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Key research themes
1. How does the dual legal nature of international organizations' rules affect their authority and accountability?
This research theme investigates the complex legal status of the rules and resolutions adopted by international organizations, focusing on the so-called 'dual legality' that these rules possess both as internal organizational law and as part of broader international law. It examines the implications of this duality on the enforceability, legitimacy, and accountability mechanisms of international organizations, especially in controversial contexts such as UN Security Council resolutions and ultra vires acts.
Key finding: This paper develops the theory of 'dual legality' portraying rules of international organizations as simultaneously internal and international law, challenging previous rigid separations. It argues this dual character... Read more
Key finding: The work fills a key gap by conceptualizing the close linkage between the sources of international law and interpretative practice, underscoring that interpretation is an argumentative and creative act contributing... Read more
Key finding: This article critiques the prevailing functionalist paradigm that views international organizations merely as technical, apolitical instruments, proposing instead a 'machinic' theory focused on their active role in producing... Read more
2. How do varying national and regional perspectives shape the interpretation and application of international law?
This theme explores the diversity and fragmentation in approaches to international law, challenging its presumed universality. It highlights that international lawyers' interpretations and practices differ significantly depending on geopolitical, cultural, and legal backgrounds, resulting in hybridizations or adaptations of international law to domestic contexts. This has profound consequences for teaching, enforcement, and legitimacy, especially in disputes involving powerful states or differing legal traditions.
Key finding: This book reveals substantive divergences in how international law is understood and applied across jurisdictions, notably contrasting US-centric interpretations (e.g., Alien Tort Statute case law) with those from other... Read more
Key finding: This chapter highlights the state-centric origins and Eurocentric historiography of international law, emphasizing how power asymmetries and cultural perspectives have shaped its development. It stresses the need to recognize... Read more
3. What roles do international organizations play in conflict resolution and human rights protection within regional and global contexts?
Focusing on the practical engagement of international and regional organizations in managing conflicts, protecting human rights, and influencing development, this research theme investigates the effectiveness, challenges, and political dynamics shaping these organizations' interventions. It includes scrutinizing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s role in political solidarity and conflict response, regional organizations’ dispute settlement mechanisms like the East African Community and SADC Tribunal, and legal issues arising from organizational actions such as expulsions or immunity claims.
Key finding: This paper documents the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) multifaceted role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including political and moral support, humanitarian aid, and encouragement of dialogue. It argues... Read more
Key finding: The article analyzes the OIC's evolving approach to human rights over three phases—from initial neglect to increased engagement—while noting continued bias towards prioritizing issues affecting Muslims globally over... Read more
Key finding: Focusing on quasi-states and entities that lack formal statehood, this article explicates the pragmatic functional treatment of such entities as states in international relations and law to facilitate cooperation and legal... Read more
Key finding: This study critically examines the EAC's institutional capacity to handle interstate conflicts through legal dispute settlement mechanisms, exposing failures in managing the prolonged border dispute between Rwanda and Uganda.... Read more
Key finding: Through analysis of the SADC Tribunal’s suspension following rulings adverse to Zimbabwe’s land reform policies, this article reveals the tension between regional judicial institutions and member states’ political interests.... Read more