Which international obligations are characterised as obligations owed erga omnes or erga omnes partes is today a crucial question for the enforcement of international law, particularly through adjudication before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ, however, has not given sufficiently clear indication as to how it understands and identifies obligations erga omnes and erga omnes partes. This lack of clarity and consistency permits varied approaches to the articulation of such obligations, ultimately leaving uncertain the enforceability, through adjudication and otherwise, of a wide variety of obligations.

The Mongol conquest of Iran (1220–1231) coincided with the “literarization of history” across the Islamic world. In Iran, this phenomenon was characterized by the production of verse histories, modeled on Firdaūsī’s Shāh-nāmah. Ḥakīm Zajjājī’s Humāyūn-nāmah is one of the lesser-known examples of this genre, with modern scholars disputing both the date of its composition and the historical value of its contents. The present article analyzes the personalities and events described in the Humāyūn-nāmah, situating it in the broader community of letters cultivated by the Īlkhānid vizier Shams al-Dīn Juvaynī between 1249–1284. This article shows that the Humāyūn-nāmah was not only a piece of art, but a valuable eye-witness account of early Mongol rule in Iran (1220–1258).

Ableist culture stigmatises psychiatric and psychological conditions, which perpetuates misconceptions about them and can discourage people from seeking appropriate treatment for mental conditions. This editorial examines how pejorative use of diagnostic terms contributes to stigmatisation, identifies its discriminatory impact and explores its connection to fears about becoming disabled.

This article argues that, in provisional measures cases, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) now examines jurisdiction by assessing not only an applicant’s arguments for jurisdiction, but also a respondent’s arguments against it. This more granular examination is different from the ICJ’s traditional prima facie test. The change in approach was demonstrated in the 2008 provisional measures order in Georgia v Russian Federation. This article suggests two likely explanations for the development of a more detailed test. The first is the ICJ’s reluctance to limit State sovereignty by imposing provisional measures since it held, in the 2001 LaGrand judgment, that they are binding. The second is the political sensitivity of the particular dispute. However, the more detailed approach to the question of jurisdiction in provisional measures has generated inconsistency in the ICJ’s jurisprudence: first, the malleability of this approach risks like cases being treated differently; second, this approach overlaps with the plausibility test, which concerns a separate requirement for provisional measures; and, third, this approach overlaps with the Oil Platforms test, which the Court uses to determine definitively whether it has jurisdiction ratione materiae. The new approach also promotes a dispute-settlement conception of the Court’s judicial function, rather than acknowledging its role in developing international law or maintaining public order.

Exodus 2:1–10 has been thoroughly analyzed from a feminist perspective. This is appropriate because women play a significant role in the story. However, it is important to note that these female characters are not only defined by gender but also by ethnicity and social status. Combining analyses of ethnicity, gender, and class, this article demonstrates how the female figures in Exod 2:1–10 ignore, challenge, and subvert the polarizations established in Exod 1:8–22 by the Egyptian king. Exodus 2:1–10 can even be read as an example of cross-ethnic, cross-class, and cross-generational solidarity against a despotic regime that marginalizes and oppresses by using marks of differences. However, upon closer analysis it becomes evident that the female figures’ interactions are also determined by an unequal power dynamic. The article demonstrates how examining differences in gender, ethnicity, and class provides a nuanced understanding of power relations within biblical texts.

Abdol-Hossain Taymourtash, Reza Shah’s first minister of court, was universally recognized as the most powerful man in Iran after the shah himself. He was the lieutenant, ran the government for him. He played a key role at the shah’s side in selecting cabinet ministers and the deputies to be elected to parliament. He helped shape and realize Reza Shah’s vision for the revival and modernization of Iran. Yet in 1933, royal favor was suddenly withdrawn, and Taymourtash was arrested and imprisoned where, in all probability Reza Shah had him put to death. This article focuses on the always fraught relationship between a powerful autocrat and his loyal and efficacious lieutenant, and on the dilemma of those who wish to serve their countries and end up doing so at the cost of serving as the agents of a dictatorship.

Greenstone is commonly used to produce culturally significant items across Mesoamerica, including axes, earspools, figurines, and beads. This research characterizes the mineralogy of greenstone materials recovered from sites in the Jovel Valley, Chiapas, Mexico, to document the range of green minerals utilized by the inhabitants. Our analysis of the objects suggests that the Late Classic and Early Postclassic Maya of the Jovel Valley had access to a variety of greenstone minerals, including serpentinites, green micas, grossular, and jadeite. X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry characterization of reference materials suggests procurement of greenstone resources from the well-documented sources of the Motagua–Polochic Fault Zone, and also potentially from sources in the Chalchihuitán–Chenalhó area of Chiapas, Mexico. The Jovel Valley had access to materials over long distances through historically documented trade routes that allowed the movement of greenstone materials west from the Motagua River Valley into highland Chiapas or south from the Chalchihuitán–Chenalhó area.