05 August 2026
Sworn Elsewhere
On 7 August, Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, takes office. He will swear to keep faith with the Constitution and take command of the armed forces. Yet he has already sworn, in an oath that remains formally operative, to renounce all allegiance to every other sovereign and to bear arms for the United States. Constitutions that make dual nationality an individual right seldom pause to ask what that right means for the one office meant to personify the sovereignty of the people. Colombia can no longer avoid the question. Continue reading >>
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22 December 2025
When Universities Govern
When UN Special Rapporteurs send an allegation letter to a university, international law is doing something unusual. On 14 October 2025, five mandate-holders addressed such a letter to Columbia University, raising concerns about protest policing, disciplinary sanctions, surveillance, and the treatment of non-citizen students and scholars in connection with Gaza-related expression and assembly. The letter does not resolve disputed facts. Its importance lies elsewhere: it reflects a shift in how international human rights law responds to the privatisation of coercive governance. Continue reading >>
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