Respect for International Law
A Declaration by German Speaking International Law Scholars
We teach and research international law. Despite holding different views on individual issues and diverging assessments of specific conflicts, we are united by the following convictions:
Observance of international law is more important than ever in the current situation in order to maintain and restore world peace. This is especially true for Germany. Germany’s legitimacy on the world stage after the crimes of the Holocaust and the German war of aggression, which became the Second World War, has always been based decisively on Germany’s decision to not only comply with international law, but also to protect and promote it. The German Basic Law, from its preamble to its last article, is shaped by a commitment to international law. We therefore call for compliance with Germany’s obligations under international law. Especially at a time when international law is being broken by powerful states, we urgently appeal to decision-makers at federal and state levels not to jeopardize Germany’s commitment to international law.
We therefore welcome Germany’s and Europe’s support for Ukraine, which has been the victim of a war of aggression in violation of international law, and agree that this support should be continued and strengthened by the future German government in cooperation with other states given that the United States of America has turned its back on Ukraine. Territorial changes cannot occur without the consent of the affected state and need to respect the right of self-determination of peoples. This also rules out recognizing bilateral treaties signed under duress.
We stress that Germany has committed itself to participating in international institutions on the basis of international law and the Basic Law. Arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court must be respected and executed by state parties. This applies to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, regardless of whether we consider an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court to be correct in terms of its content and regardless of our assessment of the scope of personal immunity. Inviting Netanyahu to Germany with the assurance of immunity would violate international and German law, which, with the approval of all democratic parties since the last legislative period, provides for the exclusion of functional immunity for crimes under international law (Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz, Sec. 20(2), 2nd sentence).
Furthermore, we consider it essential that the Federal Government, in view of the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion on the illegality of the Israeli occupation, to which the Federal Foreign Office has affirmatively referred, and its assurances made before the International Court of Justice, ensures that no weapons are supplied to Israel that are used in violation of international law.
In the attempts to prevent the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese from speaking at universities, we see – regardless of whether we agree with Albanese’s analyses and some controversial statements in the past – a violation of the freedom of expression and academic freedom enshrined in the Basic Law and also in international human rights instruments. Furthermore, Germany’s constitutionally enshrined membership of the United Nations requires respect for its institutions, including the special representatives it mandates. In this regard, we agree with the criticism voiced by the European Society of International Law and our colleagues at the Free University of Berlin.
These attacks on international law in the context of the Middle East conflict have parallels in the debate on asylum law. With all due respect for different views on asylum policy, obligations under international and European law must be respected when dealing with refugees. This includes compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law, the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Note: If you are a German speaking international law scholar and would like to sign, please contact Matthias Goldmann (matthias.goldmann@ebs.edu). For press inquiries, please contact Anne van Aaken (anne.van.aaken@uni-hamburg.de), Kai Ambos (kambos@gwdg.de) or Matthias Goldmann.
As of March, 25th 2025
- Anne van Aaken, Professorin, Universität Hamburg
- Andreas Paulus, Professor, Universität Göttingen
- Kai Ambos, Professor, Universität Göttingen
- Matthias Goldmann, Professor, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht
- Sigrid Boysen, Professorin, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/ Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
- Thomas Giegerich, Professor, Europa-Institut, Universität des Saarlandes
- Philipp Dann, Professor, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
- Markus Krajewski, Professor, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Andreas Haratsch, Professor, FernUniversität in Hagen
- Andreas von Arnauld, Professor, Walther-Schücking-Institut, Universität Kiel
- Dagmar Richter, Professorin, Universität Heidelberg/ Universität des Saarlandes
- Donald Riznik, Akademischer Oberrat, Universität der Bundeswehr München
- Grażyna Baranowska, Professorin, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Bruno Simma, Professor, LMU München/ University of Michigan Ann Arbor
- Stefan Oeter, Professor, Universität Hamburg
- Thomas Kleinlein, Professor, Walther-Schücking-Institut, Universität Kiel
- Christina Binder, Professorin, Universität der Bundeswehr München
- Florian Jeßberger, Professor, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Nele Matz-Lück, Professorin, Walther-Schücking-Institut, Universität Kiel
- Alexander Proelß, Professor, Universität Hamburg
- Rainer Hofmann, Professor, Universität Frankfurt a.M.
- Dominik Steiger, Professor, Zentrum für Internationale Studien, Technische Universität Dresden
- Eva Pils, Professorin, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Nora Markard, Professorin, Universität Münster
- Claus Dieter Classen, Professor, Universität Greifswald
- Christian Tomuschat, Professor, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Marc Bungenberg, Professor, Europa-Institut, Universität des Saarlandes
- Mehrdad Payandeh, Professor, Bucerius Law School, Hamburg
- Birgit Peters, Professorin, Universität Trier
- Ralf Michaels, Professor, Universität Hamburg und Queen Mary University London
- Andreas Fischer-Lescano, Professor, Universität Kassel
- Felix Hanschmann, Professor, Bucerius Law School, Hamburg
- Karin Oellers-Frahm, MPI für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, Heidelberg
- Daniel-Erasmus Khan, Professor, Universität der Bundeswehr München
- Stefanie Bock, Professorin, Philipps-Universität Marburg
- Eckart Klein, Professor, Universität Potsdam
- Markus Kotzur, Professor, Universität Hamburg
- Marten Breuer, Professor, Universität Konstanz
- Nico Krisch, Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
- Franz Mayer, Professor, Universität Bielefeld
- Claudia Maria Hofmann, Professorin, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)
- Frank Neubacher, Professor, Universität zu Köln
- Karsten Nowrot, Professor, Universität Hamburg
- Matthias Ruffert, Professor, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Peter-Tobias Stoll, Professor, Universität Göttingen
- Ingo Venzke, Professor, Universiteit van Amsterdam
- Lukas Rass-Masson, Professor, Université de Toulouse
- Felix Lange, Professor, Universität zu Köln
- Sina Fontana, Professorin, Universität Augsburg
- Angelika Siehr, Professorin, Universität Bielefeld
- Andreas Müller, Professor, Universität Basel
- Astrid Epiney, Professorin, Universität Freiburg, Schweiz
- Yvonne Karimi-Schmidt, Professorin, Universität Graz
- Erich Schweighofer, Professor, Universität Wien
- Oliver Dörr, Professor, Universität Osnabrück
- Christian Walter, Professor, LMU München
- Robert Uerpmann-Wittzack, Professor, Universität Regensburg
- Björn Schiffbauer, Professor, Universität Rostock
- Jürgen Bröhmer, Professor, Murdoch University, Perth, West-Australien
- Eibe Riedel, Professor (em.), Universität Mannheim
- Matthias Mahlmann, Professor, Universität Zürich
- Manfred Nowak, Professor, Universität Wien
- Theodor Schilling, apl. Professor, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Martina Haedrich, Professorin, Universität Jena
- Kay Hailbronner, Professor, Universität Konstanz
- Jochen von Bernstorff, Professor, Universität Tübingen
- Katja Ziegler, Professorin, University of Leicester, Vereinigtes Königreich
- Stephan Breitenmoser, Professor (em.), Universität Basel
- Stephanie Schiedermair, Professorin, Universität Leipzig
- Meinhard Schröder, Professor,Universität Trier
- Ulrich Fastenrath, Professor, Zentrum für Internationale Studien, Technische Universität Dresden
- Anuscheh Farahat, Professorin, Universität Wien
- Karsten Thorn, Professor, Bucerius Law School, Hamburg
- Michaela Hailbronner, Universität Münster
- Anna Petrig, Professorin, Universität Basel
- Sabine von Schorlemer, Professorin, Zentrum für Int. Studien, Technische Universität Dresden
- Dirk Hanschel, Professor, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
- Matthias Valta, Professor, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
- Henning Lahmann, Professor, Universität Leiden
- Hannah Birkenkötter, Professorin, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
- Michel Erpelding, Forschungsgruppenleiter, MPI für Rechtsgeschichte und Rechtstheorie
- Johann Ruben Leiss, Professor, Universität Oslo
- Jörg Paul Müller, Professor (em.), Universität Basel
- Ralph Janik, Assistenzprofessor, Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien
- Valentin Schatz, Juniorprofessor, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
- Wolfgang Benedek, Professor i.R., Universität Graz
- Manuel Brunner, Professor, Hochschule für Polizei und öffentliche Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Florian Hoffmann, Professor, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
- Herbert Kronke, Professor, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
- Klaus D. Beiter, Professor, North-West University, Potchefstroom, Südafrika
- Michael Riegner, Juniorprofessor, Universität Erfurt
- Christoph Vedder, Professor, Universität Augsburg
- Jann K. Kleffner, Professor, Swedish Defense University, Stockholm
- Gerard C. Rowe, Professor (em.), Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)
Erstmal meinen Dank für die Ausführungen.
Als Nichtjuristin möchte ich mich vollumfänglich den Ausführungen anschließen!
Das Völkerrecht muss geachtet und verteidigt werden, um wenigstens noch eine Grundlage für ein gesichertes zusammenleben zu haben.
Thank you for your engagement!!!!
Germany’s “Respect” for International Law
We welcome the letter by 77 law scholars calling on the German government to uphold international law. The authors emphasize that Germany is legally obliged to enforce the ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. They also rightly highlight that preventing UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese from speaking at German universities constitutes a violation of freedom of expression and academic freedom.
What is striking, however, is that the letter fails to mention the accusation of genocide against Palestinians by Israel. A call for the government to respect international law falls short if it doesn’t explicitly acknowledge that, for over 18 months, Germany has disregarded international law regarding Israel and, in the eyes of many—particularly internationally—has become complicit in acts of genocide. We would also have expected Gaza and Palestine to be mentioned by name, as this is about the systematic destruction of the Palestinian people, whose suffering remains invisible due to the ongoing silence.
As a signatory to the UN Genocide Convention, Germany is obligated to prevent atrocity crimes—including those committed by Israel. At the latest, the German government should have reconsidered its support for Israel after the ICJ’s decision in the case of South Africa v. Israel on January 26, 2024, which states that provisional measures are necessary to prevent a genocide in Gaza. Subsequent ICJ decisions, along with reports from organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, ECCHR, and various UN bodies, have all documented Israel’s atrocity crimes in Gaza. The ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are also based on evidence that hunger is being used as a weapon of war. The German government’s extensive support for Israel stands in stark contradiction to international law and undermines international institutions. The letter should have addressed this and issued a stern warning to policymakers. Furthermore, the lawsuit filed by Nicaragua against Germany at the ICJ is not mentioned.
By omitting the ICJ’s rulings in the South Africa v. Israel case, the letter reveals a glaring disconnect between international law scholars elsewhere and those in Germany — although there are exceptions among the latter. In many countries, legal scholars are advocating for the full implementation of the ICJ’s measures. They condemn Israel’s renewed blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 2, 2025, its cutting of power to a desalination plant on March 9, and its breach of the ceasefire on March 18. These scholars are also calling on the ICJ to impose additional provisional measures to prevent the complete annihilation and forced displacement of the people in Gaza. Immediately after the end of the ceasefire, the Israeli army committed the greatest massacre of children in Israel’s history according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: over 400 Palestinians were killed in a single day, including 200 children. The timing of the letter’s release highlights how far the German public debate lags behind the harsh reality on the ground.
The letter by 77 law scholars thus overlooks critical points: Germany’s legal obligation to prevent genocide, the ICJ’s findings in the South Africa v. Israel case, and the need to explicitly name Gaza and Palestine. That said, it does reaffirm the binding nature of international law. On this basis, it is high time for Germany to engage in a serious discussion about Israel’s violations of the Genocide Convention as well as Germany’s active support for these actions and its failure to fulfill its legal obligation to prevent genocide against Palestinians. It is also imperative to discuss what measures—such as sanctions or a full arms embargo—Germany and other third-party states must take to stop Israel’s ongoing annihilation of Palestinian life in Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and to bring an end to the illegal occupation.