Raphael Van Steenberghe
About/Bio
Raphael Van Steenberghe is a Permanent Researcher of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) at the Centre Charles de Visscher for International Law of the University of Louvain (Belgium); Lecturer in Humanitarian Law at this University and Guest Professor at the Royal Military School of Belgium as well as at the University of Lille (France). His research focuses on public international law, use of force, humanitarian law and international criminal law. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal on Use of Force and International Law (JUFIL). He has recently published two books, one on self-defence in public international law (Larcier, 2012) and the other on humanitarian law as a special regime in international law (Bruylant, 2013).
Recently Published
ICC Prosecutor’s application for arrest warrant against Israeli leaders: The war crime of starvation and its contextual element
On 20 May 2024, the ICC Prosecutor requested arrest warrants against leaders of both Hamas and Israel. The key crime charged against the Israeli leaders, Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister) and Yoav Gallant (the Minister of Defence), is the war crime of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. This crime raises numerous issues, including…
A plea for a right of Israel to self-defence in order to restrict its military operations in Gaza: when jus ad bellum comes to the aid of jus in bello
November 16, 2023
Raphael Van Steenberghe
Numerous States, making statements before the UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly during the last resumption of its tenth Emergency Special Session, have recognized the right of Israel to respond in self-defence to the Hamas’ October 7 attacks in accordance with international law. Those States include the United States (S/PV.9439, at 3), the United…
From Passive Consent to Self-Defence after the Syrian Protest against the US-led Coalition
October 23, 2015
Raphael Van Steenberghe
Since September 2014, the US and some Arab States have conducted air strikes against Islamic State (IS) in Syria. They have recently been joined by some Western States, including the UK, Canada, Australia and France. The justification given by those States and the US for their military operations in Syria is based on…
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Popular articles by Raphael Van Steenberghe
A plea for a right of Israel to self-defence in order to restrict its military operations in Gaza: when jus ad bellum comes to the aid of jus in bello
November 16, 2023
Raphael Van Steenberghe
Numerous States, making statements before the UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly during the last resumption of its tenth Emergency Special Session, have recognized the right of Israel to respond in self-defence to the Hamas’ October 7 attacks in accordance with international law. Those States include the United States (S/PV.9439, at 3), the United…
ICC Prosecutor’s application for arrest warrant against Israeli leaders: The war crime of starvation and its contextual element
On 20 May 2024, the ICC Prosecutor requested arrest warrants against leaders of both Hamas and Israel. The key crime charged against the Israeli leaders, Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister) and Yoav Gallant (the Minister of Defence), is the war crime of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. This crime raises numerous issues, including…
The Alleged Prohibition on Intervening in Civil Wars Is Still Alive after the Airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq: A Response to Dapo Akande and Zachary Vermeer
February 12, 2015
Raphael Van Steenberghe
In a recent post on ‘The Airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq’ (hereafter “the post”), Dapo Akande and Zachary Vermeer argue that the legal justifications given by the states intervening in Iraq “seem to count against the existence of [a prohibition on intervening in civil wars] as part of contemporary international law”. The aim of this…