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Red lines in a grey zone: the validity of a Russia-Ukraine peace treaty under international law

July 13, 2026

While peace still appears remote, the prospect of a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine raises difficult questions concerning the international law governing inter-state peace treaties. The unlawfulness of Russia’s use of force and the peace plans proposed to date point to issues of validity, particularly under Articles 46, 52 and 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). This post discusses the extent to which the international law of treaty validity constrains the permissible terms and circumstances of concluding a peace treaty. It demonstrates that, in the context of a potential Russia–Ukraine peace treaty, international law requires respect for Ukraine’s fundamental constitutional constraints, safeguards its freedom to consent to a treaty, and precludes treaty terms that conflict with peremptory norms. Yet, construed along the lines advanced in this post, these constraints leave significant room for accommodating the imperatives of bringing a militarily unresolved conflict to an end.

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A peace treaty for Ukraine: Mini-symposium on international legal issues

July 10, 2026

In the four years since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the prospects of a negotiated peace settlement have waxed but mostly waned. But the possibility of an agreement has been an ongoing focus for international lawyers. This is primarily because Russia has demanded territorial concessions from Ukraine that appear at odds with…

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The Dismantling of UN Peace Operations under the Trump Administration

February 10, 2026

Those who had hoped for a more auspicious start to the new year for multilateralism were quickly disillusioned by recent developments concerning Venezuela, Greenland and beyond. Simultaneously, the United States (US) President contended that he ‘doesn’t need international law’ but is guided instead by his ‘own morality’.

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Beyond Residual Functions: The IRMCT, the ‘Stateless Eight’, and the Human Rights Obligations of Security Council Subsidiaries

January 27, 2026

On 10 December 2025, the Security Council once again debated the future of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). As in previous sessions, delegations diverged sharply in their assessments of the tribunal: France, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea underscored the importance of retaining international authority over things like sentence enforcement and early…

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Might or Right? The Prospect of an ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Security Council Veto

December 30, 2025

The United Nations Security Council (“SC”) veto has once again become a focal point of debate. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and paralysis over the situation in Gaza have revived a familiar concern: the SC’s primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security appears ill served when one permanent member (“P5”) can unilaterally block even minimal action in response…

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