Beyond the human loss and devastation which we all see, I hope someone is estimating the greenhouse gas emissions from bombed oil assets and vessels in Iran. These should be attributed to the US' emission record. Just to set the record straight for future compesation claims under international law.
Co-chairs Statement on The Hague Group Meeting on Accountability and the Enforcement of International Law in Palestine. 4 March 2026.
The legal arguments and architecture for what's happening in Iran now, and were deployed in relation to Gaza, really did not come out of nowhere.
The pre-emption and targetted assassination arguments might appear spectacular, but they were the workaday archiecture of the war on terror.
The international boycott of ChatGPT has absolutely exploded.
2.5M people have already joined, and this is just the beginning.
Go to quitgpt.org.
Cancel your subscription, delete your account.
And tell at least one person why.
My op-ed: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump administration officials acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran planned to attack US forces first, two people familiar with the matter said reut.rs/46ybyTg
And bye, bye blended learning...
Flore Heinrich and I have co-authored a blog on @ejiltalk.bsky.social on the recent judgment in the Bonaire case, focusing on how the District Court of The Hague approached cultural rights in the context of climate change and implications for future litigation: www.ejiltalk.org/climate-chan....
๐จThe most important graph in the world has another year of data, and it doesn't look good!๐จ
NASA CERES satellites measure how much sunlight Earth absorbs and how much heat is radiated back to space.
The difference is heat accumulation, which has more than tripled!
Review of how โminimising the magnitude and durationโ of overshooting 1.5C could decrease the risk of surpassing climate tipping points
#climatecrisis
HT @carbonbrief.org
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
โก โ๏ธ ๐ #๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐: hearings continue at ๐งโโ๏ธ Paris Judicial Court in landmark case against ๐ข๏ธTotalEnergies
๐ Focus today: expert hearings & civil liability
๐งต Live coverage in English below ๐
๐ซ๐ท See also live coverage in French via @notreaffaireatous.bsky.social
States can withdraw from the BoP at any time. However, the one billion US dollars that some of them might have paid to secure a permanent spot will stay! In the words of the inaugural Chairman, this sounds really like a โbad dealโ for states! 10/10
Now, what would happen if, say, a member of the EB, most loyal to the โinauguralโ Chairman, vetoes such a decision even in a case of evident incapacity? The BoP would be simply blocked, unless amendments to its text are passed. But these require the confirmation of the (incapable) Chairman! 9/10
Finally, the BoP text refers to the supervened incapacity of the Chairman, and I think for good reasons. However, a statement of incapacity can only happen via the unanimous vote of the Executive Board, which is itself nominated by the Chairman and made up of โleaders of global statureโ. 8/10
... and stands in stark contrast to the calls for a return to sovereignty and nationalism by some of the governments of participating Member States. 7/10
This leaves open the possibility for the โinauguralโ Chairman to nominate private subjects, including family members. Having an organ made of a single, private individual with a veto over sovereign Member States is something unseen... 6/10
Second, there are issues with the succession of the Chairman. The 'inaugural' Chairman (Trump) 'shall at all times designate a successor' (which is itself a vague formulation). There are no requirements for the successor to be a Head of State, Head of Government, or Member State's official. 5/10
The consequences are that the BoP might enter into void agreements, not be covered under applicable customary international law, and other Member States and IOs might refuse to engage with the BoP as if it were an actual IO. 4/10
However, as noted already by Sanmay Moitra, this element casts doubt over the actual nature of the BoP as an IO, given that there are strong arguments that it lacks an actual autonomous will. A necessary condition for IOs. 3/10 opiniojuris.org/2026/02/11/t...
First, the governance of the 'Board of Peace' centers on a 'Chairman' who can veto any decision made by its Member States. There is no formal plenary organ other than the 'Board of Peace' itself, working both as a 'container organ' and as an entity with international legal personality. 2/10
The legal design of the 'Board of Peace' is a primer in the history of international organizations law, and it's fraught with issues. From 'pay-to-play' seats to a 'Chairman for Life', here is why the BoP is a legal anomaly: ๐ #InternationalLaw #BoardofPeace 1/10
๐ก๏ธ๐ With an average temp of 1.4ยฐC above pre-industrial levels it is "increasingly likely" that the 1.5ยฐC threshold of the Paris Agreement (as clarified by the ICJ) will be passed. This will have important repercussions at law.
๐ฅ Europe should adapt according to a pathway of 2.8ยฐC-3.3ยฐC warming
2/2
The ESABCC's report on climate change adaptation is just out. Some statements that should 'sink in':
โจ๏ธEurope warmed up to 2.4ยฐC on average over the last 5 years
... Estimated 16.000 deaths in Eu in 2025 for extreme heat linked to climate change
1/2
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
About the distinction between the 'rule-based order' and international law, see this piece by John Dugard: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
I interpret that speech, basically saying that it's Canada's time to veer away from US' version of the rules, and to shape new ways of 'ordering' its international relations. This could even mean going back to actual international law among like-minded countries.
The 'rule-based order' has elements of international law, but several others are excluded/mutated: no judicial enforcement, no prohibition on the use of force, and self-defence on steroids, no clear sources of law etc. And, yes, there is selectivity in applying them.
Some might read Carneyโs speech below as a โthe king (international law) is nakedโ moment: but the โrules-based orderโ he refers to isnโt international law, but a US remaking of it, with the rest of the West often grudgingly following.
"the court failed to seriously engage with situations where anonymity is crucial โ including for whistleblowers or people seeking information while fearing reprisals."
I am pleased to see so many signatories on this letter to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband about ISDS and climate change (I am one of the signatories). We need to be considering alternatives to ISDS to prevent foreign investors from challenging measures that address climate change.
๐จ BREAKING: EU countries have agreed to a weakened 2040 climate goal and have set a new target for COP30.
Read the story: www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...
