Editorial #43: The Ides of March

#Ö: Our own News

Editorial #43: The Ides of March

12.03.2025

Rouven Diekjobst

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Caesar is warned to “Beware the Ides of March” (Act I, Scene II). Still, he did not foresee his eventual assassination and was blindsided by his...

Bofaxe

Germany’s Expulsion Policy

12.03.2025

Lilli-Noor Wouhbé

In her book, “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, Hannah Arendt noted that “[s]overeignty is nowhere more absolute than in matters of emigration, naturalization, nationality and expulsion”. While exercising sovereignty by way...

Symposium
Bofaxe
Women in International Law Vol. 4

Safety, Privacy, Self-ID

06.03.2025

Selin Altay

Germany’s Self Determination Act (Selbstbestimmungsgesetz or SBGG), which came fully into force on the 1st of November 2024 is welcomed both by hope and concern globally. The new law has...

Interview

Historical Revisionism or Selective Memory? Black History Month and Germany’s Colonial Past

28.02.2025

Elisabeth Kaneza Khaled El Mahmoud

Elisabeth, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. We are delighted to have the opportunity to engage with you on this significant topic. Black History Month is an...

Bofaxe

Rest in Peace, Schengen!

23.10.2024

Joel Bella

“We will therefore extend our temporary internal border controls to all German land borders”. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser announced that − after years of controls at the...

Article

Germany’s Abortion Regulation: A Relic of the Past?

15.10.2024

Hanna Welte

As countries around the world make strides in securing abortion rights, Germany's abortion law remains a relic of the past. Is it time to abolish these outdated regulations and to...

Article

Closing Channels

26.07.2024

Sué González Hauck Isabel Lischewski

In this piece, we offer some reflections on our time as Editors-in-Chief at Völkerrechtsblog. In doing so, we do not speak for the blog as a whole, but also not...

Article

Closure of Protection Gaps?

18.06.2024

Livia Benschu Alexandra Lily Kather

On Thursday, June 6, 2024, the German Parliament adopted the Federal Government's draft bill on the further development of international criminal law as amended by the Committee on Legal Affairs....

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Hello, Can You Hear Me?

07.06.2024

Julia Heuwing

In March, the former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (“the Commissioner”), Dunja Mijatović, published a report, following up on her visit to Germany in November 2023, where she...

Article

Nicaragua’s Suit against Germany May Be Good as Gold (Part II)

07.06.2024

John B. Quigley

In Part I of this blog piece, it was explained that Nicaragua is suing Germany over Germany’s shipment of armaments to Israel. Part I recounted that Germany seeks dismissal of...

Article

Nicaragua’s Suit against Germany May Be Good as Gold (Part I)

06.06.2024

John B. Quigley

This two-part piece analyzes the legal viability of Nicaragua’s suit against Germany in the International Court of Justice over shipment of armaments from Germany to Israel. Nicaragua claims that those...

Article

Yet to Be Deployed?

14.05.2024

Julian Chorus

It was with a single remark that the Agent of the Republic of Nicaragua concluded the German reservation had “no application” (para. 23) in the proceedings instituted on 1 March...

Media

Die deutsche Staatsräson auf dem Prüfstand – Deutschland vor dem IGH

12.05.2024

Andreas von Arnauld Gundula Maxwill Lilo Bärbel Rösch

Am 1. März 2024 hat Nicaragua beim Internationalen Gerichtshof (IGH) eine Klage gegen Deutschland eingereicht. Die Vorwürfe wiegen schwer: Deutschland verstoße durch seine Unterstützung Israels in Bezug auf den Krieg...

Symposium
Blögiversary: Celebrating Ten Years of Völkerrechtsblog

Revisiting a Rejoinder on past Wrongs

03.05.2024

Felix Würkert

As the Völkerrechtsblog turns ten, I have the pleasure of revisiting an old blog post, asking myself how it has aged, what has changed since and how the post came...

Article

Technical International Law

16.04.2024

Julian A. Hettihewa

There seems to be a mismatch. The horror in Gaza. The composure in The Hague. Civilians raped and killed or abducted by Hamas, Palestinian women and girls arbitrarily executed or...

Interview

“Germany’s Strong Public Support for Israel Has Made the Country the Main Target”

11.03.2024

Stefan Talmon Julian A. Hettihewa

On 1 March 2024, the Republic of Nicaragua instituted proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany before the International Court of Justice. The core allegation: With its support for Israel,...

Symposium
Women in International Law Vol. 3

Supply Chain Laws and Women’s Rights

08.03.2024

Jessical Holl

Supply Chain Laws are at the center of the debate considering business and human rights, especially after the enactment of such laws by France and Germany and the discussions developed...

Article

Progress or Patchwork?

17.01.2024

Morten Boe

Germany has received widespread acclaim for its domestic implementation of international criminal law (ICL) in the German Code on Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch) and for completing multiple universal jurisdiction...

Article

Fortschritt oder Flickwerk?

17.01.2024

Morten Boe

In Hinblick auf die kommunikative Offenheit der Verfahren hat die deutsche Strafjustiz die avisierte „Vorreiterrolle“ bei der Verfolgung von Völkerrechtsverbrechen bisher nicht einnehmen können. Anders als in anderen europäischen Staaten,...

Article

First Trial for Crimes Against Humanity in The Gambia Comes to an End

21.12.2023

Susann Aboueldahab Inês Freixo Rodolfo González Espinosa

On 30 November 2023, the first trial worldwide to address crimes against humanity committed in The Gambia during the ruling of former president Yahya Jammeh (1994 to 2016) came to...

Bofaxe

Drowning in Negligence

12.12.2023

Vanessa Bliecke Carla Borck

In July 2021, Germany faced a critical test of its implementation of Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), specifically focusing on the protection...

Article

Wann wird das Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz erwachsen?

30.11.2023

Kajo Kramp Moritz Drescher Mette Steffen Laura Valdivia

Das Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (AsylbLG) ist, nach den inhaltlich falschen – und zu Recht stark kritisierten – Äußerungen von Friedrich Merz zur medizinischen Versorgung von Asylbewerber:innen, pünktlich zu seinem Geburtstag ins Zentrum...

Media

The German Federal Court of Justice’s (Mis-) Use of Effet Utile to Override International Law in Mainstream v. Germany: Shaking the Foundations of the ICSID Convention?

23.11.2023

Tim Rauschning

This episode of the Völkerrechtliche Tagesthemen focuses on the jurisdiction of the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ). On 27 July 2023, the FCJ affirmed its jurisdiction to rule on...

Article

#MPIL100

14.11.2023

Philipp Glahé Alexandra Kemmerer

Science often begins with a coincidence. Or more precisely: a moment of serendipity, that happy opportunity that enables and produces knowledge in the seemingly unintentional coincidence of constellation and event....

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Kein Geld für die Taliban

15.09.2023

Rouven Diekjobst

Am vergangenen Montag, wohl kaum zufällig am 11. September, forderte ein Minister der Taliban-Regierung in einem Interview mit der NZZ Reparationszahlungen von Deutschland und kündigte an, Deutschland und weitere Bündnispartner...

Article

Islamic State, Women, and Their Role as Perpetrators in International Criminal Law

27.07.2023

Dilken Celebi

In June 2023, the Koblenz Higher Regional Court handed down one of the most significant sentences to female Islamic State (ISIS) returnees. The verdict against Nadine K. included charges for...

Article

Islamischer Staat, Frauen und ihre Täterinnenrolle im Völkerstrafrecht

27.07.2023

Dilken Celebi

Das OLG Koblenz verurteilte die Rückkehrerin aus dem Islamischen Staat (IS) Nadine K. im Juni 2023 u.a. wegen der mitgliedschaftlichen Beteiligung an einer terroristischen Vereinigung, Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit durch...

Symposium
Racial Profiling in Germany

Human Rights Standards for Accountability and Effective Remedies

13.12.2022

Elisabeth Kaneza

In Germany, for a long time, racial profiling was regarded as a problem that exists in other countries. However, in recent years more victims of racial discrimination have brought cases...

Symposium
Racial Profiling in Germany

Racial Profiling in Germany

13.12.2022

Sué González Hauck

In Basu v. Germany, an international body reminded Germany once again of its less-than-perfect human rights record regarding racial discrimination. In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)...

Article

Dead Fish in the River Oder

08.09.2022

Cora Masche

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...