ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bardo Fassbender

Bardo Fassbender is an international lawyer. He held the Chair in International Law and Human Rights Law at the Bundeswehr University Munich and, until last year, the Chair in International Law, European Law and Public Law at the University of St. Gallen.

POSTS BY Bardo Fassbender

20 September 2025

Bardo Fassbender

Neither Reform nor Reconstruction

Contemporary international law is in crisis, but not yet in a systemic crisis. Based on historical experience, therefore, a reconstruction of international law is not to be expected for the time being. In the foreseeable future, the existing system will continue to exist, but in the absence of meaningful reform it will also be further weakened. We must prepare ourselves for a prolonged period of stagnation and even atrophy, a progressive wasting away and marginalisation of norms and institutions built in the past. Continue reading >>