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In a recent landmark decision Moldova v. Komstroy, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 2 September 2021 found intra-EU investment arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty...

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul, the news has abounded in heart-breaking images of people trying to flee Afghanistan. Following some sympathetic responses, however, the discourse has shifted to...

Dear Professor Peters, dear Mr. Schäfer – to begin with the genesis of your anthology Politics and the Histories of International Law: How did this publication project come about? Where...

Liebe Frau Professorin Peters, lieber Herr Schäfer - um mit der Entstehungsgeschichte Ihres Sammelbandes „Politics and the Histories of International Law“ zu beginnen: Wie kam es zu diesem Publikationsprojekt? Wo würden Sie...

With this blogpost we start our new interview series ‘International Law and the Political’. Regardless of one’s school of thought, it can hardly be contested today that international law is...

As described in Part I of our post, non-legally binding arrangements (NBAs) play an  ever larger role in foreign policy. As a response to their growing popularity and to avoid...

When thinking of international law, most lawyers’ first association might not concern non-legally binding arrangements (NBAs) between States (also described as ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ or ’MoUs’). After all, the terms...

How do – and should – we classify offensive cyber capabilities? Particularly in the context of international humanitarian law, the question whether offensive cyber capabilities are weapons, means of warfare,...

After the horrible events of the last weeks, policy makers around the world will soon think about their future relationship with the new Taliban leadership in Afghanistan. Whereas some States...

The world is facing climate emergency, one of a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing environmental crises. In 2017, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries signed the World Scientists’...

Mit dem Buch "Die konkrete Utopie der Menschenrechte" wollte ich kein fertiges Konzept vorlegen, sondern einen Beitrag in einem offenen Diskussionsprozess. Diese Einladung zur Debatte scheint - auch dank des...

A new academic year is about to start in many jurisdictions around the globe. Völkerrechtsblog is back after the summer break in Europe with some important personal news: We are...

Today at 8:45 am CEST, we will livestream Prof. Dr. Sundhya Pahuja and Prof. Dr. Shaun McVeigh's keynote here. They will engage in a conversation on the theme of the...

Today at 5 pm CEST, we will livestream Professor Achiume’s keynote ‘Race, Borders and Jurisdiction’ here. This keynote is part of this year’s AjV-DGIR conference on ‘Jurisdiction – Who Speaks International...

 Ist im Krieg wirklich alles erlaubt? Zumindest nicht, wenn es nach dem sogenannten humanitären Völkerrecht geht. Das regelt nämlich - insbesondere in den Genfer Konventionen -, wie unnötiges Leiden...

Delimitation disputes in Latin America must face a constitutional reality: territory clauses. How States interpret their constitution and their territory clause in Latin America is crucial to the authority of...

The end of the Second War in Nagorno-Karabakh and the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Azerbaijan President, the Armenian Prime Minister, and the Russian President on the night...

What “law” are specialised international economic tribunals authorised to apply? This seems to be a simple question, but the inconsistent practice of the WTO and investor-state tribunals suggests otherwise. Different...

“Colonel Powell, Ma’am, I am the pilot in command responsible for releasing the weapon. I have the right to ask for the CDE to be run again. I will not...

The legal concept of jurisdiction refers to an actor’s competence to provide binding answers to legal questions. Questions of legal validity cannot be answered without examining the notion of jurisdiction....

Today marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. For many Syrians, survivor-led initiatives and family associations, this is a day of mourning. At least 100.000 Syrians have...

Was I writing a sequel to Mahabharata? Surabhi Ranganathan’s comment wriggled its way under my skin to give eloquent expression to a tradition of storytelling that she suggested was evoked...