Geir Ulfstein

Professor emeritus
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Geir Ulfstein is Professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Oslo. He has been Co-Director of PluriCourts – Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order (2013-2022). He has published in different areas of international law, including the law of the sea, international environmental law, international human rights, international institutional law and international courts. Ulfstein has been Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law, Luxembourg (2016-2023) and Co-chair of the International Law Association’s Study Group on the ‘Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation’ (2015-2020). He is General Editor (with Andreas Føllesdal) of two book series Studies on Human Rights Conventions (Cambridge University Press) and Studies in International Courts and Tribunals (Cambridge University Press). He has been Director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo (2004-2008). He has been a member of the Executive Board of the European Society of International Law (2010-2016). Ulfstein has been President of the Norwegian Branch of the International Law Association (ILA). He was winner of the University of Oslo Research Award 2021 (with Andreas Føllesdal). He delivered one of the special courses during the Hague Academy of International Law’s 2022 winter session.

More extensive CV here

Publications

Ulfstein, G. (2023). "Farewell to Compulsory Jurisdiction." British Yearbook of International Law (centennial volume).
The United Kingdom is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that maintains a declaration accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. However, the UK’s recent reservations undermine its declaration’s ability to ensure jurisdiction over the UK’s disputes. This means that none of the permanent members of the Security Council any longer are subject to effective compulsory jurisdiction under the ICJ's Statute.

Ulfstein, G. (2022). "Qatar v. United Arab Emirates." American Journal of International Law 116(2): 397-403.

In contrast to the Diallo case (2012), the ICJ came in Qatar v United Arab Emirates (2021) to the opposite conclusion to that of a UN human rights treaty body, i.e. the CERD Committee. The Court had therefore the possibility of demonstrating the real legal weight of pronouncements of such bodies and its willingness to engage in a dialogue with them. It failed to live up to both expectations.

Tobiassen, T. M. and G. Ulfstein (2022). "Klarhet om klarhetskravet." Lov og Rett 61: 347-348.

De siste tiårene har Høyesterett strammet inn lovskravet i strafferetten. Artikkelen argumenterer for at Høyesterett burde vektlagt klarhetskravet i saken om "IS-kvinnen" (HR-2022-2418-A). Høyesterett burde ha vist at klarhetskravet ikke er en papirtiger, men har betydning i enkeltsaker.

Risini, I. and G. Ulfstein (2022). "Human Rights, State Complaints." MPEPIL.

Azaria, D. and G. Ulfstein (2022). "Are sabotage of submarine pipelines an ‘armed attack’ triggering a right to self-defence?" EJIL: Talk.

Ulfstein, G. (2021). "Transnational constitutional aspects of the European Court of Human Rights." Global Constitutionalism 10(1): 151-174.

Ulfstein, G. (2020). Treaty Bodies and Regimes. The Oxford Guide to Treaties. B. H. Duncan, Oxford University Press: 414-430.

Ulfstein, G. (2020). "Interpretation of the ECHR in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties." The International Journal of Human Rights 24(7): 917-934.

Ulfstein, G. (2018). Evolutive Interpretation in the Light of Other International Instruments: Law and Legitimacy. European convention on human rights and general international law. A. V. Aaken and I. Motoc. NewYork, NY, Oxford University Press: 83-94.

Ruud, M. and G. Ulfstein (2018). Innføring i folkerett. Oslo, Universitetsforl.

Ulfstein, G. (2016). Hva er folkerett. Oslo, Universitetsforl.

Ulfstein, G. and H. Føsund Christiansen (2013). "The Legality of the NATO Bombing in Libya." International and Comparative Law Quarterly 63(1): 159-171.

Churchill, R. and G. Ulfstein (2010). The Disputed Maritime Zones Around Svalbard. Changes in the Arctic Environment and the Law of the Sea. M. H. Nordquist, T. H. Heidar and J. N. Moore. Leiden ; Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers: 551-593.

Klabbers, J., A. Peters and G. Ulfstein (2009). The Constitutionalization of International Law. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Churchill, R. and G. Ulfstein (2000). "Autonomous Institutional Arrangements in Multilateral Environmental Agreements: A Little-Noticed Phenomenon in International Law." AJIL 94(4): 623-660.

Ulfstein, G. (1995). The Svalbard Treaty : from terra nullius to Norwegian sovereignty. Oslo ; Boston, Scandinavian University Press.

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Published Apr. 21, 2008 10:18 AM - Last modified Feb. 8, 2024 2:54 PM