Recurring breaches and non-enforcement of international law have persisted since the adoption of the UN Charter and the establishment of the post-World War II (WWII) legal order, which remains in place today. Scholars have repeatedly issued death certificates to Article 2.4 of the UN Charter and have raised fundamental questions about the weaknesses of this legal system and its institutions, even questioning whether international law can truly be considered law. Thus, given current global events, it is regrettable to say that little has changed regarding breaches and non-enforcement of international law. What is new in international affairs and challenges the fabric of international law even more fundamentally is the current attitude of States toward international law. As Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has recently observed: “In recent years, we have seen a pulling away from the standards, a willingness to say, ‘if I don’t like the standards, it doesn’t apply to me…. Your government might do bad stuff, but it would still…
Russia
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UNSC Resolution 2774: The Implications of Equidistance for Ukraine and International Law
On February 24th, 2025, the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted its first resolution on the matter. Resolution 2774 was adopted with ten votes in favour (Algeria, China, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, United States of America) and five abstentions (Denmark, France,…
“No safe haven” is not enough – universal jurisdiction and Russia’s war of aggression
Three years after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the widespread activation of universal and other forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute international crimes committed in the war calls for an evaluation. What has been achieved so far and what could be done better? Despite the stated commitment of Ukraine’s allies to complement the justice efforts in…
‘Passportisation’: ECtHR finds imposition of Russian citizenship in Crimea a breach of article 8 ECHR
A. Introduction The term ‘passportisation’ refers to the practice of extending nationality to substantial numbers of individuals beyond the boundary of the state, including by forcible imposition of nationality. At an international level, two effects – each potentially an aim of value to the state extending its nationality – are the erosion of the territorial sovereignty…
Christmas Day Cable Cuts in the Baltic Sea
In less than 14 months, submarine telecommunications cables connecting Estonia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, and Sweden have been cut nine times in the Baltic Sea. In addition, an underwater electricity cable and a gas pipeline have been cut by a ship anchor. These damages occurred in three separate incidents all involving a foreign commercial ship dragging an anchor…