A domestic law purporting to provide the President with legal authority to summarily kill drug traffickers on the high seas will not make it lawful under international law. It will still constitute the unlawful extrajudicial killing of civilians.

This post by @profmarkovic.bsky.social on @ejiltalk.bsky.social provides an excellent analysis of the legal standards applicable to the crime of genocide, and an important perspective on when it does and doesn’t apply - all media should read it!

At long last....

Careful and detailed analysis by @mikeschmitt.bsky.social in @justsecurity.org, rejecting claims that US strike on drug-running vessel could be justified as 1) self-defense under jus ad bellum; or 2) IHL within context of an armed conflict.

The Israeli strike on Doha is almost certainly a violation of the prohibition against the use of force in Art. 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, and cannot be justified as self-defense. It should be condemned.

To clarify any lingering confusion, the law of armed conflict (LOAC)/international humanitarian law (IHL) could not operate to legitimize this strike on a drug-running vessel. There is no armed conflict, and so LOAC/IHL simply does not apply. Period. It is extra-judicial killing.

The IPC Famine Review Committee Report on famine in Gaza, published yesterday: www.ipcinfo.org/file...

US sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors is an attack on the rule of law, period. If the international rule of law collapses the whole world will suffer, and Americans will come to rue their role in destroying it.

Must-read paper on the developments to date in the effort to establish a treaty on the prohibition, prevention, and punishment of crimes against humanity, by @leilasadat1.bsky.social, who has been central to that effort: papers.ssrn.com/sol3...

The media are not addressing the legal issues - but the use of military force against cartels within the territory of another state, without its consent, would be a violation of the fundamental prohibition on the use of force in Art. 2(4) of the UN Charter. www.nytimes.com/2025...

Interesting analysis of a German case that includes charges of using starvation as a method of warfare in Syria, and discussion of its significance as a precedent for this seldom prosecuted war crime: lieber.westpoint.edu...

The U.S. Dept. of Energy has released a new report claiming that reducing GHG emissions will do more harm than good - we are truly in an Orwellian phase of disinformation. Link in the comments.

Having been raised in St. Lucia, I’m thrilled to see this. Justice is not in retreat everywhere. www.hrw.org/news/202...

An annotated bibliography on Crimes Against Humanity just posted by Beth Van Schaak - will be hugely helpful to anyone doing work in this area (regrettably, there are so many case studies ongoing now...) papers.ssrn.com/sol3...

This is just so profoundly perverse and morally wrong - America’s actions on climate are not just harming future generations of Americans, but threatening all of humanity.

Such secrecy and lack of transparency in the development and testing of solar geoengineering is unacceptable - and highlights again why stronger governance is needed: www.politico.com/new...

The irony that Republican administrations are banning books, like 1984, that the CIA used to smuggle into Warsaw Pact countries to undermine communist totalitarianism. www.nytimes.com/2025...

In reporting on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change, the media keep parroting that it is "non-binding" - but this reflects a misunderstanding - there is no binding order, but the many fundamental obligations identified by the court are all very much binding!! Journalists, please note.

Surprisingly powerful and scathing piece by former foreign minister and former attorney general, supporting Canada’s condemnation of Israeli conduct in Gaza: www.theglobeandmail....

Here are a few of the more striking aspects of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, after a quick read, (thread) - though in short, this is a powerful articulation of a range of binding erga omnes obligations under both treaty and custom...1/17

The ICJ has issued its advisory opinion on the obligations of states in in respect of climate change. After a quick review, it takes an expansive interpretation and is hugely important. More to follow - here is the decision: www.icj-cij.org/site...

This is noteworthy - not only was solar the top source of energy for the entire EU, but the 3 next in line were all carbon free, and coal was a mere 6%: e360.yale.edu/digest...

An important post in @justsecurity.org by two highly respected Israeli scholars of the law of armed conflict warns that Israel's plan to move Palestinians into a concentration camp in Rafah would amount to multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity. 1/3 www.justsecurity.org...

New analysis on the impact of the "Big Beautiful Bill" on US carbon emissions, and implications for meeting US targets under its Paris Agreement pledges: www.carbonbrief.org/...

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights yesterday issued its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of states in responding to climate change! The English version of the 300 page opinion is not yet available, but the Guardian has an early summary 1/3 www.theguardian.com/...

Lost in the focus on the myriad bad effects of the megabill, is the impact on US climate change obligations under international law. The US remains a party to the Paris Agreement until Jan. 2026 and remains party to the UNFCCC... www.politico.com/new...

Here is the study in The Lancet, which estimates that the elimination of USAID funding could lead to over 14 million deaths, including over 4.5 million children, by 2030: www.thelancet.com/jo...

Should be obvious, but requires constant repetition: "When the rules are applied selectively, they lose their protective power. Double standards not only undermine the law—they fuel impunity, prolong suffering, and erode trust among people and states." ICRC President. www.icrc.org/en/stat...

For anyone still equivocating on whether there was a constitutional basis for the US strikes on Iran, here's Michael Glennon’s categorical and historically-informed assessment. www.justsecurity.org/115931/us-at...

On the Supreme Court’s gaslighting of America and how it is undermining the rule of law (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025...

This is like the medieval burning of archives…the destruction of knowledge and embrace of ignorance.

The stripping of nationality from natural born citizens won't be far behind...how swiftly the rule of law crumbles...

Two more essays with analysis of the unlawfulness of the Israeli/American military strikes against Iran - one, by Terry Gill, on the non-applicability of self-defense or other jus ad bellum justifications: lieber.westpoint.edu...

A good analysis for those wanting a deeper dive into the implications of the birthright citizenship decision: www.stevevladeck.com...

There is a certain irony to this…tempting to see it as a natural self-correcting mechanism in action… www.theguardian.com/...

For the price of a birthday military parade…

Hypothesis: 2 posts on X.com with exactly the same text, 1 with a link to the NYTimes or WaPo, the other to Fox or even no link at all, will get very different exposure and engagement due to suppression by the algorithm. Test it.

This is exactly right - all the other wars, and narrow conceptions of national security, are preventing us from dealing collectively with the true existential threat. www.theguardian.com/...

Bravo to the @theguardian.com for this lengthy and thoughtful piece on the harm to the international law system being caused by recent state action. A thread 1/15 www.theguardian.com/...

Watching the SCOTUSBlog real-time commentary on the decisions coming out this morning...already depressed. www.scotusblog.com/

I am not attending this, unfortunately, but we should all be keeping a close eye on the discussion and conclusions: global-tipping-point...

Exactly

It is actually difficult to see how the limitation of Imperial succession to men is not a flagrant and unjustifiable violation of the equality rights in Art. 14 of the Constitution.

Important insight - worth reading, and pondering the implications: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/o...

At a very minimum all states have a clear legal obligation to stop providing arms and other support for Israel’s military activity in Gaza: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

This is ethically reprehensible, but it also would constitute a violation of its legal obligations under the Paris Agreement, to which it is bound until Jan. 2026, and even the UNFCCC itself.

Indeed - but, as many predicted, this piece illustrates the ways in which the narrow (while, in my view, illegitimate) doctrine proposed by Bethlehem, will be expanded and stretched to ostensibly justify increasingly egregious unlawful conduct.

This piece by Ann Peters, "International Law and its Scholarship in the Time of Monsters," looks like one for the top of the pile... papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

This piece in @articlesofwar.bsky.social‬ , claiming that US drone strikes against Mexican cartels would be lawful, stretches the questionable "unwilling or unable" doctrine beyond the scope of self-defense, and is patently inconsistent with the lex lata of jus ad bellum. buff.ly/YDsWRrD

Looking forward to speaking tomorrow at a conference hosted by the University of Milan, on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the pacifist principles of the Japanese and Italian constitutions. Russian aggression is not only undermining international law, but also some constitutional law.