In this paper, the SiC coating was deposited on an alumina substrate by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering method using a-SiC (99.999%) target. The produced SiC-Al 2 O 3 structure was heat treated in air through a range of temperatures. The effects of heat treatment temperature and duration on the surface roughness, interfacial bonding and surface hardness were investigated using experimental means such as optical surface profilometer, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and hardness analyser. The results indicated that the sputtered SiC coating is an effective approach to alter the surface properties of alumina, through significantly increasing the surface roughness and hardness. Furthermore, the heat treatment did not result in decomposition of the surface coating. Appropriate heat treatment was found to improve the interfacial bonding between the sputtering material and substrate via enhanced species diffusion.

In February 1989, the Union of Socialist Republics’ (‘USSR’) left Afghanistan following a ten-year invasion. Although an Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice was drafted, in the quest for peace, justice for victims of the atrocities was never prioritised by authorities and the international community. Thirty-three years later, on 24 February 2022, President Putin of the Russian Federation announced the commencement of a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. Even as the invasion continues, questions remain as to how Ukraine will approach and implement transitional justice. Although there are clear differences between the invasions, if history is to be instructive, there is much to be learnt from the USSR invasion of Afghanistan, the response to it, and the Soviet legacy apparent in the Russian invasion of Ukraine which are of relevance to the transitional justice process in Ukraine and the international rule of law. Drawing on these historical perspectives, this paper aims to generate further discourse on peace, justice and accountability for victims, ensuring past mistakes are not repeated.

Very shortly after the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on the 24 th of February this year, students and academic staff set out to organise a get-together to reflect on the awful outbreak of the war. The resulting symposium entitled War in Ukraine: Politics, Law & Identity -organised by the department of Transnational Legal Studies and the VU Interdisciplinary Centre of European Studies -took place on 8 March in an overcrowded room at the Vrije Universiteit and more than 60 virtual attendees. In the title, 'war' was meant to avoid the euphemisms that were still in fashion at that time.The words 'politics' and 'law' were intended to acknowledge the fundamental way in which those social domains are mutually constitutive. The word 'identity' to stimulate thinking about the ways in which the war fosters and mobilises old and new identities. International and EU law in (post-)conflict states: any lessons for Ukraine?Davor Petrić 4

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