Encounters in International Law: A Dialogue with Fleur Johns

ZHONGHUA DU, FLEUR JOHNS

ABSTRACT: Questions of translation and dynamics of inter-generational relations have long animated developments in the field of international law. In this wide-ranging interview between Fleur Johns and Zhonghua Du (conducted in anticipation of Du’s translation of some of Johns’s recent work into Chinese, on digital technology in international law, published in PKU International and Comparative Law Review), the translation of Johns’ piece becomes an occasion for the two international lawyers at different stages of their careers to reflect on scholarly trajectories, research methods, translation puzzles, and the collective endeavour of international legal scholarship. The translation project transforms into a space of many encounters: encounters between digital interfaces and international law, between states and civilisations, between different disciplines and peoples, and their interactions with one another and with international law.

KEYWORDS: international legal theory, analogue and digital, non-positivist empiricism, statehood, the practice of translation

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Macau Journal of Global Legal Studies, Volume 3 (2026)