The ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza presents complex legal and ethical challenges. As the ICJ considers Nicaragua v. Germany, the international legal community is examining how German courts have assessed the legality of arms exports to Israel. This article aims not to present generalizable judicial principles but to demonstrate that procedural governance is key…

Recent efforts by the United States to interdict Iranian oil shipments in distant waters have extended well beyond the Persian Gulf. These operations have included the interception of tankers carrying Iranian oil—often operating under neutral flags—in areas such as the Indian Ocean, far from any declared blockaded zone. In at least some instances,…

In a slightly extended version of Two Weeks in Review, we take in fundamental questions about what happens when law and lawyers seek or refuse to justify illegal actions, “relocation orders” issued by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, Australian soldiers and Belgian consular officials in domestic courts for…

1. Call for Proposals: Canadian Council on International Law Annual Conference. The Canadian Council on International Law will hold its Annual Conference in Ottawa (CA) on 29 – 30 October 2026. The theme of the conference is “Bend, Not Break: Resilience and Evolution of International Law”. The conference seeks to challenge both the supposed post-mortem…

There are moments when the international legal order reveals itself not through its rules but through the violence done in its name. Today’s expanding doctrine of self-defence—invoked with increasing ease, justified with decreasing care—is one such moment. It is tempting to read this as an unravelling, a slide into disorder. Yet what is unravelling here…

My latest article, ‘Statehood and International Organization: Rethinking Their Conceptual Relationship with Reference to Customary International Law’, addresses whether, how, and to what extent, doctrinal propositions that we accept about the legal personality of states can be extended to international organizations. I argue that our theories would make much more sense if we…

Over the past few years, a rapidly expanding network of ‘critical minerals’ agreements has added further complexity to global trade and investment frameworks. The surge in deal making is driven by geopolitical rivalries among large economies to secure their supply chains as well as by mineral-rich country interest in mining sector development. At a deeper…