Theory of International Law

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The Olympic Truce: Tradition or International Law?

October 20, 2022

Tomás Mariano Guisado Litterio

Ekécheiria ("laying down of arms") was a noble tradition of antiquity, by which Greek city-states were to observe a sacred truce during the Olympics. This truce, born of a treaty between the polis of Elis, Pisa and Sparta, extended from one week before the start to one week after the end of the classical Olympic Games, to allow contestants and attendees to arrive safely at Olympia, in the region of Elis, to participate in or watch the competitions, and then return in peace to their places of origin. Contrary to the widespread popular belief, the Greek polis did not cease their hostilities among themselves. Only the region of Elis was protected from invasion, while the other city-states had the obligation not to interfere with the realization of the Games or prevent the passage of those who were going to or coming from Olympia. When the Olympic Games, in their modern version, were reestablished in 1896, the institution of the Olympic Truce was not initially part of the event. It was "revived" only in 1992…

Are sabotage of submarine pipelines an ‘armed attack’ triggering a right to self-defence?

October 18, 2022

Dr. Danae Azaria

Geir Ulfstein

On 26 and 27 September 2022, explosions damaged NordStream 1 and NordStream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea (here). These are major transboundary pipelines (consisting of two pipelines each) transporting gas from Russia to Germany. They cross the territorial sea of three States (Russia, Denmark and Germany) and the exclusive economic zone (‘EEZ’) of five States (Russia,…

Women, Life, Freedom: Have international lawyers run out of words?

October 10, 2022

Zan Azadi

We have entered the fourth week into the Iranian protests (under the moto of “women, life, freedom” ) sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Iranian Kurdistan, following her arrest by the Iranian morality police for allegedly breaching the veiling laws. Since then, Amnesty International has reported that the government’s ultra-violent response…

Anarchy and Anachronism: An Existential Challenge for International Law

April 1, 2022

Philip Allott

The war in Ukraine has opened our eyes to two things that have long been there to be seen. The post-1945 world order has collapsed into a new world disorder. The utopian dream of inevitable social progress across the human world has revealed itself as an illusion. History has ended, not in improbable optimism but in a sense…

Piercing the State’s Corporate Veil: Using Private Actors to Enforce International Norms

March 17, 2022

Andrew Sanger

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a tragedy of statehood: a state no longer recognises its neighbour’s right to exist. Yet, the wider resistance to this invasion has highlighted the role of private individuals and corporations in enforcing fundamental international law norms. The involvement of the private sector has helped to globalise the conflict. Individuals and companies have come…

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Oxford University Press Debate Map on Ukraine

March 14, 2014

Dapo Akande

Over the past couple weeks, there has been a flurry of writing on this blog (see here, here,…

Does “Russian international law” have an international academic future?

September 21, 2015

Maria Issaeva

Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014, we have had a chance to hear quite a few arguments advanced by Russian scholars at various legal conferences and law journals (see, for example, here and here) regarding the situation in Crimea, all purporting to justify the annexation of the peninsula by Russia. Most of these arguments…

International Law in the Age of Trump

February 28, 2017

Monica Hakimi

In the second month of Donald Trump’s presidency, we still know little about his foreign policy agenda. He regularly said things during the campaign that suggested a radical departure from longstanding tenets of U.S. foreign policy. And during his first month in office, he caused more than his fair share of diplomatic offense and confusion.

International Law and the Construction of the Liberal Peace: An Introduction

November 14, 2014

Russell Buchan

I am delighted that the editors of EJIL: Talk! have agreed to host a discussion of my recently published monograph, which is entitled International Law and the Construction of the Liberal Peace and published by Hart. I am especially delighted that Professor Jean d’Aspremont, Professor Greg Fox and Professor Brad Roth have agreed to act as discussants.