Dr Sheetal Soni is a UKZN academic in the School of Law. She maintains that international law is being tested in real time, and universities must teach it differently.
Teaching international law at the moment is a curious thing. International law can often feel very distant to students, something encountered in textbooks, historical case studies or legal debates unfolding in places far removed from everyday life. That no longer feels true.
As images from Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine dominate headlines, international law is increasingly being judged in real time, often harshly. Hospitals are attacked, food systems collapse, civilians are displaced, and access to water, housing and education is disrupted.
Against this backdrop, difficult questions are being asked: What does international law actually mean when civilians suffer in war? Does it still matter? And if it does, why does it so often appear inadequate?
Less frequently asked, however, is what universities should be doing to prepare students to engage with these realities. For students studying law, particularly international law, these are no longer abstract issues.
