The aim of the article is to examine the legal position presented by the UK after the 2018 airstrikes in Syria, both from the perspective of the legality of humanitarian intervention as well as the criteria employed with regard to a humanitarian intervention in the doctrine of international law. The thesis underlying this paper is that humanitarian intervention is illegal under contemporary international

Gender-based crimes occur to this day in armed conflicts across the globe. Forced marriages were rife in Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and Uganda, and a debate has emerged as to how they should be categorised in international criminal law (ICL). The main question this paper examines is: should forced marriages be categorised as ‘sexual slavery’ or ‘other inhumane acts’ in ICL? The principle of nullum crimen

The primacy of EU law continues to be challenged by domestic courts relying on the notion of constitutional identity. These challenges are no longer limited to the Solange case law of the German Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG) and the controlimiti doctrine of the Italian Corte Costituzionale. More recently, the Hungarian Constitutional Court introduced the notion of ‘historical constitutional identity’

In this paper, I offer an analysis of the different understandings of ‘system’ in connection with the two main Western legal traditions. In the continental ‘civil law’ tradition, ‘system’ is used in relation to the substance of the law, whereas in the English ‘common law’ tradition ‘system’ is rather used in relation to the functioning of the law, in the sense of finding solutions to legal problems

By its judgement of 2 February 2017, the International Court of Justice took up jurisdiction to adjudicate the maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya. Notwithstanding surrounding controversies, the Court set out important rules concerning the law of treaties. The main implication of the judgment is that the Court embraced a more objective definition of treaties and identified the significance of

This article analyses the role that human rights bodies play in triggering the application of criminal law. By examining the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, as well as other human rights bodies, the article discusses how these institutions have started imposing on states positive obligations to criminalise

On the occasion of the 2016 Warsaw Summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Nations endorsed the NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians, which was developed with NATO Partners and in consultation with the United Nations and other international organisations. This Policy is further bolstered by Allies’ pledge to implement a concrete Action Plan, which will be reviewed regularly

The aim of this article is to better understand the conditions outlined in the CILFIT judgment and their role in creating a meaningful dialogue about European Union law. For these purposes two distinct views on the relation between language and meaning are utilised, as has been argued for by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations. In the CILFIT judgment both of these views surface

This article deals with an enduring challenge for the European Court of Justice: striking a balance between the EU market integration requirements and respecting the ‘fundamental structures’ that exist in the Member States through the recognition and accommodation of a range of regulatory options that may restrict trade. The challenge is finding unity in social diversity and many commentators consider

Possibilities and constraints for achieving legal unity in the context of the European Union (EU) manifest themselves in multiple and illustrative ways in the development of cooperation between judges in EU Member States. For example, recent discussions on judicial independence in Hungary and Poland underline that we are still quite far removed from the realisation of a shared European normative basis

A growing body of literature has recently discussed the access of migrants to property rights over assets as a requirement for the protection of their human rights and basic interests. Little attention has been paid, however, to the fact that the right to decide over an individual’s migration to a given place is itself a property right. This paper aims to close this gap by describing international

This paper aims to examine whether a different methodology has emerged to identify customary rules in the field of international criminal law. For this purpose, this paper briefly touches upon debates regarding customary law as a source and an interpretative aid of international criminal law. It then critically studies the identification methodology of customary law to seek whether a new approach deviating

The past decades have seen enormous growth in the agrochemical industry. Its pesticides and fertilisers promise to farmers worldwide an increase in yields and a decrease in labour input. The expansion of the pesticides industry results in tremendous costs to others – in the form of chronic illness, acute injuries, and environmental degradation. Such costs are borne disproportionately by farm and plantation

This article offers an analysis of how theories on constitutional revision can help understand crises that threaten legal unity. The Catalonian crisis represents the case study, and is discussed from the perspective of constitutional theory. The article starts out from a conceptualisation of ‘legal unity’ as the organisational as well as political claim of constitutions to provide unity within a certain

In the years since 9/11, international security discourse has heightened concerns around extremism, positioning this as the key threat that States need to address in order to prevent and combat terrorism. Politically, enactment of domestic legislation curtailing extremist expressions has been internationally authorised and encouraged and in May 2016 the United Kingdom (‘UK’), spearheading a liberal

This essay is one of the first collaborative efforts to identify the underlying norms embedded in diverse traditions of Islamic law as these apply to contemporary Muslim communities experiencing conflict or transitioning from conflict. This long overdue endeavor draws upon comparative legal analyses, postconflict justice traditions, global governance, and empirical conflict studies to explore why Islamic

The free movement and residence of Union citizens and their third country national family members may be restricted under Article 35 of Directive 2004/38/EC on the grounds of abuse of rights. Although the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) had the opportunity to address abuse of rights cases, so far there have been no cases where it has established that abuse of rights took place. For this

In spite of some early judicial, political and scholarly discussions, as well as more recent scientific explorations of the topic, problems and concerns with proving discrimination in individual capital cases continue to be among the most debatable issues in human rights and criminal justice. In general, domestic courts (in particular US courts) seem to remain relatively perfunctory and hostile to

Nuclear disarmament falls within the purview of the purposes envisaged in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1996 delivered an advisory opinion on legality of use of nuclear weapons and has stated that the states in good faith must strive towards nuclear disarmament. In the Marshall Islands Cases, 20 years later the ICJ had the opportunity to address

Whereas the characteristics of human rights fact-finding largely vary depending on the typology and scope of the entity that carries it out, consensus seems to be developing that a common set of challenges to human rights fact-finding exists. This is especially so when carried out under United Nations auspices. For example, it has long been acknowledged that the very nature of the institution, sitting

The Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) advises parties in peace negotiations, on drafting post-conflict constitutions, and assists in prosecuting war criminals. As part of this work, PILPG assists States in establishing and implementing electoral systems that meet international standards for democratic elections, and undertakes election monitoring. Free and fair elections are crucial

Wittingly or unwittingly, civil society actors have long been faced with the task of documenting serious human rights violations. Thirty years ago, such efforts were largely organised by grassroots movements, often with little support or funding from international actors. Sharing information and best practices was difficult. Today that situation has significantly changed. The purpose of this article

When the Editor-in-Chief of the Utrecht Journal of International and European Law (UJIEL) approached us with the possibility of guest editing a special issue related to public international law and policy, we felt the timing could not have been better. As academics at Utrecht University with the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and Montaigne Centre for Judicial Administration and Conflict Resolution

Maritime piracy began to re-emerge a decade ago, mostly off the coast of Somalia, thereby presenting major economic, security and humanitarian concerns. Prosecuting piracy raises many issues, not in the least because traditional maritime piracy from 200 years ago is so notably different from contemporary piracy. The present article describes the Public International Law and Policy Group’s formation

On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine, leaving no survivors. Since, victims’ relatives, States, and the wider public are trying to understand what happened, how it could happen, who is responsible, and how to address these responsibilities. The efforts to find justice have faced many complications and legal complexities. This article aims to provide insight

Yemen’s 2013–2014 National Dialogue Conference paved the way for Yemen to transition from a unitary to federal system of government. This is a common trajectory for States emerging from conflict as federalism offers the hope for greater democratic governance and inclusivity. Nevertheless, there is a danger in assuming that there is an ideal federal model to emulate or that federalism is itself a guaranteed

The rise of Islamic State (IS) has fundamentally altered the conception of terrorism, a development which international criminal law is arguably unprepared for. Given the scale and gravity of the group’s crimes, questions abound as to how those responsible will be held accountable. In the absence of significant domestic prosecutions and short of the establishment of a dedicated accountability mechanism

An unforeseen fundamental change of circumstances can be invoked to prompt the termination of a treaty, under the customary rule rebus sic stantibus , which is codified in Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The fundamental change must affect the essential basis of the treaty and radically transform obligations still to be performed. Maritime boundaries are agreed upon

This paper explores the scope of activities children may engage in for a defendant to be convicted for using them to participate in hostilities under the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It analyses the relevant international law provisions and the ICC’s decisions in the Lubanga matter. It finds that a broad scope of activities more effectively assists the protection of children from

The European Union (EU) has made the upholding of human rights an integral part of its external trade relations and requires that all trade, cooperation, partnership and association agreements with third countries, including unilateral trade instruments, contain with varying modalities and intensity a commitment to the respect for human rights. The paper discusses selected aspects of the EU’s promotion

In this case, the CJEU answers the question whether Article 1(3) of the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant must be interpreted as meaning that when there are strong indications that detention conditions in the issuing Member State infringe Article 4 of the Charter, the executing judicial authority must refuse surrender of the person against whom a European arrest warrant is issued. The

Traditional knowledge (TK) plays an integral role in supporting sustainable development practices and can act as an enabler of sustainable development in indigenous and local communities (ILCs) through recognition of intellectual property rights (IPRs). This paper explores points of convergence and divergence, arguing that the application of IPRs to TK held by ILCs can help facilitate sustainable development

The EU’s international agreements with Morocco on trade in agricultural and fishery products have drawn criticism due to their application to the disputed territory of Western Sahara, a territory that remains on the list of non-self-governing territories to be decolonised in accordance with the right of self-determination of the indigenous Sahrawi people. Recently, the Sahrawi liberation movement Front