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1. Genocide and the Courts: A Brief Review of Jurisprudence on the Crime of Genocide from Nuremberg to Today

Author:
David J. Scheffer
Publication Date:
01-2026
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
In this January 2026 report, Genocide and the Courts: A Brief Review of Jurisprudence on the Crime of Genocide from Nuremberg to Today, Ambassador David Scheffer narrates how courts around the world, and over decades, have understood the crime of genocide. Published 80 years after the start of the Nuremberg trials, this report takes readers through court judgments that have grappled with questions of intent, protected groups, prohibited acts, and individual and state responsibility. We hope that teachers, students, and others will benefit from this concise summary of how courts have addressed questions about the definition of genocide over time. Over the past eight decades, “genocide” has gone from being an idea in Raphael Lemkin’s mind to being a universally recognized international crime, accompanied by a growing body of jurisprudence. Judicial rulings have been a critical means of addressing ambiguities about the definition of genocide that are found in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Courts have gone a long way toward clarifying, for example, what must be established to find that a genocidal “intent to destroy” has been present. Reviewing the history of how courts have ruled on genocide cases, is therefore an important way to promote greater understanding of the meaning of this singular crime. The report begins with the Nuremberg trials—where judgments regarding Nazi war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Holocaust laid a foundation for future understanding of genocide—and the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which codified the crime. Mass atrocities in the second half of the 20th century devastated millions, from Cambodia and Guatemala to Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, and the report describes how trials grappling with those crimes refocused our understanding of genocide. As important as understanding past jurisprudence around genocide is, Ambassador Scheffer makes clear that it does not supplant the importance of working to prevent and effectively respond to genocide. We hope that this resource will not only deepen readers’ understanding of genocide but also inspire people to rededicate themselves to ending this horrible scourge.
Topic:
Genocide, International Law, Courts, Holocaust, Jurisprudence, and Nuremberg
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Navigating Duality: The Struggle for Self-Determination of Palestine and in Postcolonial Post-Westphalian Global Order

Author:
Janees Rafiq
Publication Date:
01-2026
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
The Charter of the United Nations has postulated its faith in the international community to ensure prompt and effective action; however, the UN has failed to discharge its duties towards maintaining or restoring global peace and harmony through its specific powers, including the use of humanitarian intervention. The ongoing crises in Ukraine and Palestine have highlighted the sheer apathy and ineffectiveness of international law, particularly its capacity to enforce special powers for gross human rights violations in Ukraine and Palestine. Although both Ukraine and Palestine are entitled to self-determination, the West’s response has been starkly different for each. Ukraine has received extensive support from Western states, while in the case of Palestine, the occupying state appears to benefit from Western protection, despite the International Court’s characterisation of the situation as a potential genocide against Palestinians. This disparity raises critical questions about the impartiality of international law, which theoretically holds no bias among nation-states. The research paper is based on a doctrinal study of how, in a globalised world, powerful nations' divergent responses to conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine further illustrate duplicity and inconsistency. While it remains a vital tool, it is also susceptible to political biases rooted in colonial-era legacies, particularly visible in Western states’ selective responses. Addressing this issue requires confronting the remnants of a colonial mentality that persists within the Western application of international law. The author will focus on a fundamental question: how to decolonise the application of international law to ensure equitable treatment in situations like Palestine, where the application appears markedly different from Ukraine.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, United Nations, and Self-Determination
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Middle East, and Palestine

3. Critical Perspectives on Relations Between Iran, Israel and the United States (3/17/26)

Author:
Juan Cole and Mojtada Mahdavi
Publication Date:
03-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Critical Perspectives on Relations Between Iran, Israel and the United States with Dr. Juan Cole, University of Michigan & Dr. Mojtada Mahdavi, University of Alberta (3/17/26) Israel and the United States' military attacks on Iran have prompted heated debates on the legality, political motives, and global economic impact of this latest war in the Middle East. Join the Rutgers Law Center for Security, Race and Rights for a critical analysis of the history, politics, and international relations between Israel, the United States and Iran by experts on Iran and the broader Middle East.
Topic:
International Relations, International Law, Armed Conflict, and Global Economy
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, North America, and United States of America

4. Justice For Some: Law and the Question for Palestine with Noura Erakat (Episode 59)

Author:
Sahar Aziz and Noura Erakat
Publication Date:
05-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
How has international law been strategically deployed to shape the Palestinian struggle for freedom across a century-long arc, from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to present-day wars in Gaza. Join host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) in conversation with Noura Erakat about the promise and risk of international law in the pursuit of Palestinian freedom and the broader relationship between law and liberation. Our discussion examines the concept of "legal work"—the deliberate efforts by powerful actors to bend legal doctrine to their objectives—and how this has transformed international law to advance certain interests over others. We delve into the "sovereign exception" framework that has enabled the creation of exceptional legal categories excluding Palestinians from otherwise applicable protections, from the British Mandate period through Israeli occupation and colonization. Legal strategies have been used to consolidate territorial control, facilitate dispossession, and legitimize military tactics that compromise civilian protections globally, while also exploring moments when weaker actors have leveraged law's emancipatory potential through strategic and tactical ingenuity. Professor Noura Erakat’s groundbreaking work demonstrates that the law's current outcomes were never inevitable—that law is politics, and its meaning depends on political intervention by states and people alike. Through original interviews with principals from Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and comprehensive historical analysis, she reveals how Palestinian leaders gained significant legal victories at the UN before eventually exchanging hard-won international recognition for a bilateral peace process that accelerated their dispossession. Her work shows both the profound limitations of international law when serving the powerful and its counterintuitive utility when mobilized in support of political movements seeking liberation.
Topic:
International Law, Sovereignty, Law, and Justice
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

5. Defending before the International Criminal Court: An Interview with Mylène Dimitri

Author:
Mylène Dmitri, Cailan Cumming, Kate Gibson, and Paul Williams
Publication Date:
01-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
This blog is part of the Defending Justice series, an initiative of the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) to promote an eclectic array of voices within the field of international criminal law. As part of our broader efforts to strengthen institutions of justice, this series seeks to create space for dialogue around the varied perspectives and concerns that shape these institutions. With that aim in mind, we interviewed a series of defense practitioners working in international criminal law and distilled their experiences and insights into a series of first-person blogs, preserving the spirit and voice of those interviews.
Topic:
International Law, Interview, and International Criminal Court (ICC)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Why Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine Cannot Be Cured by a Vote: A Legal and Historical Reality Check

Author:
Greta Ramelli, Kateryna Kyrychenko, David Griffiths, Clyde Freeman, Anastasia Zaluckyj, Dmyro Panchenko, and Rahul Ramesh
Publication Date:
06-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
A persistent assumption in some policy debates is that concessions of territories under Russia’s occupation will offer a pathway to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Trump administration has repeatedly supported this thesis. While European officials have generally been more cautious, the possibility of territorial compromise has nevertheless entered public debate, including in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have, however, distinguished between acknowledging the difficulty of restoring control by force in the near term and legally recognizing Russia’s claims over occupied territory. Yet, this argument rests on a critical assumption that ceding territories would be sufficient to stop Russia’s aggression. This premise is far from settled. Analysts have repeatedly noted that Russia’s war aims extend well beyond Donbas, Crimea, or the mere acquisition of territory. The conduct of the war, characterized by war crimes and crimes against humanity, including systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure, forced deportations, and efforts to erase Ukrainian cultural identity, raises serious doubts about whether any concession, large or small, would meaningfully alter Russia’s strategic objectives. The trajectory of the war suggests the opposite: that Russia’s war is more than just an attempt to gain strategic territories and that ceding some territories is unlikely to bring peace. Even if it is doubtful that territorial concessions would meaningfully alter the course of Russia’s campaign, it is still necessary to examine all potential scenarios that could influence how the war might eventually conclude. Considering these possibilities does not suggest that concessions are advisable or likely to succeed; it just reflects the need to understand the full range of legal, historical, and practical constraints that would shape any hypothetical settlement. Assuming (purely for the sake of analysis) that territorial concessions could form part of a hypothetical negotiation, far more difficult questions immediately arise: how would such concessions be made? What legal mechanisms would be required? What constraints would international law impose? What limits does Ukrainian constitutional law create? And what can be learned from past conflicts in which referenda, territorial claims, or post‑conflict votes were used or proposed? These questions are not abstract. They go to the heart of whether territorial concessions are legally possible and historically realistic, even before one considers whether they are politically desirable. This blog post therefore examines the legal architecture, domestic constitutional constraints, and historical precedents that shape what is and is not possible.
Topic:
International Law, History, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

7. Roundtable Blog: Four Years Since Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion Into Ukraine: What Have We Learned?

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
02-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
This blogpost is part of the PILPG Lawyering Peace roundtable series. Rather than a traditional co-authored article, it presents a curated set of expert reflections from members of PILPG’s Peace Fellows and Ambassador Circle networks. Marking four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, this roundtable examines how the war has reshaped international law, global security architecture, accountability mechanisms, and our understanding of modern aggression. Anniversaries invite commemoration. This roundtable instead invites assessment. Four years on, the international community possesses insights that were unavailable in the early days of the invasion. The war has tested the resilience of collective defense systems, exposed the limitations and adaptability of international institutions, accelerated transformations in military technology and information warfare, and catalyzed new approaches to sanctions, energy security, and legal accountability. It has also revealed both the extraordinary durability of Ukrainian statehood and the profound human costs of prolonged high-intensity conflict. This collection seeks to move beyond retrospective narrative toward forward-looking analysis. What assumptions proved mistaken? What institutional innovations have emerged? How has the legal framework governing aggression and atrocity crimes evolved under pressure? What lessons should policymakers internalize to deter future wars of aggression? By elevating diverse expert perspectives across disciplines, this roundtable aims to distill the most consequential lessons of the past four years — and to consider how they should inform the future of peacebuilding, deterrence, and the international legal order.
Topic:
Security, International Law, Accountability, Armed Conflict, Russia-Ukraine War, and Invasion
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

8. PILPG Roundtable Blog: Creating the Conditions for Peace in 2026 - Expert Perspectives on Ukraine’s Strategic Position and Negotiations

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
07-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the debate over Ukraine’s path to a just and durable peace has entered a new phase. Recent developments on the battlefield, renewed diplomatic contacts, and shifts in international support have prompted fresh discussion about Ukraine’s strategic position and the conditions under which negotiations could contribute to a lasting settlement. To continue this conversation, PILPG invited members of its Ukraine Peace Negotiations Working Group, former senior diplomats, ambassadors, international prosecutors, and leading experts in international law, peace negotiations, and security to share their views on three questions: How should Ukraine’s current strategic position be assessed? When, if at all, should negotiations become a priority? And what should Ukraine’s international partners do now to maximize the prospects for a just and durable peace? While the experts approached these questions from different professional backgrounds, several points of agreement stood out. They broadly agreed that Ukraine’s position is stronger than battlefield maps alone suggest, that negotiations should not come at the expense of continued support, and that lasting peace will require careful preparation long before any final agreement is reached.
Topic:
International Law, Negotiation, Peace, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

9. Extraordinary Accession: Why Europe Must Bring Ukraine into the European Union Now

Author:
David M. Crane
Publication Date:
05-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
Europe stands at a geopolitical crossroads. Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine has shattered the illusion that the post-Cold War order could be preserved through incrementalism, dialogue, or strategic ambiguity. Moscow is betting quite openly that Europe will hesitate, delay, and ultimately retreat from the historic question of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. The Kremlin’s strategic calculation is simple: Europe will not bring Ukraine into the EU in the short or medium term, regardless of political declarations or symbolic gestures such as the Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kyiv in March 2026. This policy paper argues the opposite. Europe must bring Ukraine into the European Union now - not as a conventional accession, not as a “fast track,” but as an extraordinary accession that recognizes the singular nature of Ukraine’s struggle and the existential stakes for Europe itself. Political membership should be granted immediately, with the technical and treaty-based obligations phased in over time. This is not only feasible; it is strategically necessary. Ukraine’s accession would send an unmistakable signal to Russia and the international community: Ukraine is Europe - permanently, irreversibly, and without qualification.
Topic:
International Law, European Union, Geopolitics, Russia-Ukraine War, and Enlargement
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

10. PILPG Roundtable Blog Part I: Ukraine’s EU Accession: Perspectives of Enlargement During the War

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
05-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
This roundtable explores one of the most consequential strategic questions facing Europe today: Ukraine’s accession to the European Union amid an ongoing war of aggression. Building on discussions within the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) Ukraine Peace Negotiations Working Group, this piece brings together expert perspectives on how enlargement policy is being reshaped by geopolitics, security imperatives, and the pursuit of a just and durable peace. Presented under the Lawyering Peace initiative, this roundtable situates EU accession not merely as a technical legal process, but as a defining test of Europe’s political will and strategic identity. As Ukraine continues to defend itself, its European trajectory has become inseparable from broader questions of deterrence, stability, and the future of the European project itself. On 10 April 2026, members of PILPG’s Ukraine Peace Negotiations Working Group convened to assess the evolving trajectory of Ukraine’s EU accession process. More than a decade after the Maidan protests set Ukraine on its European path, accession now unfolds under radically different conditions: amid full-scale war, shifting transatlantic dynamics, and renewed debates about Europe’s strategic autonomy.
Topic:
International Law, European Union, Russia-Ukraine War, and Enlargement
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

11. The Global South and the Russian War on Ukraine: Structural Constraints on Diplomatic Alignment: An assessment of the political, economic, and institutional factors shaping multilateral engagement with Russia's war against Ukraine

Author:
Paul R. Williams
Publication Date:
03-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
Three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a striking diplomatic gap persists between the breadth of international condemnation and the depth of practical alignment. While 141 states voted in the UN General Assembly to demand Russia's immediate withdrawal in March 2022, the countries that have joined Western-led sanctions regimes, restricted Russian access to their financial systems, or curtailed bilateral trade with Moscow represent a narrower group. That gap is not incidental and it reflects durable structural realities across the Global South that are rooted in economic dependencies, regional security pressures, institutional history, and the architecture of development finance. Understanding those realities is a prerequisite for any realistic assessment of how the conflict's diplomatic landscape might evolve. A related question follows from this analysis: given the structural depth of these constraints, whether Ukraine's diplomatic strategy would be better served by consolidating and sustaining existing Western commitments rather than investing heavily in outreach to states whose non-alignment is unlikely to shift within any operationally relevant timeframe.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Law, Sanctions, Multilateralism, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Global South

12. Roundtable Blog: Voting Under Duress — Referenda, Aggression, and the Limits of Democratic Consent

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
02-2026
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
This post is part of the PILPG Lawyering Justice roundtable series. Rather than a traditional co-authored article, it presents a curated set of expert reflections from members of PILPG’s Ukraine Peace Negotiations Working Group. Drawing on a closed-door discussion held on 6 February 2026, this roundtable examines one of the most legally and politically fraught questions facing Ukraine: whether a national referendum can play a legitimate role in a peace process shaped by aggression, occupation, and mass displacement. Referenda are commonly understood as the highest expression of democratic will. Yet in contexts defined by coercion and force, democratic instruments themselves may be distorted into tools that legitimise unlawful outcomes. This roundtable explores the legal limits of consent under international law, the precedent-setting risks of post-aggression referenda, and the strategic choices Ukraine faces in navigating popular participation without eroding its sovereignty or the international legal order.
Topic:
International Law, Voting, Referendum, Russia-Ukraine War, and Aggression
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

13. ICC Investigation of Biden Administration Officials for Aiding Israeli War Crimes with Sarah Leah Whitson

Author:
Sarah Whitson and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
05-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
In January of 2025, the human rights organization, Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN) (https://dawnmena.org/) , made a formal request with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate former U.S. officials President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for their accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. With the support of ICC-registered lawyers and other war crimes experts, the submission details a pattern of deliberate and purposeful decisions by these officials to provide military, political, and public support to facilitate Israeli crimes in Gaza; this support included at least $17.9 billion of weapons transfers, intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, diplomatic protection, and official endorsement of Israeli crimes, despite knowledge of how such support had and would substantially enable grave abuses. Join host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) in conversation with Sarah Leah Whitson (https://dawnmena.org/experts/sarah-le...) , executive director of DAWN, about the key facts and law supporting the request for the International Criminal Court to investigate Biden officials for aiding and abetting Israeli War Crimes in Gaza.
Topic:
International Law, War Crimes, International Criminal Court (ICC), and Joe Biden
Political Geography:
Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and United States of America

14. 30 years of the Advisory Opinion on the Legality of Nuclear Weapons: eppur si muove

Author:
Lucas Carlos Lima
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:
The 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons remains a pivotal reference in international law and disarmament debates. While the Opinion did not categorically prohibit nuclear weapons, its reasoning has been widely cited in legal and diplomatic arenas. This study examines the Opinion’s long-term influence through three key elements: its incorporation into state practice, its role in international litigation, and its impact on the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Employing a methodology centered on primary sources, this research evaluates the Opinion’s relevance in shaping international legal norms and assesses whether it still accurately reflects the state of international law on nuclear disarmament.
Topic:
International Law, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, and International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. A Pacifism for Our Times

Author:
Antonio Patriota
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:
Growing trends of unilateralism are encouraging violence and threatening a systemic breakdown of international law and order. Change must come, and soon
Topic:
International Law, Violence, International Order, and Unilateralism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Displacement and Erasure in Palestine: The Politics of Hope

Author:
Noa Shaindlinger
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
The lecture explores the ways in which Palestinians negotiate physical and symbolic erasures by producing their own archives and historical narratives. With a focus on the city of Jaffa and its displaced Palestinian population, Professor Noa Shaindlinger argues that the Israeli state ‘buried’ histories of mass expulsions and spatial appropriations.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, and Justice
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

17. Arbitral Jurisdiction in Crimea Investment Disputes: Connecting the Dots

Author:
Petro Halimurka
Publication Date:
07-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Abstract:
Under normal circumstances, bilateral investment treaties (BIT) are designed to promote the mutual enhancement of investment climate and to guarantee that foreign investors are treated no worse than investors of host and third States. In many respects, maintaining such relations is believed to reflect economic globalization and the increasingly widespread acceptance of such legal standards as non-discrimination and of striking a balance between national and private foreign interests. Practice shows, however, that the equilibrium of an investment treaty regime can sometimes be disturbed by a chain of actions governed by a field of law with a purpose of a completely different nature, such as the law of armed conflict. Such an interaction can be observed in relations between Russia and certain Ukrainian investors. Following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, a number of investors, some of whose assets were based in Crimea, commenced investment arbitration proceedings in an attempt to recover some of their rights and interests. This article examines the jurisdictional practice of these arbitral tribunals, along with a critical analysis of the relevant provisions of the Ukraine-Russia BIT, as well as other norms of international law operative in relations developed.
Topic:
International Law, Investment, Arbitration, Jurisdiction, and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT)
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Crimea

18. Thomas Buergenthal and the Americas: A Comprehensive Contribution to Human Rights Protection

Author:
Kai Ambos
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Abstract:
While Thomas Buergenthal’s contribution to the field of human rights is certainly of global importance, it had a particular impact in the Americas, especially during the crucial initial phase of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) with the Court as its core institution on which Buergenthal served as one of the first group of judges from 1979 to 1991. In a nutshell, Buergenthal’s contribution may be characterized as a comprehensive and decisive effort to the regional protection of human rights in a threefold way: prudent proactivity (A.), active promotion and optimization (B.), interaction and critical follow-up (C.). At the same time, Buergenthal pursued a strategic-progressive approach which offers valuable lessons for the protection of human rights going well beyond the Americas. Buergenthal’s contribution to human rights and to international law in general cannot be overestimated. His principled and at the same time prudent strategic approach will be greatly missed, especially in our challenging times where international law is under attack at various fronts.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Protection, and Thomas Buergenthal
Political Geography:
South America, Central America, and Americas

19. Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights: Towards an Advanced International Binding Regulation?

Author:
Takis Vidalis
Publication Date:
07-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Abstract:
With the rapid development of AI applications in the most important areas of economic, political and social life, the regime for the protection of fundamental rights has been significantly affected. This reality gives rise to initiatives for new legislation at international, supranational and national level. At the level of international law in particular, this legislation currently focuses on the formulation of general principles and guidelines. What is lacking is more specific regulation in situations where the introduction of AI causes uncertainty as to the protection of specific rights, particularly where conflicts arise between them. This article attempts to formulate proposals for such a more specific regulation, based on widely acknowledged principles of international law. Given that technological development and its impact on today’s societies know no national limitations, the adoption of this ‘next step’ in international law may well determine the smooth adaptation of AI to the values of democratic societies.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Regulation, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. The Montreux Convention and its Importance for International Peace and Security

Author:
Ioannis Antonopoulos
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL)
Abstract:
Since its conclusion, the Montreux Convention regarding the regime of the Straits (1936) constitutes an important pillar of the international order. This may be proven by many historical events from the 20th century until today: From the application of the Convention in WWII to its recent invocation in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. The Convention’s significance derives from its subject-matter, the freedom of transit through the Dardanelles/Turkish Straits in regard to the warships and aircraft in time of peace and in time of war. This is a legal analysis of the Montreux Convention under the scope of International Law providing a brief look at the historical background of events that have led to the signature of the Convention, an extensive presentation of the legal framework of its provisions regarding passage of warships and overflight of aircraft, as well as, some thoughts on its importance for the international peace and security.
Topic:
Security, International Law, History, Peace, International Order, and Montreux Convention
Political Geography:
Europe