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This volume provides a comprehensive, innovative, and critical analysis of the development and impact of international law in Italy. Through its scholars and due to political and historical events, Italy has contributed significantly to the formation and definition of international law and its academic community.

AbstractAnalyses related to the Covid-19 pandemic have mainly addressed measures adopted in response to this event without paying attention to provisions included in the 2005 International Health Regulations which require States to develop predefined core capacities to prevent, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease. The legal architecture related to these obligations has, however, various shortcomings and States have largely failed to implement the required measures. Only recently has some practice been developed by the WHO to address these deficiencies, and further action is still required to finally implement this (neglected) cornerstone of the global health system.

Although the 2020–2021 international agendas were obviously focused on the COVID-19 situation, our societies are under continuous relevant threat as a result of disasters brought about by natural and technological hazards and worsened by the effects of climate change. Such phenomena, capable of significantly disrupting affected communities, are giving rise to multiple legal and institutional challenges and consequently the protection of persons affected by climate change and disasters features on the agenda of several international bodies. A number of examples could be mentioned in this regard, such as the forthcoming debate in 2021 at the United Nations General Assembly on the possibility of adopting a treaty based on the 2016 International Law Commission (ILC) Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters; the current activities of the ILC focused on sea-level rise in international law; debates in human rights monitoring bodies on the relationship between disasters and legal protection, which have intensified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and led to a continuous flow of recommendations, reports, and other advocacy activities highlighting the challenges raised by this disaster; as complemented by increasing recourse to strategic litigation on climate change in international and domestic fora.

As the purpose of this panel is to explore the critical need for embedding international legal instruments within paradigms provided by disaster risk reduction (DRR), the area of international cultural heritage law could be a significant test-case in this regard. First, as experienced by several other branches of international law, it is possible to recognize an increasing attention paid by relevant specialized institutions, in this case the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to challenges posed by DRR, and finally permitting to: (1) integrate DRR concerns in the institutional and lawmaking agenda of this international organization, in order to inform and guide activities to be carried out by member states who face threats posed by disasters against their cultural heritage; and (2) provide an evolutionary and contextual interpretation of the existing commitments in this area in light of DRR paradigms. Second, a cross-fertilization phenomenon could also be recognized, as for the emerging recognition of cultural concerns in the same DRR system, through a process which has subsequently permitted UNESCO to additionally foster action in this area.

AbstractThis article analyzes the Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters adopted by the International Law Commission in 2016 in light of the recommendation made by the Commission to elaborate a convention on the basis of this project. While the latter proposal is still under evaluation by the United Nations General Assembly, which has recently decided to postpone its decision until 2020, such a potential outcome would represent a significant novelty in the area of disaster law, currently characterized by a fragmented legal framework and the lack of a universal flagship treaty. The Draft Articles thus aim to provide a systematization of the main legal issues relevant in the so-called disaster cycle, with solutions that accommodate the different interests of actors involved in a disaster scenario – namely, the affected State, external assisting actors and disaster victims – using a complex "checks and balances" approach.

Within current debates on international humanitarian law (IHL) attempts to strengthen compliance are a key issue. Several existing mechanisms provided by IHL treaties have proved to be unsuccessful, mainly due to States' unwillingness to activate them and to their limited field of application, that is, such mechanisms are principally restricted to international armed conflicts. Conversely, instruments pertaining to other branches of international law have progressively come to play a significant role in this area, emphasizing a series of challenges and opportunities. Against this background this contribution explores attempts to identify further options, such as the proposal submitted to the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent held in December 2015. Its aim was to facilitate the creation of a new compliance mechanism for IHL, the so-called "Meeting of States on International Humanitarian Law": a regular, voluntary, yet institutionalized forum for dialogue on IHL among States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, to be provided with a series of functions intended to improve the implementation of IHL. However, due to disagreements among States during the Conference, delegations were ultimately unable to reach a consensus on this new mechanism, thus emphasizing serious difficulties in bringing about effective improvements with regard to IHL compliance mechanisms.