In the first five webinars of the Lex Mundi Nova series, we examined the past and the present: stories from architects of the 1994 ICJ Advisory Opinion (AO) campaign and assessments of the AO’s ongoing impact, analyses of international humanitarian, human rights, and environmental law and science with respect to the lawfulness of nuclear weapons, Nuclear Weapons States’ legally binding disarmament obligations as set forth in both the NPT and the 1996 AO, and the very legality of nuclear deterrence policies. The sixth and final webinar in the Lex Mundi Nova Webinar Series will be held on July 8, 2026, the 30th anniversary of the 1996 ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (Pacific Time). In this discussion, we will be examining both individually, and at their convergence, emerging nuclear risks, and emerging legal frameworks to constrain them: AI in NC3 systems, the militarization of space, the climate-nuclear nexus, and humanitarian constraints on testing, threat, and use through the lens of both indigenous peoples’ and children' s rights.
PANEL
AI in NC3 systems: A legal and ethical analysis of the militarization of AI and its impact on nuclear risk – Emily Crawford, Deputy Head of School and Dean, Sydney Law School
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the Law of Armed Conflict, and the practices of nations: What constrains the placement of nuclear weapons in space? – David Koplow, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
The cultural & political rights of Indigenous communities as a constraint on nuclear weapons testing, threat, and use, and the nuclear weapons-climate nexus – Dr. Milla Vaha, Deputy Head of School (Postgraduate and Higher Degree Research) University of the South Pacific
The rights of children against nuclear weapons testing and use and emerging research on the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons on children and young people – Tim Wright, AsiaPacific Director, ICAN
