This is a must-read by the absolutely legendary @philippesands.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Jag skriver om den svenska regleringen av polisiär ”tillfällig” kombattantstatus i Polistidningen i ett försök att bidra med sakargument i en annars väldigt känslostyrd debatt. Läs här: polistidningen.se/2025/11/till...

Privatization is taking us back to medieval times. Read more in the Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The targeting of police by itself raises serious law of war issues because they often appear not to be lawful targets. But in the current situation in Gaza such attacks only compound the humanitarian crisis by interfering with aid delivery.

Please take a moment and read this. Pauline doesn’t just teach ethical principles, she lives by them - even when it cost her a named Chair at the Naval War College. She’s a woman of character, through and through!

State leaders and leaders of regional organizations alike must be vigorous in defending the international order and the prohibition on the use of force. Appeasing to Trump will lead us back to a world where might is right. This is not good enough #NATO #EU www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Just to add to this interesting piece: The rules ”made and enforced by Washington” is not to be equated to international law. International law was not made by Washington or the US. International law has specific sources and enforcement mechanisms that is determined by international legal norms.

Read @oonahathaway.bsky.social excellent piece on the unlawfulness of the strikes on #Iran: ”Trump’s Strikes on Iran Were Unlawful. Here’s Why That Matters. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/o...

The most serious threat to the rules based international order is the selective application of the rules for political purposes. Without equal application to all and the rule of law— rather than rule by law— the order will not survive.

Self defence requires an armed attack that is ongoing or so imminent it cannot be stopped. Collective self defence can only be provided to a victim state— not an aggressor state— and requires that an armed attack has occurred. The #US attack on #Iran fulfills none of the required criteria.

I recently published a chapter in an edited book on the legal and operational consequences of the Swedish domestic law classifying the Swedish (civilian) police as combatants in times of armed conflict. You can find the chapter (in Swedish) here: www.studentlitteratur.se/kurslitterat...

"The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil" "Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs." Free this man immediately. apnews.com/article/mahm...

The West will never be forgiven for its complicity in the genocide of Palestinians. No one will ever again listen to its empty rhetoric about accountability, human rights and rule of law. They have proven right those who long believed they did not see racialised people as human

Why would a leader tank his own country's economy? It's a key part of the aspiring autocrat's playbook. Tariffs & chaos mean more power & control for Trump. But America has no king. The Republican-led Congress can stop this at any time. Let your reps hear from you. 5calls.org/issue/trump-...

What a Friday morning. - Trump administration appeals Alien Enemies Act TRO to U.S. Supreme Court - WilmerHale sues on Exec Order against the firm - Jenner & Block sues on Exec Order against the firm - ACLU files amended habeas petition for Rümeysa Öztürk All documents in Litigation Tracker⬇️

I have co-written a statement about the fascist coup happening in the US. In light of the unlawful arrest by ICE of a Tufts PhD student, I understand my 1st Amendment rights and Academic Freedom may not protect me, but this seems the least I can do docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Legality even less likely in light of the leaked justifications for recent strikes…

There are “serious doubts … whether the justification… by the US and the UK… renders their strikes lawful under the ius ad bellum. (…) [strikes] being pursued for political reasons… leaving aside the legal limits provided for military actions in the UN Charter.” www.ejiltalk.org/the-lawfulne...

It is absolutely vital for all law firms, lawyers, legal institutions and the entire justice sector to stay true to the law, legal proceedings and the rule of law in these brutal times. It also seems crucial to explain the place, value and role of law in society— whether national or international

This is one of many reports on ICE operations, indicating that neither the organisation as such nor individual ICE professionals are sufficiently capable of respecting and ensuring basic human rights and rule of law processes. This is very concerning.

⚡️'Putin will breach' peace deal without security guarantees, Starmer says. "We know that because it's happened before, and I am absolutely clear in my mind that it will happen again," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a meeting of military planners from 31 countries.

Silicon Valley guys casting government employees as lazy, parasitic, and malevolent seems like a giant case of projection imo

❗️🇨🇦Canada in talks to join 🇪🇺Europe's defense initiative aimed at boosting EU military production and reducing dependence on the 🇺🇸US, — NYT

⚡️FIGHT THE OLIGARCHY RALLY ⚡️ STARTING TOMORROW. Nevada. Arizona. Colorado. You, me, and Bernie. Dem and GOP districts. ❤️💙 See you there 💪🏽🌞

ACADEMIC/ ICL LAWYERS WANTED FOR INTERVIEW: One of my team is looking for interviewees for her LLM project at Leiden University on "Challenging the Hierarchy of Criminal Justice: Civil Society, People’s Tribunals, and Victim-Centered Accountability in International Law".. cont... 1/2

Interesting and timely discussion on a fundamental topic. Don’t miss out if you’re in ”the neighborhood”…

As a legal scholar it is surprising (and yes sometimes frustrating) to realize the lack of understanding in society in general of why humans have created something called “law”, the value of it, and why the law itself differs both from how law is created and how it is upheld.

Tenacity of law? "Legal rules, once created, live on." — Alan Watson (1933-2018)

A short piece for Opinio Juris, based on today's news of the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte for the #Philippines "war on drugs". #ICC #accountability opiniojuris.org/2025/03/11/a...

The arrest warrant for Duterte for the crime against humanity of murder 👇 It was issued under seal and enforced by police in Manila.

On this daylight saving time day, I'm happy to post my new paper, Resisting Federal Preemption, which shows how states' collective strategies to persuade the federal government to change its preempting approach holds significant promise for the current hostile climate papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

1/ The world is ending but I wrote an article (forthcoming YJIL) about the prohibition on forcible reprisals. It analyzes its theoretical underpinnings and assumptions on world order, focuses on recent cases and suggests how to think about reprisals normatively. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

“This is not a time for caution. VSOs should be leading the charge to defend our constitutional system. They have the platform, credibility, and reach to sound the alarm in ways few others can.” www.justsecurity.org/108896/veter...

In recent years, the Supreme Court has made it *much* harder to sue federal officers for violating the Constitution. With the Trump DOJ asking the Court to go even further, today’s “One First” looks at the unpersuasive ways #SCOTUS has narrowed “Bivens” suits: www.stevevladeck.com/p/130-the-tr...

”Civicus described Trump’s actions since taking office as an “unparalleled attack on the rule of law” not seen “since the days of McCarthyism in the twentieth century”, stating that these moves erode the checks and balances essential to democracy.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

”The universities are next”….

The future depends on us upholding human rights and, if I may add, the international legal order… (as opposed to the already undermined concept of rules based order)

With talk in Europe now of rearmament and the need for new security structures, it's vital European leaders and institutions keep human rights at the centre of their efforts. Democracy depends on it. My new piece for @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

5 eyes to become 4 eyes? A necessity given the reality in the US, it would seem. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

if you haven’t watched this speech in full by French senator, Claude Malhuret, it’s very very much worth the eight minutes of your time to take it in: youtu.be/4ka9uYFebN0

⚡️Sweden will provide 22.5 million Swedish kroner ($2.2 million) to support Ukrainian women, the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine announced on March 8. According to the embassy’s post on X, the funding aims to “empower women in Ukraine” and support their contributions to the country’s defense and recovery.

Putin accelerating his atrocities in #Ukraine… Trump cheering him on… www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

“We cannot have a judicial system where the government seeks to remove judges simply because they do not rule as the government desires.” Good for the ABA www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

"Ukraine is not only ready to take the necessary steps for peace, but we are also proposing what those steps are," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his speech at the Special European Council on March 6.

“Any casual observer of the Supreme Court can see what many prestigious constitutional lawyers can’t, which is that the conservative justices are frequently accomplices to Trump’s assault on democracy,” writes Adam Serwer.

Calling on all politicians, #scholars of political science, #policy makers and diplomats around the world to make use of #internationallaw and use it as the tool for #peace it was intended to be.Throwing int law out with the shifting political order is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Indeed.

In turbulent times, political approaches to international law can make or brake international law. But— violations of international law do not erase international law. But States— and politicians— can either protect or undermine the international legal order by the way the make use (or not) of it.

This is so unconstitutional it’s like a law school issue spotter. Spending clause fail. Separation of powers fail. First Amendment fail. Vagueness fail.

This is very bad news for #Ukraine, for #Europe and for peace and security all over the world. If Ukraine falls— or is coerced to give up land— there is little to prevent big bad wolfs to forcefully take chunks of territory out of other smaller states.