EJIL: Talk!
- The Legality of the Use of Interstate Force during the 2026 Israel/US-Iran Hostilities: What States Said and did not Say 24/07/2026On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel launched a coordinated aerial attack on Iran. The Iranian response included not only the use of force against Israeli and US targets, but also against the territories of several States which were not directly involved in the attacks conducted by the US and Israel. Consequently, the whole […]Gal Cohen
- At Peace, Yet Under Fire – Blockade Enforcement against Third State Vessels and the U.N Charter 23/07/2026From April 13 to June 18, the U.S.A implemented a blockade against Iran. As part of the blockade enforcement, on June 9th, it attacked the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Settebello 20 miles north-east of Sohar in Oman’s Exclusive Economic Zone, resulting in the deaths of three Indian sailors onboard – the first direct deaths caused […]Himanil Raina
- Can China Lead the Way in Constraining Economic Coercion? Sanctions, Chokepoints, and the Perils of Convergence 22/07/2026Economic coercion remains ill-defined in international law, but its importance is growing ever more evident by the day. At various points, for example, a negotiated settlement to the US-Iran War has reportedly been blocked in key part by disagreements over $24 billion in assets frozen by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); most […]Ryan Mitchell
- A “Free Economic Zone” as an Element of Peace for Ukraine? 21/07/2026At various points in recent months, proposals have been made to create a “free economic zone” in parts of Ukraine’s territory. These proposals seem to pursue at least two different purposes. First, they can be understood as an alternative solution to questions of a territorial nature, i.e. creating a territorial arrangement which involves neither full […]Helmut Philipp Aust
- International Courts Against the Defunding of Climate Science? Revisiting the ICJ’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion 21/07/2026Introduction The first eighteen months of the second Trump administration have witnessed a sustained assault on scientific infrastructures enabling understanding of anthropogenic climate change. This has taken the form of cuts to national science agencies; freezes and dramatic reductions in grants to universities; and attempts to dismantle observation arrays and crucial monitoring stations. It has […]Anna Saunders
- Beyond Strasbourg: The Chișinău Declaration in Europe’s Multi-Level Human Rights Architecture 20/07/2026Political declarations are not new to the system established through the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Chișinău Declaration, recently adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, nevertheless differs from earlier declarations that primarily addressed institutional questions, subsidiarity and the relationship between Strasbourg and domestic authorities. It engages directly with substantive questions […]Birgit Hollaus
- Announcements: CfP Economic Security and Competitive Markets; CfP The Irish Yearbook of International Law; CfA Yerevan International Conference on International Humanitarian Law 19/07/20261. Call for Papers: Economic Security and Competitive Markets – Reconciling Conflicting Ambitions. The Research Centre for State and Law (SteR) at Radboud University is inviting abstracts for an international conference entitled Economic Security and Competitive Markets: Reconciling Conflicting Ambitions, which will take place on 22 January 2027 at the AKD Law Firm Amsterdam Office, […]Mary Guest
- Who Pays for Aggression? Ukraine’s Reparation Claims and Russian Frozen Assets 17/07/2026As Russia’s war against Ukraine rages, inflicting suffering on the country, its people, and economy, the Russian Central Bank (RCB) assets remain immobilised (i.e., frozen). Since December 2025, the EU, on whose territory a significant chunk of these assets has been immobilised, – €210 bn worth of assets out of approximately €290 bn – modified […]Iryna Bogdanova
- Christopher Nolan and International Law 16/07/2026Sand Tomorrow, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will come clattering into cinemas around the world. There will no doubt be talk of plotlines, performances, accents, and fidelity to the source text—perhaps even some mentions of the curious absence of Greek actors. There is less likely to be talk about sand. But the sand is important. It […]Sebastian von Massow
- How the war in Ukraine impacts the law and politics of security guarantees 15/07/2026The paradoxical revival of security guarantees Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has revived the concept of security guarantees. Their content and scope have been central to scholarly and political debates about Kyiv’s resistance to the Russian aggression (see here and here). Yet, this revival highlights a paradox: if existing arrangements had been effective, […]Carolyn Moser