Call for Papers: Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Volume 29 (2026), Submit By- 19 June 2026
Theme: International Humanitarian Law and Courts
The modern laws of war largely evolved from self-enforcing customary rules. Legal compliance rested on the anticipation of harmful consequences from breaches – ranging from belligerent reprisals to reputational damage for engaging in foul play or ‘savagery’. Aware of the powerful logic of reciprocity, even 19th century humanitarians thought it was inadvisable to push for the creation of an international criminal court to oversee compliance with the first instruments of international humanitarian law (IHL).
The contemporary scene is, of course, radically different. Asymmetries in military capabilities and normative developments in IHL have weakened the existence and expectation of reciprocity to the point of extinction in many armed conflicts. Equally important, particularly over the past three decades, is that courts have emerged as crucial new enforcement actors in IHL. Most prominently, national, hybrid, and international courts have been tasked with trying individuals suspected of war crimes, and regional courts have used IHL in rulings on state responsibility for alleged violations of the American and European conventions on human rights. In addition, national courts, e.g. in the Netherlands and Germany, as well as the International Court of Justice have been called upon to rule on states’ protective duties in ongoing armed conflicts, including under Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions. In some jurisdictions, national courts have also applied IHL in constitutional and administrative litigation.
Indeed, courts play complex and active roles in contemporary IHL that go far beyond findings of responsibility in particular contexts. In applying the law to concrete cases, they contribute to the interpretation and development of IHL. But since their interpretations may be marked by their respective competences and perspectives (e.g., as a criminal court or human rights tribunal), their jurisprudence has been criticised for misinterpreting IHL and interfering with state-driven law-making. National courts, in particular, have been accused of unduly limiting governmental capacity to fight military opponents, but also with adopting permissive interpretations of IHL. Moreover, adjudication in cases of armed conflict has sometimes prompted backlash policies or been criticised as an application of double standards.
Against this backdrop, Volume 29 of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law is dedicated to the challenges and consequences that courts face when deciding cases involving the interpretation and application of IHL. We are interested in perspectives that analyse the role of courts in the adjudication of IHL globally, both generally and specifically in terms of particular questions and jurisdictions. We welcome proposals from a myriad of theoretical viewpoints – whether doctrinal, normative, or critical.
Submission Timeline
Interested authors should send an abstract of a maximum of 500 words to the Managing Editor of the Yearbook, James Patrick Sexton (J.Sexton@asser.nl), by 19 June 2026. This abstract should include (i) a working title; (ii) your main research questions and hypotheses; (iii) what gap your analysis/argument would fill in the literature; and, (iv) the provisional structure of your reflections. Authors should submit a one-page C.V. alongside the abstract, and only one abstract can be submitted per author. Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by 14 July 2026, and the deadline for the submission of final papers, which should be no longer than 10,000 words (including footnotes), is 26 October 2026. Submitted articles should conform to the YIHL Authors’ Guidelines and will be sent for double-blind peer review. The Editorial Board aims to publish Vol. 29 (2026) at the end of 2027. The publisher of the Yearbook is T.M.C. Asser Press, working in partnership with Springer Nature regarding the production and distribution.
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