23 January 2026
Völkerrecht in der Krise – und als Krise
Das Völkerrecht wird vor allem in Katastrophen sichtbar. Krisen waren nie bloß ein äußerer Anlass, sondern stets eine Existenzbedingung des Völkerrechts. Gegenwärtig beobachten wir jedoch beunruhigt: Das Völkerrecht reagiert nicht mehr nur auf Krisen – es befindet sich selbst in der Krise. Doch die Krise des Völkerrechts begann nicht in Gaza, nicht in der Ukraine und nicht in Washington. Sie ist heute sichtbarer und schärfer, doch ihre Wurzeln reichen tiefer. Continue reading >>
0 
23 January 2026
International Law in, and as, Crisis
International law emerges most visibly in moments of catastrophe – war, mass violence, humanitarian breakdown – when it is called upon to restrain power, assign responsibility, and promise a horizon of order. Crisis has never been external to international law; it has been its condition of existence. Yet today, something more troubling is underway. International law is not only responding to crisis; it is itself in crisis. But its crisis did not begin in Gaza, Ukraine, or Washington. Its roots run far deeper. What is needed now is an international law from below. Continue reading >>
0
27 June 2024
A Global South Perspective on Loss and Damage Litigation
In June 2024, delegates undertook two-week-long negotiations at the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference. These meetings concerned the modalities of the newly instituted Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund and the provision of financial assistance to developing countries. In this piece, we reflect on the future interactions between the L&D Fund and litigations regarding L&D. We argue that these two phenomena must be seen as having a synergistic relation, effectively benefitting the Global South. Continue reading >>
0
21 July 2020
‘All nations must be considered to be civilized’
Even though Art. 38 (1)(c) ICJ Statute is supposed to remain the starting point for the identification of general principles of international law, Special Rapporteur Vázquez-Bermúdez suggests avoiding the reference to ‘civilized nations’. Getting rid of the explicit reference to the standard of civilization remains merely cosmetic as long as international sources doctrine does not simultaneously reflect the persisting influence of colonial ideas. Decolonizing international sources doctrine requires remedying Eurocentrist conceptions of what constitutes ‘the principal legal systems of the world’ and understanding the role of the idea of a legal system in the standard of civilization. Continue reading >>
0