International Law Behind the Headlines

Can Iran Levy Tolls on the Strait of Hormuz? Transit passage and the law of the sea with James Kraska, Charles Stockton Professor of international Maritime Law at the US Naval War College.

Tariffs are back and they’re reshaping the international economic landscape in real time. The second Trump administration has unleashed a wave of trade measures that shift by the week, justified by goals that include everything from fighting unfair trade practices, to making everyday goods more affordable for American consumers, to national security. So where does international law fit in? And can...

Boarding and Seizing Ships (and related Caribbean issues) with Michael Scharf, President of the American Branch of the International Law Association

Former Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Larry Johnson joins the podcast to explain the legal underpinnings of this year’s controversy at the UN General Assembly over visas and visa restrictions for diplomats from Palestine and Iran.

In the past year, three international courts and tribunals—the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)—have issued advisory opinions on the obligations of countries with respect to climate change. In the context of the ongoing UN General Assembly in NYC, this episode features a conversatio...

In this episode with speak with Katerina Linos of UC Berkeley and Mark Pollack of Temple University about their project to interview the judges of the EU’s primary court system, and the implications for European integration, international law, and our understanding of how international judges behave.

What does the law of treaties—and jus ad bellum—say about peace treaties? We discuss these issues, the history of peace treaties, and their possible future with Greg Fox, who has written widely on peace agreements and their evolution.

On this episode Samantha Rowe, partner in the London office of Debevoise and Plimpton, joins the podcast to discuss the recent Trump executive order aimed at jumpstarting deep seabed mining, the role of the International Seabed Authority, and evolving custom in the law of the sea.

This episode considers the implications of a second Trump administration for international law and policy in the United States and explores the future of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Catherine speaks with Amy Porges, a long-time practitioner of international trade law who participated in drafting the WTO agreements, and later represented the United States before the WTO as Senior Counsel fo...

Richard Gowan, Director for UN and Multilateral Diplomacy at the International Crisis Group and one of the world’s chief UN watchers, joins the podcast to discuss what to expect with the new Trump team in Turtle Bay.

In this episode, Catherine is joined by Sean D. Murphy, Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law at George Washington University and former Member of the UN International Law Commission, where he served as Special Rapporteur on the topic of Crimes against Humanity. Together, they discuss the UN General Assembly’s recent resolution to proceed with negotiations towards a Convention on Prevention an...

In this first of a multi-part series exploring the implications a second Trump administration for international law and policy in the United States, Catherine is joined by Steve Hill, the Executive Secretary of the Institute for International Justice and Rule of Law and former Director of the Office of Legal Affairs at NATO headquarters. This episode explores the history of NATO, its current chall...

In this episode, featuring Professor Leila Sadat, we discuss the recent rise in violent extraterritorial action by states, such as the allegations by Canada that Indian agents killed a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, and the legal framework governing such action and possible reactions.

Peter Singer is Senior Fellow at New America, author of Wired for War and LikeWar, and one of the nation’s leading experts on the evolution of armed conflict. We discuss the revolutions underway in drone warfare, AI, and robotics and their implications for international law.

In this episode, Professor Monica Hakimi of Columbia discusses the international law governing sieges, how it interacts with IHL generally, and its application to the conflict in Gaza.

Reports from the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly indicate a willingness from member States to finalize the Pandemic Treaty ­– a proposed legal framework that endeavors to coordinate the global response to future pandemics – within the next year. In this episode, WHO Principal Legal Officer Steven Solomon and WHO Senior Legal Officer Kenneth Piercy join us to pull back the curtain on the trea...

A month after this year’s International Women’s Day and as we approach the eighty-eighth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the “CEDAW Committee”), we must ask: where do we collectively stand in light of the ongoing and new threats to the rights of girls and women around the world, and what comes next? Join us as Professor Rangita de Silva de Alwis of the...

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (“COP28”) concluded on December 13, 2023—with almost 200 countries signing a landmark Stocktake agreement and wide agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. Many commentators have heralded COP28 as a success. Was it, and what comes next for meaningful climate action in the lead-up to COP29? Join us in conversation with Dr. Christina Voigt, Pr...

From new launches, private and public, into outer space to the growing challenge of “space debris,” space is a growing challenge for international lawyers. We discuss some of the current and emerging issues with Ina Popova, partner in the international dispute resolution group at Debevoise and Plimpton.

Just Security Editors in Chief Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman join Kal to discuss some of the hardest legal questions raised by the current conflict in Israel and Gaza. Topics include civilian-combatant distinctions; human shields; the law of siege and occupation; and the targeting of hospitals and other special facilities.

In this episode, we speak with the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to discuss the recent actions of the ICC against Vladimir Putin.

In this episode, Catherine Amirfar interviews co-host Kal Raustiala about his new book, The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire.

How does feminist thought intersect with international law? Catherine Powell and Adrien Wing join Kal to discuss the recent AJIL Unbound symposium on feminist theories of international law.

In this episode, Catherine speaks with Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji—former President of the International Criminal Court—about why international criminal justice is relevant today, his position on supporting an international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the relationship between international criminal law and media freedom, the most difficult decision...

In this episode David Sloss of Santa Clara Law School discusses his new book, Tyrants on Twitter, and his proposals to combat disinformation and the misuse of social media by foreign actors.