Lauterpacht Centre for International Law

Time: 2 pm - 3 pm This is an in-person event only. Lecture summary: Debates over various types of maritime resources – be it fisheries, offshore gas & oil deposits, mineral resources of the deep sea or marine genetic resources – have formed an integral part of the development of the law of the sea. Arguments have often been put forward focusing on the relationship between the resource in question and the legal status of a given maritime zone. They are formulated in two principal ways: either that the legal status of a given zone should extend to the status of a resource or, conversely, that the status or characteristics of a given resource provide a (legal and/or moral, ethical) rationale for the legal status of a maritime zone where the resource in question is found. The lecture will discuss selected types of resources and maritime zones. Dr Konrad Marciniak is a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Previously he worked at the Treaty and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland where he was a senior expert on the law of the sea and environmental law (2007-2014), Deputy Director (Deputy Legal Adviser) (2014-2019) and Director (Legal Adviser) (2019-2023). He was also Assistant Lecturer at the Law Faculty, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw (2006-2016); guest lecturer at: Collegium Civitas University in Warsaw, Polish National School of Public Administration, Polish Diplomatic Academy and ITLOS (Nippon programme) (2007-present); Conciliator under Article 2 of Annex V to the Convention; Arbitrator under Article 2 of Annex VII to the Convention; Arbitrator designated pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Schedule to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty; Vice-President to the Bureau of the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; Head of the Polish delegation to the EU Working Parties on Public International Law (COJUR; 2019-2023) and on the Law of the Sea (COMAR; 2007-2023) (Chair of the Group in 2011); Head of the Polish delegation to the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisors on Public International Law (CAHDI); Co-chair of the Antarctic Working Group of the Polish Intergovernmental Polar Policy Committee. Dr Marciniak was a Visiting Scholar in 2009.

Time: 2pm – 3.30 pm Speakers: Professor Jeehyun Choi , Jeju National University ‘History-related disputes between Korea and Japan from the 20th Century onwards’ Professor Aya Iino , Nihon University ‘WTO trade disputes between Japan and Korea’ Professor Filippo Fontanelli , University of Edinburgh ‘Atypical alternative dispute resolution: attempts to settle the Japan-Korea comfort women dispute’ Commentator: Professor John Nilsson-Wright , University of Cambridge Chair: Mr Stefan McLean , Visiting Scholar, Lauterpacht Centre This is an in-person event.

The Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture is an annual three-part lecture series given in Cambridge to commemorate the unique contribution to the development of international law of Sir Hersch Lauterpacht. These lectures are given annually by a person of eminence in the field of international law. We will come together to celebrate the life and scholarship of our colleague and friend, Professor Karen Knop (1960-2022). Karen, until her untimely passing, was the Cecil A Wright Chair at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. A long-time friend of the Lauterpacht Centre, Karen was to have delivered the Centre’s 2025 Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures. The 2025 Lectures will take place on 13 and 14 March, over four special sessions, conversing with Karen’s extraordinary body of work across the history and theory of international law, gender and feminism studies, and private and foreign relations law. Four former HLM Lecturers will deliver these lectures in conversation with three discussants, all outstanding scholars mentored by Karen.

In-person event only. Lecture summary: The goal of the rule of law is to protect individuals from the arbitrary exercise of power. Democracy and human rights depend on the rule of law. But today the rule of law is under growing threat in the United States and around the world. Trends regarding rule-of-law protections are transnational in scope. They involve shifting norms, institutions, and practices at the local, national, and international levels. This talk will assess how challenges are taking place at the international and national levels, and how these challenges are linked. It examines the ways in which international law and institutions are important for rule-of-law ends, as well as their pathologies, since power also is exercised beyond the state in an interconnected world. The rule of law is the result of persistent, hard fought struggles over time. Sustaining the rule of law is a never-ending struggle, one that current challenges make particularly daunting. Gregory Shaffer is Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of International Law at Georgetown University Law Center and is the immediate past President of the American Society of International Law. He has served as a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and the Journal of International Economic Law, among a dozen others. He received his JD from Stanford Law School, his BA from Dartmouth College, and practiced law in Paris with Coudert Brothers and Bredin Prat for over seven years. His publications include twelve books and over one hundred articles and book chapters, including The Rule of Law under Pressure: A Transnational Challenge (with Sandholtz, CUP); His book Emerging Powers and the World Trade System: The Past and Future of International Economic Law won the 2022 Chadwick F. Alger Prize of the International Studies Association for the best book on international organizations. Chair: Prof Sandesh Sivakumaran , Centre Director

In-person event only. Decisions of the UN Security Council are among the most frequently cited ‘non-traditional’ sources of international law — a term that may be taken to refer to sources not expressly mentioned in Article 38(1) of the ICJ Statute. The Council is said to be engaged in ‘law making’ for all States, and its enforcement action has normative effects that go beyond the specific issue it is dealing with. These normative rules are formulated in a body with limited participation and a particular status for its permanent members. The obligations contained therein are said to be an example of rules of international law that do not fit squarely within the ‘traditional’ sources listed in Article 38(1), but fall somewhere ‘in between’. Furthermore, Security Council decisions are ‘obligations under the Charter’, which under Article 103 prevail over other international obligations of UN Member States, and are thus higher in the hierarchy of sources of law. Thus, it is important for States and other subjects of international law to understand the nature of the Security Council and its decisions. How do we interpret the resolutions of the Security Council? How do we know when the Council has imposed binding obligations and on whom? Beyond clearly binding obligations, what is the legal significance of Security Council action or inaction, or views expressed by Security Council members? Eran Sthoeger is a Litigator and Consultant in public international law, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School and Lecturer at Columbia University School of Professional Studies. Eran Sthoeger is a New York based litigator, consultant and advisor on matters of public international law. He has vast experience in litigating and advising on complex legal matters such as land and maritime boundaries, the law of the sea, treaty law, investment law, the law of international organizations, human rights law and the use of force and humanitarian law issues. Eran has appeared before international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Eran is also an expert on the workings of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Security Council, after having worked for a decade at Security Council Report. He is co-author of the book “The UN Security Council and International Law” (CUP, 2022), together with Sir Michael Wood. Chair: Dr Fernando Lusa Bordin , Centre Fellow

In-person event only Summary: The world is facing profound geopolitical challenges. Across the globe wars rage, societies fracture and tensions rise. In our interconnected world few remain unaffected by the consequences of conflict. In this talk, Ian Park considers contemporary geopolitical challenges and areas of future tension and critically assesses key weaknesses of states and how armed forces and international law might address these weaknesses. Ian Park is a Commodore in the UK Royal Navy, a barrister and Head of Navy Legal. He has served in seven ships and deployed worldwide in support of the Royal Navy’s contribution to defence. He has also deployed as a legal adviser on operations to Afghanistan and, on many occasions, to the Middle East. Ian is a graduate of St. John’s College, Cambridge, has a doctorate in international law from Balliol College, Oxford and has lectured at Harvard Law School, Cambridge University, Oxford University, The Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing, Hanoi University, USSH Hanoi, and Freiburg University amongst other institutions. Ian has written or contributed to five books including the monograph ‘The Right to Life in Armed Conflict’ (Oxford University Press, 2018) and presently teaches part-time at Yale Law School. Chair: Prof Sandesh Sivakumaran, Centre Director

This is an in-person event. Speaker: Audley Sheppard KC, Twenty Essex Cambridge University Arbitration Society (CUArb) was established in 2019 as a Registered Society at the University of Cambridge. It aims at promoting the study of international arbitration among students, academics, alumni, and law practitioners in the field. This lecture is part of the CUArb/LCIL Lecture series.

This is an in-person event. Speaker: Salim Moollan KC, Brick Court Cambridge University Arbitration Society (CUArb) was established in 2019 as a Registered Society at the University of Cambridge. It aims at promoting the study of international arbitration among students, academics, alumni, and law practitioners in the field. This lecture is part of the CUArb/LCIL Lecture series.

This is an in-person event. Speaker: Sachin Trikha , Partner, Clifford Chance Cambridge University Arbitration Society (CUArb) was established in 2019 as a Registered Society at the University of Cambridge. It aims at promoting the study of international arbitration among students, academics, alumni, and law practitioners in the field. This lecture is part of the CUArb/LCIL Lecture series.

There is a sandwich lunch at 12.30 pm in the Old Library at the Centre. All lecture attendees welcome. Dr Arman Sarvarian will speak about his forthcoming monograph The Law of State Succession: Principles and Practice to be published by Oxford University Press in April. The product of seven years’ labour of approximately 170,000 words, the work includes a foreword by Professor August Reinisch of the University of Vienna and International Law Commission. The following is the summary of Oxford University Press: 'The Law of State Succession: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive, practical, and empirical overview of the topic, establishing State succession as a distinct field with a cohesive set of rules. From the secession of the United States of America in 1784 to that of South Sudan in 2011, the book digests and analyses State practice spanning more than two centuries. It is based on research into a wide and diverse range of case studies, including archival and previously unpublished data. Reconstructing the intellectual foundation of the field, the book offers a vision for its progressive development - one that is rooted in an interpretation of State practice that transcends the politics of the codification projects in the decolonization and desovietization eras.