The Concept of "Rebel Treaties" : International Law-Making in Times of Crisis

Séminaire de l’IREDIES 

Organisé par la Professeure Evelyne Lagrange et le Professeur Christrian Tams

The Concept of "Rebel Treaties" : International Law-Making in Times of Crisis

par Jochen von Bernstorff
Professeur à l‘Université de Tübingen (page personnelle)

Mardi 29 avril 2025
17h-19h
Salle 216 – 2ème étage de l’aile Cujas du centre Panthéon 
(12 place du Panthéon, 75015 Paris)
et sur Zoom

Rebellious treaty-making has been utilised in various areas of international law by broad coalitions of small and medium-sized states, many of which from the Global South, together with civil society organisations seeking to effect reforms in existing international treaty regimes. In these rebel treaties bright-line prohibitions replace or “complement” pre- and co-existing regulatory approaches. It arguably is a creative response to perceived institutional stalemates often caused by great powers defending the legal and political status quo. Movements to create ‘rebel’ treaties have inter alia been initiated in the field of disarmament, international environmental law, and most recently in the international climate regime. The presentation will address the following questions: When do states engage in rebellious treaty making’? Is this a strategy followed by smaller states, NGOs or coalitions formed by states and non-state actors? Are actors who have been especially affected by global problems driving rebel-treaty negotiations? Should rebellious treaty-making strategies be understood as symbolic and performative, or as tactics to achieve change in international law? 

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