Freeman, Chinkin, & Rudolf: The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A Commentary

Marsha A. Freeman (Univ. of Minnesota - Human Rights Center), Christine Chinkin (London School of Economics and Political Science - Law), & Beate Rudolf (German Institute for Human Rights) have published The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A Commentary (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

This volume is the first comprehensive commentary on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol. The Convention is a key international human rights instrument and the only one exclusively addressed to women. It has been described as the United Nations' 'landmark treaty in the struggle for women's rights'.

The Commentary describes the application of the Convention through the work of its monitoring body, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It comprises detailed analyses of the Preamble and each article of the Convention and of the Optional Protocol. It also includes a separate chapter on the cross-cutting substantive issue of violence against women. The sources relied on are the treaty language and the general recommendations, concluding observations and case law under the Optional Protocol, through which the Committee has interpreted and applied the Convention. Each chapter is self-contained but the Commentary is conceived of as an integral whole. The book also includes an Introduction which provides an overview of the Convention and its embedding in the international law of human rights.

Akhavan: Reducing Genocide to Law: Definition, Meaning, and the Ultimate Crime

Payam Akhavan (McGill Univ. - Law) has published Reducing Genocide to Law: Definition, Meaning, and the Ultimate Crime (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

Could the prevailing view that genocide is the ultimate crime be wrong? Is it possible that it is actually on an equal footing with war crimes and crimes against humanity? Is the power of the word genocide derived from something other than jurisprudence? And why should a hierarchical abstraction assume such importance in conferring meaning on suffering and injustice? Could reducing a reality that is beyond reason and words into a fixed category undermine the very progress and justice that such labelling purports to achieve? For some, these questions may border on the international law equivalent of blasphemy. This original and daring book, written by a renowned scholar and practitioner who was the first Legal Advisor to the UN Prosecutor at The Hague, is a probing reflection on empathy and our faith in global justice.

Schwenzer, Hachem, & Kee: Global Sales and Contract Law

Ingeborg Schwenzer (Univ. of Basel - Law), Pascal Hachem (Univ. of Basel - Law), & Christopher Kee (Univ. of Aberdeen - Law) have published Global Sales and Contract Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). The authors describe the Global Sales Law Project in a video here. Here's the abstract:

Although the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is one of the most successful international conventions to date, it remains the case that those involved in the international sale of goods must refer to a multitude of laws. Indeed the CISG itself does not cover all issues relating to international sales contracts, so it must necessarily be supplemented by domestic law. Global Sales and Contract Law provides a truly comparative analysis of domestic laws in over sixty countries so as to deliver a global view of domestic and international sales law.

The book reports on the real practice of sales law, taking into account present day problems. Complex questions on the obligations under a sales contract, the ways in which these are established, as well as the remedies following the breach of obligations, are all discussed. By addressing regional uniform projects, like OHADA, and comparing differences in domestic legal approach where the CISG would not apply, the work goes beyond existing commentaries which tend to focus only on the CISG. The analysis has been based on an unprecedented survey drawn from the world's top fifty companies as well as international traders, lawyers advising international traders, arbitral institutions, arbitrators, and law schools.

This work encompasses all aspects of a sale of goods transaction and takes a wide view of sale by including general contract law. The book gives practitioners invaluable insight into judicial trends and possible solutions in different legal systems, whether preparing for litigation or drafting an international contract. Global Sales and Contract Law is the most comprehensive and thorough compilation of legal analysis in the field of the sale of goods and is a reliable source for any practitioner dealing in international commerce.

Drumbl: Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy

Mark A. Drumbl (Washington and Lee Univ. - Law) has published Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

The international community's efforts to halt child soldiering have yielded some successes. But this pernicious practice persists. It may shift locally, but it endures globally. Preventative measures therefore remain inadequate. Former child soldiers experience challenges readjusting to civilian life. Reintegration is complex and eventful. The homecoming is only the beginning. Reconciliation within communities afflicted by violence committed by and against child soldiers is incomplete. Shortfalls linger on the restorative front.

Still, conversations about child soldiers mostly involve the same story, told over and over, and repeat the same assumptions, over and over. Current humanitarian discourse sees child soldiers as passive victims, tools of war, vulnerable, psychologically devastated, and not responsible for their violent acts. This perception has come to suffuse international law and policy. Although reflecting much of the lives of child soldiers, this portrayal also omits critical aspects. This book pursues an alternate path by reimagining the child soldier. It approaches child soldiers with a more nuanced and less judgmental mind.

It offers a way to think about child soldiers that would invigorate international law, policy, and best practices. Where does this reimagination lead? Not toward retributive criminal trials, but instead toward restorative forms of justice. Toward forgiveness instead of excuse, thereby facilitating reintegration and promoting social repair within afflicted communities. Toward a better understanding of child soldiering, without which the practice cannot be ended. This book also offers fresh thinking on related issues, ranging from juvenile justice, to humanitarian interventions, to the universality of human rights, to the role of law in responding to mass atrocity.

Daele: Challenge and Disqualification of Arbitrators in International Arbitration

Karel Daele has published Challenge and Disqualification of Arbitrators in International Arbitration (Kluwer Law International 2012). Here's the abstract:

In this thoroughly researched study of the grounds and procedures involved in challenging an arbitrator, the author provides the first in-depth analysis of the pertinent rules, guidelines, and standards of all the major international arbitration tribunals, as well as relevant issues raised in national case law in the United States, France, England, Sweden and Switzerland. Among the matters addressed are the following: the arbitrator’s duty to disclose and investigate conflicts of interest; the duty of the parties to investigate and inform the arbitrator of conflicts of interest; the arbitrator’s duty to disclose and investigate conflicts of interest; the duty of the parties to investigate and inform the arbitrator of conflicts of interest; the formal and timing requirements of making a challenge; the challenge procedure and effect on the arbitral proceeding; the standard for disqualifying arbitrators; the consequences of a successful challenge; issues of independence giving raise to challenges, including multiple appointments, the arbitrator’s relationship with a party/counsel in the arbitration and the relationship between the arbitrator’s law firm and a party/counsel; issues of impartiality giving raise to challenges, including the membership of other tribunals, the conduct of the arbitration and the failure to disclose.

In light of the continuing growth of international business and the manner in which it is conducted, this book will be of immeasurable practical value to parties in both business and government, as well as to international law firms and the arbitral community. As a detailed guide to evolving best practice and the general obligation to arbitrate in good faith, it has no peers.

Workshop: Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements: A New Ordering Paradigm for International Investment Relations?

For a couple of years, the Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop has been a forum to discuss conceptual issues of international investment law. Previous workshops focused on International Investment Law and General International Law: From Clinical Isolation to Systemic Integration? (Nomos 2011) and International Investment Law and Its Others (forthcoming 2012). This year’s workshop will explore the growing network of preferential trade and investment agreements (PTIAs) and assess their impact on ordering international investment relations. It will be held in Frankfurt/Main, on March 16-17, 2012, immediately following the Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot. The event is designed to be a forum for discussion. Those interested in participating should contact Mrs. Sabine Schimpf, Merton Centre for European Integration and International Economic Order, University of Frankfurt, RuW, Grüneburgplatz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (S.Schimpf[at]jur.uni-frankfurt.de) by February 28, 2012. Here's the program:

Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements: A New Ordering Paradigm for International Investment Relations?

– Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop 2012 –

Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

Campus Westend

16 and 17 March 2012

International investment law no longer exclusively consists of self-standing international investment protection treaties, but increasingly comprises preferential trade and investment agreements (PTIAs) that integrate investment protection and investment liberalization with rules on trade in goods and services. The 2012 Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop will explore the impact of this new form of investment agreement as an ordering paradigm for international investment relations and for international investment law. Do PTIAs break with the substance and rationale of bilateral investment treaties, or do they constitute their logical continuation? How do PTIAs relate to the debate about bilateralism and multilateralism in international investment law? What are the repercussions of combining matters related to trade and investment in a single instrument? How do PTIAs relate to the phenomenon of regionalism in international economic law? Will they lead to a more harmonious universe of international economic law or will they increase fragmentation and conflict? Presentations at the conference will address these and other crucial issues, and by doing so provide a clearer understanding of PTIAs as an instrument of ordering international investment relations.

Friday, 16 March 2012

20.00 Welcome Reception and Buffet

Keynote Address

Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements - A Practitioner’s Perspective

Raúl Emilio Vinuesa (Universidad de Buenos Aires)

Saturday, 17 March 2012

09.00 Opening Remarks & General Introduction

Rainer Hofmann (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) and Stephan Schill (Max Planck Institut Heidelberg)

9.30 Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements and the Bilateralism/Multilateralism Divide

Andreas Ziegler (Université de Lausanne)

Comments by Irmgard Marboe (Universität Wien) and Peter Muchlinski (School of Oriental and African Studies London) [tbc]

Discussion

– Coffee break –

11.00 Co-existence and Conflict: Interaction between Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements and the BIT World

Eric de Brabandere (Universiteit Leiden)

Comments by Christina Binder (Universität Wien) and Marc Jacob (Max Planck Institut Heidelberg)

Discussion

– Lunch break –

14.00 Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements and the Trade/Investment Divide

Freya Baetens (Universiteit Leiden)

Comments by Tillmann Rudolf Braun (Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Berlin) and Jorge Albites-Bedoya (Herfurth & Partner, Hannover)

Discussion

– Coffee break –

15.30 Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements and Regionalism

Marc Bungenberg (Universität Siegen/Université de Lausanne)

Comments by Anna Joubin-Bret (Foaley Hoag, Paris) and David Gaukrodger (OECD, Paris)

Discussion

17.00 Concluding Remarks

Christian J. Tams (University of Glasgow)

Dörr & Schmalenbach: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: A Commentary

Oliver Dörr (Universität Osnabrück - Law) & Kirsten Schmalenbach (Universität Salzburg - Law) have published Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: A Commentary (Springer 2012). Here's the abstract:

The Commentary on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides an in-depth article-by-article analysis of all provisions of the Vienna Convention. The texts are uniformly structured: (I) Purpose and Function of the Article, (II) Historical Background and Negotiating History, and (III) Elements of the Article. The Vienna Convention on Treaties between States and IOs and between IOs is taken into account where appropriate. In sum, the present Commentary contains a comprehensive legal analysis of all aspects of the international law of treaties. Where the law of treaties reaches into other fields of international law, e.g. the law of state responsibility, the relevant interfaces are discussed and contextualized. With its focus on international practice, the Commentary is addressed to academia, as well as to practitioners of international law.

d'Aspremont: Herbert Hart and the Enforcement of International Law: Substituting Social Disability to the Austinian Imperatival Handicap of the International Legal System

Jean d'Aspremont (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Herbert Hart and the Enforcement of International Law: Substituting Social Disability to the Austinian Imperatival Handicap of the International Legal System. Here's the abstract:

The Austinian handicap of international law is well-know and has been widely discussed in the literature. It constitutes a common charge made by International Relations theorists against the international legal scholarship as a whole which is derided for deifying its object of study. From an Austinian perspective, international law cannot be considered a set of commands for it can only be enforced by moral sanctions. The ambition of this paper is certainly not to refute the Austinian handicap or to rebuild legality beyond enforcement. The modest point this contribution seeks to make is rather that Hart provides only a temporary respite from the Austinian handicap which he reintroduces in another form. In making that argument, this paper aims to provide some elements to critically re-evaluate the place of enforcement in our studies of international law.

de Brabandere: The Regulation of Incitement to Terrorism in International Law

Eric de Brabandere (Leiden Univ. - Law) has posted The Regulation of Incitement to Terrorism in International Law (in Balancing Liberty and Security: The Human Rights Pendulum, L. Hennebel & H. Tigrouda eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Propaganda has since long been a subject of international regulation, but it has regained importance recently, especially in its relation with incitement to violence — particularly incitement to commit genocide and, more recently, incitement to terrorism. Although some cases of terrorist propaganda and incitement to terrorism could fall under the international prohibition of incitement to (racial) discrimination, incitement to terrorism has been the subject of specific international regulation as a measure to prevent terrorist attacks. Several instruments are specifically directed at prohibiting terrorist propaganda through the prohibition of direct and/or indirect incitement to terrorism: Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), the European Union Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism, the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism of 2005, and Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005).

At the same time, the question needs to be raised whether Security Council action is the best medium to regulate complex issues such as incitement to terrorism. In the course of this chapter, we will indeed see that many areas remain especially in relation to the contours and legality of the criminalization of incitement to terrorism. The only instrument that has so far proposed a relatively complete framework to address the issue has been the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, since the used instrument — an international treaty — by necessary implication offers more possibilities for detail and specifications than a Security Council resolution. On the other hand, the adoption of a Security Council resolution guarantees a quasi-universal approach.

ASIL's Law of the Sea Reports

The latest volume of the American Society of International Law's Law of the Sea Reports (Vol. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Alejandro S. Canio, Towards an ITLOS Advisory Opinion on the Genetic Resources of the Outer Continental Shelf
• Claudia Cinelli, The Implementation Criteria of Precautionary Measures: The Arctic Ocean as a Case Study
• Hernando Otero, Peru and Ecuador Reach Agreement on their Maritime Boundary
• Angela del Vecchio, Summary of the Conference "Diritto del mare e nuovi interessi della comunita internazionale" (Law of the Sea and New Interests of the International Community), Santa Maria de Salina, Italy, September 29-30, 2011

Brölmann: Het Constitutionele Perspectief en de Coming of Age van Internationale Organisaties

Catherine M. Brölmann (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Het Constitutionele Perspectief en de Coming of Age van Internationale Organisaties (The Constitutional Perspective and the Coming of Age of International Organizations) (in De Regels en Het Spel: Opstellen Over Recht, Filosofie, Literatuur en Geschiedenis, J. H. Reestman, A. Schrauwen, M. Van Montfrans, & J.H. Jans eds., 2011). Here's the abstract:

This vignette traces the coming of age of international organizations as international legal actors. It argues that the political and legal appraisal of the international organization – and thus, its identity - since the rise of organizations in the mid-nineteenth century has passed through different stages. The perspective on international organizations has started out as functional, which in the terminology of this paper denotes a perspective in which organizations are vehicles for the activities of states. In the middle of the twentieth century the perspective on IOs has become predominantly institutional. This refers to a vision of organization as systems, with a coherent body of rules and a degree of autonomy vis-à-vis the member states. The external aspect of this vision is usually discussed in terms of ‘international legal personality’. Currently, notably since the turn of the Millennium, we witness the rise of a constitutional perspective on international organizations. The paper uses a thick version of the term: international organizations appear as a system not only because of the coherence of internal rules and component elements (the formal-constitutional aspect) but also because of the incorporation of substantive norms (the substantive-constitutional aspect). This makes for a framework which goes beyond the institutional identity of organizations, since it incorporates also certain ‘fundamental values’, linked to human rights or theories of justice. Arguably, it is only in this newly acquired constitutional identity that international organizations have come of age and can participate as mature legal actors in the international arena. This is notwithstanding the complicating fact that in the organization’s development from a functional, to an institutional to a constitutional order traces of all three identities persist.

Kohen, Kolb, & Tehindrazanarivelo: Liber Amicorum Professor Christian Dominicé

Marcelo Kohen (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies - Law), Robert Kolb (Univ. of Geneva - Law), & Djacoba Liva Tehindrazanarivelo have published Perspectives of International Law in the 21st century / Perspectives du droit international au 21e siècle : Liber Amicorum Professor Christian Dominicé in Honour of his 80th Birthday (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2012). Contents include:

• Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Le droit comme langage convenu : hommage à un illustre grammarien du droit
• Milan Sahović, La Charte des Nations Unies et l'évolution du droit international
• Karl Zemanek, Can International Law be constitionalized?
• Robert Kolb, Le domaine matériel du droit internatiional : esquisses sur les matières régies par le droit international public à travers l'histoire
• Francisco Orrego Vicuña, Le pied du chancelier continue de s'allonger : les principes généraux et l'équité en droit international : à la recherche de limites à la flexibilité du droit
• Jean Salmon, La signification d'actes judiciaires et la voie diplomatique
• Hazel Fox, Functions of State Officials and the Restrictive Rule of State Immunity
• Joe Verhoeven, Immunités de juridiction ou d'éxécution, alternatives raisonnables et jurisprudence belge
• Marcelo G. Kohen, Succession of States in the Field of International Responsability: the Case for Codification
• Tullio Treves, The High Seas as Potential Exclusive Economic Zones in the Mediterranean
• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes & Vassilis Pergantis, À propos de l'arrêt Behrami et Saramati: un jeu d'ombre et de lumière dans les relations entre l'ONU et les organisations régionales
• Pierre Klein, Le panel consultatif des droits de l'home (Human Rights Advisory Panel) de la MINUK : une étape dans le processus de responsabilisation des Nations Unies?
• Jacques-Michel Grossen, À propos du degré de la preuve dans la pratique de la Cour Internationale de Justice
• Pierre Lalive, Mission et démission des arbitres internationaux
• Edward McWhinney, The International Court of Justice as Academy of Jurists or Responsible Magistrature : Law and Politics and the Kosovo Independence Advisory Opinion
• Vera Gowlland-Debbas, The Contribution of the International Court of Justice to the Development of the Law of Treaties
• Alain Pellet, Remarques sur la jurisprudence récente de la Cour International de Justice dans le domaine de la responsabilité internationale
• Lucius Caflisch, Les précédents dans la pratique de la Cour européenne des Droits de l'Homme
• Georges Abi-Saab, Some Prefatory Thoughts on Humanitarian Intervention
• Fausto Pocar, L'emploui de civils et de prisonniers de guerre à des fins militaires devant le TPIY
• Yoram Dinstein, Crimes against Humanity: between Prevention and Punishment
• Djacoba Liva Tehindrazanarivelo, The African Union Principle on the Fight against Impunity and the Arrest Warrants for Omas Hassan El-Bashir

Call for Participation: Conference on International Aspects of Intellectual Property Law

The American Society of International Law Intellectual Property Law Interest Group and the International Law Association (American Branch) International Intellectual Property Committee have issued a call for participation for a conference on the international aspects of intellectual property law, to be held the Arizona State University's Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, November 30-December 1, 2012. Here's the call:

The American Society of International Law Intellectual Property Law Interest Group and the International Law Association (American Branch) International IP Committee invite you to participate in the 2012 Conference on International Aspects of IP Law. The conference will explore new and important topics in the cross-border aspects of intellectual property law. We seek the widest participation from scholars and practitioners as speakers as well as attendees. Presentation topics may include, among others, world trade treaties and IP; economics and politics of cross-border trade in IP; extraterritoriality of IP laws; comparative IP law; regional IP institutions; world public health and IP; IP and the Internet; and technological innovation and global IP law.

HOW TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS: You may propose a fully-formed panel or roundtable session, or an individual paper to be presented in a panel formed by the conference organizer. All sessions will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2012, between 9am and 5pm. All participants, whether speaking or attending, are required to register for the conference. The registration fee will be $75 (nonrefundable) with waivers available for participants from developing countries. Participants may obtain Arizona CLE credit for an additional $75. Upon acceptance of your proposal, you will receive a formal letter of invitation for funding purposes.

If you intend to organize a fully-formed panel or roundtable, please include all of the following information in your email: (1) the title and a brief description (up to 150 words) of the panel or roundtable topic; (2) the name, title, affiliation, and email address of each proposed participant; (3) identify a chairperson; and (4) state whether an audiovisual projector is desired.

If you wish to present a paper, please include the following information in your email: (1) your name, title and affiliation; (2) the title and abstract (up to 250 words) of your paper topic; and (3) state whether an audiovisual projector is desired. If your proposal is accepted, the conference organizer will designate a panel for you.

Send proposals for panels, roundtables, or papers by the submission deadline, March 15, 2012, to:

Prof. Aaron Fellmeth

aaron.fellmeth[at]asu.edu

New Issue: International Legal Materials

The latest issue of International Legal Materials (Vol. 50, no. 5, September 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Documents on Libya, with introductory note by John Cerone
• International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: Prosecutor v. Gotovina, Functional Immunity, with introductory note by Bruce Zagaris
• European Court of Human Rights: Lautsi & Others v. Italy, with introductory note by Christiane Bourloyannis-Vrailas
• Executive Order 13567: Periodic Review of Individuals Detained at Guantánamo Bay Naval Station & Accompanying Presidential Fact Sheet, with introductory note by Dick Jackson

New Issue: Global Policy

The latest issue of Global Policy (Vol. 3, no. 1, February 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Research Articles
• Jean-Philippe Thérien, The United Nations and Human Development: From Ideology to Global Policies
• Richard Kozul-Wright, Piergiuseppe Fortunato & Igor Paunovic, Rebuilding Haiti: Lessons from Post-Conflict Experiences
• Ayse Kaya, Conflicted Principals, Uncertain Agency: The International Monetary Fund and the Great Recession
• Mary Martin, Conflicted Corporates: Rethinking the Role of Business in Global Security
• Max Stephenson Jr & Laura Zanotti, Implementing the Liberal Peace in Post-conflict Scenarios: The Case of Women in Black-Serbia
• Special Section - The Governance of the Global Commons
• Klaus Dodds, Introduction - The Governance of the Global Commons: Much Unfinished Business?
• John Vogler, Global Commons Revisited
• Joan Johnson-Freese & Brian Weeden, Application of Ostrom’s Principles for Sustainable Governance of Common-Pool Resources to Near-Earth Orbit
• J. Ashley Roach, The Central Arctic Ocean: Another Global Commons
• Survey Articles
• Amitai Etzioni, The Case for Decoupled Armed Interventions
• Peter M. Haas, The Political Economy of Ecology: Prospects for Transforming the World Economy at Rio Plus 20
• Ross P. Buckley, Reforming the International Monetary Fund
• Practitioner Commentaries
• Braz Baracuhy, Running into a Brick Wall: The WTO Doha Round, Governance Gap and Geopolitical Risks
• Sudip Banerjee, Going Green in IT
• Toni Muzi Falconi, From ‘Public’ to ‘Stakeholder Relationships’: A Challenge to Governance in Organisations
• Response to Article
• Kishore Mahbubani, The OECD: A Classic Sunset Organisation
• Review Essay
• Francesca Klug, The Last Utopia

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 46, no. 1, February 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Eckart Guth, The End of the Bananas Saga
• Sangeeta Khorana, May T. Yeung, William A. Kerr, & Nick Perdikis, The Battle over the EU’s Proposed Humanitarian Trade Preferences for Pakistan: A Case Study in Multifaceted Protectionism
• Stefaan Depypere, More Efficient Policies to Combat Trade Distortions: How Quality Management Programmes Can Help Rationalize the Use of Trade Defence Instruments
• Leon E. Trakman, Investor State Arbitration or Local Courts: Will Australia Set a New Trend?
• Gonzalo Villalta Puig & Amer Al-KhodiryThe Economic and Monetary Union of the Gulf Cooperation Council
• Ping Xiong, Patents in TRIPS-Plus Provisions and the Approaches to Interpretation of Free Trade Agreements and TRIPS: Do They Affect Public Health?
• Jørgen Ulff-Møller Nielsen & Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, EU Lobbying and Anti-Dumping Policy

New Issue: Mealey's International Arbitration Report

The latest issue of Mealey's International Arbitration Report (Vol. 27, no. 1, January 2012) is out.

New Issue: Global Trade and Customs Journal

The latest issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal (Vol. 7, no. 2, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• James Flett, From Political Pre-occupation to Legitimate Rule against Market Partitioning: Export Subsidies in WTO Law after the Appellate Body Ruling in the Airbus Case
• Hunter Nottage & Alejandro Sánchez, Navigating Uncharted Waters: A Review of US-Tuna II
• Brian Goldstein, Potential Impact under US Customs Laws of the World Customs Organization Recent Publication of Commentary 25.1 to the WTO Valuation Agreement Relating to the Dutiable Status of Third-Party Royalties and License Fees
• Paul Casuccio, A Modernization of the Incoterms
• Jessica R. Rifkin, No longer Up in the Air: US Court of International Trade Decides Air Filter Media Is Classifiable as Nonwoven, Duty-Free

Crawford & Koskenniemi: The Cambridge Companion to International Law

James Crawford (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) & Martti Koskenniemi (Univ. of Helsinki - Law) have published The Cambridge Companion to International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). Contents include:

• James Crawford & Martti Koskenniemi, Introduction
• Gerry Simpson, International law in diplomatic history
• Martti Koskenniemi, International law in the world of ideas
• Frédéric Mégret, International law as law
• Karen Knop, Statehood: territory, people, government
• James Crawford, Sovereignty as a legal value
• Bruno Simma & Andreas Müller, Exercise and limits of jurisdiction
• David Kennedy, Lawfare and warfare
• Hilary Charlesworth, Law-making and sources
• Benedict Kingsbury, International courts: uneven judicialisation in global order
• Jan Klabbers, International institutions
• Dino Kritsiotis, International law and the relativities of enforcement
• Anne Orford, Constituting order
• B.S. Chimni, Legitimating the international rule of law
• Susan Marks, Human rights in disastrous times
• Sarah Nouwen, Justifying justice
• Hélène Ruiz Fabri, Regulating trade, investment and money
• Thomas Pogge, Divided against itself: aspiration and reality of international law
• Sundhya Pahuja, Conserving the world's resources?

Molinuevo: Protecting Investment in Services: Investor State Arbitration Versus WTO Dispute Settlement

Martín Molinuevo has published Protecting Investment in Services: Investor State Arbitration Versus WTO Dispute Settlement (Wolters Kluwer 2012). Here's the abstract:

International economic relations are governed by two bodies of international law. Trade in goods and services is the domain of international trade law, embodied in the WTO agreements. Foreign investment is governed by international investment law, consisting of a vast network of investment agreements, including bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and preferential trade agreements (PTAs). These two different fields of international law share a large area of overlap: foreign investment in services, around 55% of all global direct investment, is covered by both investment agreements and the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Since the rights and obligations featured in the two frameworks are not always compatible, this legal overlap reduces transparency and undermines governments’ regulatory capacity in an unanticipated manner.

This is the first book to tackle investment law and trade law jointly, and to compare the principles, rules, and dispute-settlement mechanisms of investment agreements with the multilateral framework of the WTO/GATS. Among the many invaluable questions the book addresses are the following: What are the substantive rules that apply to investment in services under investment agreements and the GATS? How do these disciplines differ? Which offers the best protection for investors in services and do they affect the governments’ policymaking capacity? Who can gain access to investor-State arbitration and WTO dispute settlement?

The in-depth analysis, supported by an extensive review of existent jurisprudence, provides a thorough explanation of treaty standards like most favoured nation, national treatment, fair and equitable treatment, domestic regulation, and transparency, as well as procedural rules on access to the dispute-settlement mechanisms and enforcement procedures.

Policymakers will find relevant insights in this work, as it provides a thorough review of legal matters that limit policy decisions and bring about possible contradictions between the two bodies of international economic law. Legal practitioners will benefit from the book’s clear guidelines on the pros and cons of the trade and investment legal frameworks, and under what conditions each system is best suited to protect foreign investment in services.

Garcia: Les observateurs auprès des organisations intergouvernementales : Contribution à l’étude du pouvoir en droit international

Thierry Garcia has published Les observateurs auprès des organisations intergouvernementales : Contribution à l’étude du pouvoir en droit international (Bruylant 2012). Here's the abstract:

Si l’expression « Observateurs auprès des Organisations intergouvernementales » est connue de tout un chacun, pour autant il est évident de constater l’absence d’études qui leur sont consacrées. Dès lors, une réflexion dynamique et dialectique sur les rapports noués entre les Observateurs, les Etats membres et les Organisations intergouvernementales (OIG) présente un grand intérêt. L’originalité de cet ouvrage est d’autant plus importante que cette recherche est envisagée sous l’angle du pouvoir en droit international.

La méthode juridique s’avère nécessaire mais insuffisante pour étudier la complexité des rapports entre les Observateurs, les Membres et les OIG : l’analyse historique, les sciences administrative et politique ainsi que la sociologie des Organisations internationales ont été appelées en renfort pour mener parfaitement cette approche globale et synthétique. Il existe une relation tripartite en raison à la fois de la pluralité des sujets du droit international qui bénéficient du statut d’observateur (Etats, OIG, Mouvements de libération nationale, Organisations non gouvernementales), de l’étendue de la politique juridique extérieure des Etats membres et de la diversité des OIG qui attribuent un tel statut (Organisations à vocation universelle et à caractère régional).

Cet ouvrage démontre que les Observateurs sont placés sous l’étroite dépendance des Etats membres, malgré une amélioration de leur statut juridique portant sur leur accès et activité aux OIG.

L’étude des « Observateurs auprès des Organisations intergouvernementales » – traitée sous l’angle du pouvoir – a ainsi été menée sous ces deux aspects primordiaux : l’extension de leur accès aux Organisations intergouvernementales contrôlée par les Etats membres (Partie I) et l’intensification de leur activité au sein de ces institutions internationales encadrée par les Etats membres (Partie II).

Happold: The ‘Injured State’ in Case of Breach of a Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Legal Consequences of Such a Breach

Matthew Happold (Univ. of Luxembourg - Law) has posted The ‘Injured State’ in Case of Breach of a Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Legal Consequences of Such a Breach (in Nonproliferation Law as a Special Regime, D. Joyner & M. Roscini eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This chapter covers issues of State responsibility for breaches of non-proliferation treaties. It examines firstly which States can react to which breaches of non-proliferation treaties; in particular, which State parties should be considered to be ‘injured States’ and in what circumstances State parties which are not ‘injured States’ can nevertheless advance claims for breach. Secondly, it considers the legal consequences of an internationally wrongful act, in particular the secondary obligations placed on wrongdoing States as a consequence of their breach of their primary obligations under non-proliferation treaties. It demonstrates that the particularities of non-proliferation agreements as regards the question of who is an injured State are already recognised in the international law of State responsibility. However, in most cases, the traditional emphasis placed on the obligation make reparation as the consequence of breach on an international engagement has little importance in relation to non-proliferation agreements.

Finally the chapter examines whether non-proliferation agreements permit State parties to act unilaterally to invoke their treaty partners’ international responsibility, or whether they are restricted to utilising any relevant treaty compliance mechanisms. It is argued that non-proliferation agreements do not establish ‘special regimes’, albeit that in practice the law of State responsibility does not play a major role in ensuring observance of the commitments undertaken by State parties to them.

Cole: Non-Binding Documents and Literature

Tony Cole (Brunel Univ. - Law) has posted Non-Binding Documents and Literature (in International Investment Law: Sources of Rights and Obligations, Tarcisio Gazzini & Eric De Brabandere eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The chapter examines the use by international investment arbitration tribunals of non-binding documents and literature. It argues that current practice does not adequately reflect the structural realities of international investment arbitration, and that tribunals must make fundamental changes in the approach they take to the citation of non-binding materials.

The chapter divides non-binding materials into those that can legitimately be used as authoritative guides to the content of international investment law and those that can legitimately be used only as persuasive sources of arguments. It argues that although tribunals currently cite to many non-binding writings as though they are authoritative, international investment law is still too substantively conflicted for any writing to be authoritative. As a result, non-binding writings can only be used as persuasive.

In addition, it argues that although international investment arbitration tribunals have sought to model their approach to citation on the opinions delivered by international courts such as the ICJ, this ignores the important distinctions between the two types of body. The ICJ is a norm-adopting body, capable of setting new legal norms through its decisions, while the decisions of international investment arbitration tribunals constitute merely an expression of the views of the authors. Consequently, international investment arbitration tribunals must use non-binding writings differently than do international courts.

The chapter concludes with a discussion of how non-binding materials should be used by international investment arbitration tribunals.

Jacobs: A Shifting Scale of Power: Who is in Charge of the Charges at the International Criminal Court?

Dov Jacobs (Leiden Univ. - Law) has posted A Shifting Scale of Power: Who is in Charge of the Charges at the International Criminal Court? (in The Ashgate Research Companion to International Criminal Law: Critical Perspectives (William A. Schabas, Niamh Hayes, Yvonne McDermott & Maria Varaki eds., forthcoming) Here's the abstract:

One issue that has come to the fore in the early practice of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the question of who determines the content of the charges against an accused individual and the scope and timing of any amendments that are to be made. The importance of this issue is threefold. First, having a clear framework for the amendment of charges is important from the point of view of the accused. If he or she is to have adequate time for the preparation of the defence, it is important that there be some certainty as to the charges resting against him or her, without running the risk of multiple amendments. Second, the issues are illustrative of the more general concern in the ICC Statute to achieve a balance between legal certainty and judicial efficiency. The former requires that as few amendments as possible be allowed the more advanced the proceedings are, whereas the latter opens to door to some flexibility to avoid acquittals based on a faulty determination of the charges. Third, as will be illustrated in the course of the chapter, it more generally highlights the difficult balance of power to be struck between various organs of the Court, not just between the Prosecutor and the Chambers, but also between the Pre-Trial Chamber and the Appeals Chamber, and begs the question as to whether the judges of the ICC ought to have the final say in matters that might seem to relate more to a legislative rather than judicial function.

This book chapter will explore these issues, identifying the current framework at the ICC, and how it was (expansively and creatively) interpreted by the judges of the Court. A large portion of the Chapter discusses whether the Judges of the Court actually have a power to legally recharacterise the facts of the case, in application of Regulation 55 of the Regulations of the Court. The author argues that this Regulation was adopted contrary to the clear content of the Statute, once again illustrating the fact that international criminal judges confuse their judicial role with a legislative one.

Salinas de Frías, Samuel, & White: Counter-Terrorism: International Law and Practice

Ana María Salinas de Frías (Malága Univ. - Law), Katja Samuel (Nottingham Univ. - Law), & Nigel White (Nottingham Univ. - Law) have published Counter-Terrorism: International Law and Practice (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The responses of governments and international institutions to terrorism raise some of the most controversial issues of the twenty-first century. In particular, attempts to balance the desire to achieve security with the safeguarding of human rights and other aspects of the rule of law have proved to be highly contentious.

This book is unique, not only in terms of its multinational, multidisciplinary nature, but also due to its truly comprehensive approach. It reviews, and examines, the interrelationship between the four principal elements of the international rule of law framework (international human rights, humanitarian, criminal, and refugee/asylum law) within in which counter-terrorism responses should occur.

It focuses primarily on some of the most pressing, emerging, and/or under-researched issues and tensions. These include policy choices associated with meeting security imperatives; the tensions between the criminal justice, or preventive, approach to counter-terrorism and the military approach; the identification of lacunae within existing legal frameworks; and tensions between executive, judicial, and legislative responses. These matters are examined at the national, regional, and international levels.

The book addresses a wide spectrum of issues, including analysis of key legal principles; emergency and executive measures; radicalization; governmental and institutional impunity; classification, administration and treatment of battlefield detainees; the use of lethal force ; forms of, and treatment in, detention;non-refoulement; diplomatic assurances; interrogation versus torture; extraordinary rendition; discrimination; justice and reparations for victims of terrorist attacks and security responses; (mis)use of military courts, commissions, and immigration tribunals; judicial and institutional developed and emerging rule of law norms on terrorism; non-judicial oversight by means of democratic accountability; and the identification and analysis of best practices, including inter-regional judicial and other forms of cooperation, and developed practices for the handling and use of sensitive information.