Die Rückkehr des „Bloody November” im Iran
24.11.2022
Das International People’s Tribunal on Iran’s Atrocities (dt. Das Internationale Tribunal zu den Gräueltaten des Iran, kurz Aban-Tribunal) verkündete nach zweijährigen Ermittlungen zu den Ereignissen vom November 2019 in Iran...
Read more
The Return of Iran’s “Bloody November”?
21.11.2022
On 30 September 2022, the International People’s Tribunal on Iran’s Atrocities (short Aban Tribunal) delivered its judgment after two years of investigation into the events of November 2019 in Iran....
Read more
Dealing with Loss and Damage at COP27
18.11.2022
The fact that the topic of "loss and damage" was placed at the top of the agenda in the run-up to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh is a climate diplomacy milestone....
Read more
Foreign Election Interference
16.11.2022
Prior to the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have warned that foreign actors may create and disseminate disinformation to influence the outcomes...
Read more
Teaching in Non-Western Universities
07.11.2022
I just returned from a 2-week stay in Rwanda. I visited the National University of Rwanda where I gave some lectures. The visit was part of an ongoing collaboration between...
Read more
Reflections on Learning under Sands’ Tutelage
02.11.2022
Since 1923, scores of doctoral students, diplomats and international legal professionals from different nationalities have attended the Academy’s Courses. This has also included artists who attended, according to Judge Hilary...
Read more
Forestalling the Responsibility to Protect Against Ecocide
31.10.2022
Tremendous academic debate has ensued after the Stop Ecocide Foundation’s 2021 proposal to amend the Rome Statute in such a way that a new “fifth” international crime of “ecocide” would...
Read more
The Sham “Referenda” at Gunpoint
20.10.2022
Despite ongoing fighting in the four partly occupied Ukrainian regions Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, “referenda” were held between 23 and 27 September 2022 under farcical modalities. Ballots were collected...
Read more
Legal and Judicial Responses to Disaster Displacement in Italy, Austria and Sweden
19.10.2022
Chiara Scissa
Francesca Biondi Dal Monte
Matthew Scott
Margit Ammer
Monika Mayrhofer
Climate change and the growing climate crisis are expected to force more and more people to leave their homes. EU law and policy, however, do not explicitly address disaster displacement,...
Read more
Behind the Curtain
17.10.2022
It is increasingly difficult to form social relations, to work, or to get information about the work of government or public offices without having access to information and communications technologies...
Read more
Rewriting als Methode
14.10.2022
Es war zur Jahrtausendwende, als das Rewriting in der Luft lag. Und das tut es heute wieder. Rewriting steht hier für die Methode, Gerichtsentscheidungen aus spezifischen Perspektiven und Regeln neu...
Read more
Less a Wave Than a Tsunami
11.10.2022
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) faces an unprecedented procedural situation in the Ukraine v. Russia case, as a result of the never-before-seen number of states intervening in the case...
Read more
The ICJ’s Only Friend in Ukraine v. Russia
07.10.2022
On 18 August 2022, the International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’ or ‘the Court’) issued a press statement announcing that the European Union (‘EU’ or the ‘Union’) had furnished the Court...
Read more
Tiptoeing Around the Right to Life
04.10.2022
When the UN Human Rights Committee published its views on the case of Billy et al. v. Australia (Torres Strait Islanders) on September 23rd 2022, it made history as the...
Read more
Take It or Break It?
28.09.2022
Louis Valentino Kolkmeyer
Vor gut sechs Jahren hat das britische Volk per Referendum für den Austritt des Vereinigten Königreichs (VK) aus der Europäischen Union (EU) gestimmt (Brexit). Dystopien wie ein frequenter Gebrauch von...
Read more
Fortifying the Crime of Ecocide Through Transitional Justice Mechanisms
26.09.2022
Recently, the crime of ecocide, which has been proposed to be added to the Rome Statute, has garnered much attention. Scholars have underlined both the definitional gaps and the practical...
Read more
On Ceasefire Agreements and (Counter)Offensives
23.09.2022
Victor Santos Mariottini De Oliveira
On September 13th 2022, hostilities broke out once again along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia in connection with the long-lasting dispute for Nagorno-Karabakh. Reports estimate that heavy artillery shelling...
Read more
Zwischen normativem Anspruch und prozessualer Wirklichkeit – Teil II
21.09.2022
Nicolai Bülte
Franziska Gruber
Stefan Vasovic
Der erste Teil dieses Beitrags ist hier erschienen. Die prozessuale Hürde: Immunitäten Größter Vorteil – und größter Streitpunkt – einer internationalisierten Strafverfolgung ist die potentielle Umgehung von Immunitäten. Während...
Read more
Zwischen normativem Anspruch und prozessualer Wirklichkeit – Teil I
21.09.2022
Nicolai Bülte
Franziska Gruber
Stefan Vasovic
Seit am 24.02.2022 russische Truppen in die Ukraine einmarschiert sind, scheint das Völkerstrafrecht eine Renaissance zu erleben. Der Internationale Strafgerichtshof (IStGH) nahm bereits wenige Tage nach Kriegsbeginn Ermittlungen auf, eine...
Read more
What Have the Recent UN Attempts to Regulate Lethal Autonomous Weapons Brought?
19.09.2022
Lutiana Valadares Fernandes Barbosa
Gustavo Macedo
Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) are no longer science fiction. They have already been deployed in real scenarios. According to the Panel of Experts on Libya established pursuant to United...
Read more
A Surprisingly Double Edged Sword
14.09.2022
In March 2022, France passed a bill titled, ‘Law Aimed at Strengthening Parental Control over Means of Access to the Internet’ (“the Law”) which will amend Article L-34-9-3 of the...
Read more
Mission Accomplished
12.09.2022
There are two things every development agency does when launching a new program: First, formulating a robust theory of change, and second, devising an exit strategy. These steps serve to...
Read more
Dead Fish in the River Oder
08.09.2022
A gigantic ecological catastrophe is unfolding in Central Europe: Thousands of dead fish were found in the river Oder since the end of July, now amounting to more than 100...
Read more
Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Peacekeepers in the Central African Republic
06.09.2022
On the difficult path from conflict to peace, peacekeepers can unfortunately become perpetrators of violence against the populations they seek to secure. Peacekeeping has been accused of occasionally creating a...
Read more
Intergenerational Justice: From Courtroom to Politics?
29.08.2022
How to think long term in a short-term world? This is the question at the heart of Roman Krznaric’ book ‘The Good Ancestor’. Long-term thinking implies taking future generations into...
Read more
Was wird aus der Beistandsklausel der EU?
08.08.2022
Finnland und Schweden haben seit dem Abend des 28. Juni Gewissheit: Beide werden Mitglieder im Verteidigungsbündnis der NATO. Nach einigen Zugeständnissen an die Türkei (ebenfalls NATO-Mitglied) können nun die Verfahren...
Read more
How India’s Legislation Risks Impunity for Genocidal Speech
22.07.2022
Historically, genocides have been preceded by the gradual yet wide dissemination of speech targeting and demonizing particular communities, such as in the Rwandan genocide. The enormity of such speech is...
Read more
All That Glitters Is Not Gold(fish)
18.07.2022
At the twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) (12-17 June 2022), WTO Members reached a landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (hereinafter: “the Agreement”). Pending ratification, the...
Read more
The Pandemic Treaty Dilemma
06.07.2022
On April 12th and 13th 2022, the Intergovernmental Negotiation Body (INB) held public hearings at the seat of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the elaboration of a future instrument...
Read more
In Remembrance of Professor Cançado Trindade
29.06.2022
Saudade is a special word in Portuguese. It can convey, all at once, deep nostalgia, the sadness of departures, and the joy and gratitude for memories of good times. May our...
Read more
Suspending Belarus and Russia from the World Bank and EBRD
13.06.2022
Francesco Seatzu
Paolo Vargiu
On 2 March 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (hereinafter the Bank or the World Bank) issued a Joint Statement announcing the suspension of their...
Read more
Summoning Solidarity Through Sanctions
08.06.2022
While the EU, US, and allies are increasingly imposing sanctions against Russia for its use of force in Ukraine, not as many followers have been attracted to join the sanctioning...
Read more
The Birth of Global Environmentalism
01.06.2022
50 years ago, at least three events occurred that had a major and lasting impact on the (legal) relationship between human and nature. The release of the photograph “The Blue...
Read more
On the Restriction of International Organizations’ Immunity by the Supreme Court of the United States
30.05.2022
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) financed the construction of a coal-based power plant in Gujarat, India in 2008. In 2015, local fishermen and farmers sued the IFC as the power...
Read more
Exploring Individuals’ Defenses against Denationalization under International Law
27.05.2022
While States have long possessed the power to denationalize their citizens (i.e. to non-consensually withdraw their citizenship), the exercise of this power has seen a resurgence in the aftermath of...
Read more
Don’t Pull the Plug on the Energy Charter Treaty
16.05.2022
Johannes Tropper
Kilian Wagner
As the Earth is facing global warming and the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement seem ever more distant (see new IPCC report), another international treaty has been receiving...
Read more
What Is the Role of Unilateral Cyber Sanctions in the Context of the Global Cybersecurity Law-Making?
10.05.2022
María Vásquez Callo-Müller
Iryna Bogdanova
Cybersecurity is part and parcel of the modern concept of national security. The growing incidence and severity of cyber-attacks attest to the veracity of this statement. Moreover, the development and...
Read more
No Citizenship is No Utopia
05.05.2022
Joshua Edward Haynes-Mannering
The word ‘utopia’ has come to denote a near-perfect social order. However, perhaps due to the awful violence unleashed by various 20th Century regimes in pursuit of supposed utopias, the...
Read more
The Question of Expelling Recalcitrant Member States
03.05.2022
Most international organisations have not been empowered to expel Member States that violate their obligations, the European Union being a notable example. One of them that does so is the...
Read more
Some Refugees are Welcome, Others Not So Much
28.04.2022
Over a quarter of Ukraine’s population has been uprooted since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that...
Read more
The Effects of the Military Operation against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front
25.04.2022
Sophia Muina
Niharika Goel
With the onset of a law enforcement operation by the Ethiopian government against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), violent clashes have resulted in hundreds of deaths, thousands of displaced persons and...
Read more
Attacking Through or Against Data?
22.04.2022
It is a well-established fact that cyber operations have permeated the reality of armed conflict and have become a powerful weapon in the hands of a belligerent (as demonstrated lately),...
Read more
How to End an Illegal War?
21.04.2022
Kirsten Schmalenbach
Alexander Prantl
It is a commonplace that wars are ended by peace treaties, and that is what many hope for in case of Russia’s ‘war of choice’ in Ukraine, which has been...
Read more
Erlaubte Interessensvertretung oder unzulässige Einmischung?
20.04.2022
In den letzten Wochen hat sich in der deutschen Öffentlichkeit eine Debatte über die Rolle des ukrainischen Botschafters in Deutschland entfacht. In diese politische Debatte hält zunehmend ein juristisches Argument...
Read more
In Rescue of Rescuers Amidst Naval Warfare
19.04.2022
The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has led the international community into a united voice of conscience vis-à-vis the protection of the most vulnerable amidst the course of hostilities. Representing the naval dimension...
Read more
Russia and the Jessup 2022 Dilemma
15.04.2022
Fabienne Arnold
Katja Bieker
Coco Haag
Antonia Schueller
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s oldest and one of the most prestigious competitions in international law. It purports to ‘encourage communication among students...
Read more
From Russia Without Law
14.04.2022
Effective security guarantees. That is what Ukraine proposed as a precondition for successful peace negotiations with the Russian Federation. The chief delegate emphasised that “the mistake that was once in...
Read more
Domestic Criminal Courts as Gap-Fillers?
12.04.2022
Shortly after the Russian invasion and long before the Bucha massacre became public, scholars started a brainstorming on how to put those on trial who committed the crime that contains...
Read more
Awarding Damages Flexibly
11.04.2022
Sebastian Lukic
Lili Hanna Feher
On 19 December 2005, the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) handed down its judgment in the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) v Uganda (Judgment)....
Read more
Committed in Ukraine, Prosecuted in Germany?
07.04.2022
Public authorities are not particularly famous for quick reactions. However, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has not only triggered a swift response from the German Government alongside its...
Read more
Can we Blame the United Nations for the Crisis in Ukraine?
06.04.2022
One of the most frequent questions asked by students on the current crisis in Ukraine relates to the reform of the United Nations (UN). Following discussions on sanctions, military assistance,...
Read more
Sovereignty and Non-Intervention
01.04.2022
It is abundantly clear by now that China will not criticize the Russian Federation’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, started on 24 February 2022, despite China’s much-touted strict support for the...
Read more
Two Ways of Thinking About Fossils
31.03.2022
Palaeontologist Prof. Dr. Eberhard Frey, curator of the Karlsruhe Natural History Museum and involved in the study of several fossils that sparked considerable criticism concerning their legal and ethical acquisition, retired in...
Read more
ILC Draft Article 7 on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction
30.03.2022
In 2017, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted Draft Article 7 ('the article') on the immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction. The article identified six crimes under international...
Read more
Russia’s Plans for ‘Nationalizing’ Foreign-Owned Companies
29.03.2022
The ongoing Russian military invasion into Ukraine has backfired on the Russian economy. As a response to the invasion, economic sanctions have been adopted by European and other states targeting...
Read more
Lessons for the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence from the German Supply Chain Act
28.03.2022
Philip Nedelcu
Stefan Schäferling
On February 23, 2022, the European Commission published its proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (EC Draft). While the document presented by the Commission is only a...
Read more
The ICJ Order in Ukraine v. Russia
28.03.2022
On March 16th, 2022, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), handed over its Order on provisional measures in the case concerning...
Read more
The Individual Expressions of Judges in the ICJ Provisional Measures Order in Ukraine v. Russia
19.03.2022
Last Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its much-awaited order on provisional measures in the case brought by Ukraine against Russia’s military invasion. The Court decided on three...
Read more
Of Bullshit, Lies and ‘Demonstrably Rubbish’ Justifications in International Law
18.03.2022
In an essay titled ‘The Importance of International Law’, Sir Arthur Watts raised the interesting question of why states feel that they have to provide legal justifications for their actions...
Read more
“No chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction were developed on my land”
17.03.2022
Ideally, political actions and decisions should be based on a transparent, solid, and credible factual foundation. When different participants pursue different interests, this ideal runs at risk of being compromised,...
Read more
„No chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction were developed on my land”
17.03.2022
Idealerweise sollten politische Handlungen und Entscheidungen auf einer transparenten, soliden und glaubwürdigen Faktengrundlage beruhen. Wo Akteure unterschiedliche Interessen verfolgen, läuft dieses Ideal Gefahr, unter die Räder zu kommen; sei es,...
Read more
The Emergency Special Session on Ukraine
17.03.2022
On March 2nd 2022, the UN General Assembly (GA), convened by the Security Council (SC) for an Emergency Special Session on Ukraine, adopted a resolution that, inter alia, demanded the...
Read more
On Critique and Renewal in Times of Crisis
16.03.2022
Barrie Sander
Immi Tallgren
Many of us are struggling to absorb the news coming out of Ukraine. Putin’s reckless and unjustified invasion has already generated significant loss of life, millions of refugees, and nuclear...
Read more
Between Relief and War Crimes
16.03.2022
As the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its third week, Russian forces continue their assaults against key Ukrainian cities. Amid heavy fighting, Ukraine and Russia agreed to establish...
Read more
The Weaponisation of International Law in Ukraine
15.03.2022
A provocative feature of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been invocation by Russian officials of the legal language of “sovereignty”, “self-defence”, “genocide” and of “international law” itself. In tactical terms,...
Read more
Media Pluralism in the Americas
14.03.2022
In its first judgment on community radio broadcasting, notified on 17 December 2021, the Inter-American Court (Court or IACtHR) indicated that states are obliged to guarantee access to radio broadcasting...
Read more
Parting Paths – Russia’s Inevitable Exit From the Council of Europe
12.03.2022
Isabella Risini
Andrew Forde
Since 24 February 2022, Europe has been shaken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This blatant violation of international law led to the suspension of Russia’s rights of representation at...
Read more
Neither Neutral nor Party to the Conflict?
09.03.2022
Russia's attack on Ukraine marks a profound turning point in Germany's foreign and security policy. For the first time, Germany supplies weapons to a party to an armed conflict. At...
Read more
Weder neutral noch Konfliktpartei?
09.03.2022
Der Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine markiert eine tiefgreifende Zäsur in der Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik Deutschlands. Erstmals werden Waffen an eine Partei eines bewaffneten Konflikts geliefert, die Militärausgaben sollen massiv...
Read more
How Are Nuclear Power Plants Protected by Law During War?
07.03.2022
The world held its breath when, on the morning of March 4, 2022, reports became public that Russian military forces had attacked the largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in...
Read more
Wie sind Atomkraftwerke im Krieg durch das Recht geschützt?
07.03.2022
Die Welt hielt den Atem an, als am Morgen des 4. März 2022 bekannt wurde, dass die russischen Streitkräfte das größte Atomkraftwerk in Zaporizhzhia in der Ukraine in der Nacht...
Read more
Russia Has Not Breached the Jus Contra Bellum in 2022; It Did in 2014
07.03.2022
There is hardly any doubt that the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February 2022 is a blatant violation of international law. According to the news arriving from...
Read more
To Close or Not to Close
04.03.2022
This analysis by Nilüfer Oral first appeared on the NUS-CIL blog and is a revised and updated version of the original text. President Zelensky’s Request to Turkey to Invoke...
Read more
More than Names and Numbers?
04.03.2022
On Monday, the Ukrainian representative on the Governmental Advisory Committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sent an e-mail asking the President and CEO of ICANN...
Read more
The Sadly Neglected Crime of Aggression
03.03.2022
International criminal law has experienced an unexpected renaissance in the domestic sphere in recent years. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Germany’s consistent application of universal jurisdiction in...
Read more
Vereint gegen den Krieg
03.03.2022
„Resolution ES-11/1 adopted“: mit einem lakonischen Tweet verkündete gestern Nachmittag der Vorsitzende der UN-Generalversammlung, dass die Weltgemeinschaft in einer Notstandssitzung den Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine verurteilt hat. 141 Staaten...
Read more
Uniting for Peace
03.03.2022
Tamsin Phillipa Paige
Rob McLaughlin
In the last week, we’ve seen Russia launch a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, constituting a clear breach of the prohibition on the use of force and an act of aggression....
Read more
From Grey Zones to Red Lines
01.03.2022
On 25 February, in accordance with Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe (CoE), the Committee of Ministers suspended Russia’s rights of representation for seriously violating Article...
Read more
Russia’s Recognition of the DPR and LPR as Illegal Acts under International Law
24.02.2022
On 21 February 2022, following a televised address, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed the decrees recognising the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) – two Ukrainian breakaway territories,...
Read more
Seeking the Holy Grail?
23.02.2022
UN talks on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) have been ongoing since 2014. Regardless of intense academic engagement on the topic as well as civil society pressure, last year the...
Read more
Even the Eagle does not Fly Higher than the Sun
21.02.2022
Kirsten Schmalenbach
Sara Wissmann
An old Russian expression goes "Даже орел не летает выше солнца" ("Even the eagle does not fly higher than the sun"). This piece of wisdom should be kept in mind...
Read more
Fiddling (With Ecocide) While Rome (and Everywhere Else) Burns
18.02.2022
Völkerrechtsblog has published another post on ecocide, this one entitled “Ecocide – Legal Revolution or Symbolism?” Written by Romina Pezzot and Jan-Phillip Graf, the post argues that, if adopted by...
Read more
The Armed Lifeboat Between Glasgow and Bruzgi
14.02.2022
During the last three days of COP26, a group of about 2,000 asylum seekers was stranded in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of Bruzgi, the international border crossing...
Read more
The Hobbesian State of Nature as Cautionary Tale
09.02.2022
In his contribution related to Carmen Pavel’s book, Law Beyond the State, my good friend and colleague Kostia Gorobets suggests Doing Away with Hobbes. However, his depiction of Hobbes’s premises...
Read more
The End of the Al-Khatib Trial
07.02.2022
Susann Aboueldahab
Fin-Jasper Langmack
A German version of this article was previously published here on 14 January. January 13, 2022 marked the end of the world’s first trial on state torture in Syria....
Read more
Verfassungsrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit in der Klimakrise
01.02.2022
Ein unterschätzter Entscheidungsaspekt Kaum eine Gerichtsentscheidung der jüngeren Vergangenheit hat so viel Aufruhr verursacht wie der Klimabeschluss (1 BvR 2656/18) des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom März letzten Jahres. Nicht nur im schnelllebigen...
Read more
Don’t Stick to a Fossil Treaty – Pull the Plug on the Energy Charter Treaty
31.01.2022
Claudia Müller-Hoff
Laura Duarte
On the basis of the ECT treaty, companies like RWE claim billions from the Dutch state because they have to close their coal-fired power plants under the Dutch coal-exit law...
Read more
Raus aus dem fossilen Zeitalter – Zieht dem Energiecharta-Vertrag den Stecker!
31.01.2022
Claudia Müller-Hoff
Laura Duarte
Auf der Grundlage des Energiecharta-Vertrags fordern Unternehmen wie RWE Milliarden vom niederländischen Staat, weil sie nach dem niederländischen Kohleausstiegsgesetz von 2019 ihre Kohlekraftwerke schließen müssen. Doch der Europäische Gerichtshof entschied,...
Read more
Having its (Strasbourg) Cake, and Eating It
26.01.2022
The UK government has proposed replacing its domestic rights charter, the 1988 Human Rights Act, with a new ‘Bill of Rights’. This may further destabilise its already turbulent relationship with...
Read more
The Minimum Principle
19.01.2022
‘A politician (…) thinks of the next election, while the statesman thinks of the next generation,’ James Freeman Clarke wrote in an 1870 essay with the pressing title Wanted, a...
Read more
Das Ende des Al-Khatib-Verfahrens
14.01.2022
Susann Aboueldahab
Fin-Jasper Langmack
Am 13. Januar 2022 endete der weltweit erste Prozess wegen Staatsfolter in Syrien. Das OLG Koblenz verurteilte Anwar R. zu lebenslanger Haft wegen Tötung, Folter, schwerwiegender Freiheitsberaubung, Vergewaltigung und sexueller...
Read more
Critiques of International Criminal Law Revisited in the Light of the Rome Statute
10.01.2022
As 2021 marked the 75th anniversary of the first international criminal trial in Nuremberg, this post will reflect on the current state of international criminal law (ICL). The conventional wisdom...
Read more
The Problem with Using Sanctions as Human Rights Accountability
04.01.2022
In November 2021, the United States unveiled a flurry of sanctions in response to human rights and humanitarian law violations in the year-long armed conflict in northern Ethiopia. The conflict...
Read more
Truly Historic
17.12.2021
Alexandra Lily Kather
Johanna Groß
In-between the expectations of the international community and domestic rule of law realties, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt sentenced Taha Al J. to life imprisonment in a historic verdict....
Read more
Unfinished Business
10.12.2021
Hannah Birkenkötter
Raffaela Kunz
Dana Schmalz
It is Human Rights Day, again – an occasion to reflect on the state of academic debate about human rights. After a phase of significant human rights critiques, the debate has increasingly...
Read more
Remembering Professor Rudolf Bernhardt
09.12.2021
Professor Rudolf Bernhardt, former President of the European Court of Human Rights and former director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law died on 1 December 2021...
Read more
Bringing Order to Orbital Chaos?
07.12.2021
Sanchit Anand
Rajeshwari Suryakanth Nagamarpalli
Veronica Miele
Audrey Danthinne
Three weeks ago, on 15 November 2021, a Russian anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test was reported, raising serious legal and political questions about the prohibition of the use of force in outer space. Not...
Read more
It’s All About Choice
29.11.2021
Time and again, a debate pops up on whether access to the internet should be made a human right. While some have favoured universal access thereto with as little restrictions...
Read more
The Immunity of the Holy See in Sexual Abuse Cases
24.11.2021
In multiple countries, allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have led to lawsuits against dioceses and clergy, and the establishment of investigation and claims commissions. However, because of...
Read more
