1,303 articles
Krum (Крум)
Krum (Крум), khan of the Bulgars 803-814, rose via Pannonia and the Avar collapse, crushed Emperor Nikephoros I in 811, defeated Michael I in 813, besieged Constantinople, and died 13 April 814, succeeded by Omurtag.
Kuril Islands dispute
Kuril Islands dispute (Northern Territories, 北方四島): Russia-Japan conflict over Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and Habomai, Soviet-seized in 1945; no WWII peace treaty signed; negotiations broken off in 2022.
Lagos Colony
Lagos Colony, British crown colony on Lagos Island from the 1861 Treaty of Cession to its 1906 merger with Southern Nigeria; founded to suppress the slave trade, it became 'The Liverpool of West Africa' and the base of British rule in Nigeria.
LaGrand case
LaGrand (Germany v. United States of America), ICJ case 104, concerned two German nationals executed in Arizona without Vienna Convention Article 36 consular notification; the 2001 judgment first held ICJ provisional measures binding and ordered review and reconsideration.
Landeshoheit
Landeshoheit (territorial superiority) was the non-sovereign territorial autonomy of the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Estates, confirmed by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, distinct from full sovereignty.
Lateran Treaty
Lateran Treaty (Patti Lateranensi, Pacta Lateranensia): 1929 agreement between Italy and the Holy See, signed by Gasparri and Mussolini, creating Vatican City, ending the Roman Question, with a financial convention and concordat, revised in 1984.
Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty
Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty (Latvijas–Krievijas miera līgums), also called the 1920 Treaty of Riga: peace treaty signed at Riga 11 August 1920, by which Soviet Russia recognized Latvian independence, renounced all sovereign rights, and paid 4,000,000 gold roubles.
Law of the sea
Law of the sea: international law governing ocean rights and duties, centered on UNCLOS (1982, in force 1994), with 320 articles defining maritime zones, the EEZ, and the Area; the US has not ratified.
Law of Vanuatu
The law of Vanuatu, also called Vanuatu law, is a mixed system of English common law, French civil law, and customary law, unified since independence in 1980.
Law of war
The law of war, also called international humanitarian law or LOAC, is the body of treaty and customary rules protecting war victims and limiting means of warfare, centered on the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions.
Lazic War
The Lazic War, also called the Egrisi War or Colchidian War, was a 21-year conflict between the Byzantine Empire and Sasanian Iran for control of Lazica.
League of Corinth
League of Corinth, a modern name for the Hellenic alliance and common peace founded by Philip II of Macedon at Corinth in spring 337 BCE after Chaeronea, led by a hegemon and synedrion, waging war on Persia until Alexander's death in 323 BCE.
League of Nations mandate
League of Nations mandate: post-WWI legal status under Article 22 of the Covenant, placing former German and Ottoman territories under mandatory powers in A, B, and C classes, supervised by the Permanent Mandates Commission, later replaced by UN trusteeship.
League of Nations Treaty Series
The League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS) was the official publication of treaties registered with the League of Nations Secretariat, published in 205 volumes from 1920 to 1946.
League of Peace and Freedom
League of Peace and Freedom, also recorded as Ligue Internationale de la Paix et de la Liberté: a British pacifist organization founded in London in August 1915 for educational peace propaganda, publishing Towards Ultimate Harmony and penny pamphlets including Bertrand Russell's The Pacifist Philosophy of Life.
League of the Three Emperors
League of the Three Emperors (Dreikaiserbund): conservative alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, formed 1872–73, revived by the secret 1881 treaty, lapsed 1887, replaced by the Reinsurance Treaty.
Left Bank of the Rhine
The Left Bank of the Rhine was German-speaking territory annexed by France in 1801. It was organized into four departments and governed as part of metropolitan France until 1814.
Legal disputes over the validity of the Japan–Korea annexation treaties
The legal disputes over the validity of the Japan–Korea annexation treaties concern whether the 1904–1910 treaties by which Japan annexed Korea were valid or null from coercion and missing imperial assent.
Legal status of Hawaii
Legal status of Hawaii: the Kingdom of Hawaii (Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina), US annexation by the 1898 Newlands Resolution, territorial status 1900-1959, 50th statehood under the 1959 Admission Act, and the sovereignty-continuity dispute.
Legality of the Iraq War
Legality of the Iraq War: whether the 19 March 2003 US-led invasion (Operation Iraqi Freedom) was lawful under the UN Charter. Turned on the disputed 'revival' of SCR 678 via SCR 1441, absent Security Council authorization, preemptive self-defense arguments, and the Chilcot Inquiry's 'far from satisfactory' UK legal justification.
Legally binding memoranda of understanding in international law
A legally binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an international agreement that constitutes a treaty under international law despite its informal title, as the ICJ confirmed in Somalia v Kenya.
Legitimacy of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Legitimacy of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, also called Operation Allied Force or the Kosovo air campaign: the 1999 bombing lacked UN Security Council authorization and was judged 'illegal but legitimate' by the Independent International Commission on Kosovo.
Léopold Boissier
Léopold Boissier was a Swiss lawyer, diplomat, and University of Geneva law professor who served as president of the International Committee of the Red Cross from 1955 to 1964.
Lethal autonomous weapon
Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), also called killer robots, are weapons that select and attack targets without human intervention. Covered here: definition, CCW diplomacy, reported uses, IHL concerns, and state positions.
Lex specialis
Lex specialis (lex specialis derogat legi generali) is the legal principle that a more specific rule prevails over a general rule on the same subject matter, used in domestic and international law, notably in IHL–human rights and EU norm conflicts.
Li–Lobanov Treaty (中俄密约)
Li–Lobanov Treaty (中俄密约), Treaty of Mutual Assistance Against Enemies: secret 1896 Sino-Russian defensive alliance signed in Moscow by Li Hongzhang, Lobanov-Rostovsky, and Witte; it committed mutual aid against Japanese attack and granted the Chinese Eastern Railway concession.
Liancourt Rocks dispute
Liancourt Rocks dispute: sovereignty conflict over islets called Dokdo (Korea) and Takeshima (Japan), named after a French whaling ship in 1849; controlled by South Korea, claimed by Japan, ICJ referrals rejected by Korea.
Lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras (Linhas de Torres Vedras): fortified defensive lines built 1809-1810 north of Lisbon by Wellington against Napoleon's armies; 152 works, 600 guns, 85 km; Masséna's 1810 invasion halted.
List of Australian bilateral treaties on extradition and criminal matters
Australia's bilateral treaties on extradition and criminal matters: extradition treaties under the Extradition Act 1988 and over 25 mutual assistance treaties under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987, with published country lists.
List of International Court of Justice cases
The list of International Court of Justice cases, also known as ICJ cases, records contentious cases between States and advisory proceedings, totaling 202 entries since 1947.