Law of Neutrality
The Use of Force and the International Legal System
The editors of Articles of War kindly invited me to submit a short post regarding the book I co-authored with Kinga Tibori Szabó on the use of force which was recently published by Cambridge University Press under the abovementioned title. I will give a brief overview...
Recapping “Cyber in War: Lessons from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict”
We are fast approaching the two-year mark of the massive escalation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. While much of this war has been fought in the physical realm, to devastating effect, cyber operations have also played a significant role, giving the...
Israel – Hamas 2023 Symposium – Delivery of Humanitarian Aid from the Sea
In response to the current situation in Gaza, several States have directed their naval forces into the eastern Mediterranean. For instance, the United States redirected aircraft carrier strike groups to the region and the United Kingdom sent a Royal Navy Task Group...
International Law, Political Will, and Regulation of the Foreign-Fighter Phenomenon
Editor’s Note: This post is based on an article, “Regulating the Foreign-Fighter Phenomenon” published in the Virginia Journal of International Law, available here. Across at least three centuries, foreign fighters—individuals who voluntarily depart their countries of...
Military Aid to Russia and International Law
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is in Russia to discuss military support, including supplying artillery shells and rockets, for Russian operations against Ukraine. In the past, North Korea has supplied the Wagner Group with arms and ammunition. Its support to...
Russia’s Interdiction of Neutral Merchant Vessels and the Law of the Sea
On August 12, 2023, the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov intercepted the Turkish-owned, Palau-flagged merchant ship Sukru Okan in the Black Sea between its point of embarkation in Chalkis, Greece and its destination of Izmail, Ukraine. The incident occurred less than...
Merchant Shipping as Military Objectives and Naval Economic Warfare
On July 17, 2023, within 48 hours of the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia and Ukraine made pivotal declarations potentially expanding the scope of their hostilities to a hitherto unprecedented scale. Both States declared their willingness to...
Can the Black Sea Grain Initiative Continue Without Russian Participation?
On July 17, 2023, the Black Sea Grain Initiative expired after Russia refused to extend the term of the UN-brokered accord that has “facilitated the export of more than 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to global markets via three Black Sea ports.” Russia...
Ukraine Symposium – Transfers of POWs to Third States
Introduction On 9 June 2023, media reported that Hungary received eleven Ukrainian Prisoners of War (POWs) from Russia. More than a week later, Reuters reported that three of these persons had been repatriated to Ukraine. The exact circumstances of how the group of...
How Qualified Neutrality Impacts the Law of Contraband
It is often thought that the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict may depend heavily on the amount and type of military equipment that both parties are able to bring to the battlefield. Depriving the enemy State of material it needs to sustain its warfighting...
