Associate Professor of Law and Derek Bowett Fellow, Queens’ College; Fellow, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
Abogado (UCAB, Venezuela), LLM, PhD (Cantab)
Interests
General international law, State responsibility, the law of necessity, law on the use of force, self-defence, the law of countermeasures
Research centres and interest groups
CV / Biography
Federica Paddeu is an Associate Professor of Law and Derek Bowett Fellow at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, and a fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. She holds a BA in law (Abogado, cum laude) from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, as well as LLM (First Class Honours and Clive Parry Prize) and PhD (Yorke Prize) degrees from the University of Cambridge. She also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGDipLATHE) from the University of Oxford
Federica’s research interest cover various areas of general international law, including the law of State responsibility, countermeasures, the law on the use of force, international investment law, and recognition of Governments in international law. A monograph based on her PhD dissertation, Justification and Excuse in International Law: Concept and Theory of General Defences, was published by CUP in 2018. Federica has written extensively on defences in the law of State responsibility, and their application across different areas of international law including investment law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and cyber-space. Her work has been published in leading international law journals, including the American Journal of International Law, European Journal of International Law, the British Yearbook of International Law, Leiden Journal of International Law, and the Journal on the Use of Force in International Law.
At Cambridge, Federica teaches international law and English criminal law at the undergraduate level, and has taught in graduate courses on the law on the use of force, international investment law, and general international law. She has held visiting positions at the Faculty of Law of the University of Vienna, Université Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne), and Universidad de La Sabana.
Federica serves on the Public International Law Advisory Board of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Board of the European Society of International Law, and the Steering Committee of the London Conference on International Law. She was previously Director of Studies for the British Branch of the International Law Association. She is also a member of the editorial board of the Max Planck Yearbook of UN Law and the Latin-American and Caribbean Journal of International Law.
Federica is admitted to practice in Venezuela, as a member of the Caracas (Distrito Federal) Bar, where she worked at Baker&Mackenzie. She is a member of the Academic Research Panel at Blackstone Chambers.
Teaching
Supervisions in International Law (Part IB and Part II), and Criminal Law (Part IA)
Director of Studies at Queens’ College (Parts IA, IB, II) & Deputy Senior Tutor
Other appointments and affiliations
European Society of International Law (ESIL) - Member of the Board (2022- )
British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) - Member of the International Law Advisory Panel (2021- )
International Law Association (British Branch) - Director of Studies (2018-2022)
Blackstone Chambers - Member of the Academic Research Panel (2015- )
Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards
2025: Crausaz Wordsworth Interdisciplinary Fellowship in Philosophy (Michaelmas term 2025)
2019: CRASSH Early Career Fellowship (Michaelmas term 2019)
2015: Yorke Prize (Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge), in recognition of the ‘exceptional quality’ of PhD dissertation ‘which makes a substantial contribution to its field of legal knowledge’
2009-2014: Maria Luisa de Sanchez (Girton College, University of Cambridge) and Cambridge European Trusts Scholar
2008: Clive Parry Prize in International Law (Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge)
Selected publications
Books
Exceptions in International Law (with L Bartels) (eds), 2020)
Protecting Children in Armed Conflict (with Shaheed Fatima QC (lead author)), 2018)
Publisher:
ISBN 13:
9781509923038
Justification and Excuse in International Law: Concept and Theory of General Defences, 2018)
Articles
'The Countermeasures of Others: When Can States Collaborate in the Taking of Countermeasures?' (2024) 118 American Journal of International Law 231-274
Citation:
(2024) 118 American Journal of International Law 231-274
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2024.8
Published: Forthcoming
'Defences to State Responsibility and International Humanitarian Law' (2022) 25 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 71-107
Citation:
(2022) 25 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 71-107
Published: Forthcoming
'Encoding the law of State responsibility with courage and resolve: James Crawford and the 2001 Articles on State Responsibility' (2022) 11(1) Cambridge International Law Journal 6-23
Citation:
(2022) 11(1) Cambridge International Law Journal 6-23
Published: Forthcoming
'Humanitarian Intervention and the Law of State Responsibility' (2021) 32(2) European Journal of International Law 649-678
Citation:
(2021) 32(2) European Journal of International Law 649-678
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chab041
Published: Forthcoming
'Shared Non-responsibility? Defences and the Responsibility of Co-Perpetrators and Accessories in the SHARES Principles' (2020) 31(4) European Journal of International Law 1264-1275
Citation:
(2020) 31(4) European Journal of International Law 1264-1275
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chaa086
Published: Forthcoming
'Necessity 20 Years On: The Limits of Article 25 ARSIWA' (2022) 37 ICSID Review 160-191
Citation:
(2022) 37 ICSID Review 160-191
Published: Jun 2021
'The Final Act: Exploring the End of Pandemics' (2020) 114(3) American Journal of International Law 698-707
Citation:
(2020) 114(3) American Journal of International Law 698-707
Published: Aug 2020
'Military assistance on request and general reasons against force: consent as a justification for the use of force' (2020) 7(2) Journal on the Use of Force and International Law 227-269
Citation:
(2020) 7(2) Journal on the Use of Force and International Law 227-269
Published: Aug 2020
'Use of Force against Non-State Actors and the Circumstance Precluding Wrongfulness of Self-Defence' (2017) 30 Leiden Journal of International Law 93-115
Citation:
(2017) 30 Leiden Journal of International Law 93-115
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156516000583
Published: Jan 2017
'Self-Defence as a Circumstance Precluding Wrongfulness: Understanding Article 21 of the Articles on State Responsibility' (2014) 85 British Yearbook of International Law 90-132
Citation:
(2014) 85 British Yearbook of International Law 90-132
Published: Jul 2015
'A Genealogy of Force Majeure in International Law' (2011) 82 British Yearbook of International Law 381-494
Citation:
(2011) 82 British Yearbook of International Law 381-494
Published: Jan 2012
'To Convene or Not to Convene? The Future Status of the Articles on State Responsibility: Recent Developments' (2017) 21 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 83-123
Citation:
(2017) 21 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 83-123
Published: Mar 2018
Book Chapters
"Latin America and the Development of the Law of State Responsibility" (with Fernando Lusa Bordin) in Alejandro Chehtman, Alexandra Huneeus, and Sergio Puig (ed(s)), Latin American International Law in the Twenty-First Century), forthcoming
Publisher:
Published Forthcoming
"Articles 20-27, Articles on State Responsibility" in Andreas Külick & Michael Waibel (ed(s)), Commentary on General International Law in International Investment Law), forthcoming
Publisher:
Published Forthcoming
"Investment Tribunals and the Duty of Compensation in Cases of Necessity: A Customary Law Void?" in P Merkouris, A Külick, JM Álvarez-Zarate and M Żenkiewicz (ed(s)), Custom and its Interpretation in International Investment Law, 2024)
"The ICJ and the Law of State Responsibility" in Kate Parlett & Carlos Espósito (ed(s)), Cambridge Companion to the International Court of Justice , 2023)
Publisher:
Published May 2023
"Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness" in Christina Binder, Manfred Nowak, Jane A Hofbauer and Philipp Janig (ed(s)), Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights, 2020)
Publisher:
Published Dec 2020
"Clarifying the Concept of Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness in International Law" in L Bartels & F Paddeu (ed(s)), Exceptions in International Law, 2020)
Publisher:
Published May 2020
"Countermeasures", Wolfrum et al (eds), Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law (2017), 2016)
"Investment Arbitration and the Development of Defences in the Law of Responsibility" in Christian Tams, Stephan Schill & Rainer Hofmann (ed(s)), International Investment Law and General International Law: Radiating Effects? , 2016)
Publisher:
Published Mar 2016
"Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness", Wolfrum et al (eds), Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law (2015), 2014)
Publisher:
Published Sep 2014
Book Reviews
Tadashi Mori, Origins of the Right of Self-defence in International Law: From the Caroline Incident to the United Nations Charter. Leiden: Brill, 2018, 274 pp., ISBN: 9789004355002, €154.00 (2020) 22(4) Journal of the History of International Law 667-672
Published Oct 2020
Third-Party Countermeasures in International Law. By MARTIN DAWIDOWICZ [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2017. 426 pp. Hardback: £79.99. ISBN 9781139046602] (2018) 77 Cambridge Law Journal 427
Published Apr 2018
The Verdict of Battle: The Law of Victory and the Making of Modern War by JAMES Q WHITMAN 2 [Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012, 336pp, ISBN: 978-0-674-067141, £22.95 3 (h/bk)] (2014) 63 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 505
Published Apr 2014
Criminal Responsibility for the Crime of Aggression. By PATRYCJA GRZEBYK. [Oxford: Routledge. 2013. 394 pp. Hardback: £90.00. ISBN 978-0-415-85678-2] (2014) Cambridge Law Journal 455
Published Mar 2014
La nécessité en droit international. De l’état de nécessité aux situations de nécessité. By Sarah Cassella. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden, 2011. xi + 577 pp (2011) 82 British Yearbook of International Law 505
Published Jan 2012
Case Notes
"Multilateral Disputes in Bilateral Settings: International Practice Lags Behind Theory" (2017) 76 Cambridge Law Journal 1
Published: Feb 2017
"Ghosts of Genocides Past? State Responsibility for Genocide in the Former Yugoslavia" (2015) 74 Cambridge Law Journal 14
Published: Mar 2015
Blog Posts
Conference Papers
"Growing Demand, Limited Capacity: International Courts and New Global Challenges: Panel discussion" (London International Disputes Week 2025, Jun 2025)
Conference:
London International Disputes Week 2025
Link to conference paper:
Published: Jun 2025
"Identification of Customary Law: Panel discussion" (KCL Dickson Poon School of Law & Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution, Apr 2025)
Conference:
KCL Dickson Poon School of Law & Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution
Link to conference paper:
Published: Apr 2025
"‘The Identity of Governments in International Law’" (UCL Laws Panel Discussion, UCL, 3 June 2024, Jun 2024)
Conference:
UCL Laws Panel Discussion, UCL, 3 June 2024
Published: Jun 2024
"‘General International Law and International Investment Law: A Two-Way Street?’" (KCL Dickson Poon School of Law & Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution Panel Discussion, 10 June 2024, Jun 2024)
Conference:
KCL Dickson Poon School of Law & Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution Panel Discussion, 10 June 2024
Published: Jun 2024
"‘Ukraine: Debt Restructuring and Sustainability’" (Bank of America Sovereign Debt Symposium 2024, Bank of America (London branch), 28 May 2024, May 2024)
Conference:
Bank of America Sovereign Debt Symposium 2024, Bank of America (London branch), 28 May 2024
Published: May 2024
"‘Proxy Countermeasures’" (Séminaire de l’IREDIES, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, 12 March 2024, Mar 2024)
Conference:
Séminaire de l’IREDIES, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, 12 March 2024
Published: Mar 2024
"The Advisory Proceedings on Climate Change" (Lauterpacht Centre Conference on International Dispute Settlement: Resort to International Advisory Proceedings, Oct 2023)
Conference:
Lauterpacht Centre Conference on International Dispute Settlement: Resort to International Advisory Proceedings
Link to conference paper:
Published: Oct 2023
"Collective Countermeasures in Cyberspace" (The Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace @Yale Law School: Rights and Responsibilities in Cyberspace, Yale Law School, 27-28 October 203, Oct 2023)
Conference:
The Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace @Yale Law School: Rights and Responsibilities in Cyberspace, Yale Law School, 27-28 October 203
Published: Oct 2023
"Collaboration in the Taking of Countermeasures in International Law" (Sanctions on the Use of Force in International Law, Instituto Maria Cristina, El Escorial, 21-23 September 2023, Sep 2023)
Conference:
Sanctions on the Use of Force in International Law, Instituto Maria Cristina, El Escorial, 21-23 September 2023
Published: Sep 2023
"Causation in the law of State responsibility" (Causation in International Law Seminar, Essex Court Chambers, London, 12 July 2023, Jul 2023)
Conference:
Causation in International Law Seminar, Essex Court Chambers, London, 12 July 2023
Link to conference paper:
Published: Jul 2023
"Compensating Necessity in International Law" (Transnational Law Colloquium, Kings College London, 24 November 2022, Nov 2022)
Conference:
Transnational Law Colloquium, Kings College London, 24 November 2022
Link to conference paper:
Published: Nov 2022
"'Formation and Development of International Law in Times of Emergency: The role of Exceptions'" (London Conference on International Law: States in Emergency – International Law at a Time of Reckoning (10-11 October 2022), Oct 2022)
Conference:
London Conference on International Law: States in Emergency – International Law at a Time of Reckoning (10-11 October 2022)
Link to conference paper:
Published: Oct 2022
"Defences under General International Law" (Covid-19 and International Law: Novel Strain or Old Wine in New Test Tubes?, Bocconi University, 15 December 2020, Dec 2020)
Conference:
Covid-19 and International Law: Novel Strain or Old Wine in New Test Tubes?, Bocconi University, 15 December 2020
Link to conference paper:
Published: Dec 2020
"Who has access to Venezuela's gold in the Bank of England?" (University College London Faculty of Laws Online Webinar, 30 November 2020, Nov 2020)
Conference:
University College London Faculty of Laws Online Webinar, 30 November 2020
Link to conference paper:
Published: Nov 2020
"International Law and Rival Governments" (Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security Webinar Series, Oct 2020)
Conference:
Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security Webinar Series
Link to conference paper:
Published: Oct 2020
"Covid-19 and international law: science and disinformation, exceptions and emergencies" (ESIL and Stockholm Center for International Law and Justice (SCILJ) Joint Online Event, 10 September 2020, Sep 2020)
Conference:
ESIL and Stockholm Center for International Law and Justice (SCILJ) Joint Online Event, 10 September 2020
Published: Sep 2020
"Military Intervention, Consent, and Reasons Against Force: Consent as a Defence to the Use of Force" (International Law Workshop - The Buchmann Faculty of Law, 18 May 2020, May 2020)
Conference:
International Law Workshop - The Buchmann Faculty of Law, 18 May 2020
Published: May 2020
"Military Intervention, Consent, and Reasons Against Force: Consent as a Defence to the Use of Force" (International Law Seminar - Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 19 May 2020, May 2020)
Conference:
International Law Seminar - Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 19 May 2020
Published: May 2020
"Exceptions and Defences in Human Rights Law and Investment Law" (Litigating Covid-19 Under International Law - Italian Branch of the International Law Association, 27 May 2020, May 2020)
Conference:
Litigating Covid-19 Under International Law - Italian Branch of the International Law Association, 27 May 2020
Published: May 2020
"Forcible Intervention, Consent, and the Normative Assumptions about Force in the International Legal Order" (, What Role for Military Assistance on Request in the International Legal Order?, 5-6 December 2019, Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI), Ghent, Dec 2019)
Conference:
, What Role for Military Assistance on Request in the International Legal Order?, 5-6 December 2019, Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI), Ghent
Published: Dec 2019
"Humanitarian Intervention and the Law of State Responsibility" (Human Rights and Resort to Force, Oxford Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, Blavatnik School of Government, 14-15 November 2019, Nov 2019)
Conference:
Human Rights and Resort to Force, Oxford Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, Blavatnik School of Government, 14-15 November 2019
Published: Nov 2019
"The Venezuela Crisis and the Resilience of International Law" (International Law Weekend - American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), Fordham Law School, 12 October 2019, New York, Oct 2019)
Conference:
International Law Weekend - American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), Fordham Law School, 12 October 2019, New York
Published: Oct 2019
"Diverse Voices on the Use of Force" (International Law Weekend - American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), Fordham Law School, 12 October 2019, New York, Oct 2019)
Conference:
International Law Weekend - American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), Fordham Law School, 12 October 2019, New York
Published: Oct 2019
"Host State Defences in International Investment Law" (ELSA Athens Summer School on International Investment Law, Aug 2018)
Conference:
ELSA Athens Summer School on International Investment Law
Published: Aug 2018
"The Right of Self-Defence in the Context of Territorial Disputes" (BIICL: The Use of Force in Relation to Sovereignty Disputes over Land Territory, Mar 2018)
Conference:
BIICL: The Use of Force in Relation to Sovereignty Disputes over Land Territory
Published: Mar 2018
"General Defences in State Responsibility" (Exceptions and Defences in International Law, Cambridge, 31 March/1 April 2016, Apr 2016)
Conference:
Exceptions and Defences in International Law, Cambridge, 31 March/1 April 2016
Published: Apr 2016
"Justification and Excuse in the Law of State Responsibility: A Distinction of Pure Academic Interest?" (Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group, Apr 2016)
Conference:
Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group
Published: Apr 2016
"The Impact of Investment Arbitration on the Development of Defences in the Law of State Responsibility" (Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop: ICSID at 50: Investment Arbitration as a Motor of General International Law?, Mar 2016)
Conference:
Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop: ICSID at 50: Investment Arbitration as a Motor of General International Law?
Link to conference paper:
Published: Mar 2016
Reports
"A TRIPS-COVID Waiver and Overlapping Commitments to Protect Intellectual Property Rights Under International IP and Investment Agreements" (The South Centre, Jan 2022) Research Paper 144
Reference Number:
Research Paper 144
Body / Institution:
The South Centre
Published: Jan 2022
"Crowd control and the right to life: Brief to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions" (with the Cambridge Pro Bono Project for Professor Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mar 2011)
Body / Institution:
with the Cambridge Pro Bono Project for Professor Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Published: Mar 2011
Facebook 
X/Twitter 
Instagram 
YouTube 
Flickr 
LinkedIn