Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes Space law, the Kingdom of Tonga and the late-comer problem by Michelle Chase Published on 21 July 2023 Can late-coming small states change a treaty regime for their benefit? This post explores the difficulties small states may face in challenging inequitable legal regimes, and how seeming victories can […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes A collective answer: Small States, sea-level rise and the interpretation of UNCLOS by Frances Anggadi Published on 19 July 2023 Many eyes are on Vanuatu, which is leading global efforts to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States in […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes Small States and international litigation to minimise climate insecurity by Shirley V. Scott Published on 17 July 2023 The amount of climate litigation is increasing. Indeed, litigation holds the promise of adding impetus to action in a world in which efforts to mitigate climate change have been so […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes Litigating Imperialism? Lessons from the South West Africa saga by Ntina Tzouvala Published on 14 July 2023 Amongst international lawyers in my adoptive country, Australia, the South West Africa saga tends to elicit cryptic comments and long pauses. The role of the then International Court of Justice (ICJ) […]

Canada and the Netherlands Institute ICJ Proceedings Alleging Violations by Syria of the Convention against Torture By Priya Urs Published on 13 July 2023 [Many thanks to Miles Jackson, Massimo Lando and Martins Paparinskis for their very helpful comments.] Other significant developments in recent weeks (see e.g. here and here) have perhaps overshadowed the joint […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes The Australia/Timor-Leste maritime boundary dispute by Bill Campbell Published on 12 July 2023 This post seeks to go some way towards dispelling the notion that there was a complete asymmetry of power involved in the settlement of the long-running dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste over maritime delimitation in […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes Great Hall, Small States by Juliette McIntyre Published on 10 July 2023 Introduction This contribution argues that small State participation in the oral phase of a case gives an important expression to sovereign equality. This is, in and of itself, an important strategic outcome in litigation against more […]

Symposium: Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes Litigation as legal statecraft: Small states and the law of the sea by Douglas Guilfoyle Published on 7 July 2023 The International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the UN, holds public hearings in the advisory proceedings in respect of the Legal consequences of the […]

Symposium Introductory Blog Small States, Legal Argument, and International Disputes By Douglas Guilfoyle Published on 7 July 2023 The International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the UN, holds public hearings in the advisory proceedings in respect of the Legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 from […]

Freedom of information, materials conditions, and the ICCPR’s stylistic choice By Wanshu Cong Published on 15 May 2023 There is a growing interest in the international legal scholarship to study the materiality of international law. Termed as ‘new materialism’, this recent material (re)turn has animated inquiries which pay attention to concrete and specific objects. These […]

The Causal Question in the Application of the Law on the Use of Force to Cyber Operations By Priya Urs Published on 25 April 2023 [The research for this post was carried out as part of a project at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict funded by the Government of Japan. For […]

Intervention and obligations erga omnes at the International Court of Justice By Benjamin Salas Kantor Research Scholar at Columbia Law School Dr. Massimo Lando Assistant Professor at the School of Law of City University of Hong Kong and Global Fellow at CIL Published on 20 April 2023 It is not too often that one attends […]