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Stefan Theil

@stheil

Public law, human rights, & constitutions at Cambridge, Fellow of Sidney Sussex College: www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/s-theil/6578 Current research on free expression and doctrinal methods. Book: Towards the Environmental Minimum.

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16.11.2024
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Latest posts by Stefan Theil @stheil

Personne ne pleurera un tyran sanguinaire. Bon débarras.

Mais ne venez pas me dire que cela valait le coup de tuer 80 écoliers à Minab (et de violer allègrement le droit international — une fois de plus).

28.02.2026 21:54 👍 62 🔁 13 💬 5 📌 0

Four years into a wade of imperialist aggression they clearly intended to last weeks at most, the Russian government has bought death and misery to hundreds of thousands for nothing.

24.02.2026 16:12 👍 239 🔁 24 💬 6 📌 2

The lawyering skills on display from all of these people is shockingly poor.

What should a judgment of a court on an issue like this look like?

Start with a brief outline of the facts. Then quote in full the text relied on for the power. Then interpret the text.

Not here.

/1

20.02.2026 16:57 👍 17 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 1

After the first few weeks, when everything was cancelled, the COVID years were horrendously busy. I can still remember crying when trying to upload online lectures

Of course it was a shit time for students, but universities didn't choose lock down and weren't doing online teaching for fun.

16.02.2026 14:13 👍 14 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Great stuff from Mark here as usual - well worth your time! Not the biggest fan of a JR theory based (mostly) on ultra vires and voidness ab initio (imho,it struggles with non-statutory powers and common law) but undeniably convincing framework for the PA case, highlighting shortcomings on remedies.

17.02.2026 13:37 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Former German Chancellor nominated for honorary degree Eight distinguished individuals have been nominated for honorary degrees at the University of Cambridge. This year’s nominations recognise outstanding

I did not vote for her in any of the German general elections, but Angela Merkel is undeniably among the most successful Chancellors of Germany post WW2. Delighted we are recognising her achievements.
www.cam.ac.uk/news/former-...

12.02.2026 11:58 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Brilliant! Only note is that you are clearly missing a dramatic, North American movie trailer style, voice over! 😉

04.02.2026 14:30 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Completely unoriginal thought but: it's frustrating that the actual experience of living in large cosmopolitan multicultural city (London Uk in my case) is actually pretty dope, but a lot of politics is organised around this being a nightmare scenario that must be apologised for and avoided.

24.01.2026 12:48 👍 1259 🔁 187 💬 30 📌 16

As someone who is generally supportive of the Bill - the Lords are doing what they are constitutionally supposed to do. You shouldn't expect to pass such a complicated piece of legislation on such a contentious issue with anything other than utmost, serious scrutiny.

23.01.2026 11:15 👍 10 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
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23.01.2026 09:10 👍 3523 🔁 1645 💬 93 📌 139

I'm good thanks. I think I probably won't move to the country where the authorities pump out neo-Nazi memes and masked militias roam the streets.

19.01.2026 09:24 👍 2899 🔁 641 💬 75 📌 12

This isn't even a situation where the law needs to 'catch up' - all of these are criminalised by a statute from *1994*. This is a situation where the police are simply failing to do their job

07.01.2026 08:43 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

Alright, we're good!

03.01.2026 18:37 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Fair. I think the sincerity is very much up to whether it matches my honest intention - which I this case it very much does. I generally don't acknowledge a possible mistake insincerely.

03.01.2026 18:10 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

My bad, likely jumped the gun!

03.01.2026 18:04 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

bsky.app/profile/sthe...

03.01.2026 18:00 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Most states live up to their obligations most of the time - international relations are repeat games. The fact that some great powers violate int'l law is no more evidence of its demise than the commission of assaults is for criminal law, or torts are for private law. 2/2

03.01.2026 17:46 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Your periodic reminder that the *blatantly illegal* use of force by great powers does not mean that: (a) international law, or more specifically the prohibition on the use of force is dead, or (b) that international law is a pointless endeavour. 1/2

03.01.2026 17:41 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1

14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.

19.12.2025 17:19 👍 358 🔁 369 💬 1 📌 5

I suspect this is technically true, and can be seen as such so long as one understands that part of what he means by "respect" is that if Russian troops walk into your territory and start demanding you pay taxes to Moscow and cetera then you meekly accept this state of affairs. Do that and no wars!

20.12.2025 10:33 👍 108 🔁 14 💬 4 📌 1
Preview
Putin vows no more wars if West treats Russia with respect Russia's leader said during a four-hour TV marathon that claims that an attack on Europe was planned were

'Look what you made me do.'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

19.12.2025 19:35 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Nigel Farage told to apologise by 26 of his school contemporaries Open letter to Reform UK leader expresses ‘dismay and anger’ at his response to racism and antisemitism allegations

“What disturbs us is less what happened years ago, hurtful as it was, but rather your refusal to acknowledge your past behaviour or apologise for it”

If Farage was made to acknowledge his past behaviour or apologise for it, his career would have ended years ago.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

17.12.2025 07:20 👍 919 🔁 348 💬 47 📌 18

Anytime. The almost instant, one line response does not fill me with confidence...

12.12.2025 11:17 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

And here I thought Germans had a particular cultural reputation for holding grudges...

12.12.2025 11:13 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I honestly do not understand what one gets out of writing such a blatant, over the top take down piece. You need to be either perpetually frustrated and angry with your life or at least be able to get into such a mindest to write that review. It is either incredibly sad or borders on sociopathic.

12.12.2025 11:09 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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Added my voice, for what it's worth.

12.12.2025 10:54 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

I've just sent the following email to the editors of The Journal of Comparative Law:

12.12.2025 09:23 👍 49 🔁 11 💬 8 📌 2

I'm slightly late to the party, but what reputable journal would publish such an obvious, over the top hit job on what is probably a perfectly fine book? I have some serious questions for the editors.

12.12.2025 09:38 👍 10 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

There is still legal argument, integrity, consistency and adherence to the rule of law to be found in the US justice system, but no longer at its apex.

05.12.2025 15:20 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I fear the US Supreme 'Court' will (sadly) prove itself to being no longer a court in any meaningful sense. It is these days best understood as just annother Chamber of Congress. A place where the logic of party loyalty, whips, public opinion and occasional rebelling best explain its decisions.

05.12.2025 15:18 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0