International Law in Pandemic Times

The current COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis of global dimension. With numerous countries imposing shut-downs, closing their borders and limiting international trade and cooperation, the crisis in some ways appears to have prompted a return of the nation state that seemed unimaginable only weeks ago and has already given rise to the question whether we are currently witnessing the end of globalization.

International lawyers have started to debate the implications of the pandemic on a range of fora. With this symposium, we want to pluralize these discussions, but also take a step back and reflect on the very terms and frameworks within which international lawyers currently understand and debate the pandemic.