Team

Welcome

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Team

Welcome

Learn about us

At the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC), we seek to explore and understand contemporary challenges concerning armed conflict through the lens of international law. We combine traditional public international law research with targeted analysis of today’s changing security environments. Our mode is critical, independent, and rigorous. With a focus on depth over breadth, we aim to reaffirm the centrality of international law in regulating war-fighting, in diminishing harmful effects of armed conflict, and in protecting civilians.

Prof. Gabriella Blum

Prof. Naz K. Modirzadeh

Dustin A. Lewis

Taha Wiheba

Meet Our Team

Research

Recent Publications

The International Law of Armed Conflict and the Natural Environment: An Analytical Resource for States

International Law and State Allegations of Double Standards: A Conceptual Analysis

Exercising Cognitive Agency: A Legal Framework Concerning Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict

A Primer on Subsidiary Bodies of Sanctions Committees Established by the U.N. Security Council

A Primer on the Relationship between the Security Council and the International Court of Justice

A Primer on Articles 43–47 of the U.N. Charter: Contribution of Forces for Collective Security

Resolution 2664 (2022) and Counterterrorism Measures: An Analytical Frame for States

HLS PILAC Catalogue of Practice of the U.N. Security Council Concerning the Environment, 1945–2021, With an Accompanying Finding Aid

An Interpretive Note for U.N. Member States on Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022)

Activities

Engage in events and activities

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Recent Events

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A Decade of Resolution 2286: Protecting Medical Care in Conflict Amid Evolving Threats

May 4

May 4, 2026

United Nations

A Decade of Resolution 2286: Protecting Medical Care in Conflict Amid Evolving Threats

May 4, 2026

United Nations

UN Security Council Arria‑Formula Meeting organized by Denmark, New Zealand and Spain. To provide an informal space for the Security Council and the wider UN membership to reflect on the implementation of the resolution, key developments, and emergent threats and opportunities to the protection of medical mission in armed conflict since 2016.

May 4, 2026

United Nations

An International Law Assessment of U.S. Uses of Force During the Second Trump Administration

Apr 7

April 7, 2026

Austin Hall, Room 111, Harvard Law School

An International Law Assessment of U.S. Uses of Force During the Second Trump Administration

April 7, 2026

Austin Hall, Room 111, Harvard Law School

In this lecture, Prof. Michael N. Schmitt (of the University of Reading and an HLS PILAC affiliate) will examine selected United States uses of force during the second Trump administration through the lens of international law.

April 7, 2026

Austin Hall, Room 111, Harvard Law School

Responsible Use of AI in Armed Conflict: Upholding Respect for International Law

Feb 4

February 4, 2026

Palexco

Responsible Use of AI in Armed Conflict: Upholding Respect for International Law

February 4, 2026

Palexco

This side event — co-organized by Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the Government of Switzerland — will examine how international law, in particular international humanitarian law (IHL), applies to the development and use of artificial intelligence in armed conflicts.

February 4, 2026

Palexco

Event Recordings

Responsible Use of AI in Armed Conflict: Upholding Respect for International Law

On February 4th, 2026, PILAC co-organized — with the Government of Switzerland — a session at the 3rd REAIM Summit, in A Coruña, Spain, focused on grounding multilateral discussions on military AI in respect for international law.

Prof. Naz Modirzadeh — Implications of State Silence concerning the Right to Self-Defense

Prof. Gabriella Blum — Ethics and the Global War on Terror

Dustin A. Lewis - The End of an Armed Conflict under International Law

Not All State Silences 'Speak': A Theory of (Non-)Communicative State Silences - Dr. Danae Azaria

The Humanitarian Civilian — Dr. Rebecca Sutton

Dustin Lewis — Panel on the AI conundrum: Algorithms and human responsibility in armed conflicts

War and Algorithm: The End of Law? A Lecture by Professor Gregor Noll

Prof. Kalpouzos - “The Recognition of War”

Legal, Moral, and Military Implications of "Collateral Damage": A Lunch Talk with Prof. Janina Dill

Perilous Medicine — Len Rubenstein

Military Interventions in Internal Conflicts Upon Invitation of the Government - Dr. Chiara Redaelli

Prof. Gabriella Blum and Benjamin Wittes: 'The Future of Violence'

Unreliable Protection: Proportionality in Warfare Put to the Test, a talk by Daniel Statman

Presentation by Dr. Gloria Gaggioli on "Self-Defense in Armed Conflicts"

French Counterterrorism Practices: Criminal and Administrative Avenues - A Talk by Dr. Sharon Weill

Michael N. Schmitt: HLS PILAC Lecture on Cyber Operations and IHL: Fault Lines and Vectors

Prof. Naz Modirzadeh — Implications of State Silence concerning the Right to Self-Defense

Prof. Gabriella Blum — Ethics and the Global War on Terror

Dustin A. Lewis - The End of an Armed Conflict under International Law

Not All State Silences 'Speak': A Theory of (Non-)Communicative State Silences - Dr. Danae Azaria

The Humanitarian Civilian — Dr. Rebecca Sutton

Dustin Lewis — Panel on the AI conundrum: Algorithms and human responsibility in armed conflicts

War and Algorithm: The End of Law? A Lecture by Professor Gregor Noll

Prof. Kalpouzos - “The Recognition of War”

Legal, Moral, and Military Implications of "Collateral Damage": A Lunch Talk with Prof. Janina Dill

Military Interventions in Internal Conflicts Upon Invitation of the Government - Dr. Chiara Redaelli

Prof. Gabriella Blum and Benjamin Wittes: 'The Future of Violence'

Unreliable Protection: Proportionality in Warfare Put to the Test, a talk by Daniel Statman

Presentation by Dr. Gloria Gaggioli on "Self-Defense in Armed Conflicts"

French Counterterrorism Practices: Criminal and Administrative Avenues - A Talk by Dr. Sharon Weill

Michael N. Schmitt: HLS PILAC Lecture on Cyber Operations and IHL: Fault Lines and Vectors

Students

Find student opportunities

Harvard Law School students contribute to numerous HLS PILAC projects.

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