Monthly Archives: March 2025

New Property in International Law

Public International Law

Property in international law is an enigma. We are told that international law possesses sufficient content to regulate property, we are shown provisions in international instruments addressing property rights, and we bear witness to the resolution of property disputes in accordance with international law. Yet, when we are asked what the defining attributes of property in international law are, we draw a collective blank. The absence of reformist agitation from the international community towards an international law that brazenly regulates what it cannot (or will not) even define represents the turning of a collective blind eye to a critical knowledge gap. In the same way that driving a car with closed eyes is a possibly fatal accident in the making, driving the content of international law on property regulation without discerning the object of regulation is a possibly fatal anomaly in the laborious, and supposedly progressive, enterprise of legal development.

Force Majeure Clauses: Character, Scope and Protection

Contract Law

A consignor of goods enters into a multi-voyage carriage contract for carrying iron ore. It depends upon a parent company to supply it with cargoes. The parent has not contracted for cargoes for some voyages. A catastrophic flood now inundates the mine from which the cargoes would have been sourced. Does a force majeure clause in the carriage contract exclude the consignor’s liability because of the flood, even though the consignor was in no position to perform anyway? And if it does not, how extensive should the consignor’s liability in damages be if the flood would have prevented performance in any event?

Digital First in Maritime Law

Maritime Law

Through this blogpost I briefly introduce the article: ‘Technology-mediated organisation of transport actors: laytime in perspective’ (2023) 29(6) Journal of International Maritime Law 346-365, that frames democratic ecosystem governance by using a charity and a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO). The article argues that in this age of new information systems, public benefit and collective decision-making are essential for providing a conscience to the existing legal framework of trade and transport.

Opportunity and Constraint: Piecemeal Reform of Anti-Discrimination Law in the Asia-Pacific

Human Rights, Law & Society

By centering the Asia-Pacific as a critical site of inquiry, we can understand more about the nature of regulatory approaches to discrimination, enforcement practices, and their implications for the development of workplace equality practices in the region. Focusing on Australia and Hong Kong, this post illustrates some of the challenges posed by discrimination law reform.

Unlocking Private Law’s Potential in Climate Litigation: The Right to Prevention as a Tool for Change

Climate litigation, Private Law

Climate litigation has surged worldwide, with notable cases capturing public attention and fuelling academic discussion. While these cases often spark debate on judicial ‘activism’ in compelling government action, the fundamental role of private law, especially the right to prevent damage, is frequently overlooked. This blog post, which relates my article ‘The Overlooked Role of Public Law: Channelling the Right to Prevention into Climate Litigation’ published in Carbon & Climate Law Review, sheds light on how private law principles, commonly used to address harm prevention, underlie these prominent climate cases. This holds particularly true in Europe, where private law drives judicial reasoning and the outcomes of these cases. This post explores this overlooked dimension in key European climate cases, including Urgenda (Netherlands), Greenpeace (Norway), Klimaatzaak (Belgium), L’affaire Du Siècle/Notre Affaire à Tous (France), Klimaseniorinnen (Switzerland), and Neubauer (Germany).