The multidimensional nature of cultural heritage makes it an essential tool in the hands of Iraq’s political and religious actors to advise their political and social agendas. Cultural heritage, as the country’s second-biggest source of revenue after oil production, has been heavily manipulated for the private gains of the powerful, diminishing its immense value as a public good equally accessible …

In February 2015, a rare summit of Russian, Ukrainian, German, and French leaders aimed to restore peace to parts of Ukraine taken over by pro-Russian rebels the year before. These territories became known as the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in Ukraine’s Donbas region (DPR). The Ukrainian administration in Kyiv said that the two territories …

The International Court of Justice was established in 1945 to resolve legal disputes brought to it by Member States in accordance with international law, and to provide advisory opinions on legal problems referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Impartiality and political neutrality are supposed to be the ICJ’s main objectives. As the principal judicial organ of …

While the UN Security Council tried to prevent a war against Ukraine, Russia’s President Putin unapologetically sent his troops. The UN Security Council has no significant influence because of the veto power of individual members. Many are therefore pushing for a reform. The powerlessness of the UN Security Council has again been obvious in the Ukraine crisis. Just as the …

On February 24th 2022 Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” to “demilitarise and de-nazify Ukraine”. The rest of the world saw it for what it was, a clear violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and political independence through military force. In other words; an invasion. Leaders in the European Union quickly condemned the decision, including the President of Greece. In …

It cannot be stressed enough that the EU is a “Union of law” where the rule of law has been the paradigm of the European model and the structure of the common Europe since its foundation. The Treaty on the European Union (TEU) enshrines the rule of law as one of the fundamental values of the EU thereby making it …

In 2015, the International Law Commission (ILC) added Jus Cogens to its agenda. The essence of jus cogens, the method of identifying the peremptory norms, and the compilation of a “illustrative list” of such norms were among the particular legal topics indicated for investigation in the accompanying mandate. Special Rapporteur Dire Tladi emphasized in his initial report that the study …

Prior to the 20th anniversary of the catastrophic attacks on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet announced that a new task force would be launched, including airborne, sailing, and underwater drones (A.P., 2021). In this regard, Navy officials refused to reveal the specifications of systems that would be used in the newly established task force. However, it …

The most restrictive and radical abortion legislation seen in half a century in the US came into effect last week (1Sept.) in Texas after the US Supreme Court declined to intervene. The law, introduced as Senate Bill 8 or SB8, prohibits abortions when embryonic cardiac activity is detected which can occur at six weeks, before many know they have become …

Genocide is perceived as the ‘crime of all crimes’ and the worst form of violence amongst humans (Rafter, 2016; 1). Yet, despite its recognition as a tragedy, policymakers are yet to fully acknowledge the relationship between human and national security and thus recognise genocide as a threat in the same way it recognises other threats (Gallagher, 2013). Security as a …