Articles for category: English Articles

Unlocking UNCLOS

By advancing a more holistic vision of climate-relevant international law—one that seeks to harmonise but also allow for complementary interaction amongst the obligations set under different regimes—the ITLOS advisory opinion offers hope. It holds out the promise of a synergistic international legal response to climate change that better maps to the integrated and interconnected nature the ecosystems at stake and to the multi-pronged regulatory effort that will be needed to safeguard our climate system.

24. Mai 2024

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On Rebuilding and … Keeping the Rule of Law

When I think about the challenge of rebuilding the rule of law in Poland after years filled with unimaginably lawless legal and factual acts and hateful words tearing the Polish Constitution to shreds and offering adequate recipes, the starting point is framing the discussion. A correct description of the starting point determines the route and provides the background against which one can evaluate more detailed legislative choices made along the way. The route must be determined by “fidelity to the Constitution”. Finally, our avowed destination must be framed in clear terms as restoring the meaning and respect to the basic elements of the Polish legal order. I argue that the latter must become the new narrative of lawyers, politicians and citizens alike if we are to succeed.

23. Mai 2024

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Nigeria as a Safe Country of Origin?

On May 7th 2024 Italy updated its list of safe countries of origin (SCO) for the second time after the introduction of the notion in the national legal system in 2019. Notably, the latest update retained the most contentious addition to the list from last year, Nigeria. Until then, only Cyprus considered Nigeria as generally safe. The legal issues underlying this designation illustrate how country of origin information (COI), largely provided to Member States by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is (mis)used to produce policy-based evidence rather than evidence-based policies.

23. Mai 2024

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Elisabeth Selbert

Dr. Elisabeth Selbert, who took her A levels in self-study and completed her law degree in six semesters, did her doctorate – ahead of her time – on the principle of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. As a member of the Parliamentary Council, she was one of the four ‘mothers’ of the German Constitution. The inclusion of ‘Men and women shall have equal rights’ in Art. 3 (2) of the Basic Law (‘Grundgesetz’) is her merit. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the ‘Grundgesetz’, this contribution aims to portray her life, achievements and impact in a short profile.

23. Mai 2024

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The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered a long-awaited Advisory Opinion on climate change and international law. This marks the first time that an international tribunal has issued an advisory opinion on State obligations regarding climate change mitigation. The Advisory Opinion addresses several key questions regarding application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the context of climate change. There is much to explore in terms of both the content of the ITLOS advisory opinion and its potential implications for global, regional, and local efforts to combat climate change. To facilitate discussion and the exchange of ideas, the Sabin Center's Climate Law Blog and Verfassungsblog are partnering on a blog symposium on the ITLOS opinion. In this first, introductory blog, we outline the background to the advisory opinion and highlight some of the key takeaways from it.

22. Mai 2024

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Gaza, Artificial Intelligence, and Kill Lists

The Israeli army has developed an artificial intelligence-based system called “Lavender”. This approach promises faster and more accurate targeting; however, human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have warned of deficits in responsibility for violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In the following, we will examine these concerns and show how responsibility for violations of IHL remains attributable to a state that uses automated or semi-automated systems in warfare.

16. Mai 2024

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Litigating the EU-Turkey Deal

Earlier this year three Dutch NGOs sued the Netherlands for approving and carrying out the EU-Turkey deal. They argue that the Dutch government should be held responsible for the dire conditions under which asylum seekers have been held under on Greek islands since the deal has been concluded, which have repeatedly been found to violate human rights. In this blog, I sketch the context of litigation surrounding the EU-Turkey deal which has driven the NGOs to sue in the Dutch national legal system and explain the promise and pitfalls of the rise of strategic litigation in the sphere of migration and asylum law.

16. Mai 2024

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Upgrading Environmental Rights

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In Community of La Oroya v. Peru the IACtHR for the first time found a violation of the autonomous right to a healthy environment in a non-indigenous context related to the long-lasting environmental contamination of a community by toxic substances. La Oroya lays foundational principles that will likely shape the content and direction of environmental and climate change litigation and jurisprudence in the Americas. This historic judgment provides a robust basis for anticipating how the Court will handle the specification of environmental rights within the climate emergency and how it may accordingly inform States’ human rights obligations.

16. Mai 2024

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