The presentation examines the resurgence of retaliatory force in inter-state relations, which challenges the prohibition on forcible reprisals. It traces the prohibition’s origins in the UN Charter’s rejection of pre-Charter assumptions – self-help among sovereigns, the convergence of defense and punishment, and state-centered law – and shows how today’s polarization and permissive doctrines erode it. Using the 2024 Iran-Israel retaliation cycle as illustration, it advances a framework defining reprisals as opportunistic harm, unjustifiable even without a common judge.
Eliav Lieblich is a professor of law at Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann Faculty of Law. His research focuses on the use of force, humanitarian law, and international legal theory
Date: 24 November 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00 pm CET
The presentation will take place online via MS Teams. Please register below. The link and login data will be sent to those registered at the day of the event.
Registration:
Please fill in this form to register: https://forms.office.com/e/H6yNHYg6xS
If you have any question, do not hesitate to contact Alexandra Konecny (research assistant to Prof. Andreas Kulick): akonecny@uni-mainz.de
TwoLaW is an online lecture series on the theory, history, policy and practice of the laws of war. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Hamas’ attack on Israel and the ensuing conflict in the Middle East, rarely in recent memory have both the ius contra bellum and the ius in bello faced so many daunting challenges: use of force by and self-defence against non-state actors; the participation of private military companies in hostilities; the digitization of warfare; the protection of civilians and the environment in international, non-international and hybrid armed conflicts; peace agreements and post-conflict claims; international criminal responsibility before and beyond the ICC – to name but a few of them. TwoLaW invites engaging discussions on these matters, seeking to bring into dialogue the law on the prohibition of the use of force and international humanitarian law despite their necessary doctrinal separation.
TwoLaW provides a critical perspective on pertinent challenges of the laws of war, broadly understood, in light of their theoretical, doctrinal, historical and political implications. Each one-hour event features a thought-provoking presentation by a leading scholar in the first half hour followed by a discussion in the second half hour. All events are held exclusively online from 6-7 pm CET.
