Saeed Bagheri

#Palestine #warcrimes #britain #colonialism #reparations #gaza #recognition

"Death, destruction, starvation and displacement of Palestinian civilians are the result of choices that defy international law and ignore the international community."

"We continue to insist that this horror can be stopped."

Again – we need much more access to Gaza to save lives at scale. Release of hostages and arbitrarily detained. A ceasefire. This horror can be stopped.

Recognition Rules: The Case for a New International Law of Government Recognition - NYU Law Review The last several years have been marked by contentious disputes about which governments represent the states of Venezuela, Libya, Yemen, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Niger. Such disputes are far from idl...

It's out!

"Recognition Rules: The Case for a New International Law of Government Recognition"

Published in @nyulawreview.bsky.social, with coauthors Justin Cole and Alaa Hachem.

You can download it for free here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

‘Really cautious’: why the ICJ is delaying a Gaza genocide verdict While civilians starve and global opinion hardens, judgment from international court may not come until 2027 – or later

“…many experts in IHL argue that a fixation on a genocide verdict could be a dangerous distraction, delaying decisive action by the international community as it waits for an ICJ verdict while demonstrable crimes against humanity are allowed to continue.”
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jul...

IDF now promising

airdrops (pure theater, disaster waiting to happen)

humanitarian corridors and pauses (can work but must be extensive and reliable)

restoring electricity to desalination plant (overdue)

Still insists "there is no starvation in Gaza" because they think we don't have eyes.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber has found that Hungary failed to comply with its obligations under the ICC Statute by not arresting Benjamin Netanyahu when he was in Hungary.

The Court refers the matter of Hungary’s non-compliance to the Assembly of States Parties.

The IHL / LOAC Divide Does Not Exist: On the Myth of the Two Cultures Problem in a Postcolonial World Yesterday, Brian Cox, a frequent critic of this blog, posted a long comment on Twitter (now X), in the context of a discussion he had with Opinio Juris’ own Kevin Jon Heller. The post was part of a…

My latest @opiniojuris.bsky.social

opiniojuris.org/2025/07/22/t...

Judicial Integrity and Political Ambition at the ICJ ICJ president Nawaf Salam's resignation shows why clear ethical boundaries are essential to the Court’s continued authority and legitimacy.

#ICJ judges must be perceived to embody impartiality. Roy Schondorf and Ava Drai argue that clearer ethical boundaries on perceived conflicts of interest must be developed to preserve the Court's continued authority and legitimacy.

www.justsecurity.org/117167/judic...

My latest @justsecurity.org

Tonight, I introduced legislation to stop Trump from from leading us into an illegal war with Iran.

Another war in the Middle East could cost countless lives, waste trillions more dollars, and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, and more displacement.

So, according to Western media:

Israel - a militarised, rogue nuclear state that is carrying out long-term war crimes - is justified in committing a 'pre-emptive attack' on civilian cities throughout the Middle East.

Yet, no other states are given any rights to self defence at all.

Just read it. Seriously. Read it.

UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers Exclusive: Letter to PM signed by retired supreme court justices among others says lack of action will imperil international legal system

I’ve signed this letter, urging the UK Prime Minister to act without delay as “urgent and decisive action is required to avert the destruction of the #Palestinian people of #Gaza”.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Please consider submitting!

Armed Groups and International Law - Repatriation of ISIS Members from Camps in Syria: What Next? In recent months, the fall of the Assad regime and the US government’s announcement that it will withdraw troops from Syria has once again brought attention to the question of how to resolve the is…

New from me and Alison Bisset on ‘Repatriation of ISIS Members from Camps in Syria’, written for Armed Groups and International Law blog.

www.armedgroups-internationallaw.org/2025/04/11/r...

We have made a starter pack for people working on/ interested in armed groups, civil war scholarship, armed groups and international law and non-international armed conflicts. Please join! go.bsky.app/24KvoKz

Last week I wrote a commentary on UNSC Res 2773 (2025) on the DRC, M23, and Rwanda. It is now out at @ejiltalk.bsky.social. I discuss 3 issues: interpretation & effects of UNSC resolutions; occupation (of course!); MONUSCO (of course 2!). Comments are welcome: www.ejiltalk.org/three-legal-...

Yesterday I was interviewed by Rabia Ali for Anadolu to discuss international law violations in Ga_za. The piece includes comments by Saeed Bagheri and Luigi Daniele too.

www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-ea...

If history teaches us anything, it's that the best deterrent against aggression is a state not taking steps to defend itself.

Statement by International Lawyers, ESIL Members, and ESIL Interest Group Convenors related to the 2025 ESIL Annual Conference at Freie Universität Berlin

Statement by International Lawyers, ESIL Members, and ESIL Interest Group Convenors related to the 2025 ESIL Annual Conference at Freie Universität Berlin.
voelkerrechtsblog.org/statement-by...

#Palestinian death toll now at 28,350! It’s not only a number, it’s how genocide in 🇵🇸 stands as the most grave example of the failure of the modern era, where it could be stopped!

3) What does it mean if either the UK or the US rely upon two different lines of reasoning? Is there any risk of 'possible invalidity' of at least one of the arguments brought forward by the UK & US, so they can still count on the other as a variant option?

2) There's no question that self-defence would be reasonably `necessary` if there's been an armed attack, a condition that is met in this case. But the question remains as to whether leaning toward the 'freedom of navigation' in this scenario is necessary to be brought forward ...

🧵

1) Neither the #British nor the #US governments have notified the #UNSC of their joint military actions taken against #Houthis, but it seems that they resorted to both `Art 51 of the UN Charter` and `Art 87 of the #UNCLOS` ...

NEW PUBLICATION 📖:
The 2nd edition of the Commentary on “The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol”, edited notably by KFG-member Andreas Zimmermann in collaboration with Franziska Herrmann (@fmh.bsky.social)
has been published by OUP. /1

Thanks, Karen!

📣Call for Papers
Social Hierarchies in Catastrophic Times: International Law, Critique, and Structural Change
Deadline: 02/02/24
Dates and Location: 03-07/09/24, Kochi, India
Details: bit.ly/3NlO3TW

UK accused of hypocrisy in not backing claim of genocide in Gaza before ICJ Experts say submission to international court of justice on Myanmar six weeks ago makes stance ‘wholly disingenuous’

“The UK is facing accusations of double standards after formally submitting detailed legal arguments to the International Court of Justice in the Hague six weeks ago to support claims that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group”

www.theguardian.com/law/2024/jan...

The Lawfare Podcast: Israel, Gaza, and the Law of War What does international humanitarian law say about the current conflict between Israel and Hamas?

On today's Lawfare Podcast, Natalie Orpett spoke to Gabor Rona about what international humanitarian law has to say about the most heated debates of the Israel-Hamas conflict, including the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza and Hamas’s use of human shields.