International law
Law of the sea: A contested watershed ruling
When in 2016 the Arbitral Tribunal issued its watershed ruling in the case between the Philippines and China, responses from the international community were lacklustre. The Asian…
Protecting law and order at sea means educating people on their rights
In recent years, the rise of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities, transnational organised crime at sea, expansion of terrorist networks and activities by…
“Lawfare” in the South China Sea disputes
The term “lawfare”, and its etymology in the term warfare, has traditionally been perceived as negative, based on the notion that it meant the misuse of law or legal institutions…
Russia is committing atrocity crimes in Ukraine, but not genocide
Russia is committing atrocity crimes in Ukraine, but they do not constitute genocide. While that distinction matters little to people caught up in this brutal armed conflict,…
The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty
As the West braces for a possible escalation of Russian ransomware attacks in retaliation for support to Ukraine, the first meeting to negotiate a new global cybercrime treaty…
Ukraine: Don’t write off the international order – read and rewrite it
Given all that is on the line right now in Ukraine, the persistence of the so-called “rules-based international order” is probably not high on the list of most people’s concerns…
It’s a mistake to allow Myanmar’s junta to appear in Rohingya case
While the military coup in Myanmar has dominated mention of the country in international news over the last 12 months, the slow wheels of international justice for the Muslim…
Navigating the limits in the South China Sea
Barely noticed, but nevertheless of some international legal consequence, is the latest effort by the United States to cast doubt upon the legality of Chinese maritime claims in…
Regulating unmanned underwater vehicles in Indonesian waters
According to the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative, between 2018 and January 2021, a large number of Chinese vessels “deactivated” their AIS transponders – the automatic…
The legal case for defending Taiwan
In a recent discussion in The Interpreter of whether it would be legal to come to the defence of Taiwan, Ben Saul concludes that “a betting person might be tempted to back the…