EJIL: Talk!

1. Call for Papers: Economic Security and Competitive Markets - Reconciling Conflicting Ambitions. The Research Centre for State and Law (SteR) at Radboud University is inviting abstracts for an international conference entitled Economic Security and Competitive Markets: Reconciling Conflicting Ambitions, which will take place on 22 January 2027 at the AKD Law Firm Amsterdam Office, [...]

As Russia's war against Ukraine rages, inflicting suffering on the country, its people, and economy, the Russian Central Bank (RCB) assets remain immobilised (i.e., frozen). Since December 2025, the EU, on whose territory a significant chunk of these assets has been immobilised, - €210 bn worth of assets out of approximately €290 bn - modified [...]

Sand Tomorrow, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey will come clattering into cinemas around the world. There will no doubt be talk of plotlines, performances, accents, and fidelity to the source text-perhaps even some mentions of the curious absence of Greek actors. There is less likely to be talk about sand.

The paradoxical revival of security guarantees Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has revived the concept of security guarantees. Their content and scope have been central to scholarly and political debates about Kyiv's resistance to the Russian aggression (see here and here). Yet, this revival highlights a paradox: if existing arrangements had been effective, [...]

In mid-June 2026, the European Parliament gave its final approval to the amendments to the European Union's policy on the return of third-country nationals staying irregularly on Union territory. With 418 votes in favour, 218 against, and 30 abstentions, the new Return Regulation, which replaces Directive 2008/115/EC, formally aims to "speed up procedures, with full [...]

While peace still appears remote, the prospect of a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine raises difficult questions concerning the international law governing inter-state peace treaties. The unlawfulness of Russia's use of force and the peace plans proposed to date point to issues of validity, particularly under Articles 46, 52 and 53 of the [...]

In its 25 June 2026 judgment in NAAT et al. v. TotalEnergies, the Paris Judicial Court ordered TotalEnergies to update its vigilance plan within six months to address climate-related risks arising from its Scope 3 emissions-emissions from the combustion of its oil and gas which account for around 90% of its carbon footprint-and to include [...]

"The test of a first-rate intelligence," according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." For international lawyers in these times of the Board of Peace and the Gaza Riviera, this kind of functional cognitive dissonance has [...]

1. The Human Right to Peace: Past, Present, and Future Webinar. NUS Centre for International Law is inviting registrations for the upcoming webinar "The Human Right to Peace: Past, Present, and Future" (15 July 2026, 5.30pm - 7pm, Singapore time). The webinar brings together practitioners and researchers, including Cecilia Marcela Bailliet, Surya Deva, Hélène Tigroudja, [...]

In the four years since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the prospects of a negotiated peace settlement have waxed but mostly waned. But the possibility of an agreement has been an ongoing focus for international lawyers. This is primarily because Russia has demanded territorial concessions from Ukraine that appear at odds with fundamental prohibitions on [...]