The Crimean Crisis: Commentary on International Law Ramifications
As a service to Lawfare readers, we have compiled some other web commentary on the legal aspects of the crisis in Crimea.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
As a service to Lawfare readers, we have compiled some other web commentary on the legal aspects of the crisis in Crimea. (Of course, interested folks should have a look at Ashley's thorough articulation of the international law issues at play, and Paul's take on the invasion's cyber dimension.)
While the situation percolated over the weekend, Eric Posner noted the (somewhat surprising) dearth of academic commentary on the implications of Russia's military intervention for international law. He summarized his own views succinctly:
1. Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine violates international law. 2. No one is going to do anything about it.
Those observations catalyzed a rather heated debate in the international law blogosphere about the strength (or weakness) of use of force rules, Russia's rhetorical efforts to justify military intervention, and the role of international law writ large. You'll find all of this in various posts at Opinio Juris and at the Washington Post's The Monkey Cage, and in further commentary from Posner himself.
Lauren Bateman is a student at Harvard Law School, where she is an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She previously worked as a National Security Legislative Correspondent for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and she takes a special interest in legislative procedure. She also interned for the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada, and was a Research Fellow for the Project on National Security Reform. She graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude, in History and Government from The College of William & Mary in 2009.
