Event Details

Dr Marco Longobardo, from the University of Westminster, will speak on 'The Application of Human Rights Law to the Conduct of Hostilities: The ECtHR's Decision on Georgia v. Russia of 21 January 2021'

The talk explores the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Georgia v. Russia (21 January 2021). The Court held that the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is inapplicable to the conduct of hostilities in an international armed conflict since there is no exercise of state jurisdiction under Article 1 in those situations. The talk dissects this decision in light of previous cases decided by the Court and by other international courts and tribunals, arguing that the Court did not reach sound and persuasive conclusions on why the Convention would not be applicable to the conduct of hostilities.

Dr Marco Longobardo is a Lecturer in International Law at the University of Westminster, where he teaches public international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and other related subjects. He has undertaken his doctoral studies at the Sapienza University of Rome and previously lectured at the University of Messina and in the context of international humanitarian law courses for the personnel of the Italian armed forces. He has published extensively on public international law issues and he is the author of The Use of Armed Force in Occupied Territory (CUP 2018). His scholarship has been cited by the UN International Law Commission and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.