CIL Dialogues Interventions
Available on 23 May 2024
Legality of Cyber Operations in the Israel-Hezbollah War
by Mr Hussein Badreddine
In the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 attack conducted by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, Israel claimed the right of self-defence and began a widespread operation in the Gaza strip. On 8 October 2023, Hezbollah launched rockets into three posts in Shebaa farms, ostensibly in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The Shebaa farms were occupied by Israel in the six-day war in 1967. However, the status of these farms remains unresolved, and no border demarcation between Syria and Lebanon has taken place to this day. Officially, Lebanon made a claim to this land on 4 May 2000. Read on ...
Published on 24 April 2024
by Dr. Jaroslav Krasny
The Biological Weapons Convention National Implementation Database (“BWC Database”), developed collaboratively by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre or VERTIC, serves as a resource for understanding and supporting the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). This new database compiles information on how State Parties meet their obligations under the BWC. Read on ...
Published on 4 April 2024
by Kim Anh Dao
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) holds a significant position in the international investment rule-making arena. Alongside treaties concluded by its individual members, ASEAN, as a unified entity, has been actively involved in various cross-regional investment agreements, including the ASEAN-Korea Investment Agreement (2009), the ASEAN-China Investment Framework Agreement (2009), the ASEAN-India Investment Agreement (2014), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (2020). Read on ...
Published on 18 March 2024
by Robert Beckman, Trung Nguyen and Joel Ong Jie Hao
At its thirty-third biennial meeting on 6 December 2023, the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (‘IMO’) adopted Resolution A.1192(33) urging Member States and all relevant stakeholders to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by the ‘dark fleet’ or ‘shadow fleet’ (‘the 2023 Resolution’). Read on ...
Published on 14 March 2024
Artificial Intelligence And Article 33.4 VCLT
by Tarcisio Gazzini
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to radically change legal education and the legal profession. Suffice it to mention the administration of justice through machines. This comment focuses on a much more specific issue, namely the interpretation of multilingual treaties. Article 33.4 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, in particular, directs the interpreter in overcoming differences between equally authoritative texts. Read on ...
Published on 19 February 2024
Does breaching UNCLOS invoke the right of self-defence?
by Shani Friedman
Since October 2023, as part of the Israeli-Hamas war following the October 7 massacre in Israel, the Houthis – an Iranian-backed Yemeni terrorist group – attacked commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in support of Hamas. The attacks range from non-violent boarding and rerouting of ships to using missiles and drones. Read on ...
Published on 6 February 2024
China’s engagement with the ITLOS climate change advisory proceedings and its strategic formalism in international law
by Ryan Martínez Mitchell
Several months ago, Beijing decided to take a stand against the expansion of advisory opinion jurisdiction to the full International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), as well as the potential use of such jurisdiction to define climate change obligations under the law of the sea. Read on ...
Published on 23 January 2024
Israel, South Africa and the Power of Genocide
by Yusra Suedi
The International Court of Justice (ICJ, the Court) has increasingly been the theatre for accusations of the crime of genocide. The latest instalment is South Africa’s institution of proceedings against Israel for committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Read on ...
Published on 8 January 2024
by Rashmi Raman and Daniel Pakpahan
The Falepili Union Treaty of 9 November 2023 is making waves across reports that comment on the intriguing and possibly trailblazing agreement on climate change cooperation (among others) between Australia and Tuvalu. Article 2(2)(b) of the treaty, in particular, is an important development in respect of state practice on recognising the continued existence of geographically threatened states from climate induced sea level rise (SLR). Read on ...
Available on 4 December 2023
by Professor Eirik Bjorge, Dr Nilüfer Oral
The year 2023 has been marked by an unprecedented number of requests for advisory opinions concerning climate change and State obligations under international law. This includes the request from the UN General Assembly to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) initiated by Vanuatu on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. Climate change represents a case par excellence where legal analysis needs to be informed by science. Read on ...
Published on 29 November 2023
Identifying Legal Gaps in International Humanitarian Law Governing Peace Operations
by Varun VM
This post highlights the importance of identifying legal gaps in international humanitarian law (IHL) applicable to peacekeeping operations. It explores the complexities of peacekeeping, including the multidimensional nature of missions and the challenges associated with distinguishing combatants from non-combatants. Additionally, it emphasises the need for a comprehensive review of IHL to address the evolving dynamics of peacekeeping and ensure the protection of personnel involved in peace operations. Read on ...
Published on 14 November 2023
Four new judges and one re-elected at the ICJ: an election of firsts
by Dr Massimo Lando
On 9 November 2023, the UN General Assembly and Security Council held election to fill five upcoming vacancies on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These five seats will become vacant on 6 February 2024, when President Donoghue (United States of America) and Judges Bennouna (Morocco), Charlesworth (Australia), Gevorgian (Russian Federation) and Robinson (Jamaica) will end their respective terms. Read on ...
Available on 16 August 2023
IPEF’s Supply Chain Agreement: Much Ado?
by Celine Lange
In May 2023, exactly one year after its official launch in Tokyo, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF or Framework) reached a significant milestone as US authorities released a press statement announcing the substantial conclusion of the negotiations on supply chains under IPEF Pillar II [the IPEF comprises three other pillars: Pillar I (Trade); Pillar III (Clean Economy); and Pillar IV (Fair Economy)]. While concluding these negotiations within a year represents in itself an achievement, tangible outcomes are yet to be seen as the Supply Chain Agreement will be finalised after ‘further domestic consultations and a legal review’ by the IPEF partners. As the mantra goes ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.’
Published on 14 August 2023
Prof Robert Beckman’s Reply to CIL Dialogues’ Blog Post by Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli of 7 August 2023
by Professor Robert Beckman
Reply and Rejoinder to “Prioritizing the Marine Environment: A Possible Malaysian Recharacterization of the Strait of Malacca to Regulate the Passage of Nuclear-Powered Submarines”
Published on 14 August 2023
Japan-Pacific Islands Countries Cooperation on Maritime Law Enforcement
by Yurika Ishii
On 16 May 2023, Japan signed and exchanged Notes on the Project for Strengthening Capacity of Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies for Effective Maritime Crime Control in the Pacific Island Countries with Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. At the same time, Japan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) entered into a funding agreement valued at $US 6 million. The primary aim of this accord is to enhance measures against maritime crime in the nine Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).
Published on 7 August 2023
Prioritizing the Marine Environment: A Possible Malaysian Recharacterization of the Strait of Malacca to Regulate the Passage of Nuclear-Powered Submarines
by Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli
Maritime traffic passing through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, two of the world’s busiest shipping ways, has been consistently increasing over the years. With the rise of China’s military capacity against the might of the forces of the United States and its allies, passage of military vessels via these crucial straits is anticipated to increase, including passage of nuclear-powered submarines. As the main maritime conduit connecting the Pacific Ocean—via the South China Sea—to the Indian Ocean, the significance of this maritime link is indisputable.
Published on 13 July 2023
Canada and the Netherlands Institute ICJ Proceedings Alleging Violations by Syria of the Convention against Torture
by Priya Urs
Other significant developments in recent weeks (see e.g. here and here) have perhaps overshadowed the joint institution by Canada and the Netherlands of contentious proceedings against Syria before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in respect of alleged violations of the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (‘CAT’, ‘the Convention’). Read on
Published on 12 June 2023
What’s Next if the South China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiations Fail?
by Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
The ASEAN-China South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) negotiations have resumed and picked up pace after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased. Despite the optimistic statements expressed by ASEAN leaders and that Indonesia as the incumbent chair of ASEAN has been pushing the negotiations forward, the CoC instrument that aims to ensure and maintain peace and security in the disputed area is still far from being concluded. This is due to the diverse claimant and non-claimant state positions. ... Read on
Published on 29 May 2023
Exercise of Jurisdiction or Admissibility? Delimitation of Outer Continental Shelf (Part I)
by Bjørn Kunoy
This is the first part of a total of two posts that endeavour to pursue a critical analysis of the reasoning underlying courts’ and tribunals conclusions for delimiting overlaps of outer continental shelf entitlement claims in the absence of recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) with some focus on the most recent decision on this particular question: the judgment of 28 April 2023 on the merits by the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives).
Published on 1 June 2023
Exercise of Jurisdiction or Admissibility? Delimitation of Outer Continental Shelf (Part II)
by Bjørn Kunoy
Conflicting approaches in Jurisprudence
With the recent judgment of the Special Chamber in Mauritius v. Maldives there are now five decisions addressing the merits of questions regarding the delimitation of the outer continental shelf lacking CLCS recommendations. Another dispute is currently pending on the merits. These decisions show five different approaches as to whether the delimitation of the outer continental shelf lacking CLCS recommendations concerns the exercise of jurisdiction or admissibility. The recent decision of ITLOS in Mauritius/Maldives adds new elements and addresses the ´inconsistent jurisprudence` (p. 1) on this matter.
Published on 15 May 2023
Freedom of information, materials conditions, and the ICCPR’s stylistic choice
by Wanshu Cong
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 studies consider how certain objects are governed directly or indirectly by or implicated in international law (for an example of this approach, see the volume International Law’s Object edited by Jessie Hohmann and Daniel Joyce).
Published on 25 April 2023
The Causal Question in the Application of the Law on the Use of Force to Cyber Operations
by Priya Urs
Multilateral discussions as to the international legal regulation of cyber operations evidence an emerging agreement amongst states that existing rules of international law apply to cyber operations. This principled agreement has variously materialised in reports of the UN Group of Governmental Experts, the UN Open-Ended Working Group and, somewhat exceptionally, in the national positions declared by some states. Yet there is no clear indication as to how existing rules of international law might apply to cyber operations, inviting deeper discussion of the substantive issues raised by the application of these rules to cyber operations.
Published on 24 April 2023
The BBNJ Agreement – new treaty, old challenges
by Shani Friedman
On March 4, 2023, the text of the international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS/ Convention) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ treaty/ ‘high seas’ treaty) was finalised (see the announcement here). The new ‘high seas’ treaty is considered a ‘breakthrough’ – the culmination of nearly two decades of work, building on the legacy of UNCLOS.
Published on 20 April 2023
Intervention and obligations erga omnes at the International Court of Justice
by Benjamin Salas Kantor and Dr. Massimo Lando
It is not too often that one attends a conference and witnesses an unexpected fine technical debate on the reading of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This year, it happened at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law. In a session about multilateral litigation before the ICJ, held on 31 March 2023, some of the speakers offered conflicting views on Article 62 of the Court’s Statute. Article 62 concerns intervention and provides that ... read on
Published on 17 April 2023
The BBNJ Agreement: Links between the New and Existing Laws on Protecting Marine Biodiversity
by Nguyen Thanh Trung
4 March 2023 was a historic day for the international law of the sea. The United Nations International Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), led by Ambassador Rena Lee of Singapore, agreed on the draft text of a new agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) ... read on
Published on 13 April 2023
Regime Interaction between Deep Sea Mining and the Conservation of Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
by Digvijay Rewatkar
The question of conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) in their current form have been under discussion since the 2015 recommendations of the Preparatory Committee vide UNGA 69/292. In 2018, the discussions were elevated to a formal body constituted vide UNGA 72/249 to the Inter-governmental Conference (IGC) under the auspices of the United Nations ... read on
Published on 11 April 2023
The final hours of a treaty negotiation
by Joanna Mossop
As I walk around the echoing corridors of the United Nations Conference Building basement, groups of people are huddled in corners, or sprawled out among the chairs in the closed ‘Vienna Cafe’, or are slumped in their chairs in Conference Room 2. One or two people are asleep, while others obviously wish they were asleep. A few blearily stare at their computers, pointing to words on a screen. Takeout food containers litter the tables. The standard greeting is ‘how are you doing?’ Or ‘have you managed to get any sleep?’
Published on 28 March 2023
First hearings in climate change cases before the European Court of Human Rights: tackling the victim status
by Celine Lange
In February 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (the ECHR or the Court) issued an update on the ‘status of climate applications’ pending before it. It had shortly before announced that the first public hearings in two of these cases would be held on 29 March 2023: Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland (Verein) and Carême v. France (Carême). The hearings in the two cases will be held before the same composition of the Grand Chamber and, unusually, on the same day. As of March 2023, nine climate cases are pending before the ECHR and two applications were declared inadmissible in December 2022. The Climate litigation database lists an additional case concerned with freedom of expression, about which no ECHR public information is available.
Published on 17 March 2023
Piercing the glass ceiling at UNCLOS tribunals
by Dr Lan Nguyen
While there has been progress in certain international courts and tribunals, the fact remains that female judges or arbitrators still constitute only a small minority in the international bench. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) dispute settlement bodies are no exception. While the number of female judges at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has increased, it still has one of the lowest percentages of female judges among permanent international courts. At the time of writing, 5 out of the Tribunal’s 21 judges are female, accounting for less than 25% of the bench.
Published on 15 March 2023
Navigating the Seas of Soft Law in the Implementation of the Law of the Sea Convention
by Dita Liliansa
This essay explores the role of regional soft law instruments in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect endangered sea turtles and their habitats in Southeast Asia. The region boasts the highest concentration of marine species in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has a long history of regional co-operation on marine environmental issues dating back to 1977. Despite the many pressing marine environmental concerns, Southeast Asia has placed considerable attention to sea turtle conservation, evidenced by the adoption of the ASEAN MOU on Sea Turtles, in addition to five other soft law instruments beyond ASEAN’s purview.
Published on 8 March 2023
Beyond a feminist approach to international law and diplomacy, reflections
by Celine Lange
On 15 February 2023, the first Singapore Roundtable on Women Leaders in International Law and Diplomacy (‘Singapore Roundtable’) was held, gathering more than 80 law practitioners, members of the diplomatic corps and associations’ representatives. This event was co-hosted by the Centre for International Law (CIL) and the Embassy of Ireland in Singapore. It aimed to bring together women and men in leading roles in international diplomacy and international law in Singapore, to discuss gender imbalance in these fields and future prospects, share experiences and highlight key challenges.
Published on 6 March 2023
Might It Just Work? How To Interpret Customary International Law (Maybe)
by Dr Massimo Lando
The feasibility of interpreting customary international law has been a matter of much academic debate. Essentially, this debate concerns whether customary rules can be objects of interpretation, which is a process to find out what they mean, as distinct from identification, which is the process to ascertain their existence.
Published on 22 February 2023
A hollow—and slightly homophobic—victory for LGBTIQ+ rights? Fedotova and others v Russia
by Professor Lucas Lixinski
The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) Grand Chamber consolidated its jurisprudence on the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Fedotova and others v Russia (Fedotova). In doing so, it advances a key cause that has occupied, for better or worse, much of the time and energy of LGBTIQ+ advocates around the world. At the same time, the victory is somewhat hollow: Russia, although technically bound by the judgment, is unlikely to comply since it left the Court’s jurisdiction in the aftermath of the invasion of the Ukraine—and the Court’s technical reasoning is at times troubling—even if the overall outcome can be read as a positive.
Published on 8 February 2023
The Alibis of History, or How (not) to Do Things with Inter-temporality
by Dr Ntina Tzouvala
Efforts to confront the imperialist, colonial and racist foundations of contemporary wealth and prosperity in the capitalist West are often resisted by pleas not to judge historical practices against contemporary moral standards. This (dubious) argument also finds juridical expression in the international legal rules concerning inter-temporality. In a nutshell, the (il)legality of an act or an omission should be judged against the rules of international law that applied at the time that this act/omission took place and subsequent legal change does not affect this judgement. This is a rule with long historical pedigree going back to The Island of Palmas arbitration, a case concerning the rules applicable to the colonisation of inhabited lands by Western powers.
Published on 25 January 2023
Concordance Legalization as an Alternative Regional Trading Arrangement to the EU and USMCA Models: ASEAN’s Intergovernmental yet Dynamically Expansive Way
by Dr Tan Hsien-Li
This essay conceptualizes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) integration model, which I term ‘Concordance Legalization’, in the regional trading arrangement landscape that holds two prevalent contrasting models epitomized by the European Union (EU) and the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaces the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Concordance Legalization may offer sovereignty-centric states a ‘third way’ to regionalize dynamically whilst retaining intergovernmental preferences.
Published on 17 January 2023
The World Trade Organization Fisheries Subsidies Agreement: A Critical Assessment on the Impacts to Developing Fishing Nations and the Way Forward
by Dr Trung Nguyen
The Fisheries Subsidies Agreement of the World Trade Organization (‘the Agreement’) was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022 as part of the so-called ‘Geneva Package’. Soon after its adoption, the long-awaited Agreement was praised by WTO member states, international organizations and NGOs as a landmark instrument in curbing subsidies provided to the fishery sector to promote sustainable fishing practices in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations.
Published on 12 January 2023
What does the Indonesia–Vietnam EEZ Agreement mean for the region?
by Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
On the 23rd of December, during Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Jakarta to meet President Joko Widodo, Indonesia and Vietnam finally signed an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) delimitation agreement after 12 years of long negotiations. Indeed, maritime delimitation agreements between States have normally taken many years to conclude. However, the recent EEZ agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam is important since it has implications for the region, especially China and Malaysia.
Published on 10 November 2022
A first look at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: What’s in it for Indo-Pacific participants, and can it succeed? (Part 1)
by Celine Lange
In February 2022, the President of the United States announced the launch of a new Indo-Pacific Strategy, characterised as heralding a US re-engagement with the region, which would lead to ‘a multilateral partnership for the 21st century’. A central part of this re-engagement was unveiled in May 2022 by President Biden at the ASEAN-US Special Summit: the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF or Framework).
Published on 10 November 2022
A first look at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: What’s in it for Indo-Pacific participants, and can it succeed? (Part 2)
by Celine Lange
Part 2 of the blog series on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), launched in May 2022 by President Biden, examines the possible benefits of the Framework for its Indo-Pacific participants, as well as its potential implementation difficulties. It is argued that the IPEF may not have much to offer economically to most of its Indo-Pacific participants, and that its regional impact could remain limited, owing to the IPEF’s opt-in structure, the relative shallowness of its commitments, and the lack of an enforcement mechanism.
Published on 4 November 2022
Climate Litigation and the Limits of Legal Imagination: A Reply to Corina Heri
by Benoit Mayer (Associate Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Corina Heri’s article in the European Journal of International Law argues that ‘protection against the human rights impacts of climate change under the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) is both possible … and normatively desirable’. Alexander Zahar replies that Heri has not convincingly demonstrated the applicability of human rights law to the mitigation of climate change. Heri’s rejoinder reaffirms the ‘argumentative possibilities’ for the applicability of human rights law to climate change.
Published on 27 October 2022
We Read 22 Intervention Declarations So You Don’t Have To
by Juliette McIntyre, Ori Pomson & Kyra Wigard
If you follow the activity of the International Court of Justice (Court or ICJ) at all, you will not have failed to notice that an unprecedented number of States have chosen to intervene in the Ukraine v. Russia case pursuant to Article 63 of the Court’s Statute. Twenty-two, at the time of writing. The European Union (EU) has also furnished the Court with ‘relevant information’ pursuant to Article 34(2) of the Court’s Statute.
Published on 19 October 2022
What to Expect in Upcoming Provisional Measures Proceedings in Equatorial Guinea v France (No. 2)
by Cecily Rose
These days, it seems that applications instituting proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are almost always accompanied by a request for a provisional measures order. The recent case instituted by Equatorial Guinea against France before the ICJ is no exception to this standard practice. This blog post focuses on Equatorial Guinea’s request for a provisional measure order and offers some thoughts on what might be expected from the upcoming provisional measures proceedings at the ICJ.
Published on 30 September 2022
Our Islands, Our Home: How Eight Torres Strait Islander Peoples Held the Australian Government Accountable for Climate Inaction
by Zoe Nay
As the adverse impacts of climate change are becoming more frequent and intense, affected countries and peoples are looking outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in their efforts to seek climate justice. It is in this context that the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) delivered its landmark decision on 22 September 2022—Billy et al v Australia—finding that the Australian Government had violated the rights of several Indigenous Peoples of the Torres Strait Islands by failing to take adequate climate action.