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Two nodes of interaction between AI and the obligation to respect state sovereignty

October 2, 2026

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 UK, for instance, designated data centres as critical national infrastructure in 2024 and is planning to designate them as essential services. Such designations play an important role in domestic law – imposing, among others, obligations of risk mitigation and notification on operators of designated infrastructure. These designations may also play a role under international law. Considering AI tools and infrastructure as critical infrastructure or an essential service may affect the application of obligations deriving from state sovereignty.

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Can We See Generative AI in International Law Blogging?

September 17, 2026

Gen AI and its Contributions In July 2026 EJIL published its ecosystem-wide generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) policy. The policy is carefully worded and wisely narrow. While it also addresses a series of concerns which would merit discussion individually, such as those concerning plagiarism and accuracy, in this contribution I will focus on what…

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Access to the Logbook: How Autonomous Ships Complicate the Flag State’s Ability to Fulfill its Article 94 UNCLOS Obligation

September 9, 2026

On 1 July 2026, the IMO's non-mandatory International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships took effect. The Code provides guidelines for maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS), or ships that, to various extents, operate independently of direct human control and are overseen or remotely controlled by humans in remote operations centres (ROCs), where the data,…

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Two Weeks in Review: 29 June—10 July 2026

July 12, 2026

“The test of a first-rate intelligence,” according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, “is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” For international lawyers in these times of the Board of Peace and the Gaza Riviera, this kind of functional cognitive dissonance has become less a…

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Sovereign Darkness: Iran’s Internet Blackout and the Four-Body Problem of International Law

May 20, 2026

By 21 April 2026, Iran’s internet blackout had entered its fifty-third consecutive day, the longest nationwide internet disruption ever recorded (NetBlocks; IODA Iran shutdown report). Connectivity remained at approximately one per cent of pre-war levels. The shutdown was costing the economy an estimated $35–40 million per day in direct losses, rising to $70–80 million when indirect…

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