Introduction
The initiation of criminal complaints concerning the attack by the US armed forces on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab has brought a doctrinal issue of direct practical relevance before Iranian prosecutorial authorities. The complaints filed by victims’
EJIL: Talk!
EJIL: Talk! is published by the European Journal of International Law and focuses on contemporary issues in international law. The blog covers topics such as the legal frameworks governing military interventions and coups, developments in human rights law including children’s rights and education, challenges in prosecuting war crimes and mercenary activities, and theoretical reflections on the nature and authority of international law. It also addresses less explored areas like the application of international humanitarian law to maritime contexts. The blog engages with current events and scholarly debates to analyze the interpretation and application of international legal principles in diverse and evolving situations.
Blog Authors
Latest from EJIL: Talk!
Can the Living Instrument Doctrine Be Reversed?
On 15 May 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), meeting at ministerial level in Chişinău (Republic of Moldova), adopted a declaration in which the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’) was called upon to…
When Blockade Goes Global: The Sumud Flotilla Interceptions and the Legality of Israel’s Gaza Blockade
In the early hours of 30 April 2026, Israeli naval forces boarded 22 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla near Crete, roughly 600 nautical miles from Gaza and apprehending approximately 175 civilian activists. A few weeks later, on 19…
EJIL: The Podcast! Episode 44: One Strait, Many Chokepoints: International Law and the New Geopolitics of Energy
The war in the Middle East has plunged the world into yet another crisis. Days are paced by minute-by-minute updates: at first, tragic reports of civilian deaths and incendiary threats from US President Donald Trump, now fragile peace negotiations between…
Genocide Modelling as Ladder and Ceiling: Ecocide and the Limits of the Rome Statute
When Arthur Galston coined the term ‘ecocide’ in 1970, the choice to model it on ‘genocide’ was deliberate; the etymological echo was designed to generate political leverage and signal the gravity of environmental destruction caused by the US’ Operation Ranch…
Two Weeks in Review: 1—12 June 2026
The last fortnight has been dominated by two major developments: the proceedings initiated by deep-seabed mining contractors before the ITLOS Seabed Disputes Chamber, and the ICJ’s Right to Strike Advisory Opinion. Interventions have also grappled with different institutional silences around…
Announcements: CfP International cooperation under the ECHR; CfP International Business Law Scholars Roundtable; CfP Beyond the Gender Blind Spot; CfP Theorising the New Age of Environmental Human Rights Law Conference; The Relevance of ICJ Advisory Opinions Event; Postdoctoral Researcher Vacancy; Remembering Nuremberg Dialogue; Nuremberg Forum 2026; International Law & the Mind Workshop; CfA International Climate Change Law Conference; CfP Asymmetries in Public Policy Conference
…
Pre-Exploitation Litigation: Cases No. 34 and 35 and the Timing of Deep-Sea Mining Governance
On 5 June 2026, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) announced two new proceedings before its Seabed Disputes Chamber (SDC). Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. (TOML) each instituted proceedings against the…
Case Concerning an Inquiry by the International Seabed Authority: Less a Defence of Due Process than an Attempt to Short-circuit It?
On 30 May 2026, two deep seabed mining exploration contractors—NORI and TOML (“the contractors”), both subsidiaries of Canada-based The Metals Company (TMC)—lodged an application and a request for provisional measures with the Seabed Disputes Chamber (SDC). The claims allege that…
CERD’s May 2026 Statement on Israel’s Death Penalty Law: On the Silence of Other Treaty Bodies and On a Missed Rendez-Vous with The Hague
On 29 April 2026, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed alarm at Israel’s “Death Penalty for Terrorists Law,” urging its immediate repeal, and situating the rolling back of a long-standing de facto moratorium on…