"War Unbound" Thomas Franck Lecture von Professor Oona Hathaway
We invite you to join our Thomas Franck Lecture provided by Professor Oona Hathaway on Monday 27th October 2025 (18:00)
Topic: „War Unbound“.
In her talk, “War Unbound” Professor Hathaway examines how changes in states’ interpretation of the law regulating the conduct of war, along with changes in war itself, have undermined protections for civilians. International humanitarian law, also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict, is supposed to spare civilians from the worst calamities of conflict. The aim of this body of law is clear: civilians not involved in the fighting deserve to be protected from harm and to enjoy unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. And yet in the years since 9/11, a series of wars — including the U.S.-led “war on terror,” the Syrian civil war, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza — have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Hathaway explores the breakdown in the law of war and asks whether the international commitment to containing war through law can be revived.
Oona A. Hathaway is Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, faculty member of the Jackson School of Global Affairs and director of the Yale Law School Center for Global Legal Challenges. From 2014 to 2015, she served as Special Advisor to the General Counsel of the US Department of Defence, where she was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defence Award for Excellence. She is President-elect of the American Society of International Law and a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Since 2005, she has been a member of the Advisory Committee on International Law of the US State Department's Legal Adviser, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 2011, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2025. She is currently a Fellow in Residence at the American Academy in Berlin.
Venue: Room 3302/04 Faculty of Law, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstr. 3, 14195 Berlin
Thomas Franck Lecture "War Unbound"
„War Unbound“. In her talk, “War Unbound” Professor Hathaway examines how changes in states’ interpretation of the law regulating the conduct of war, along with changes in war itself, have undermined protections for civilians. International humanitarian law, also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict, is supposed to spare civilians from the worst calamities of conflict. The aim of this body of law is clear: civilians not involved in the fighting deserve to be protected from harm and to enjoy unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. And yet in the years since 9/11, a series of wars — including the U.S.-led “war on terror,” the Syrian civil war, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza — have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Hathaway explores the breakdown in the law of war and asks whether the international commitment to containing war through law can be revived. Oona A. Hathaway ist Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law an der Yale Law School, Professorin für Politikwissenschaft am Institut für Politikwissenschaft der Yale University, Fakultätsmitglied der Jackson School of Global Affairs und Direktorin des Yale Law School Center for Global Legal Challenges. Von 2014 bis 2015 war sie als Sonderberaterin des General Counsel des US-Verteidigungsministeriums tätig, wo sie mit dem Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence ausgezeichnet wurde. Sie ist designierte Präsidentin der American Society of International Law und non-resident scholar am Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Seit 2005 ist sie Mitglied des Advisory Committee on International Law des Rechtsberaters des US-Außenministeriums, seit 2011 Mitglied des Council on Foreign Relations und seit 2025 Mitglied der American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Derzeit ist sie Fellow in Residence an der American Academy in Berlin. Die Veranstaltung findet statt am: Montag, den 27.10.2025, 18 Uhr c.t., in Raum 3302/04 (2. Stock), Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstr. 3, 14195 Berlin Wir würden uns freuen, Sie begrüßen zu dürfen