JIB/JAB Podcast

A conversation with Prof. Tom Ruys of Ghent University, in which we re-examine the positions he took in his famous book on armed attack and self-defense, and then discuss the debate he has recently sparked around the question of whether states may use force in self-defense to recover occupied territory, looking specifically at whether Azerbaijan could justify its recent seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh as a valid exercise of self-defense. Finally, we also talk about the relationship between economic sanctions and the collective security regime. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Dr. Catherine O'Rourke of Ulster University School of Law in Northern Ireland, on her new book, "The Rights of Women in Armed Conflict Under International Law." We discuss how four distinct regimes, IHL, international criminal law, human rights law, and the UN Security Council, interact, in both theory and practice, in the protection of women's rights in armed conflict, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the various regimes, and whether the synergies and mutual support among the regimes outweigh the conflicts and gaps that they create in the legal protections for women in armed conflict. A tour de force. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Prof. Eliav Lieblich of Tel Aviv University, in which he takes a recent UN Human Rights Committee General Comment, as a point of departure for analyzing the relatively unexplored relationship between international human rights law and the legal regime that governs the state use of force. Does an act of aggression by a state infringe human rights law as well as violate the jus ad bellum regime? Do governments contemplating the use of force in self-defense have to consider human rights obligations to its own citizens, and those of the state against which it is using force? Fascinating questions with important implications, examined from a doctrinal, theoretical, and philosophical perspective. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Prof. Oona Hathaway of Yale Law School on the theory and practice of the domestic law constraints on the use of force, including the different ways in which the War Powers Resolution in the U.S. could and should be amended, the relationship between war powers and international law, and how Congress could reassert its powers over decisions to engage in armed conflict. In addition, we talk about how crises such as the Coronavirus pandemic and climate change, should cause us to re-think the scope and character of national security priorities and policy. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Prof. Craig Forcese of the University of Ottawa on his book "Destroying the Caroline," in which we discuss the history of the Caroline Incident, how and why it influenced the development of the doctrine of self-defense, what that says about international law itself, and how the Caroline Incident is used and abused in current debates around such issues as anticipatory self-defense and the unwilling or unable doctrine. We also talk briefly about Canadian national security law, and how it compares to that of other countries. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Prof. Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg of Universidad del Pacifico, on Latin American approaches to jus ad bellum and non-intervention - ranging from the origins and development of Latin American thinking in the 19th Century, through the under-appreciated importance of the Montevideo Convention, to how one should interpret Latin American responses to recent uses of force and interventions. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

Monica Hakimi, James V. Campbell Professor of Law and former State Department legal advisor specializing in public international law and the law on the use of force. She argues that U.N. Security Council tacit support can informally alter jus ad bellum norms. The conversation covers case studies like Mali, Yemen, Liberia, and U.S. strikes in Syria, plus rule-of-law and argumentative concerns.

A conversation with Prof. Eric Talbot Jensen of Brigham Young University Law School - Jensen argues that the law of armed conflict does not require human judgment in making targeting decisions, and thus fully autonomous weapons are not per se unlawful, and that research and development of such weapons should not be prohibited. We explore whether ethical considerations should nonetheless affect decisions to develop machines programmed to kill humans. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

A conversation with Prof. Ashley Deeks of the University of Virginia School of Law - Deeks explains how AI and machine learning may implicate the laws of war, from assisting states in decisions on the use of force and self-defense, to increasing compliance with the law of armed conflict on the battlefield, and even the coding of the IHL rules and principles into the AI systems operating or interfacing with weapons systems. For more info on the episode and for links to the related material, visit http://jibjabpodcast.com

Adil Haque, a Rutgers law professor and legal philosopher specializing in armed conflict and international criminal law, revisits the UN Charter drafting history. He explores how negotiators linked aggression, armed attack, and self-defense. Short takes cover the Security Council’s intended gap‑filling role, limits on anticipatory self-defense, and the original reach of Article 51.