Dear readers,
I have the great pleasure to introduce already the sixteenth issue of the Czech Yearbook of Public & Private International Law (CYIL). Volume 16 appears, as usual, in the end of autumn, which is the typical time for the readers of this Yearbook who are interested in the developments in international law.
The Czech Yearbook was established by the Czech Society of International Law in 2010. It was done thanks to the Board and the members of this association of Czech international lawyers, both academics and practitioners, who felt a lacuna of such a specialized journal or yearbook. Since 2014, the Czech Yearbook has been published by the international publishers, RW&W, Science & New Media, Passau-Berlin-Praha, which, in cooperation with Süd Ost Service, ensures its distribution in Germany and Western Europe.
As you know, the CSIL publishes the Yearbook in both printed and electronic versions (www.cyil.eu). Since 2015, the Czech Yearbook has been included in the Czech index of scholarly peer-reviewed journals (RVVI) and in the SCOPUS international database.
This growth of the Czech Yearbook ranks it among the larger publications of its kind in an international comparison. However, in spite of the significant rise of publishing costs, we are proud to announce that this publication is still available for free for members of the Czech Society of International Law (included in the membership fee) and on sale for a very reasonable price. We will allow for the full open access of the electronic version.
This year’s 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding of the United Nations is certainly a good reason to remember 1945 as a legal landmark in international law. At the moment when the UN celebrated its 80th anniversary, it is experiencing another period of crisis. Similar to the Cold War, the collective security mechanism (Security Council) is blocked, while armed conflicts are ongoing in various parts of the world, including Europe (Ukraine).
The system of multilateralism on which the UN is built is being severely undermined by the policies of the current governments of some great powers (especially Russia, the USA, but also China). However, the organization is also suffering from a serious financial crisis (unpaid contributions), which is crippling its functioning, leading to the cancellation or shortening of some meetings, the reduction of jobs in the secretariat and the limitation of other activities.
The significance of the Charter and the functioning of the Organization currently represent complex issues that have been the subject of publications other than this issue of the Czech Yearbook.However, this issue also contains contributions that map the current activities of the UN in the field of codification and progressive development of international law, particularly within the framework of the International Law Commission and the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly.
As usual, Volume 16 (2025) presents a variety of studies and articles covering many issues of contemporary international and European law. The Yearbook begins with the studies that address issues related to the International Court of Justice, both the methods of work and the substance, namely the presentation of the recent Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change. Other studies relate to the history of international law, the case of Somaliland, and some issues of Citizenship Law in Slovakia.
The readers will also find many other traditional sections here, including human rights law. This section includes, in addition to the article on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, articles dealing with the extraterritorial application of the European Convention on Human Rights during international armed conflict, and a commentary on the ECtHR judgment in a climate mitigation case. In the section on International Law and European Law, the readers will find, inter alia articles concerning competition law and sustainable product regulation.
The content of the CYIL also responds to challenges to international law arising from new developments, in particular the artificial intelligence and its application in automate systems. The relevant articles form one section of the present volume. As in the previous years, the CYIL also presents a special section on international nuclear law that includes four very topical contributions providing legal analysis of new problems and technologies from the perspective of international and European law. The present issue also includes a section on AI and other new technologies in healthcare.
According to its tradition, Volume 16 of the CYIL also covers some aspects of international economic law and private international law, such as very salient questions of investment law (the concept of “legitimate expectations” or the sustainable meaning of the notion of investment), consumer protection and the World Trade Organization, as well as some global and European aspects of commercial contracts.
The Yearbook also covers the Czech practice of international law, in particular, a list of treaties ratified by the Czech Republic, reports on the recent works of the International Law Commission and activities of the Sixth (legal) committee of the UN General Assembly, and Czech cases before the European Court of Human Rights. It also includes book reviews, and a survey of the Czech international law bibliography.
As usual, the authors of this publication, who are from academia and legal practice, come from both Czech and foreign institutions. This volume includes several contributions from foreign professors and researchers, coming from or working in Austria, France, Hungary,India, Island, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine. As to the Czech institutions involved, these include Charles University in Prague, external collaborator of the West-Bohemian University in Pilsen, the Institute of Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the University of Economics in Prague, the University of New York in Prague, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, as well as some private law firms.
This publication appears thanks to a continuing financial subsidy to the Czech Society of International Law from the Council of Scientific Societies of the Czech Republic.We wish that this volume of the Czech Yearbook will find many readers and we are already looking forward to new contributions for our next volume in 2026. We are also grateful for any comments or suggestions on how to improve the quality of this journal.
Editor-in-Chief
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