International Law and Global Non-International Armed Conflict

Professor Naz Modirzadeh, Harvard Law School

Thursday 4 Aug 2016

How is international law involved in what the US has called the ‘global non-international armed conflict’ against al Qaeda and associated forces? In this lecture, Professor Naz Modirzadeh analysed the legal arguments developed by the US to justify its resort to force, as well as recent developments in the approach to international law taken by other states participating in the massive campaign against ISIS. She argued that the result of the use of law-talk as part of this conflict is a blurring of lines between different bodies of law and different international law professions and professionals, with troubling implications.

Professor Naz Modirzadeh is the founding Director of the Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School. She is a Visiting Professorial Fellow with the Laureate Program in International Law for 2016.