With deadly hurricanes, pandemics, and industrial accidents on the prowl, disasters are scrambling our world faster than our laws and policies can manage them. That must change. This book offers the roadmap for a sensible and compassionate way of addressing the very worst things that life in the 21st century is throwing at us. -- Robert Verchick, Loyola University New Orleans, USA Marking a quarter-century of modern disaster law, this volume challenges the field to evolvequestioning outdated assumptions, embracing interdisciplinarity, and encouraging bridge-building with other branches of law. It sets an admirably bold agenda for the years ahead: to ensure disaster law better serves those most affected, with reduced human suffering as its benchmark. -- Kirsten Nakjavani Bookmiller, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, USA The present book, ably edited by the distinguished scholar Dr Dug Cubie, fully achieves through his and other notable contributions by thirteen recognized experts in the field, its stated objective of designing a comprehensive and forward-looking research agenda on disaster law. This is a novel branch of international law, which has rapidly evolved in the past quarter-century thanks in particular to the pioneer complementary action of both IFRC and ILC. The latters ten-year work culminated in its consensus adoption of a set of draft articles on the Protection of Persons in the event of Disasters, which it recommended to the UN General Assembly should serve as the basis for the elaboration of an international convention. The Assembly, by resolution 79/128 of 4 December 2024, decided to elaborate and conclude a legally binding instrument on the topic, by the end of 2027 at the latest. This rigorous books timely publication at a crucial stage in the further development of disaster law, thus offer an ample and rich source of inspiration to States and other entities directly involved in the process, as well as to academia and every individual concerned with one of the most pressing issues confronting life in our troubled planet. -- Eduardo Valencia-Ospina, International Law Commission's former Chair and Special Rapporteur on 'Protection of Persons in the event of Disasters'
