From Genocide to Climate Change: The Role of International Law in Global Crises

War rages in Ukraine and the Middle East, while devastating effects of climate change are felt worldwide. In this time of multiple global crises, international law is being invoked more than ever before, raising numerous questions. Do allegations of genocide help the search for peace? Do international treaties have any teeth? Why is Canada involved in five cases before the International Court of Justice? In this bleak moment in history, an understanding of the role of international law in global crises can help us to understand international politics, find paths toward cooperation and see reasons for hope.

Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. He is also the Co-Director of the Outer Space Institute. Dr. Byers has been a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University; Professor of Law at Duke University; Visiting Professor at the Universities of Cape Town, Tel Aviv, Nord (Norway) and Novosibirsk (Russia); and Senior Global Fellow at the University of St Andrews. His books include: Custom, Power, and the Power of Rules? (Cambridge University Press, 1999); War Law (Atlantic, 2006); International Law and the Arctic (Cambridge University Press, 2013); and Who Owns Outer Space? (Cambridge University Press, 2023, with Aaron Boley). He is a regular contributor to The Globe and Mail.

Richard V. Ericson (1948-2007), BA, MA, PhD, LittD, FRSC, was Professor of Criminology and Sociology and Director of the Centre of Criminology at the University of Toronto; Professor of Sociology and of Law, Distinguished University Professor, and founding Principal of Green College at the University of British Columbia (1993-2003); and Professor of Criminology, Director of the Centre for Criminological Research, and Professorial Fellow of All Souls College, at the University of Oxford. He was a Canada Council Killam Research Fellow in 1998-2000 and held visiting appointments at universities in the UK, US, Europe and Australia. His many acclaimed publications spanned police work, crime reporting, risk and regulation, insurance and governance and the sociology of knowledge. He was especially proud of his role in the creation of Green College at UBC as a unique combination of residential academic community and public venue for non-curricular, interdisciplinary inquiry.