We are honored to take part in the upcoming workshop “Peace in International Law: Myth, Reality, or Legal Obligation?” hosted by the University of Geneva. This timely gathering will convene scholars and practitioners to interrogate one of the most foundational—but often overlooked—concepts in international law: peace itself.

In recent decades, legal scholarship has tended to approach peace through its absence—focusing on war, conflict, and humanitarian law—rather than exploring peace as a legal concept in its own right. This workshop aims to rebalance that lens. Through interdisciplinary dialogue, participants will examine how legal frameworks can meaningfully contribute to a more just and stable global order.

Sessions will address themes such as:

• The legal status and normative role of peace in international law

• The tension between peace and justice in international criminal law

• Sanctions as instruments of peacebuilding

• The psychological and resource-based dimensions of sustainable peace

The PACS Institute’s contribution will draw on our core research into the ontology of peace, exploring how legal recognition of peace as more than a moral ideal—indeed, as a structuring legal principle—can help address systemic blind spots in both law and policy.

We are grateful to Dr Chiara Redaelli and the University of Geneva for convening this important conversation. The workshop will culminate in a special issue of the Journal on the Use of Force in International Law, helping to advance an academic and policy-oriented reimagining of peace as a legal obligation, not merely a rhetorical aspiration.