For the American Branch’s third blogging symposium, various authors will address International Law Weekend’s 2025 theme of ‘Crisis as Catalyst in International Law’ from an International Humanitarian Law Perspective. Earlier this year, the American Branch put out a call for abstracts addressing this theme. The International Humanitarian Law Committee Chair Professor Gabor Rona, 2024 Student Ambassador Anne Harper, and ABILA COO Freya Doughty-Wagner selected the best abstracts and worked with the authors as editors. These complete pieces will be published daily, starting Tuesday, August 26th, and concluding on Friday, August 29th.

All published works are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the American Branch.

Symposium Overview:

TUESDAY: The Trump Administration’s War on the Laws of War by Gabor Rona

Gabor Rona is a Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law, Yeshiva University, and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law, with expertise in international human rights and international humanitarian law. Before his time at Cardozo, he was the International Legal Director of Human Rights First and a Legal Advisor in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva.

Read here.

WEDNESDAY: A Binary in Crisis: Broadening the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation by Oscar Pearce

Oscar Pearce is an incoming graduate lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Sydney. He studied at the Australian National University, where he specialized in Public International Law.

Read here.

THURSDAY: Accountability without Access: How Non-Military Actors Can Assess Conduct of Hostilities Violations by Ilya Ivanov

Ilya Ivanov is a PhD Candidate at the University of Geneva, where he researches the legal value of non-binding norms in international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Recently, he served as a Legal Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and has held positions with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, and the Human Rights House Foundation.

FRIDAY: Recalibrating the Proportionality Calculus to Include Mental Collateral Damage by Natasha Arnpriester

Natasha Arnpriester is Senior Legal Counsel at the Open Society Justice Initiative in New York, where she leads transnational litigation on human rights accountability, with a particular focus on communities affected by armed conflict, authoritarian regimes, and structural exclusion. Her litigation strategies center on developing niche and innovative arguments to address complex problems in both domestic and international legal forums, with impacted communities at the core.