The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine brings old and new challenges of international law to the fore. Current discussions focus on the relevance of arms transfers, the status of the Russian Federation within the United Nations, as well as the range of possible countermeasures and new mechanisms for prosecuting aggression and war crimes. During his presentation, Prof. Herdegen addressed some of the following questions:
Is the supply of military material to a state under attack contrary to neutrality rules? Can the delivery of heavy weapons make a state a party to the armed conflict? What are the possibilities for attacking Russia's status within the UN? Can Western states use seized Russian property for the reconstruction of Ukraine? Can an agreement (ratified by the General Assembly) between Ukraine and the UN serve as the basis for an international special criminal court?
It is difficult to find conclusive answers to these questions and one will have to continue to deal with the challenges arising from Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine.
The Institute of International Law would like to thank Prof. Matthias Herdegen for his visit to Graz and for the interesting GILDS-lecture as well as his guest lecture in the context of the public international law main lecture on "WTO Law in the Light of International Conflicts of Interest". We would also like to thank all participants, both in person and online, for the very lively discussion.
More information on the GILDS event series can be found here.