Assistant Professor (Trinity College Dublin, School of Law). Public International Law, International Courts and Tribunals, ICJ, ITLOS, International Human Rights Law, Fact-Finding and Inquiry, Law of the Sea
Mike Becker
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And of course to John Manderscheid for photos (while also managing to present a paper).
Many thanks to everyone who took part in last Friday's New Voices in International Law workshop at @tcddublin.bsky.social, generously supported by @tricondublin.bsky.social. A fitting capstone to my friend Christiane Ahlborn's tenure with us at TCD, my collaborator in all things international law.
Many thanks to everyone who took part in last Friday's New Voices in International Law workshop at @tcddublin.bsky.social, generously supported by @tricondublin.bsky.social. A fitting capstone to my friend Christiane Ahlborn's tenure with us at TCD, my collaborator in all things international law.
The #ICJ has fixed exceedingly long time-limits for the second round of written pleadings in South Africa v Israel (SA's reply is due 22 Nov 2027, ISR's rejoinder is due 22 May 2029). This likely means that no judgment on the merits should be expected until late 2030 at the absolute earliest.
I spoke with @aljazeera.com this week about the latest developments in #Gaza, which increasingly seem overshadowed by the Iran war and Israel's campaign in Lebanon. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/...
An irony of these very long time limits means that how Israel acts now (and in the month & years ahead) may generate further evidence that South Africa will draw upon to bolster its case that Israel's actions were undertaken with genocidal intent. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/...
These time limits in SA v ISR depart substantially from the norm for second-round submissions, which are typically around 6 months per side. Over a decade of busy ICJ practice from 2015-25, the longest amount of time allotted for the reply/rejoinder was 10 months in Iran v US [Treaty of Amity].
To be clear, these long time limits flow from what South Africa requested. But the Court has a responsibility to manage its docket in a way that balances deference to state preferences with the effective administration of justice. Shorter time limits with the possibility of extensions seems better.
Brilliant essay here at @verfassungsblog.de by my terrific colleague @suryaroy.bsky.social at @tcddublin.bsky.social.
Special thanks to @pearceclancy.bsky.social and Inji Mammadli, Metha Ramadita & Blair Somerville for all of the organizing work, plus our great commentators @maeveorourke.bsky.social, @seanmacr.bsky.social, Noelle Higgins, and @suryaroy.bsky.social & our keynote speaker @marylawlorhrds.bsky.social.
