No-one would consider it ideal if a state were to take the law into its own hands when another state has violated an agreement. Nevertheless, countermeasures are an important principle in international law and cannot easily be prohibited.
Research news
Professor Dr. Christina Voigt dedicates her life and career to environmental law. This fall, she is organizing a high-level international conference on the transformative power of law.
International courts can have a far larger influence on domestic politics than what appears at first sight, PluriCourts' Øyvind Stiansen suggests.
During the recent UN climate change summit, state parties agreed to phase down coal and renewed their intention of limiting global warming to 1,5 degrees. Yet for Professor Voigt, the most important achievement was the carving out of the technical details within carbon trading and transparency.
In her recently submitted PhD thesis, Emma Brandon investigates state’s obligations to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the regional human rights courts, even when they are not members of these courts.
Scholars from PluriCourts are researching and attending ongoing negotiations to reform the international investment treaty system. - This is a natural experiment.
Voigt will be the chair of the Commission for the next four years. She intends to harness its international role and its global reach.
In his new book 'The Application of Teachings by the International Court of Justice' Sondre Torp Helmersen, Associate Professor at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, illuminates the varied use of teachings in judgments by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In a new book on ‘Identity and Diversity on the International Bench’, Freya Baetens investigates the impact of the overrepresentation of judges from certain backgrounds on the legitimacy of international courts and tribunals.
«The Convention has improved the protection of human rights in Europe, as well as strengthening the rule of law and the democracy,» says Erik Møse, who spent seven years as judge in the European Court of Human Rights.
International law protects fighters and civilians differently. Establishing who has been a victim of a war crime and who has been a lawful casualty of war is not always easy.
On 2 November, PluriCourts received a positive assessment by the Research Council of Norway and will continue for its second term. PluriCourts launches a revised research plan to address increased criticism against several international courts.
In April more than 30 people were killed by a chemical weapon attack in Syria. Despite clear evidence that serious international crimes have been committed, and despite numerous calls to hold those responsible to account, the international criminal justice system seems, at present at least, to be impotent.
Female foreign fighters are framed as delusional, emotionally unstable, and naïve jihadi brides in search of a husband. This narrative can be dangerous, explains Ester Strømmen at PluriCourts.
New research from PluriCourts reveals a tight network of actors shifting between the roles of lawyer and arbitrator in investment treaty arbitration.
Female foreign fighters are framed as delusional, emotionally unstable, and naïve jihadi brides in search of a husband. This narrative can be dangerous, explains Ester Strømmen at PluriCourts.
New research from PluriCourts reveals a tight network of actors shifting between the roles of lawyer and arbitrator in investment treaty arbitration.
Norwegian immigration authorities are on the lookout for shame, taboo and stigma when they assess the sexual orientation of asylum seekers. This practice is problematic and may violate human rights, says a researcher.
In April more than 30 people were killed by a chemical weapon attack in Syria. Despite clear evidence that serious international crimes have been committed, and despite numerous calls to hold those responsible to account, the international criminal justice system seems, at present at least, to be impotent.
People face great differences in their access to international courts. "The courts are facing several challenges to become more independent, open, and accessible to the people," says researcher.
As a researcher on international courts and tribunals, Kjersti Lohne wanted to see what is going on in the Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay. That turned out to be quite the challenge.
- We have left the world we have seen the last 50 years, and overcome the division in developed / developing states in matters of climate change, says Professor Christina Voigt. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change reflects a very different view of the world, creates more openness, and has ambitions but grants flexibility to the parties. Yet, only time will show whether parties actually will live up to the expectations, she says.
Courts around the world play an important role in protecting human rights in constantly changing circumstances. Frequently, they do so by citing and engaging with each others decisions – a phenomenon that has been coined ‘judicial dialogue’.