event
Lex Mundi Nova webinar series
Thursday
16
April
ICJ

The ICJ Advisory Opinion (AO) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons

Phon van den Biesen, Seth Shelden, Ilya Ilanov,Christine Chinkin, Louise Arimatsu
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Online

The Lex Mundi Nova Webinar Series is convened by Horizon 2045, in partnership with the Geneva Graduate Institute, the University of Johannesburg, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy (LCNP) and International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) 

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WEBINAR 1: The ICJ Advisory Opinion (AO) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons: What did it achieve, what did it leave open, and how have law, practice, and perceptions changed ?

What were the origins of the campaign that led to the 1996 ICJ AO and how did it play out? What were the Court’s key findings, based on “the current state of international law, and of the elements of fact at its disposal”? What did the Court leave unsaid? What has changed in international law and practice since? And in public perceptions? What were the structural biases of the 1996 ICJ AO and what are those today of international law constraining nuclear weapons?

Speakers

  • Phon van den Biesen, Co-President, International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), retired public interest lawyer, Amsterdam
  • Seth Shelden, General Counsel and United Nations Liaison, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), New York
  • Ilya Ilanov, Doctoral Researcher, University of Geneva
  • Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law and founding Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
  • Louise Arimatsu, Distinguished Policy Fellow, Centre for Women, Peace and Security, LSE

The Lex Mundi Nova webinar series explores the legacy of the landmark 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons. By examining the ruling itself, the shifts in international law and new science in the last three decades, and emerging technological and geopolitical risks—from nuclear testing, to AI, to warfare in space—the series will ultimately consider whether the ruling’s ambiguities and gaps can and should be resolved in light of today’s legal and evidentiary realities. 

With partners and expert panelists from around the world, the series will examine key developments in international law since 1996 relevant to the legality of nuclear weapons including international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), international environmental law (IEL), and the rights of future generations, against the backdrop of significant new scientific evidence of the humanitarian, environmental, and socio-economic consequences of nuclear weapons. 

The series will consider the progress and setbacks in fulfilling the Court’s unanimous ruling that States are under an obligation to pursue in good faith and conclude negotiations to achieve nuclear disarmament in all its aspects. It will also probe the Court’s controversial decision to leave a critical question unresolved: whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defense where a State’s survival is at stake. 

Finally, the series will consider the legal obligations that may be triggered by emerging and complex risks, such as artificial intelligence in nuclear command, control and communications systems, and the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space.

Click HERE for more information on Lex Mundi Nova and the entire webinar series

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