Armed Conflict

The text below is a reproduction of Prof Dr Claus Kreß’ keynote address at the 2026 Nuremberg Forum, as delivered on 7 October at Court Room 600, Nuremberg. As readers of the blog know, we occasionally publish longer texts or lectures that we consider speak significantly to the moment. ‘If this be an innovation, it is…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is interacting in ever more complex ways with the sovereignty of states. On the one hand, AI technologies are beginning to underpin key sectors and services, including national security, the economy, healthcare. Consequently – and unsurprisingly – states are seeking to protect AI capabilities and the data infrastructure they rely on. The…

In Lebedeva and others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) issued a short judgment with sweeping effects – striking out 879 potentially meritorious applications alleging Russia’s human rights violations. Many of these cases concern harrowing personal stories of Russia’s abuses. Ms Abuyeva’s son and dozens of others were…

The past couple of years have seen a substantial number of new developments regarding the relationship between international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). These include what is probably the most significant judicial engagement ever with this relationship – the 2025 European Court of Human Rights Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia…