Over a year has passed since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine. One year on, the war continues to rage and inflict massive suffering on the Ukrainian people. As Western allies provide Ukraine with massive military support (including the provision of weapons, ammunition, tanks and (imminently) fighter jets),1 and as Russia’s position becomes more entrenched and bellicose, tensions between Russia and the West are high and there is an acute concern that the war in Ukraine may spill over into a broader international conflict.
Against this backdrop, one may wonder what the role of the academic international lawyer is. At the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, we are committed to publishing high quality papers examining the application of international law to humanitarian crises, and do so with the hope that they can enhance the protections afforded by international law to individuals caught up in such crises. As always, the editors extend an invitation to all authors to join this collective effort by submitting their papers to the Journal.
This issue is proud to host a symposium organsied by Professor Alison Duxbury, which commemorates Bruce ‘Ossie’ Oswald’s contribution to international humanitarian law scholarship. Alison introduces this symposium in the following pages.
Following the symposium, this issue contains two articles and a book review. Steven van du Put’s article focuses on the award of ex gratia payments by parties to armed conflicts to civilians for loss and damage caused by combat operations. As voluntary, no-fault payments, the author argues that these awards can represent a barrier for victims seeking redress because they may constitute an explicit or implicit waiver of future legal claims.
In their article, Tonny Raymond Kirabira and Leila Choukroune examine the post-war recovery framework in Uganda. The article assesses how housing, land and property rights are integrated into Uganda’s transitional justice process and focuses on the protection of these rights for internally displaced persons and children born of war.
This issue concludes with a review of Daniela L. Caglioti’s book entitled War and Citizenship: Enemy Aliens and National Belonging from the French Revolution to the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2020). This review is written by Andrea Marilyn Progashini Immanuel.
The Guardian, Poland to Deliver Fighter Jets to Ukraine in Major Escalation of Military Backing (16 March 2023).