Professor Simon Caney from the Department of Politics and International Studies, and Dr Sharifah Sekalala, Assistant Professor in the School of Law, were members of the Working Party which conducted an in-depth inquiry, reviewing the policies and practices of global health emergency research, and presented 24 recommendations for improvement in the form of an "ethical compass" to guide the decisions of those on the ground.

Dr Christine Schwobel-Patel, Associate Professor in Warwick Law School, comments:-

"The USA is claiming that it was acting in self-defence when it launched a strike on Iranian General Soleimani. Under Art. 51 United Nations Charter (UNC), the right to self-defence must follow an ‘armed attack’. It is clear that there was no armed attack on the USA by Iran. However, customary international law, which is a combination of state practice and what states believe to be legal, is broader than the wording of the UNC. After all, states cannot be expected to wait until they have been attacked, if they have intelligence that this is about to happen."

Dr Trevor McCrisken, Associate Professor in PAIS, and PPL Co-Director, appeared on LBC News on Wednesday 18 December 2019 to discuss the impeachment process in light of the proceedings against President Trump.

Pablo A. Rodriguez-Merino, from the Department of Politics and International Studies and the Institute of Advanced Study, comments on the latest news that Chinese president Xi Jinping has expressed confidence in Carrie Lam, in her position as Hong Kong's chief executive:

"I think that Xi's decision to publicly show support and confidence in Carrie Lam suggests once again that the Chinese government is avoiding measures that may result in instability or further alienate protesters in Hong Kong, let alone a Tiananmen-style military intervention, with which some media and analysts came to speculate at some point during the crisis."

We are delighted to announce that the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) is ranked 1st of 84 UK Politics departments in The Times/The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020. This influential national league table reflects latest data, including student satisfaction (NSS), research excellence, and graduate prospects.