About “INTERNATIONAL LAW”
International law is relevant for all of us, even when we do not notice it. In fact, international law is one of those imperfect but necessary human inventions that we notice most urgently when it is absent or ignored. We can see this wherever human rights are violated, whenever environmental standards are flouted, and when the most basic rules, prohibiting, for example, genocide, slavery, war, are piracy, are broken. We see this in Russia’s war in Ukraine, we see it in Yemen, but also in the suffering of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and those who are losing their homes due to the increasing effects of climate change.
“INTERNATIONAL LAW” is an online publishing experiment that aims to connect academia, legal practice, and journalism. Over centuries, and especially since the end of World War II, a system of rules has been created that is meant to preserve international peace and facilitate cooperation between states. The practical relevance of international law was particularly visible in the time between the end of the First Cold War and the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with incidents such as the Trump presidency in the United States, the strengthened grip on power by leaders in Russia, China, and elsewhere, and Brexit, the pandemic’s disruptions have impacted globalization negatively. The escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine since 24 February 2022 has further contributed to a reduction in globalization in favour of more regional and values-based cooperation. Within a few short months, this has gone so far that we are facing a Second Cold War today.
At this moment, the very idea of an international legal order that is based on rules that apply equally to all, protecting the weak and the strong alike, is under pressure. There are many, also in democratic countries, who are undermining the work of generations of people from all over the world who have worked together to build a lasting peace between nations that is not based on strength and power but on justice and law. International law is not a perfect system. It is, like so many things, what we make out of it. The “we” in this is not limited to the representatives of states. We all are members of a global legal community, even when our individual abilities to affect change might be very different, we are all part of one human community. Already half a millennium ago, Francisco de Vitoria, who taught moral philosophy at the University of Salamanca in Spain at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, held that everybody has rights, and that it is not up to the more powerful states to conquer the weak, and that we are all part of a global community.
It is against this background that this new publication, “INTERNATIONAL LAW” has been launched on 1 July 2022. It is the aim of this experiment to make information about international law accessible to a wide readership, to inform readers about international law, about their rights, about the way international law can be utilized to deal with the key challenges of our time, such as climate change, public health, and armed conflicts. While the texts aim at a global readership, regional issues from Northern Europe will certainly receive significant attention. Produced in Finland, this publication is intended to uphold the values that also underpin the European Union, such as the rule of law, human rights, democracy, and international security, but also ideas such as sustainable development, protection of the natural environment, and respect for future generations.
The topics in “INTERNATIONAL LAW” will range from the general to the highly specific, from classical questions of international law to current issues. There will be an emphasis on the practice of international law, on its practical relevance for people around the world, especially, but not only, in the fields of international human rights law or international environmental law. “INTERNATIONAL LAW” will provide information for lawyers, journalists, and a general readership on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and other international courts and tribunals but also on other current issues concerning international law. It is the aim to produce a publication that will be accessible to readers from many different backgrounds, without cutting any corners or undue oversimplification.
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Contributions and feedback
Constructive feedback is always welcome. You can reach the editor by email at intlaw (at) substack (dot) com.
About the editor
“International Law” is written by Prof. Dr. Stefan Kirchner, Research Professor of Arctic Law at the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland. Combining academic research with the practice of international law, including especially litigation at the European Court of Human Rights, Prof. Kirchner is working at the intersection of international environmental law, human rights, and the law of the sea. In addition to practising law, he has taught international law at universities in Germany, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Greenland. His most recent books include “Security and Technology in Arctic Governance” (ed., 2022), “Governing the Crisis: Law, Human Rights and COVID-19” (ed., 2021) and “El Ártico y su gente - Ensayos de derecho internacional” (2020), and “The Baltic Sea and the Law of the Sea - Finnish Perspectives” (with T. Koivurova, H. Ringbom and P. Kleemola-Juntunen, 2019). All opinions expressed here are only attributable to the individual author and do not reflect the views of any institution or organization.
About Conluceant
INTERNATIONAL LAW is made possible through the support of Conluceant. Conluceant is a Germany-based boutique law firm that provides advice and representation in the areas of international law governance, government relations, and public law. The special focus of the work of Conluceant lies in advising companies and public bodies as well as private clients in the area of tension between international environmental law and the protection of human rights, for example in the implementation of international legal requirements through national law and compliance in companies, but also on questions of climate justice and the right to a healthy environment.
Disclaimer
The information provided on these pages does not constitute legal advice, nor does the use of this website create contractual relationships between the provider, editor, author(s) and readers, nor an invitation to engage in contractual negotiations.
All links included on these websites are up to date when the text is published. The provider, editor, author(s) do not control linked pages and do not endorse their content. Links are provided here only as a way to inform readers about sources, like footnotes would be used in an academic text. No responsibility is assumed for other websites.
