OUVRAGE : S. Allen, J.F. Diogo, A. Mensi, F. Pereira Coutinho (eds.), Western Sahara in the International Legal Order: 50 Years after the ICJ Advisory Opinion

Stephen ALLEN, João Francisco DIOGO, Andrea MENSI, Francisco PEREIRA COUTINHO

This book commemorates the 50th anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Western Sahara, bringing together leading international legal scholars to explore and critically assess the enduring relevance and implications of the Opinion. It offers a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the main legal issues surrounding the status of the Western Sahara, including self-determination, territorial sovereignty, decolonization, and the role of international institutions. By providing historical context, legal interpretation, and contemporary perspectives, the volume serves as a definitive reference for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers interested in international law, conflict resolution, and the ongoing legal dimensions of the Western Sahara question.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Notes on Editors and Contributors
Introduction

Stephen Allen, João Francisco Diogo, Andrea Mensi, Francisco Pereira Coutinho

1. Andrea Caligiuri, Western Sahara and the Legal Status of the Waters off Its Coasts 

2. Peter Hilpold, “Humanizing” the Law of Self-Determination: The “Western Sahara” Case (1975) and the Chagos Island Case (2019) Compared 

3. Bryce Hollander, Janet E. Lord, Persons with Disabilities and Western Sahara: Assessing Protection in the Context of Regime Interdependencies 

4. Niccolò Lanzoni, A Reappraisal of the icj Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara Advancing a More ‘Humanised’ Approach to International Law Concerning Territory 

5. Emma Lehbib, Renewable Resources – Renewable Rules? A Chapter on the Construction of Renewable Energy Infrastructure in Western Sahara 

6. Bernardo Mayor Marinkovic, Spain and the Western Sahara 

7. Edi Rexhaj, Heightened Scrutiny in Western Sahara: What Are the Legal Consequences of the Madrid Agreement of 1975 for the Status of Western Sahara? 

8. Francesca Martines, Polisario’s Legal Action as a Strategy to Reassert the Principle of Self-Determination in Western Sahara. Issues of Locus Standi, Justiciability and Jurisdiction of National and International Courts 

9. Anže Mediževec, Digital Self-Determination of the Sahrawi People and the Role of the European Union 

10. Attila Nagy, Western Sahara and the mena Region in the Framework of Trade and Post-conflict Agreements 

11. Cristiano d’Orsi, Gino Naldi, The Western Sahara Conflict and Its Implications for Global (In)Security 

12. Andrea Maria Pelliconi, Spatial and Demographic Dimensions of Sovereignty in Western Sahara. The Authority-Sponsored Shaping of the ‘Self’ in Self-Determination 

13. Yaël Ronen, Implications for Western Sahara of the icj ’s Advisory Opinion on the Status of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian 

14. Pierluigi Salvati, The Question of Western Sahara through the Lens of the Duty of Non-recognition of Internationally Unlawful Situations 

15. Jeffrey Smith, Emma Lehbib, Fifty Years in the Making: The Saharawi Legal-Judicial System in the International Order 

16. Stephen Zunes, Jacob Mundy, Endorsing Aggression. US Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara and the Implications for the “Rules-Based International Order”

Index 

Stephen ALLEN, João Francisco DIOGO, Andrea MENSI, Francisco PEREIRA COUTINHO (eds.), Western Sahara in the International Legal Order: 50 Years after the ICJ Advisory Opinion, Leiden, Brill|Nijhoff, 2026 (430 pp.)