Berkes: International Law Without Statehood: The Outlier Application of International Law by Eurasian De Facto Regimes

Antal Berkes (Univ. of Liverpool - School of Law and Social Justice) has posted International Law Without Statehood: The Outlier Application of International Law by Eurasian De Facto Regimes (Asian Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper explores how unrecognised separatist entities in Eurasia—de facto regimes such as Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics—engage with international law. It examines whether, and to what extent, these regimes comply with international law, analysing court decisions and legislation to move beyond simplistic views of non-recognition or assumed legality. The findings reveal that de facto regimes tend to mirror the international law approaches of the states they are most closely connected to—whether the territorial state (e.g., Ukraine) or an outside state exercising effective control over the entity (e.g., Russia or Armenia). This pattern is explained by the theory of “acculturation to statehood”: through sustained legal and institutional interaction, these regimes internalise and replicate the legal systems of their reference states. The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the role of de facto regimes in the international legal order.

Webinar: A Report Card on the Laws of Armed Conflict

On February 17, 2026, the American Branch of the International Law Association will host a webinar on "A Report Card on the Laws of Armed Conflict." Speakers include: Janina Dill, Cordula Droege, Oona A. Hathaway, Gabor Rona, and Mike Schmitt. Registration is here.

Conference: L'utilisation stratégique des juridictions internationales

On February 5, 2026, a conference will be held on "L'utilisation stratégique des juridictions internationales" at the Université de Rennes. Details are here.

Call for Papers: Legal and Global Ordering

A call for papers has been issued for a section on "Legal and Global Ordering" for the 19th Pan-European Conference on International Relations. Here's the call:

For EISA | PEC 2026 (1-4 September in Lisbon) we are organizing a section on Legal and Global Ordering, including a panel on ‘Aesthetics as a technology of ordering’. Inspired by aesthetic and material turns in various disciplines, the panel organizes an interdisciplinary dialogue to investigate the role of aesthetic practices in global and legal governing, and the politics and hierarchies it reinforces. From the usage of standardized files for the production of colonial treaties, to the role of legal form in offshore oceanic migration policing and transformation of borders, to the gridding of the deep-seabed through networks of mining contracts, or the mapping of the Arctic, we are particularly interested in exploring colonial logics at play in concrete aesthetic manifestations of global ordering.

Another panel focuses on legal and political temporalities. We invite researchers who are working on questions of futurity, connections between the past-present-future, haunting, and temporal ordering to explore connections between law and politics.

Interested? Please contact Tasniem Anwar or Tanja Aalberts. Early-career scholars are especially encouraged to submit and join the conversation!

PS: working on either Technology, data & infrastructure or socio-material shifts in global governance practices? Contact Gavin Sullivan or Nina Reiners who are organizing panels on these themes.

Call for Submissions: Canadian Yearbook of International Law

The Canadian Yearbook of International Law has issued a call for submissions. Please note that submissions for each annual volume are encouraged by February 28. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Securitisation and International Law in Asia

The Japan Chapter of the Asian Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its 17th Annual Conference, to be held June 28, 2026, in Osaka (Umeda). The theme is: "Securitisation and International Law in Asia​." The call is here. The deadline for proposals is February 28, 2026.

Call for Papers: Early-Career Workshop: New Voices in International Law

A call for papers has been issued for "Early-Career Workshop: New Voices in International Law," to be held May 22, 2026, at Trinity College Dublin. The call is here. The deadline is January 30, 2026.

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

The journal Trade, Law and Development has issued a call for submissions for its Summer 2026 issue (Vol. 17, no. 2). The call is here. The deadline is March 10, 2026.

New Issue: American Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the American Journal of International Law (Vol. 120, no. 1, January 2026) is out. Contents include:

• Special Book Review Issue: The Past and Future of International Law
• Ingrid Brunk, Jeffrey Dunoff, & Monica Hakimi, Introduction to Special Book Review Issue: The Past and Future of International Law
• Gary J. Bass, The Scourge of War
• Arnulf Becker Lorca & Sarah Nouwen, The Rise and Fall of Lauterpacht’s Function of Law
• Simon Chesterman, Silicon Sovereigns: Artificial Intelligence, International Law, and the Tech-Industrial Complex
• David Singh Grewal, Pax Economica and Its Discontents
• Ratna Kapur, From Necropolitics to Piety: Twail and the “Other” Subject of Human Rights
• Marko Milanovic, Dystopian International Law
• Kate Miles, On the Stories We Tell
• Umut Özsu, Colonialism and Decolonization on a World Scale—Three Perspectives
• Kal Raustiala, Whoever Rules the Waves Rules the World: Sea Power and the Law of the Sea
• Shirley V. Scott, China, Anti-Hegemonism, and the Scope for International Law to Facilitate Peaceful Power Transitions
• Guy Fiti Sinclair, Is Another World Possible?
• Current Development
• Charles Chernor Jalloh, The International Law Commission’s Seventy-Sixth (2025) Session: The Negative Impact of the United Nations’ Fiscal Crisis on the Codification and Progressive Development of International Law
• International Decisions
• Erick Fabián Guapizaca Jiménez, Modern Slavery in Furukawa. Case No. 1072-21-JP/24
• Juan Du, Junefield Gold Investments Limited v. The Republic of Ecuador. PCA Case No. 2023-35
• Jason Haynes, Semenya v. Switzerland. Application No. 10934/21
• Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
• Secretary of State Rubio Denies and Revokes Visas for Palestinian Delegation Invited to Attend UN General Assembly Meetings
• The U.S. Military Targets and Destroys Alleged Narcotics Trafficking Vessels in the Southern Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, Killing Nearly All of Their Crew

Call for Papers: New Technologies and International Legal Accountability

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "New Technologies and International Legal Accountability," to be held October 22-23, 2026, at the University of Perugia. The call is here.

Luporini: Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Human Rights in International Law

Riccardo Luporini (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) has published Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Human Rights in International Law (Springer 2025). Here’s the abstract:

Climate change poses an escalating challenge to global society, with climate-related disasters becoming more frequent, severe and widespread in their impact on individuals and communities, and in their interference with human rights. To confront this challenge, States must not only mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also adopt comprehensive measures to adapt to its effects and manage climate change-related disaster risk. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the international legal frameworks governing climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, focusing on the critical role of human rights in strengthening these frameworks and ensuring their implementation. The study explores the extent to which human rights have been integrated into international climate change and disaster law, examines how climate change-related disaster risk is addressed within international human rights law, and assesses the growing trend of human rights-based climate change and disaster litigation and its potential regulatory impact. The book offers a unique perspective on international lawmaking in the fields of climate change and disaster management while also shedding light on the ongoing development of human rights law as it seeks to address the unprecedented threats posed by climate change and its associated risks.

New Issue: Transnational Criminal Law Review

The latest issue of the Transnational Criminal Law Review (Vol. 4, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• The Borderlands of Criminal Law: First Transnational Criminal Law Review Conference
• Sara Wharton & Masha Fedorova, Introduction
• Neil Boister, A Normative Map of Transnational Criminal Law
• Gillian MacNeil, The Core Crimes MLAT: A Reason for (Cautious) Optimism?
• Alberto di Martino, Transnational Surrogacy, Active Nationality Principle, and the Legitimacy of (Transnational) Criminal Law
• Anna Głogowska-Balcerzak, The Borderlands of Trafficking in Persons: Abuse of a Position of Vulnerability in Theory and Practice
• Rui Carlo Dissenha & Derek Creuz, International Criminal Antidrug Policies and Decoloniality: A Critical Assessment Based on Brazilian Experience
• Kenny Cetera & Grahat Nagara, Illegal Timber Trade as a Transnational Crime: Driving External Measures to Enhance Enforcement in Indonesia
• Andreas Schloenhardt, Joint Investigation Teams: A panacea in the fight against organised crime?
• Dominik Brodowski, Borderlands of Criminal Law: Judicial and Police Cooperation in German-French Borderlands as a Laboratory of Transnational Criminal Law

New Issue: Ocean Development & International Law

The latest issue of Ocean Development & International Law (Vol. 56, no. 4, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• The Lifecycle of Offshore Wind Power: Nordic Legal Perspectives
• Gabriela Argüello, Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui & Henrik Ringbom, Offshore Wind Energy in a Nordic Regulatory Context: Editorial
• Niko Soininen, Kaisa Huhta & Seita Vesa, Offshore Wind Power through the Lenses of EU Climate, Energy, and Environmental Law—Between Climate Aspirations, Market Competition, and Environmental Impact
• Aron Westholm, The Role of Planning in Offshore Wind Power Deployment
• Leila Neimane, Sigrid Eskeland Schütz & Lena Gipperth, On the Concept of—and Legal Pathways Towards—Marine Co-existence: Sustainable Offshore Wind Energy in the Baltic and North Seas
• Niels Krabbe & Gabriela Argüello, Reconciling Marine Conservation with Offshore Wind Parks
• Niels Krabbe, The Strained Relationship of Offshore Wind Energy and Shipping: Promoting Coexistence under the Law of the Sea
• Thaysa Portela de Carvalho, Incorporating Qualitative Criteria in Offshore Wind Tenders: Experiences in Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands
• Katrine Broch Hauge, Licensing Offshore Wind in Norway: Integrating Sustainability Requirements Such as Nature Positivity
• Iva Parlov & Maria Madalena das Neves, Regulating the Sustainable Decommissioning of Offshore Wind Turbines: Lessons from Europe?

Erie & Lin: Inter-Asian Law

Matthew Erie (American Univ. - Law) & Ching-Fu Lin (National Tsing Hua Univ.) have published Inter-Asian Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2025). Here's the abstract:

What happens when Western law is no longer the default referent for legal modernity? This is a deceptively simple question, but its implications are significant for such fields as comparative law, international law, and law and development. Whereas much of comparative law is predicated on the idea that modern law flows West to East and North to South, this volume proposes the paradigm of 'Inter-Asian Law' (IAL), pointing to an emerging field of comparative law that explores the legal interactions between and among Asian jurisdictions. This volume is an experimental and preliminary effort to think through other beginnings and endings for law's movement from one jurisdiction to another, laying the grounds for new interactions between legal systems. In addition to providing an analytical framework to study IAL, the volume consists of fifteen chapters written by scholars from Asia and who study Asia that provide doctrinal and empirical accounts of IAL. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

New Issue: Leiden Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law (Vol. 38, no. 4, December 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial
• Joseph Powderly, Surabhi Ranganathan, Bojana Ristić, Ingo Venzke, & Rebecca O’Rourke, Going Open Access
• International Legal Theory
• Nicole Štýbnarová, Unwholesome marriages and diamond drills: The making of the UN Marriage Convention (1962)
• Rishabh Bajoria, Caste discrimination, international human rights, and Hinduism
• Jason Haynes, International human rights law’s complicity in status subordination: A postcolonial critique of treaty bodies’ engagement with human trafficking
• Tim Lindgren, In the name of nature: Making the League of Nations, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal and international law
• International Law and Practice
• Mingyan Nie, Legal measures to preserve lunar security and safety in the context of China–US competition to the Moon: An appraisal from China’s perspective
• Sava Jankovic & Volker Roeben, Mind the gap: The determination, legality and consequences of implicit threats of force
• Sandrine De Herdt, Mapping representation before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
• Hojjat Salimi Turkamani, The challenge of phasing out fossil fuels for highly fossil fuel-dependent countries in international law
• Corina Heri, Climate-related vulnerabilities and the European Court of Human Rights: Reimagining victim status through intersectional thinking
• International Criminal Courts and Tribunals
• Natasa Mavronicola & Mattia Pinto, Challenging punishment as the justice norm in the face of ongoing atrocities
• Grażyna Baranowska & Nasia Hadjigeorgiou, Living up to obligations through the International Red Cross? A critique of states’ attempts to shift obligations when addressing missing persons
• Miguel Manero de Lemos, The indictments against Adolf Hitler, their endorsement by the UNWCC, the IMT judgment and a twenty-first century immunity myth

Conference: 120th ASIL Annual Meeting

On April 22-25, 2026, the American Society of International Law will hold its 120th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The theme is: "Advancing and Defending The Rule of Law." Registration is now open, with the early bird discount ending on Feburary 10, 2026.

New Issue: Global Responsibility to Protect

The latest issue of Global Responsibility to Protect (Vol. 17, no. 4, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Fatih Cüre, Adapting Responsibility to Protect (R2P) for a Multipolar World: Sovereignty, Intervention, and Veto Power
• Chiara De Franco & Christoph O. Meyer, Media and Mass Atrocity Prevention: Three Pathways of Potential Influence
• Ainoa Cabada, R2P as an Early Warning Doctrine: Building a Case for the Establishment of an R2P Preventative Assessment Tool
• Andrew E. Yaw Tchie, Converging Global Norms and Institutional Policies with Bottom-Up Approaches to the Protection of Civilians
• Interventions Forum on Gaza
• Josie Hornung & Elisabeth Haugland Austrheim, Atrocity Prevention and the Applicability of R2P to Occupied Palestine
• Sarah Teitt, Israel, Gaza, and the Unrealised Promise of the Responsibility to Protect
• Jeremy Moses, Gaza and the Perils of Militarised Humanitarianism: Universal Values, Politics, and the Hypocrisy of R2P
• Book Forum: A Discussion of Jess Gifkins’ Inside the UN Security Council: Legitimation Practices and Darfur
• Samuel Jarvis, Informal Practice as a Driver of Change: the UN Security Council and Darfur
• Holger Niemann, The Everyday Life of the UN Security Council and International Practice Theory
• Carmen Robledo, Uses and Practices in the UNSC Decision-Making: the Case of Sudan
• Jess Gifkins, Informal UN Reform: a Response to Reviews of Inside the UN Security Council

New Issue: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (Vol. 28, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Rob Amos, A Critical Analysis of the Global Biodiversity Framework
• Zakieh Taghizadeh & Hoda Asgarian, From Global Commons to Global Accountability: The Erga Omnes Obligation to Safeguard Marine Biological Diversity as Common Heritage of Humankind
• Kenji Kamigawara, Katsuki Nakai, Nigel Semmence & Moon Bo Choi, What Kinds Of Social Factors Contribute to Rapid Responses to Invasive Alien Species? Comparative Case Studies on Controlling Invasive Alien Hornets in the UK and Japan
• Mohammad Nazmul Hossain, Delower Hossain & Nasir Uddin, Ensuring Wildlife Justice in Bangladesh: Challenges and Recommendations for the Future

New Issue: Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies

The latest issue of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies (Vol. 16, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium on the Law Applicable to the Use of Biometrics by Armed Forces
• Marten Zwanenburg, Aleksi Kajander, Steven van de Put, & Sebastian Cymutta, Introduction to Symposium on the Law Applicable to the Use of Biometrics by Armed Forces
• Lily Hamourtziadou & Welmoet Wels, Biometrics to Necrometrics: What the Dead Can Tell us About War: A Human Security Approach to Collecting and Analysing Conflict Data from the Dead
• Emelie Andersin, The Use of the ‘Lavender’ in Gaza and the Law of Targeting: ai-Decision Support Systems and Facial Recognition Technology
• Anna Rosalie Greipl, The Military Fantasy of Biometrics: Neglecting the Risks of the Normalizing of Bodies During Armed Conflicts

Call for Submissions: Central Asia Yearbook on International Law

A call for submissions has been issued for the inaugural volume of the Central Asia Yearbook of INternational Law. Here's the call:

The Central Asia Yearbook on International Law (CAYIL) is the first academic publication of its kind in the region. It is designed to promote rigorous and original research in international law with a specific focus on Central Asia. The Yearbook responds to a longstanding gap in scholarly publishing by offering a dedicated platform for legal analysis situated in and oriented toward the region. The first volume will be published in 2026 by De Gruyter Brill under the imprint Brill | Nijhoff.

We invite scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to submit papers for consideration in the inaugural volume of the Yearbook. Submissions will be considered on a rolling basis, with the final deadline of 31 March 2026.

Scope of the Yearbook

We particularly welcome contributions that explore international law from a Central Asian viewpoint, are written by Central Asian scholars, or center on issues relevant to the region, although papers on broader topics of international law will also be considered. In addition to peer-reviewed scholarly articles, the Yearbook also publishes:

• practice-oriented essays,
• reflections on recent legal developments,
• case and treaty notes,
• reviews of relevant literature, and
• surveys of State practice in the region.

Aims and Audiences

The Yearbook seeks to advance academic dialogue both within Central Asia and between Central Asian scholars and their global counterparts. It is intended as a resource for:

• academics and researchers in international law,
• legal practitioners and government officials in Central Asia,
• diplomats and policymakers in international organisations and foreign ministries,
• graduate students and educators, and
• think tanks, NGOs, and civil society organisations engaged in legal reform and international cooperation.

Editorial Standards

The Yearbook is supported by an international Editorial Board and a distinguished Advisory Board, composed of both Central Asian legal scholars working abroad and foreign experts on Central Asian law. This ensures that contributions meet the highest academic standards while reflecting the region’s distinct legal and institutional experiences.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions should be written in clear academic English.
• Articles should not exceed 10,000 words including footnotes; shorter notes, essays, and reviews are also welcome.
• For citations, please use the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), 4th edition: OSCOLA Guidelines (PDF).
• Authors are expected to adhere to De Gruyter Brill’s AI Policy for Authors, meaning any use of AI tools in drafting or preparing submissions must be transparently disclosed, and authors must ensure that they retain intellectual ownership and responsibility for the content.
• All submissions will be subject to double-blind peer review.

Contact

Manuscripts and inquiries should be sent to:

Professor Sergey Sayapin
Editor, Central Asia Yearbook on International Law
School of Law, KIMEP University
Email: s.sayapin@kimep.kz

New Issue: Cambridge International Law Journal

The latest issue of the Cambridge International Law Journal (Vol. 14, no. 2, 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Tomas Heidar, Bringing climate change into the realm of UNCLOS: the ITLOS Advisory Opinion
• Alberto Rinaldi, Cognitive warfare in the biotechnological age: threats and challenges to international law
• Sebastian von Massow, Redrawing trade routes through litigation: phosphates and the Polisario in Panama and South Africa
• Bogdan Aurescu, Lessons learned from the work of the United Nations International Law Commission on Sea-level rise in relation to international law
• Jolyon Ford & Imogen Saunders, International law as geology: Crawford’s core/periphery metaphor and the future of the ‘rules-based international order’
• Rena Lee, The institutionalisation of international law in a multipolar world
• Vladimir Trofimchuk, Food security: is the international law status quo adequate to guarantee it?
• Khrystyna Kostiushko, Consequences of incorporation/annexation of territory for the spatial scope of application of investment treaties
• Mohamad Ghazi Janaby, The intersection of counter-terrorism law and government recognition in post-conflict transitions

Conference: The Law of Armed Conflict and Emerging Technologies: Legal, Ethical and Strategic Perspectives

The International Society for Military Law and the Law of War will host a conference on "The Law of Armed Conflict and Emerging Technologies: Legal, Ethical and Strategic Perspectives," on March 10-13, 2026, in Lucerne. The invitation is here. The program is here. The application form is here.

Kojima & Takeuchi: Japanese Approaches to International Law: Theory and Practice

Chie Kojima (Chuo Univ.) & Masatoshi Takeuchi (Toyo Gakuen Univ.) have published Japanese Approaches to International Law: Theory and Practice (Brill | Nijhoff 2025). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Japanese Approaches to International Law analyses historical developments, controversies, and future challenges regarding Japan’s contribution to the making and implementation of international law. Each chapter discusses the Japanese government’s positions on issues related to international law, relevant theories and concepts developed in Japanese academia, and leading domestic cases, laws, and policies, which have facilitated or hindered the effective implementation of international law in Japan. This book, based on domestic legal materials, policy documents, and academic literature, is a comprehensive handbook for readers to better understand Japanese approaches to international law.

New Issue: International Organization

The latest issue of International Organization (Vol. 79, no. 4, Fall 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Nikhar Gaikwad, Kolby Hanson, & Aliz Tóth, How Migrating Overseas Shapes Political Preferences: Evidence from a Field Experiment
• David B. Carter, Austin L. Wright, & Luwei Ying, Population Displacement and State Building: The Legacies of Pashtun Resettlement in Afghanistan
• Haifeng Huang, Reckoning with Reality: Correcting National Overconfidence in a Rising Power
• Essay
• Kerry Goettlich, Territorial Integrity As an Etiquette of Thieves: Non-conquest in Nineteenth-Century Imperialism
• Research Notes
• Lorenzo Crippa, Edmund J. Malesky, & Lucio Picci, Making Bribery Profitable Again? The Market Effects of Suspending Accountability for Overseas Bribery
• Lucy Right, Jeremy Springman, & Erik Wibbels, Pushing Back or Backing Down? Evidence on Donor Responses to Restrictive NGO Legislation
• Amanda Kennard, Konstantin Sonin, & Austin L. Wright, When Do Citizens Support Peace-Building? Economic Hardship and Civilian Support for Rebel Reintegration

New Issue: International Legal Materials

The latest issue of International Legal Materials (Vol. 64, no. 6, December 2025) is out. Contents include:

• Views Adopted by the Committee Under Art. 5(4) of the Optional Protocol, Concerning Comm. No. 3602/2019 (U.N.H.R. Committee), with introductory note by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
• Lameck Bazil v. Tanz. (Afr. Ct. H.P.R.), with introductory note by Salvatore Caserta and Mikael Rask Madsen
• Agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius Concerning the Chagos Archipelago Including Diego Garcia, with introductory note by Saeed Bagheri
• WHO Pandemic Agreement, with introductory note by Gian Luca Burci