable oil resources to Western markets.

The book traces how this legal doctrine impacted the everyday lives of working class Iraqis. It explores the governance of the extraterritorial spaces of capitalist accumulation and labour exploitation, in particular the Iraq Petroleum Company oil fields, the Iraq State Railways and the Port of Basra. It goes on to detail how the oil, railway and port workers led by the Iraqi Communist Party effectively organised themselves into a nationalist revolutionary labour movement. They waged an anti-colonial struggle against these imperial legal structures to improve their lot, leading up to the 1948 Wathba, the 1953 Intifada, and ultimately the July Revolution of 1958, which upended the British-sponsored monarchy.

Spanning various international archives and Arabic primary source materials, this book offers an example of a social, legal and labour history written from below, centering ordinary working peoples' agency in the historiography of international law. Drawing on Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and Marxist methodologies, it emphasises the significance of the semi-periphery in the making of the international legal order.

Kraska & Lagdami: Marine Technology, Ocean Development and the Law of the Sea

James Kraska (U.S. Naval War College) & Khanssa Lagdami (World Maritime Univ.) have published Marine Technology, Ocean Development and the Law of the Sea (Cambridge Univ. Press 2026). Here's the abstract:

Emerging technologies such as autonomous vessels, artificial intelligence, and alternative fuels are revolutionizing the way we operate at sea. This volume examines how advancements in information technology and biotechnology are influencing the evolution of ocean law and policy. These technologies, including blockchain, satellite and submarine cable communications, nuclear power at sea, seabed mining, underwater archaeology, marine genetics, and decarbonization, are changing the architecture of ocean governance. This volume explores both the opportunities and challenges these advancements pose to the law of the sea, which is evolving to adapt to ever accelerating rates of global change. Looking forward, the book considers the role of the law of the sea in the future of ocean governance. This title is available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Chat with the Author: Yilin Wang on “Locating TWAIL Scholarship in China”

On April 21, 2026, the European Society of International Law's Critical Approaches to International Law Interest Group will host a "Chat with the Author" with Yilin Wang (Univ. of Macau - Law) speaking about “Locating TWAIL Scholarship in China.” Details are here.

New Issue: Polish Review of International and European Law

The latest issue of the Polish Review of International and European Law (Vol. 14, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Marija Dordeska, What Principles in What Proceedings? The Use and Development of General Principles of Law in the ICJ’s Advisory vs Contentious Jurisprudence
• Szymon Zaręba, The Evolution of the International Court of Justice’s Approach to the Right of Actio Popularis Before It, Based on Recent Case Law
• Aghil Mohammadi & Aref Laridashti, The Forcible Transfer of Ukrainian Children as Genocide: An Assessment of Russia's Actions in Light of the International Documents and Judicial Rulings
• Tomasz Mirosławski, Workplace Monitoring in Europe: A Review of Regulatory Perspectives and Developments
• Case Comments
• Tomasz Kamiński & Paweł Natorski, Comments on the ICJ Judgment on Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 Nautical Miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia) (13 July 2023)
• Julia Kapelańska-Pręgowska, Comments on the ECtHR Judgment in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (9 April 2024)