World Updates
The Internal Proportionality Assessment in Cyberspace
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s Prosecutor v. Prlić et al. Appeals Chamber judgment, as well as the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission’s Western Front arbitral award found that a bridge and an electrical power station, respectively, were military objectives in their entirety, although they simultaneously served both military and civilian purposes. In a similar […]
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion: A Quasi-Occupying Power?
On 22 October 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published an advisory opinion under the descriptive yet unwieldy title, Obligations of Israel in Relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in Relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The opinion responds to a 19 […]
Future of Warfare and Law Series – The Law and LAWS
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. Christina Colclough’s introductory post is available here. In May of 2025, the third Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium invited lawyers, technical experts, and academics to discuss and debate the most […]
Future of Warfare and Law Series – Addressing Uncertainty in the Use of Autonomous Weapons Systems
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. LTC Christina Colclough’s introductory post is available here. The Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium, which took place in May 2025, brought together lawyers and technical experts to discuss some of […]
Future of Warfare and Law Series – Introduction
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. This past May, a community of military legal scholars and technical experts met at the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium, co-hosted by the Army Futures Command (AFC) Office of the […]
Beyond the State: Reforming Africa’s Anti-Torture Framework to Address Non-State Violence
African countries have made significant strides in ratifying international anti-torture instruments like the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT). UNCAT Article 1 defines torture as severe pain or suffering intentionally inflicted “by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” A […]
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Artificial Intelligence in Military Detention
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Professor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. The posts touch on a few issues—in this case detention—that Professor Hampson worked on and aim to pay tribute to the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. This contribution […]
Belligerent Reprisals Series – Changing the Paradigm to Rein in Retaliation in Armed Conflict
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series related to Francesco Romani’s book Belligerent Reprisals from Enforcement to Reciprocity published by Cambridge University Press. In its centuries-old development, modern international humanitarian law (IHL) has progressively distanced itself from the idea of reciprocity. This trend has culminated in recent years, when the claim that the behaviour of […]
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion – How Indispensable Is the UN After All?
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring analysis of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Obligations of Israel as an Occupying Power. The introductory post to the series by Sean Watts is available here. In late October 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered another Advisory Opinion (AO) in […]
Military Objective or Civilian Object? The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency’s Status in Case of Armed Conflict
The increasing reliance of States on cyber infrastructure for both civilian and military purposes has generated renewed debate on the protection of such infrastructure under international humanitarian law (IHL). The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale, ACN), established to safeguard national cyber resilience, plays a critical role in the defense of Italy’s […]