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I am very grateful to Rostam Neuwirth, Surabhi Ranganathan, Wolfgang Thierse and Lea Wisken for taking the time to engage with my book in such a thoughtful and constructive manner. I would also like to thank the Völkerrechtsblog, and in particular, Sebastian Spitra, for arranging this symposium and Valentina Kleinsasser for translating the interview with Wolfgang Thierse. The four contributions raise many more points and questions than I have space …

Wolfgang Thierse (SPD) war von 1998 – 2005 Präsident und von 2005 – 2013 Vizepräsident des Deutschen Bundestages. Von 1991 – 2013 war Thierse Vorsitzender der Grundwertekommission der SPD. Das Interview führte Valentin Jeutner mit Wolfgang Thierse am 21. Mai 2019 in Berlin. Eine englische Übersetzung des Interviews findet sich hier.   Valentin Jeutner: Lieber Herr Thierse, ich möchte mit Ihnen heute über mein kürzlich veröffentlichtes Buch sprechen. In dem …

Wolfgang Thierse (SPD) was the President of the German Bundestag from 1998 to 2005 and its Vice-President from 2005 to 2013. From 1991 to 2013, Thierse was chairman of the SPD’s Values and Principles Commission. Valentin Jeutner conducted the interview with Wolfgang Thierse on 21 May 2019 in Berlin. This English translation of the authoritative German version was prepared by Valentina Kleinsasser.   Valentin Jeutner: Mr Thierse, today I would …

This is the second part of a two-part analysis of the PCIJ’s Advisory Opinion concerning the Interpretation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The first part reviewed the opinion’s background and the drafting history of article 3 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne which the Advisory Opinion focussed on. Article 3 concerned the delimitation of the boundary between Turkey and Iraq following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The key …

It is commonly accepted that the contemporary instability in certain areas of the Middle East is attributable, at least in part, to the arbitrary manner in which many boundaries were drawn by the victorious powers after the end of the First World War. Less often discussed is the role that international law and, in particular, the Permanent Court of International Justice (the ‘PCIJ’) played in this context. By scrutinising the …

We are excited to launch the Symposium “Russian Perspectives on International Law”. It has been in planning for a while, and we were enthusiastic about the response to our call for contributions. The symposium is motivated by an interest in the manifold ways in which the Russian case vis-à-vis international law is special. Politically: Russia, belonging to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plays an important role …

Over the coming weeks, the Völkerrechtsblog will host an online symposium on the recently published book Targeted Killing: A Legal and Political History (CUP 2016) by Markus Gunneflo. Markus Gunneflo is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in public international law at Lund University in Sweden. The book will be discussed by Itamar Mann (Haifa), Ioannis Kalpouzos (London), Nahed Samour (Helsinki), Karin Loevy (NYU) and Jothie Rajah (American Bar Foundation, Chicago). …

For the next few days the Völkerrechtsblog is pleased to host an online symposium of Surabhi Ranganthan’s recently published book “Strategically Created Treaty Conflicts and the Politics of International Law” (CUP 2014). Surabhi Ranganthan is a University Lecturer in International Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. The book will be discussed by Jasper Finke (Hamburg), Jan Klabbers (Helsinki & Rotterdam) and Lea Wisken …

Yesterday, several (German) newspapers reported that the ECJ empowered the Bavarian Administrative Court in Shepherd v. Germany C-472/13 to examine whether or not the United States committed war crimes in the course of the US-led invasion of Iraq. This certainly makes for a catchy headline, but a preliminary study of the decision reveals that it is unlikely that the Bavarian Court will need to get its hands dirty by engaging …