Enforcement and Accountability in International Law♦ Article

From Deep Freeze to Seize: The Legal Case for Confiscating Russian Sovereign Assets for Ukraine

The day after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, G7 countries froze $280 billion of Russia’s sovereign assets. The international community agrees Russia’s invasion violates the prohibition on aggression, a legal obligation owed to every State. But whether countries can seize Russia’s assets has sparked fierce debate among governments and scholars. This Article seeks to better understand the sovereign immunity owed to central bank assets and importantly adds to the conversation a deeper analysis of the prohibition on unlawful expropriation.

Trent Buatte

International Banking♦ Note

Lebanese Banking Crisis: Can Consumers Litigate in the EU under the Brussels Ia Regulation?

This Note examines whether EU-domiciled consumers affected by the Lebanese banking crisis can bring legal claims against Lebanese banks before courts in the European Union under Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia Regulation). Specifically, it explores the scope and applicability of Articles 17–19, which govern jurisdiction in consumer contracts, to determine whether Lebanese banks that once maintained correspondent accounts, engaged in cross-border marketing, or executed contracts within the EU can be deemed to have “directed activities” to a Member State under Article 17(1)(c).

Abdelmoniem Yousif

International Human Rights Law♦ Essay

The Past and the Future of the European Court of Human Rights

The past and the future of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is a substantial topic. It can be addressed from a political perspective or from a legal perspective. This article is written from the legal perspective. I do not analyse the politics of how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or the ECtHR came into existence, how they have developed, or what their future might be. Political choices will be made about the future of the ECHR and its institutions, such as the Court, but I do not speculate about what they might be. Instead, I will focus on the trajectory of the Court’s jurisprudence towards an increasingly process-based form of review, which is noticeable in the past couple of decades.

Philip Sales

Volume 66 ♦ Issue 2 ♦ Winter 2026

International Human Rights Law♦ Article

The Forgotten Lawyer: Donor Aid and Rule of Law Efforts in Our Current Political Moment

The Trump Administration’s unprecedented cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were widely reported as a blow to humanitarian programs covering both food security and healthcare. Less noticed, but equally significant, was the impact on USAID’s extensive justice-sector initiatives that fund courts, train judges, and revise procedural codes in fragile states. This Article argues that excluding lawyers from externally driven strategies undermines justice systems and weakens states’ ability to meet obligations grounded in international law.

Jayanth K. Krishnan