EASTERNISATION: Power Shifts and Regionalisation of International Law

The EASTERNISATION project, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark, examines the roles that Russia and China play in the regionalisation of international law and the impact this process exerts on the stability of the international legal order. Recent turbulent events and shifting power alliances demonstrate that the regionalisation of international law – the use of international law as a tool to justify ambitious geopolitical goals in order to establish regional hegemony – is wreaking havoc on the existing international legal order. The project traces the evolving trajectory of Russian and Chinese narratives of international law from the creation of the post-World War II order to modern times, which both states have promoted to lend legitimacy to their military actions and foreign policy decisions. It examines Russian and Chinese efforts to refute the universality of the human rights-oriented Western doctrine of international law in favor of a sovereignty-centered doctrine of international law and assesses its impact on the process of global reordering. The project also studies how states affected by Russian and Chinese approaches to international law respond to such narratives in various international and national fora.

Research themes 

  • Russian and Chinese History of International Law from 1945 until modern times
  • Russian and Chinese Approaches Towards Sovereignty in International Law
  • Russian and Chinese Contestation of International Law in International Fora
  • Affected States’ (i.e. Ukraine, the Philippines) Responses to Russian and Chinese Vision of International Law
  • Global Reordering in Making: Russia, China and the Future of the International Legal Order
  • Denmark and International Law Agenda in Times of Great Power Politics

Related projects

Carlsberg Foundation (research stay) – East v West: Russia, International Law and the Transformation of the International Legal Order at Stanford Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies

 

Marchuk, I & Wanigasuriya, BA (2023) ‘Beyond the False Claim of Genocide: Preliminary Reflections on Ukraine's Prospects in Its Pursuit of Justice at the ICJ’, 25 (3-4) Journal of Genocide Research, 256-278, https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2022.2143528.

Marchuk, I (2022) ‘Domestic Accountability Efforts in Response to the Russia–Ukraine War: An Appraisal of the First War Crimes Trials in Ukraine’, 20(4) Journal of International Criminal Justice, 787-803, https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqac051.

Marchuk, I & Wanigasuriya, BA (2022) ‘The ICC and the Russia–Ukraine War’, 26(4) American Society of International Law (online), at https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/26/issue/4

 

Loja, M (2024) Nothing-Burger? U.S. Obligation to Defend the Philippines in the South China Sea (AsianSIL Voices - Asian Journal of International Law), 17 & 20 May 2024, LINK

Masol, S (2024) (EJIL: Talk!), Are You a Leader? Ukraine’s Supreme Court Clarifies the Definition of the Crime of Aggression, 22 April 2024, LINK.

Marchuk, I (2024) Justice for Victims of Missile Attacks in Ukraine: New ICC Arrest Warrants for Russian Top Military Commanders (Opinio Juris), 15 March 2024, LINK

Marchuk, I & Wanigasuriya, BA (2024) The Curious Fate of the False Claim of Genocide: On the ICJ’s Preliminary Objections Judgment in Ukraine v. Russia and Beyond (Verfassungsblog), 24 February 2024, LINK

Marchuk, I (2024) Unfulfilled Promises of the ICJ Litigation for Ukraine: Analysis of the ICJ Judgment in Ukraine v Russia (CERD and ICSFT) (EJIL: Talk!), 22 February 2024, LINK.

 

 

  • 17 May 2024 - Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: The Role of Eastern European History in the Proceedings of the International Court of Justice. Webinar organised by MEMOCRACY Project.
  • 11 April 2024 – Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: Lessons and Takeaways from the ICJ Judgement in Ukraine v Russia for Crimea (in Ukrainian). Webinar organised by Ukraine 5AM Coalition.
  • 12 July 2023 - Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: Taking stock of the first war crimes trials in Ukraine and new prospective areas of work (with focus on the crime of aggression and ecocide) for the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Webinar organised by Advocates for International Development.
  • 9 June 2023 – Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: The Crime of Aggression in International Criminal Law. Accountability for the Crime of Aggression in the Ukrainian context (in Ukrainian). Webinar organised by Just Group in Ukraine.
  • 22 May 2023 - Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: Domestic Accountability Efforts in Response to the Russia-Ukraine War: An Appraisal of the First War Crimes Trials in Ukraine. Webinar organized by ESIL IG on International Criminal Justice and the Journal of International Criminal Justice dedicated the JICJ special symposium on Russian Aggression and the War in Ukraine.

 

  • 25 May 2024 - Presentation by Sergii Masol: Double Standards in International Law and Double Victimisation in the Russo-Ukrainian War, Intersessional Conference of the Asian Society of International Law ‘Asia and International Law: Historical Legacy and Progressive Development’, Narxoz University and KIMEP University, Almaty (Kazakhstan)
  • 25 January 2024 - Presentation by Sergii Masol: Upheavals in the International Criminal Law Scholarship in Russia and Ukraine, Cologne-Bonn Winter School ‘The Future and History of Research in Exile’, University of Cologne (Germany)
  • 11 October 2023 – Iryna Marchuk acting as a moderator during the informal luncheon with Mrs. Audra Plepyte, Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States (discussing ramifications of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine for Lithuania), Cecil H. Green Library, Stanford University (United States).
  • 6 October 2023 - Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: Prosecuting Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine. The event organised in cooperation with the Ukrainian award-winning NGO Truth Hounds and the Clooney Foundation for Justice, and sponsored by the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and Center for Human Rights and International Justice, Stanford University (United States).
  • 24 August 2023 – Oplæg af Iryna Marchuk: Krigen i Ukraine – perspektiver på international strafferet og køn. Arrangeret af Kvindernes Internationale Liga for Fred og Frihed, København.
  • 22-23 June 2023 – Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: The ICC’s Investigation in the Situation of Ukraine and Its Relationship with National War Crimes Trials. Conference ‘The EU’s Response to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: International and European Perspectives’, University of Leiden (Netherlands).
  • 16 June 2023 - Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: Prosecuting International Crimes in National Courts. Conference ‘The War in Ukraine and International Law: Where Are We Now?’ University of Bocconi (Italy).
  • 2 June 2023 – Presentation by Iryna Marchuk: National prosecution of international crimes and its relationship with the ICC. Conference ‘Folkeretten efter Ukraine’ Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen (Denmark).
  • 23 May 2023 – Oplæg af Iryna Marchuk: Om krigsforbrydersager ved de ukrainske domstole. FN Seminar om Fred og Retsforfølgning af Krigsforbrydelser i Ukraine arrangeret af FN-forbundets Vennegruppe, København.

 

 

 

Researchers

Name Title Image
Iryna Marchuk Associate Professor Billede af Iryna Marchuk
Melissa Hubahib Loja Postdoc Billede af Melissa Hubahib Loja
Sergii Masol Postdoc Billede af Sergii Masol

Contact

Iryna MarchukPI Associate Professor
Iryna Marchuk


South Campus,
DK 2300 Copenhagen S
Phone: +45 35 32 33 30 iryna.marchuk@jur.ku.dk