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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 12h

Starting at 1 pm (GMT) today, please join the ESIL Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals for a discussion of Dana Burchardt's recent book: 'The Authority of International Courts: A Behavioural Framework'. Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/25502b...

events.teams.microsoft.com

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

*Call for Papers: The Irish Yearbook of International Law* At a moment of profound anxiety for the international legal system, the Editors of the Irish Yearbook invite article submissions on any area of international law for publication in the next volume. More info here: www.tcd.ie/law/news--ev...

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

New #ICJ case: DRC accuses Rwanda of violating the Genocide Convention, CERD, CEDAW, and CAT. We've been down this road before; the ICJ dismissed another DRC v Rwanda case back in 2006 for lack of jurisdiction. 20 years later, have those problems been overcome? www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...

icj-cij.org

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

The #ICJ has fixed exceedingly long time-limits for the second round of written pleadings in South Africa v Israel (SA's reply is due 22 Nov 2027, ISR's rejoinder is due 22 May 2029). This likely means that no judgment on the merits should be expected until late 2030 at the absolute earliest.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

I spoke with @aljazeera.com this week about the latest developments in #Gaza, which increasingly seem overshadowed by the Iran war and Israel's campaign in Lebanon. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/...

aljazeera.com

Just what are Israel’s long-term plans for Gaza?

Despite an apparent ceasefire, Israel's leaders continue to hint at annexation and ethnic cleansing.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Many thanks to everyone who took part in last Friday's New Voices in International Law workshop at @tcddublin.bsky.social, generously supported by @tricondublin.bsky.social. A fitting capstone to my friend Christiane Ahlborn's tenure with us at TCD, my collaborator in all things international law.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Some comments from me on how international law has largely failed to restrain US foreign policy under Donald Trump, from tariffs and boat strikes to the Maduro operation in Venezuela and the ongoing war in Iran. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...

aljazeera.com

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

The ESIL Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals invites abstract proposals for its pre-ESIL conference workshop in Malaga on 3 Sept 2026 on the theme of "Conflicts before Courts: Revisiting ‘Uneven Judicialization in Global Order’ Fifteen Years On". The deadline is 31 March 2026.

esil-sedi.eu

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Very interesting to see an intervention aligned with the respondent state (which has not been typical in the so-called “mass intervention” cases so far).

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Shane Darcy @shanedarcy.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Applications currently being accepted for the Megan Fairlie Scholarships for the Summer School on the International Criminal Court. Takes place online 8-11 June 2026 @uniofgalway.bsky.social Deadline for application is 1 March 2026. see: universityofgalwayichr.clr.events/event/139679

universityofgalwayichr.clr.events

Summer School on the International Criminal Court 2026

Welcome The 26th annual Summer School on the International Criminal Court which will be hosted online by the Irish Centre for Human Rights takes place from 8-11 June 2026. This is the premier summer s...

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Round 1 of #TheGambia v #Myanmar saw a sustained attack by Myanmar on the credibility of UN fact-finding reports. The situation underscores the potential value in the ICJ hearing directly from the fact-finders, an issue I discussed on @ejiltalk.bsky.social in 2019. www.ejiltalk.org/the-challeng...

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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Before the ICJ began its public hearings in Gambia v. Myanmar, I planned to write a technical piece about the role of party presentation in the Court's genocide cases. To my surprise, it turns out that the whole case may turn on it. My latest @justsecurity.org

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

It was a real privilege to serve as the discussant for a great talk by Rick Lorenz of the Public International Law & Policy Group yesterday at @tcddublin.bsky.social: "Murder on the High Seas:? The Legal and Ethical Implications of US Attacks on Alleged Drug Traffickers".

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

#Rohingya case: Very interesting to learn that the sole expert to be called by #TheGambia next week at the #ICJ is Prof. Michael Newton from Vanderbilt Law School, with testimony on how the 2016-17 clearance operations cannot reasonably be called counterterrorism. law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/michael-...

law.vanderbilt.edu

Biography

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

One reason why the opening of the #ICJ hearing in #TheGambia v #Myanmar this morning is remarkable: When The Gambia filed the case in 2019, there was no guarantee it would be willing to stay the course and see the case through (arguably a heightened risk for cases brought by non-injured states).

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Oona Hathaway @oonahathaway.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

The US Supreme Court just granted cert in Cisco v. Doe on (1) whether the Alien Tort Statute allows aiding and abetting claims & (2) whether the TVPA does. The case could strike a major blow to human rights law. For deep background on the law, read this article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 10/01/2026

The ICJ begins oral hearings in The Gambia v Myanmar on 12 January. MICHAEL A. BECKER looks ahead to what is at stake as the Court hears arguments on genocidal intent, fact-finding, and remedies in its first genocide case brought by a non-injured state. verfassungsblog.de/the-rohingya...

Quote: “The Gambia v Myanmar provides the ICJ with a key and timely opportunity to clarify the law of genocide, especially in situations of armed conflict or counter-insurgency.”

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

In a few months, we've progressed from snuff films of the US military killing civilians at sea to a snuff film of paramilitary secret police killing a mom in Minnesota—in both situations bogusly invoking "terrorism."

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

With the #ICJ hearing in #TheGambia v #Myanmar kicking off on Monday, I put together some thoughts over at @verfassungsblog.de on key issues to consider for those following this important #GenocideConvention case. A quick summary. verfassungsblog.de/the-rohingya...

verfassungsblog.de

The Rohingya Case Gets a Hearing

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I joined Morning Ireland on @rteone.rte.ie today to talk #Greenland & #Venezuela, the return of gunboat diplomacy and a US focus on regional dominance that amounts to a continuing and dangerous repudiation of the post-1945 world order, with no end in sight. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

rte.ie

US says military use 'always an option' for acquiring Greenland

Michael Becker, Assistant Professor of International Human Rights Law at Trinity College Dublin, assesses the latest situation in Venezuela after President Maduro's ousting and the ramifications for G...

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Also notable: ICJ will hear from fact witnesses (closed session) an an expert witness. Will be very interesting to see what type of expert, especially if #TheGambia is calling a member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on #Myanmar (since they rely so extensively on its reports).

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Six years after #TheGambia instituted #ICJ proceedings against #Myanmar under the #GenocideConvention, the Court will hold the oral hearing next month (www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...). Notably, it won't allow the 11 intervening states to participate, per recently-amended Art 86 of the Rules.

icj-cij.org

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I am very pleased to see that the #ICJ has taken the decision to amend its rules to facilitate publishing party reports on the implementation of provisional measures. This is a common sense reform that I have been advocating for since 2020 (opiniojuris.org/2020/08/25/r...).

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Gerhard Kemp @gerhardkempicl.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

A few comments on the current situation regarding SA’s case against Israel, with colleagues @mikebecker.bsky.social & Juliette McIntyre. #GazaGenocide www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/i...

middleeasteye.net

Israel’s genocide in Gaza: What happened to South Africa’s case at the ICJ?

A verdict may not come for at least another two years - why the delay?

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Spoke with @washingtonpost.com about the absence of legal justification for the U.S. government’s premeditated killing of people aboard boats in the Caribbean. “In essence, the President is asserting a license to kill outside the law.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

washingtonpost.com

U.S. kills 3 in another strike on ‘narcoterrorists’ vessel, Trump says

The strike marks the third such attack on boats alleged to be carrying illicit drugs this month. Experts have questioned the legality of the strikes.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Some initial observations on yesterday’s report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine and Israel, led by former UN High Commission for Human Rights Navi Pillay. #Gaza

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

It was great to present (w/Cecily Rose) on dialogue between ICJ judges & counsel at the Sixth Scottish Conference on International Law at the University of Glasgow this week. Many thanks to @jamesgdevaney.bsky.social, @cjtams.bsky.social, @matinapapadaki.bsky.social for hosting a marvelous event.

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

1/ I worked at DoD. I literally cannot imagine lawyers coming up with a legal basis for lethal strike of suspected Venezuelan drug boat. Hard to see how this would not be "murder" or war crime under international law that DoD considers applicable. Read expert analysis by @bcfinucane.bsky.social⤵️

justsecurity.org

Legal Issues Raised by a Lethal U.S. Military Attack in the Caribbean

The Trump administration’s extraordinary lethal attack on this purported smuggling vessel raises significant potential legal issues.

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Janina Dill @janinadill.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Legal Tribune Online (‪@lto-de.bsky.social‬) hat 11 Völkerrechtsexperten gefragt, ob Israel in #Gaza einen Völkermord begeht. Eindeutig bzgl 🇩🇪's Präventionspflicht. Mit Analysen u.a. von @adhaque.bsky.social, @tomdannenbaum.bsky.social, @mikebecker.bsky.social and @itamann.bsky.social

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Happy to share my new publication in the Leiden Journal of International Law: "Recent developments in reliance upon third-party fact-finding at the International Court of Justice". Available here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal....

cambridge.org

Recent developments in reliance upon third-party fact-finding at the International Court of Justice | Leiden Journal of International Law | Cambridge Core

Recent developments in reliance upon third-party fact-finding at the International Court of Justice

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

Amidst the unending horrors of #Gaza, I spoke to @davidmacredmond.bsky.social at @thejournal.ie about complicity in genocide & the distinct obligation of states to prevent genocide. There is no question that the 'serious risk' threshold (which triggers that duty) was met in Gaza a long time ago.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

One point to clarify about #SouthAfrica v #Israel at the #ICJ. The case is not really moving at a slower pace than other ICJ cases. It’s typical for ICJ cases to last 4-5 years & I don’t see any particular effort on the ICJ’s part to slow things down further due to nature of this case.

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Ralph Janik @ralphjanik.com · 23/07/2025

but don't forget: While the International Court of Justice answered legal questions, climate change and its consequences are everything but legal. International (environmental) law is a tool, not the answer. The most important passage of the advisory opinion are these non-legal statements below 👇

456. Before concluding, the Court recalls that it has been suggested that these advisory proceedings are unlike any that have previously come before the Court. At the same time, as the Court concluded earlier, the questions put to it by the General Assembly are legal ones (see paragraph 40), and the Court, as a court of law, can do no more than address the questions put to it through and within the limits of its judicial function; this is the Court’s assigned role in the international legal order. However, the questions posed by the General Assembly represent more than a legal problem: they concern an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet. International law, whose authority has been invoked by the General Assembly, has an important but ultimately limited role in resolving this problem. A complete solution to this daunting, and self-inflicted, problem requires the contribution of all fields of human knowledge, whether law, science, economics or any other. Above all, a lasting and satisfactory solution requires human will and wisdom — at the individual, social and political levels — to change our habits, comforts and current way of life in order to secure a future for

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ourselves and those who are yet to come. Through this Opinion, the Court participates in the activities of the United Nations and the international community represented in that body, with the hope that its conclusions will allow the law to inform and guide social and political action to address the ongoing climate crisis.

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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Such helpful clarification by Judge Cleveland: [T]he interpretation of investment instruments must be informed by States’ obligations in respect of climate change under international law, incl the stringent due diligence standard... www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...

icj-cij.org

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

The #ICJ advisory opinion covers a lot: customary status of climate change-related obligations, what due diligence means for adaptation/mitigation measures, the impact of sea-level rise on statehood, what types of fossil fuel-related activities might constitute an internationally wrongful act. 1/6

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

#ICJ says fossil fuel production and consumption, granting of fossil fuel exploration licenses, or provision of fossil fuel subsidies may constitute an internationally wrongful act. This is getting into the zone of the ICJ going beyond what states will find credible or politically acceptable. Risky.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

#ICJ weighing in on a very popular question of research among students and scholars (the 'deterritorialized state'). Let 1000 PhD theses bloom.

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

This is important guidance from the #ICJ about what due diligence requires in the context of the duty to cooperate on climate change adaptation/mitigation. Why is this important? Because it provides a potential blueprint for climate litigation in domestic courts (see Juliette's next few posts, too).

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

I'm a bit late to this today, follow Juliette for the details. ⬇️ My two big questions coming in: Will the #ICJ say anything useful, especially in terms of climate litigation in domestic courts? Will the #ICJ say anything that undermines or undercuts the goals of climate activists? #ClimateChange

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

All the more reason for the #ICJ to have taken a different approach to the IPCC reports last year. verfassungsblog.de/the-icj-meet...

verfassungsblog.de

The Return of Not-Quite "Phantom Experts"?

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Mike Becker @mikebecker.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Trump's terrible decision to abandon #JCPOA in 2018 was and remains indefensible. A foreign policy blunder of epic proportions. Excellent piece by Gregory Craig that lays out Trump's continuing strategic idiocy re #Iran. www.justsecurity.org/115325/trump...

justsecurity.org

President Trump’s Decision to Bomb Iran: From Bad to Worse

"Whether the newly announced cease fire actually leads to an end to hostilities will not change the new reality: a comprehensive agreement is less likely now than it was before the bombing"

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