Philippa Webb
About/Bio
Philippa Webb is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, Blavatnik School of Government, and a barrister at Twenty Essex. Previously, she served as the Special Assistant and Legal Officer to Judge Rosalyn Higgins GBE QC during her Presidency of the International Court of Justice and held positions in the International Criminal Court and United Nations Headquarters. Her publications include: Freedom of Speech in International Law Freedom of Speech in International Law (2024, chapters on insulting speech and false speech, Amal Clooney & Lord David Neuberger KC, eds), The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law (OUP 2020, with Amal Clooney) with the accompanying travaux préparatoires to Article 14 of the ICCPR (2021), Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations (2017, with Rosalyn Higgins, Dapo Akande, Sandy Sivakumaran, and James Sloan), The Law of State Immunity (2105, with Lady Hazel Fox QC) and International Judicial Integration and Fragmentation (2015). She is a regular contributor to EJIL: The Podcast!
Recently Published
Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence
April 2, 2025
Philippa Webb
Editor's note: This post is part of a book discussion on Alexander Wentker’s “Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law". I explore in this post how the use of AI-based Decision Support Systems (AI-DSS) could disrupt the three criteria developed by Alexander Wentker for identifying co-parties to an armed conflict. I first set out…
The “Loaded Weapon” of Presidential Immunity: An International Law Perspective on Trump v. United States
In July 2024, the US Supreme Court held, in a 6-3 ruling, that former President Donald Trump enjoys absolute immunity for acts he committed within his constitutional powers as President, even though they were unlawful under US law. The decision has sparked debate over potential implications for rogue presidents who may wish to subvert the law (…
The Taming Function of Private International Law
December 20, 2023
Philippa Webb
Dr Uglješa Grušić has published a new book, Torts in UK Foreign Relations, that provides a comprehensive account of private international law aspects of tortious claims arising out of the external exercise of British executive authority. It is an outstanding book – nuanced, learned and also a pleasure to read. The book tackles…
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Popular articles by Philippa Webb
EJIL:The Podcast! Episode 18 – “Be Careful What You Ask For”
February 28, 2023
Philippa Webb
In this episode Dapo Akande, Marko Milanovic and Philippa Webb are joined by Philippe Sands (University College London and 11KBW) and Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh (University of Amsterdam and University of the South Pacific). The focus is on the advisory function of international courts and tribunals. In December 2022, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International…
The Weakest Link of the Troika? The Immunity of Heads of Government in Customary International Law
October 27, 2021
Philippa Webb
There have been a flurry of cases in the English courts concerning foreign leaders in recent months. Permission has been granted to serve the President of Mozambique in a case involving claims challenging state guarantees of the financing for projects in Mozambique. The Fifth President of Ukraine (2014-2019) Petro Poroshenko has been found to be immune…
The “Loaded Weapon” of Presidential Immunity: An International Law Perspective on Trump v. United States
In July 2024, the US Supreme Court held, in a 6-3 ruling, that former President Donald Trump enjoys absolute immunity for acts he committed within his constitutional powers as President, even though they were unlawful under US law. The decision has sparked debate over potential implications for rogue presidents who may wish to subvert the law (…