In January 2009, Israel imposed a far-reaching naval blockade after attempts by the Free Gaza Movement to enter the closed Gaza Strip by sea. While international lawyers have discussed the legality of the naval blockade extensively (see here, here, here and here), its detrimental consequences for Gaza’s marine environment have been largely overlooked.

This post, and its sister post on OpinioJuris, mark the start of the seventieth session of the International Law Commission. Under the theme “70 years of the International Law Commission: Drawing a Balance for the Future”, commemorative events will be held on 21 May in New York and on 5-6 July in Geneva. In these two…

Christiane Ahlborn is Ph.D. Candidate at the Amsterdam Center for International Law and member of the project on Shared Responsibility in International Law (SHARES) On 31 October 2011, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) approved the bid of Palestine for full membership with the necessary two-thirds majority. Although 107 UNESCO States voted in favor of Palestinian…