The ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons: What did it achieve, what did it leave open, and how have law, practice, and perceptions changed? April 16, 2026 at 12:00pm - 1:45pm UTC Online Contact person: Horizon 2045 Virtual event |
The Lex Mundi Nova Webinar Series is convened by Horizon 2045, in partnership with the Geneva Graduate Institute, the University of Johannesburg, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy (LCNP) and International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).
The Lex Mundi Nova Webinar Series brings together global partners and expert panelists to explore the impact of the 1996 ICJ ruling and thirty years of advancements in international law and norms relevant to the legality of nuclear weapons, set against growing scientific evidence of their catastrophic impacts. It assesses progress and setbacks in fulfilling the ICJ’s unanimous ruling with respect to States’ obligations on disarmament, revisits the unresolved, critical question of the lawfulness of threat or use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances of self-defense, and examines emerging legal risks posed by new technologies including AI in nuclear command, control and communications systems and the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space.
In the opening webinar of our series, we explore the story of the campaign that led to the 1996 ICJ AO, as well as key questions including: What were the Court’s key findings, based on the law and facts at its disposal and what did the Court leave unsaid? What has changed in international law and practice since? And in public perceptions? What were the structural biases in the law constraining nuclear weapons then, and what are they today?
Featured Speakers
Phon van den Biesen, Co-President, International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), retired public interest lawyer, Amsterdam
Seth Shelden, General Counsel and United Nations Liaison, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), New York
Ilya Ilanov, Doctoral Researcher, University of Geneva
Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law and founding Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Louise Arimatsu, Distinguished Policy Fellow, Centre for Women, Peace and Security, LSE
