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.