Alexander Wentker

📖 My review of Anu Bradford’s "Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology" (Oxford University Press 2023) is out on @zaoerv.bsky.social

Many thanks to @alexanderwentker.bsky.social and @erik.d-64.social for editing this timely book review symposium.

🔗 doi.org/10.17104/004...

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

This article develops an analytical framework for applying the Monetary Gold rule in public interest litigation before the ICJ. A new dimension of this litigation expands the circle of potential respondent states to also include facilitators and bystanders of a primary wrongdoing. This litigation raises the question as to whether the ICJ would be barred from adjudicating claims against such states because the primary wrongdoing state would be an indispensable third party. To build its framework, the article compares different types of rules that enable states to be held responsible for the conduct of other states. These rules range from complicity-type duties of non-assistance and non-instigation to duties of prevention. All of these duties share a certain ‘moral sophistication’ in that they bear a connection to another state’s (potential) wrongdoing. The character of this connection determines the extent to which the Monetary Gold rule bars the ICJ from adjudicating a claim. The way that different duties structure their moral sophistication is key. Wider developments in the structure of the international legal order, with an increase in freestanding obligations imposed on states, suggest that the room for such public interest litigation may be growing. For obligations of prevention in particular, requests for provisional measures offer pathways to adjudication in spite of Monetary Gold, as may seeking and using determinations of third states’ legal position in authoritative decisions, including advisory opinions. By testing the limits of these paths, public interest litigation against facilitators and bystanders may further re-calibrate the balance in inter-state dispute settlement between respect for sovereign equality on the one hand and the possibility of judicially enforcing community interests on the other hand.

My friend and colleague Robert Stendel and I have a new draft on SSRN of an article forthcoming in EJIL, entitled 'Monetary Gold in the Age of Public Interest Litigation'.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Comments (still) welcome!

Here is the abstract:

Völkerrechtler Alexander Wentker, Universität Potsdam, über die Grenzen des Völkerrechts im Nahostkonflikt Völkerrechtler Alexander Wentker, Universität Potsdam, über die Grenzen des Völkerrechts im Nahostkonflikt

Interview mit Tagesschau24 (@tagesschau.de.web.brid.gy) zum völkerrechtlichen Gewaltverbot im Konflikt zwischen Israel, den USA und dem Iran (Aufzeichnung von heute, 18:30).

www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/v...

One week left to apply to our new Comparative and Global Law LLM at @uni-muenster.de ! Check out details below...

If you missed the annual ICLQ lecture given by Prof. Benoit Mayer based on his article 'The 'Highest Possible Ambition' on Climate Change Mitigation as a Legal Standard"

You can catch up with a recordings here buff.ly/6V7TaE3

📢 IT’S HERE!!! 📢

✨The programme of our “HOW TO” series of events is out!!!✨

This brand new series of events aims to provide a range of skills and support to ESIL early-career members embarking on a career in international law.

Many thanks to @iclq.bsky.social and @cambridgeup.bsky.social for this wonderful prize and to @biicl.bsky.social for an equally wonderful event!

Am 12. Mai 2025 findet an der HU Berlin ein MPIL Buchgespräch zu "Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law" statt. @alexanderwentker.bsky.social 

Mit Prof. Dr. Claus Kreß und @Heikekrieger.bsky.social

Moderation: @chr-marxsen.bsky.social 

🕒 18 Uhr
Anmeldung: berlin@mpil.de

I am very happy, grateful, and honoured that my book (Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law) has received the 2025 Francis Lieber Prize of the American Society of International Law’s (@asilorg.bsky.social) Lieber Society.

You can read the book here: academic.oup.com/book/57564

Wie die Gerichte sich hier positionieren und welche Rolle die Gewaltenteilung dabei spielt, ordne ich in der aktuellen NVwZ ein. (2/2)

beck-online.beck.de/Dokument?vpa...

Mehrere Verwaltungsgerichte beschäftigen sich zur Zeit mit Exportgenehmigungen für Waffen nach Israel. Die Verfahren testen die Reichweite verwaltungsgerichtlichen Rechtsschutzes und grundrechtlicher Schutzpflichten im Ausland. (1/2)

Thank you!

Very many thanks again to Marko, Ashley, Philippa, and Paul for engaging with my work so thoroughly and thoughtfully.

Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law: Author’s Response I am very grateful to Marko, Ashley, Philippa, and Paul for their thoughtful contributions. I greatly appreciate their thorough engagement with my work. To conclude the symposium, I will react to a fe...

6) My conclusion: www.ejiltalk.org/party-status...

Party Status to Armed Conflict The following comments are offered from the perspective of a government lawyer but very much on a personal basis; they do not necessarily represent the views of the UK Government. The relationship bet...

5) Paul Berman’s ‘Party Status to Armed Conflict’: www.ejiltalk.org/party-status...

Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence I explore in this post how the use of AI-based Decision Support Systems (AI-DSS) could disrupt the three criteria developed by Alexander Wentker for identifying co-parties to an armed conflict. I firs...

4) Philippa Webb’s ‘Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence’: www.ejiltalk.org/co-party-sta...

The Power of Co-Party Influence on IHL Compliance Alex Wentker’s book, which will stand as the definitive work on co-party status for years, offers an extremely careful and comprehensive look at the nature and implications of being a co-party to an a...

3) Ashley Deeks’ ‘The Power of Co-Party Influence on IHL Compliance’: www.ejiltalk.org/the-power-of...

On Parties and Co-Parties: A Comment on Alex Wentker’s Book I doubt that a doctoral thesis – and then a book – on international law could be more timely than Alexander Wentker’s Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law. The ongoing wars in Ukraine a...

2) Marko Milanovic’s ‘On Parties and Co-Parties: A Comment on Alex Wentker’s Book’: www.ejiltalk.org/on-parties-a...

Below is my response to the four thought-provoking comments on my book.

For ease of reference, here are the links to all the posts in the symposium, in order of appearance:

1) My intro: www.ejiltalk.org/party-status...

Party Status to Armed Conflict The following comments are offered from the perspective of a government lawyer but very much on a personal basis; they do not necessarily represent the views of the UK Government. The relationship bet...

Party Status to Armed Conflict | by Paul Berman

Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence I explore in this post how the use of AI-based Decision Support Systems (AI-DSS) could disrupt the three criteria developed by Alexander Wentker for identifying co-parties to an armed conflict. I firs...

Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence | by Philippa Webb

The Power of Co-Party Influence on IHL Compliance Alex Wentker’s book, which will stand as the definitive work on co-party status for years, offers an extremely careful and comprehensive look at the nature and implications of being a co-party to an a...

The Power of Co-Party Influence on IHL Compliance | by Ashley Deeks

‼️ ESIL pre-conference workshops are the ideal setting for ECRs wanting to share their work and get feedback!

Make sure to check all the CfP and to submit your abstracts!

And if you have questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us!

On Parties and Co-Parties: A Comment on Alex Wentker’s Book I doubt that a doctoral thesis – and then a book – on international law could be more timely than Alexander Wentker’s Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law. The ongoing wars in Ukraine a...

On Parties and Co-Parties: A Comment on Alex Wentker’s Book | by Marko Milanovic

Thank you!

Over the next few days, @ejiltalk.bsky.social is hosting a symposium on my book, with thoughtful contributions by Marko Milanovic, Ashley Deeks, Paul Berman, and Philippa Webb (+ intro & response by me).

I am very grateful to the four contributors, as well as to the editors for hosting this.

Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law: An Overview Introduction Russia’s war of aggression has sparked intense public debates about whether and how to support Ukraine across many Western States over the past three years. These debates capture the hear...

Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law: An Overview | by Alexander Wentker

Congratulations! 🎉 @alexanderwentker.bsky.social has been awarded the @cambridgeup.bsky.social #ICLQ Early Career Prize for his article "The Armed Attack Exception to Neutrality in International Peace and Security Law": www.biicl.org/newsitems/16...

📖 Available #OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1017/S002...

I'm very humbled and honoured to be awarded this prize. The article is here (OA): doi.org/10.1017/S002... and a summary here bsky.app/profile/alex...

If you're in London on 13 May, join us to discuss the article (briefly) – and, more importantly, for Benoît Mayer’s lecture (see 👇).