State Responsibility
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Parsing Proportionality
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. It is a...
Did China Just Violate the Biological Warfare Convention?
In early June, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested two nationals of the People’s Republic of China for conspiracy to smuggle a fungus called Fusarium graminearum into the United States, which scientific literature classifies as an agroterrorism...
Non-State Cyber Actors in the 12-Day War – The Gray Zone of LOAC, Part I
Editors’ note: In this two-part series, Professor Gary Corn examines law of armed conflict issues arising from cyber operations conducted during the recent conflict between Israel and Iran. With little fanfare, the traditional line between public and private war was...
Ukraine Symposium – Ukraine and the Future of the Ottawa Convention
In 1935, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted its 45th convention, generally prohibiting the employment of women in underground mining work. The treaty achieved widespread adoption, with 98 member States at its peak. ILO Convention No. 45 emerged from a...
Estonia’s New Push to Seize Immobilised Russian State Assets
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has caused extensive material damage. The World Bank Group, the government of Ukraine, the European Union, and the United Nations released a latest “Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment,” which estimates that, as of 31 December 2024,...
Ukraine Symposium – Release of Chinese POWs in Ukraine
In early April, reports emerged indicating that Ukraine had captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Additional reports shared by Ukraine's intelligence agencies identified nearly two hundred other Chinese nationals also...
Prosecuting Rwanda for Aggression in the DRC: Legal Feasibility and Challenges
Rwandan involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been reported in two principal forms: first, direct intervention by Rwandan State forces across the border; and second, indirect support for the rebel group M23. UN experts and other observers have...
Can Israel Target Iran in Response to Houthi Attacks? Exploring the Threshold of “Substantial Involvement”
Following the Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, May 4, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate not only against the Houthis, but also against their “patron,” Iran, declaring that such action would take place “at a time...
Analyzing State Support to Non-State Actors – Part II: Response Options and Conflict Classification
As non-State actors assume an increasingly prominent role in international affairs, State support to them as a strategic tool for advancing political objectives has become more common. Such support presents significant challenges to the clear-eyed application of...
Analyzing State Support to Non-State Actors – Part I: Primary Obligations and Attribution
Today, armed conflicts are frequently characterized by State support to non-State actors as a means of advancing the former’s strategic objectives. For instance, Iran continues to enable Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi, and other militia operations throughout the Middle East...
The Conflict in Eastern DRC and the State Responsibility of Rwanda and Uganda
In late January 2025, a rebel alliance involving the militia group M23 seized control over the town of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Notwithstanding their declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, at the time of...
Countering Space-Based Weapons of Mass Destruction
Russia’s alleged effort to develop a space-based nuclear weapon threatens to violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, undermine international peace and stability, and hold at risk the peaceful use of space for all nations. Other emerging threats, such as China’s...
