Armed Groups and International Law - Legal Roundup March

About the author(s):

Yiokasti Mouratidi

Yiokasti Mouratidi is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of International and Operational Law at the Swedish Defence University, jointly with the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance at Utrecht University. Her PhD focuses on compliance with the law of armed conflict, particularly through the lens of technological developments. Previously, Yiokasti obtained her LLM in Public International Law from Utrecht University (2022) and her LLB in Law with European Law from the University of Nottingham (2019). Yiokasti has a strong interest in international humanitarian law and international security law.

We are very pleased to present the legal roundup for March – September 2025, containing publications on issues relating to armed groups and international law, non-international armed conflict, rebel governance, transitional justice and international criminal law. It was prepared by Yiokasti Mouratidi, and finalised with input from Katharine Fortin, Ezequiel Heffes, Florian Weigand, Anki Sjöberg, Andrea Farrés, Saeed Bagheri and Jelena Aparac.

If you have a 2025 publication which you think should be included in this roundup, please do not hesitate to contact the editors of the blog.

Please note that due to paywalls and your institution’s permissions, the given link may not always take you to the text of the article. The Armed Groups and International law blog has published legal roundups since 2012. For previous versions of the legal roundup, see here.

Non-State Armed Groups, Non-International Armed Conflicts and International Law

Bantekas, I., Jaber, S. S. (2025), The human rights obligations of belligerent occupiers: Israel and the Gazan population, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 30(1), pp. 103–120.

Becker, M.A. (2025), Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Isr. in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem (Advisory Opinion) (I.C.J.), International Legal Materials, 64(4), pp. 933–1113.

Djanaralieva, K. (2025), Prolonged occupation and de facto annexation, two sides of the same coin? How the time factor influences the legality of the occupation in submissions made to the International Court of Justice in the context of the Policies and Practices of Israel advisory opinion, The Military Law and the Law of War Review, 63(1), pp. 97-123.

Farber, S., Alaluf, O. E. (2025), Legal frameworks for mass terrorism: the October 7th attack and implications for security law, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 30(2), pp. 287–315.

Farley, B., Pradhan, A. (2025), Establishing a practical test for the end of non-international armed conflict, IRRC 106(927), pp. 1157-1181.

Favuzza, F. and Longobardo, M. (2024), The Status of the Gaza Strip before and after 7 October 2023 under the law of occupation, Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp 383-407.

Fortin, K. (2024), Classifying the armed conflict in Gaza, Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp. 275-345.

Frostad, M. (2024), Piracy, Terrorism, Armed Conflict, or Armed Attack? The Protection of Merchant and Naval Vessels in the Red Sea, German Yearbook of International Law, 67(1), pp. 329–354.

Grignon, J. (2024), Le droit à l’assistance humanitaire à Gaza, Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp. 445-491

Gherari, H. (2024), L’évolution du statut territorial de la bande de Gaza, Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp. 55-85.

Heffes, E. (2025), The 1949 Geneva Conventions at 75: Examining the Place of Non-State Armed Groups, Case W. Res. J. Int’l L. 139(57).

Jacques, P. (2025), Equality of belligerents between States and armed groups: Proposal for a new definition of the principle of equality in non-international armed conflicts, IRRC 107(928), pp. 376-400.

Laghmani, S. (2024), Le statut juridique du Hamas, Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp. 203-223.

Longobardo, M. (2025), Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, American Journal of International Law 119(2), pp. 291-298.

Pomson, O. (2025), The obligation to allow and facilitate the passage of humanitarian relief under IHL: continued relevance of Article 23(2) of the Fourth Geneva Convention?, The Military Law and the Law of War Review, 63(1), pp. 36-51.

Simsek, H. F. (2025), Iran’s proxy war paradox: strategic gains, control issues, and operational constraints, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 997–1024.

Singh, D., & Dukhan, H. (2025), From Libya to Syria: Assessing the Impact of the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine on Global Intervention Strategies, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 187-218.

Sweeney, C. (2025), The International Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Syria: A Socio Legal Critique, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 16(1), pp. 98-171.

Vallejo, J. P. (2025), Manipur: a Genocide?, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 16(1), pp. 211-248.

Rebel governance and civilian agency

Al Taweel, R. (2025), Responsibility to Protect and Syria’s Displacement: Unprotected at Home and Abroad, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 134-159.

Baron-Mendoza, L., & Janssens, P. C. (2025), Rebel environmental law-making in Colombia: an empirical study of non-state armed actors’ internal legitimacy. The Military Law and the Law of War Review, 63(1), pp. 3-35.

Cunningham, K.G. et al. (2025), Rebel Governance in the Age of Climate Change. CUP (Organizational Response to Climate Change: Businesses, Governments).

Devereaux, T. (2025), The Determinants of Insurgent Gender Governance, International Organization, 79(1), pp. 36–80.

Furlan, M., (2025), Inside Salafi-Jidadist Governance: The strategies and characteristics of Islamist Insurgent Rule, CUP.

Gilmore, E., Cunningham, K., Gentil-Fernandes, L. et al (2025), Armed rebel groups engage in climate governance, Climatic Change 178, p. 54.

Gutiérrez, J. A. (2025), Rebel Governance: A Matter of Time, Civil Wars, pp. 1–26.

Haenni, P., Drevon, J. (2025), Transformed by the People: Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham’s Road to Power in Syria, Hurst.

Lambert, L. A., Tayah, J., Adam, H. & Esmail, S., (2025), From rebel governance to energy and environmental policies in a post-war setting: The case of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1).

Melcon, L. (2025), Covering the Expenses of Rebel Administration: Are Rebels Taxing or Pillaging Towns? Netherlands International Law Review.

Özcan, N. A., & Bural, E. B. (2025), Contributing factors to PKK’s failure to implement Mao’s protracted people’s war strategy, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1207–1249.

Palik, J., Tank, P., & Skretting, V. B. (2025), Education Provision in Rebel Governance: Comparative Insights from Yemen and Syria, Civil Wars, pp. 1–27.

Purswani, P., & Rajesh, A. (2025), Beyond Bombs and Bullets: Natural Resource Management in the Indo-Naxalite Non-International Armed Conflict, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 16(1), pp. 172-210.

Soules, M. J. (2025), Rebel Recruitment and Governance: Examining the Relationship Between Mobilization Strategies and the Provision of Social Services to Civilians, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, pp. 1–25,

Tabaar, M.A. (2025), Ideological Proximity and Armed Group Competition: The Case of the Iranian Mojahedin, Perspectives on Politics, pp. 1–20.

Abneh Tadesse, G., & Tafesse, T. (2025), Conflict-driven human trafficking, internally displaced persons, and legal responses in Ethiopia: the northern conflict in focus. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1135–1163.

Weigand, F., Anwar, R., Neil, T., Wardani, A. A. (2025), Agency during Armed Conflict: Everyday Life under Competing Authorities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Journal of Global Security Studies, 10(3), pp. 1-18.

ICL

Alkanawati, L. (2025), A First-Hand Account of Surviving Atrocities in Syria, and Fighting for Justice, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 234-240.

Bachmann, K., Kemp, G., Risti?, I., Trbovc, J. M., Garuka, C. N., Ejami, A., & Pavlakovi?, V. (2025), International Criminal Tribunals as Triggers of Institutional Change? Evidence from Ad Hoc Tribunals and the ICC’s Referral and Proprio Motu Cases, International Criminal Law Review, 25(4), pp. 593-622.

Buljubaši?, M., Bijleveld, C. C., & Holá, B. (2025), Intergenerational Transmission of Punitive Attitudes Toward Atrocity Crimes in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Role of Rank, Apology, and Trial Location. International Criminal Law Review.

Conduit, D., & Nahlawi, Y. (2025), Legal Accountability in Frozen Conflicts: Lessons from Syria, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 115-133.

Duke Bagulaya, J. (2025), From Cinema to The Hague: Contextualizing Murder as a Crime against Humanity in Duterte’s War on Drugs, International Criminal Law Review, 25(4), pp. 560-592.

Hawash, R. (2025), Restoring Faith in Justice – the Imperative of Impartiality in the Pursuit of Justice. Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 228-233.

Liulina, A. (2025), Evidentiary Digital Platforms: What the Al Mahdi and Al Hassan Cases Teach Us about Presenting Voluminous Digital Data, International Criminal Law Review.

Ochi, M. (2025), Reparations to Future Generation before the ICC: Intergenerational Justice Accounts, Journal of International Criminal Justice.

Nahlawi, Y. (2025), Accountability Pursuits in the Syrian Context: an r2p Success? Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 160-186.

Omeni, A. (2025), The Uthm?n dan Fodiyo Jih?d, colonial rule and Islamic authority in Northern Nigeria: referencing within Boko Haram’s discourse, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1077–1105.

Osman, L. (2025), Reflections on the Dabbagh Case: Challenges and Implications for Justice, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 219-227.

Stavrou, K. (2025), Committing War Crimes One Click at a Time? User-Generated Content and the War Crime of Outrages upon the Personal Dignity of the Dead at the International Criminal Court, International Criminal Law Review, 25(4), pp. 681-707.

Zajac, K. (2025), The Al Hassan Judgment: ICC’s First take on the War Crime of Passing of Sentences by Irregular Courts under Article 8(3)(c)(iv) of Rome Statute, International Criminal Law Review.

Žotkevi?i?t? Banevi?ien?, A. (2025), State building terrorists’ groups: case study of Taliban, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1049–1076.

Targeting, detention and administration of justice

Aguilar, S., & Aparecido, J. (2025), Civil wars and armed groups under COVID-19: motivations and factors in the silencing guns and the persistence of violence, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1164–1206.

Andersin, E. (2025), The Use of the ‘Lavender’ in Gaza and the Law of Targeting: AI-Decision Support Systems and Facial Recognition Technology, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies.

Back, T. B. (2025), Weaponising ‘apparently harmless portable objects’: emerging categorisations of trust and risk in post ‘pager attacks’ Lebanon, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1025–1048.

Jatau, M. P. (2025), Non-military actors, IED networks and guerrilla warfare: unpacking small wars dynamics within the conflict landscape in Southeast Nigeria, Small Wars & Insurgencies, 36(6), pp. 1106–1134.

Katoub, M. (2025), From Syria to Gaza: the Dangerous Normalisation of Attacks on Healthcare, Global Responsibility to Protect, 17(02-03), pp. 241-249.

Koutroulis, V. (2024), Que restera-t-il des principes de distinction et de proportionnalité après la guerre de Gaza? Revue belge de droit international, 1-2, pp. 491-529.

Ní Aoláin, F. (2025), A Reflection on the Cost of Counter-Terrorism for Civilian Protection in Armed Conflict

Sari, A., (2025), Indiscriminate attacks and the proportionality rule: what is incidental civilian harm?, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 30(2), pp. 203-239.

Transitional justice, peacekeeping and peacebuilding

Avoine, P. A., & Weber, S. (2025), Where are the Fathers? Reincorporation, Family Relations and Gendered Parenthood in Colombia, International Peacekeeping, 32(4), pp. 802–827.

Al-Wazir, K., & Bertrand, J. (2025), Disarmament on Whose Terms? Rethinking Armed Group Control in the Philippines, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, pp. 1–20,

Gelot, L., & Khadka, P. B. (2025), Social reintegration of former al-Shabaab militants: How formal channels help mitigate threat perceptions, Journal of Peace Research.

Prada Ramírez, M. P., & Wingender, L. (2025), Listening and Preparing the Society to Engage: The Case of the Colombian Truth Commission and Its Legacy Strategy, International Journal of Transitional Justice, 19(1), pp. 174–182.

Reports

Berghof Foundation, Mediating the Political Transformation of Non-state Armed Groups: Options for peace process support, April 2025.

Centre on Armed Groups, Armed Group Economic Policy: Towards a new research agenda, September 2025.

Centre on Armed Groups, Towards a deeper understanding of Myanmar’s people’s defence forces, July 2025.

Berman, E., IPIS, Countering illicit arms and armed groups across Greater West Africa: Re-setting priorities and the utility of large-scale data, April 2025.