Milanovic: The Arrest and Impending Trial of Radovan Karadzic

Marko Milanovic (Belgrade Centre for Human Rights) has posted The Arrest and Impending Trial of Radovan Karadzic (International and Comparative Law Quarterly, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

On 21 July 2008, Radovan Karadzic, the former president of the separatist Bosnian Serb entity, the Republika Srpska, and one of the most sought-after fugitives from international criminal justice, was arrested by Serbian authorities in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. He was surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) several days later, where he will be tried for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This short note will briefly explore some of the basic legal questions arising from the arrest of Karadzic and his impending trial. It will first examine the indictment against Karadzic, including the genocide charge and the consequences of a possible genocide conviction. The note will then turn to the alleged immunity deal that Karadzic claims was agreed between him and Richard Holbrooke, a ranking US diplomat. The note will finally examine the issue of self-representation and the potentially adverse effects that it might have on what is certainly a trial of great symbolic importance.

WTO Appellate Body Reports: Hormones Disputes

Yesterday, the Appellate Body issued its Reports on the cases United States - Continued Suspension of Obligations in the EC-Hormones Dispute (DS320) and Canada - Continued Suspension of Obligations in the EC-Hormones Dispute (DS321). The European Communities brought the complaints in both cases. The full Reports can be found here (DS320) and here (DS321). Excerpts containing just the AB's findings and conclusions can be found here (DS320) and here (DS321). Summaries of the cases can be found here (DS320) and here (DS321). The Panel Reports were issued on March 31, 2008.

Workshop: Guilfoyle

Douglas Guilfoyle (University College London - Law) will give a talk today at the University of Cambridge Lauterpacht Centre for International Law on "Somalian Piracy, the IMO and Security Council Resolution 1816."

Cassel: International Human Rights Law and Security Detention

Doug Cassel (Univ. of Notre Dame - Law) has posted International Human Rights Law and Security Detention (Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article analyzes the grounds, procedures and conditions required by International Human Rights Law for preventive detention of suspected terrorists as threats to security. Such detention is generally permitted, provided it is based on grounds and procedures previously established by law; is not arbitrary, discriminatory or disproportionate; is publicly registered and subject to fair and effective judicial review; and the detainee is not mistreated and is compensated for any unlawful detention. In Europe, however, preventive detention for security purposes is generally not permitted. If allowed at all, it is permitted only when a State in time of national emergency formally derogates from the right to liberty under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Article concludes that if preventive detention for security purposes is to be allowed at all, its use must be kept to an absolute minimum, and the European model should be followed, allowing detention only by formal derogation during national emergency, and then only to the extent and for the time strictly required.

Workshops: Cogan, Damrosch, Wouters

Jacob Katz Cogan (Univ. of Cincinnati - Law) will give a talk today at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law International Law Workshop on "Representation and Power in International Organization: The Operational Constitutional and Its Critics."

Lori Damrosch (Columbia Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the Lewis & Clark Law School Faculty Colloquium on "International Law and National Law."

Jan Wouters (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Law) will give a talk today at the University of Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group on "Towards a Europeanisation of International Law?"

Cassel: Pretrial and Preventive Detention of Suspected Terrorists: Options and Constraints under International Law

Doug Cassel (Univ. of Notre Dame - Law) has posted Pretrial and Preventive Detention of Suspected Terrorists: Options and Constraints under International Law (Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article analyzes the grounds, procedures and conditions required by International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law for pretrial detention of suspected terrorists for purposes of criminal law enforcement, and for their preventive detention for security and intelligence purposes. Recognizing the difficulties in securing sufficient admissible evidence to prosecute terrorists within the tight time limits imposed by international law, the Article nonetheless suggests that indefinite detention, solely or primarily for purposes of intelligence interrogation, is probably not lawful under U.S. or international law. Preventive detention for security purposes, on the other hand, is generally permitted by international law, provided it is based on grounds and procedures previously established by law; is not arbitrary, discriminatory or disproportionate; is publicly registered and subject to fair and effective judicial review; and the detainee is not mistreated and is compensated for any unlawful detention. In Europe, however, even with these safeguards, preventive detention for security purposes is generally not permitted, unless a State in time of national emergency formally derogates from its obligation to respect the right to liberty under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Article concludes that if preventive detention of suspected terrorists for security purposes is to be allowed at all, its inherent danger to liberty must be appreciated, its use kept to an absolute minimum, and the European model should be followed, that is, such detention should be permitted only by formal derogation in time of national emergency, and then only to the extent and for the time strictly required.

ICJ: Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russia) (Provisional Measures)

Today, the International Court of Justice issued its order on Georgia's request for the indication of provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation). Case documents, including the application, written proceedings, the verbatim record of the hearings, and press releases, are available here. The hearings on Georgia's request were concluded on September 10.

In today's order (order, joint dissenting opinion, and declaration here; summary here; press release here), a deeply divided Court indicated the following provisional measures:

A. By eight votes to seven,

Both Parties, within South Ossetia and Abkhazia and adjacent areas in Georgia, shall

(1) refrain from any act of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions;

(2) abstain from sponsoring, defending or supporting racial discrimination by any persons or organizations,

(3) do all in their power, whenever and wherever possible, to ensure, without distinction as to national or ethnic origin,

(i) security of persons;

(ii) the right of persons to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State;

(iii) the protection of the property of displaced persons and of refugees;

(4) do all in their power to ensure that public authorities and public institutions under their control or influence do not engage in acts of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions;

IN FAVOUR: President Higgins; Judges Buergenthal, Owada, Simma, Abraham, Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor, Judge ad hoc Gaja;

AGAINST: Vice-President Al-Khasawneh; Judges Ranjeva, Shi, Koroma, Tomka, Bennouna, Skotnikov;

B. By eight votes to seven,

Both Parties shall facilitate, and refrain from placing any impediment to, humanitarian assistance in support of the rights to which the local population are entitled under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

IN FAVOUR: President Higgins; Judges Buergenthal, Owada, Simma, Abraham, Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor; Judge ad hoc Gaja;

AGAINST: Vice-President Al-Khasawneh; Judges Ranjeva, Shi, Koroma, Tomka, Bennouna, Skotnikov;

C. By eight votes to seven,

Each Party shall refrain from any action which might prejudice the rights of the other Party in respect of whatever judgment the Court may render in the case, or which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve;

IN FAVOUR: President Higgins; Judges Buergenthal, Owada, Simma, Abraham, Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor; Judge ad hoc Gaja;

AGAINST: Vice-President Al-Khasawneh; Judges Ranjeva, Shi, Koroma, Tomka, Bennouna, Skotnikov;

D. By eight votes to seven,

Each Party shall inform the Court as to its compliance with the above provisional measures;

IN FAVOUR: President Higgins; Judges Buergenthal, Owada, Simma, Abraham, Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor; Judge ad hoc Gaja;

AGAINST: Vice-President Al-Khasawneh; Judges Ranjeva, Shi, Koroma, Tomka, Bennouna, Skotnikov.

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 90, no. 870, June 2008) is out. The theme is Sanctions. Contents include:

• Sanctions
• Address by General Jean-René Bachelet
• Anne-Marie La Rosa, Sanctions as a means of obtaining greater respect for humanitarian law: a review of their effectiveness
• Emmanuel Decaux, The definition of traditional sanctions: their scope and characteristics
• Emanuele Castano, Bernhard Leidner & Patrycja Slawuta, Social identification processes, group dynamics and the behaviour of combatants
• Samuel Tanner, The mass crimes in the former Yugoslavia: participation, punishment and prevention?
• Amedeo Cottino, Crime prevention and control: Western beliefs vs. traditional legal practices
• Jamie Allan Williamson, Some considerations on command responsibility and criminal liability
• Céline Renaut, The impact of military disciplinary sanctions on compliance with international humanitarian law
• Anne-Marie La Rosa & Carolin Wuerzner, Armed groups, sanctions and the implementation of international humanitarian law
• Damien Scalia, A few thoughts on guaranties inherent to the rule of law as applied to sanctions and the prosecution and punishment of war crimes
• Xavier Philippe, Sanctions for violations of international humanitarian law: the problem of the division of competences between national authorities and between national and international authorities
• Eric Sottas, Transitional justice and sanctions
• Pierre Hazan, The nature of sanctions: the case of Morocco's Equity and Reconciliation Commission
• Elisabeth Baumgartner, Aspects of victim participation in the proceedings of the International Criminal Court
• Mina Rauschenbach & Damien Scalia, Victims and international criminal justice: a vexed question?

Workshop: Abi-Saab, de Búrca, Levit

Georges Michel Abi-Saab (formerly, WTO Appellate Body) will give a talk today at the McGill University Faculty of Law Dispute Resolution Lecture Series on "The multiplication of international tribunals and its impact on international law."

Gráinne de Búrca (Fordham Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the Harvard Law School International Law Workshop on "Stumbling into Experimentalism: The EU Anti-Discrimination Regime."

Janet Levit (Univ. of Tulsa - Law) will give a talk today at the New York University School of Law Hauser Globalization Colloquium on Global Governance and Legal Theory on "Bottom-Up Law-Making Through a Pluralist Lens: The ICC Banking Commission and the Transnational Regulation of Letters of Credit."

New Issue: Archiv des Völkerrechts

The latest issue of Archiv des Völkerrechts (Vol. 46, no. 3, September 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Sebastian Graf Kielmansegg, Jenseits von Karlsruhe. Das deutsche Familienrecht in der Straßburger Rechtsprechung
• Lorenz Langer, Out of Joint? - Hong Kong's International Status from the Sino-British Joint Declaration to the Present
• Frank Czerner, Inter partes- versus erga omnes-Wirkung der EGMR-Judikate in den Konventionsstaaten gemäß Art. 46 EMRK. Eine Problemanalyse auch aus strafverfahrensrechtlicher Perspektive
• Johannes Schwehm, Präventive Selbstverteidigung. Eine vergleichende Analyse der völkerrechtlichen Debatte
• Sebastian Schulenberg, Der iranische Atomkonflikt und die friedliche Nutzung der Kernenergie nach dem Nichtverbreitungsvertrag

Mégret: In Search of the 'Vertical': An Exploration of What Makes International Criminal Tribunals Different (and Why)

Frédéric Mégret (McGill Univ. - Law) has posted In Search of the 'Vertical': An Exploration of What Makes International Criminal Tribunals Different (and Why). Here's the abstract:

International criminal tribunals have often claimed that they are in a 'vertical' relationship vis-a-vis states that is fundamentally different from 'horizontal' international criminal law, as exists between states. Although there are many studies of specific aspects of that claim to verticality (for example, the power to order subpoena), there have few attempts to systematically study all the possible ways in which international criminal tribunals could be described as being distinctly 'vertical'. More importantly, international criminal justice still lacks a comprehensive theory of what it is that allows international criminal tribunals to claim 'verticality'.

This chapter seeks to remedy these shortcomings. It argues that 'verticality' is truly the defining feature of the tribunals as institutions of international criminal justice, not only for the purposes of analyzing cooperation, but also to understand complex issues of jurisdiction. The chapter also develops a theory of the foundations of verticality, by arguing that it is only tenuously anchored in the law, and should be understood more broadly as an affirmation of international criminal tribunals' separate identity. That identity is indissociable from international criminal justice's claim to emancipate itself from the inter-state world.

New Issue: World Trade Review

The latest issue of the World Trade Review (Vol. 7, no. 4, October 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Håkan Nordström & Gregory Shaffer, Access to justice in the World Trade Organization: A case for a small claims procedure?
• Carsten Fink & Martín Molinuevo, East Asian preferential trade agreements in services: Liberalization content and WTO rules
• Kym Anderson, Marianne Kurzweil, Will Martin, Damiano Sandri, & Ernesto Valenzuela, Measuring distortions to agricultural incentives, revisited

ICTR: Appeals Chamber Upholds Trial Chamber Decision Not to Refer Munyakazi’s Case to Rwanda

On Thursday, October 9th, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda dismissed an appeal brought by the Prosecutor of the Trial Chamber's decision not to refer Munyakazi’s case to Rwanda. The Trial Chamber's decision, which was rendered this past May, was based on two considerations: (1) concern that the possible Rwandan sentence of life imprisonment in isolation did not comport with international human rights standards; and (2) "serious concern" about the fair trial rights of the defendant in Rwandan courts, particularly the independence of the judiciary and the availability and protection of defence witnesses. In its judgment (judgment here; press release here), the Appeals Chamber concluded that the Rwandan courts were sufficiently independent, but it dismissed all remaining grounds of appeal. Consequently, the Trial Chamber's decision was upheld.

Workshops: Cryer, Barltrop, Dunoff, May

Robert Cryer (Univ. of Birmingham - Law), Larry May (Washington Univ., St. Louis - Philosophy), & Richard Barltrop (Consultant and Researcher on Sudan) will participate in a roundtable discussion today at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict on "Sudan and the International Criminal Court."

Jeffrey Dunoff (Temple Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the Georgetown University Law Center International Legal Theory Colloquium on "A Functional Approach to Global Constitutionalism."

Conference: The Genocide Convention: International Conference Commemorating its 60th Anniversary

The International Research and Documentation Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) at the University of Marburg has organized an international conference, December 4-6, 2008, in Marburg and Frankfurt, to discuss relevant issues concerning the Genocide Convention upon its sixtieth anniversary. The program is here. Why attend?

On 8 December 1948 the General Assembly of the UN adopted a Convention establishing "Genocide" as a criminal norm. However, it took fifty years until this crime was prosecuted before an international criminal tribunal in the Akayesu Case before the ICTR. Even if the crime of genocide is perceived of as the worst of all international crimes, its application is anything but clear. In addition there is a certain conflict between genocide as a criminal norm and the prohibition of genocide as an obligation under public international law. The 60th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention is a perfect time to reflect on the origins of the Convention, its present difficulties and the future prospects.

Judge Pocar's Address to the UN General Assembly

Today, Judge Fausto Pocar, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, addressed the UN General Assembly to present the Tribunal's Annual Report. The full address is here. Here's the ICTY press release:

Addressing the UN General Assembly at the occasion of the presentation of the Tribunal’s fifteenth annual report, the President of the Tribunal, Judge Fausto Pocar emphasized the extensive successes of the ICTY, and the importance of Member States’ continued support in ensuring the full completion of the Tribunal’s mission.

The President highlighted that while the Tribunal’s success had been primarily assessed within the framework of the completion strategy endorsed by Security Council Resolutions 1503 and 1534, the completion of the cases on its docket was only part of the Tribunal’s mission. He emphasized that the Tribunal’s ultimate goal was to ensure that the fight against impunity would continue to remain a priority for the international community and that domestic partners, in particular in the former Yugoslavia, would continue to be assisted in bringing those responsible for serious international crimes to justice.

The President recalled the unparalleled accomplishments of the Tribunal, particularly, its record productivity; its unequalled role in the consolidation and development of international criminal law; and its contribution to peace and reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. He stated, however, that in order to fulfill its mission and ensure that its achievements are not undermined, the Tribunal still needed the essential support of Member States on three fronts: the completion of the cases on its docket, the arrest of fugitives and support to domestic institutions in the former Yugoslavia.

The President reported that at this time, 116 of the 161 individuals indicted by the Office of the Prosecutor had had their cases completed and that proceedings had started for all of the 43 remaining indictees, except for the two remaining fugitives. Figures show that 22 individuals are currently on trial, six are awaiting the delivery of their trial judgement, 10 are on appeal, and five are expecting the imminent start of their trial, including four who were only arrested in recent months. While, as detailed in the report, continuing efforts were made to expedite proceedings in full compliance with the rights of the accused to a fair trial, the President raised two issues which were likely to impact the expeditious completion of proceedings. One was the continued discrimination suffered by Judges of the Tribunal in the calculation of their pension entitlements, which, if not resolved favourably, would have a detrimental impact on the expeditious completion of cases. The President thus called on the General Assembly to put an end to the existing disparity in the pension entitlements of the permanent Judges by endorsing the recommendations made in the consulting firm’s study commissioned by the Secretariat. The President also urged the General Assembly to support measures for the retention of the Tribunal’s staff, without whom the work of the Tribunal cannot proceed, and to provide training and career counseling so as to enhance staff career prospects as the Tribunal’s work progressively winds down.

Turning to the second issue, the duty of states to cooperate with the Tribunal, the President commended the Government of Serbia for its vital cooperation in the arrests of both Stojan Župljanin and Radovan Karadžić earlier this year, noting that this was a crucial step towards the completion of the Tribunal’s cases. The President emphasized, however, the continued need for states to secure the rapid arrest of remaining fugitives Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić and to comply with their obligations to cooperate with the Tribunal in accordance with article 29 of the Statute. The President warned that the late arrests of fugitives was necessarily impacting on the completion of the Tribunal’s work and was contributing to slippages in the expeditious conduct of its proceedings.

President Fausto Pocar finally addressed the third and equally important area in which continued support by members of the Assembly is critical, the legacy of the Tribunal and the continuation of its work by domestic courts in the former Yugoslavia. The President emphasized that if the international community’s investment in international justice were to reap its full rewards, Member States must continue to support domestic institutions in the former Yugoslavia. He recalled that in addition to the 13 cases referred by the Tribunal to these domestic courts, thousands of war crimes cases were still pending before these courts. The President noted that while the Tribunal had continued to strengthen its partnership with these domestic institutions and while progress had been accomplished in strengthening the rule of law, these achievements remained extremely fragile. Political hurdles in relation to the extradition of nationals had not yet been resolved and dire needs still existed, for instance, with respect to correctional institutions, as illustrated by the escape from prison of Radovan Stanković, whose case had been referred by the Tribunal to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

President Pocar also reported that the Tribunal had initiated several projects with a view to ensuring the legacy of its work. The first project, carried out in cooperation with the UN Interregional Criminal Research Institute will lead to the publication of a manual of the Tribunal’s best practices. The second project conducted in partnership with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) aims to assess the impact of the Tribunal’s outreach activities and training programs so as to identify best practices and remaining issues that need addressing so as to ensure the lasting impact of the Tribunal’s work.

Recalling the pioneering role of the Tribunal and its contribution to the development of international criminal justice, the President thanked the Members of the General Assembly for its unfailing commitment to the Tribunal. He concluded with a call to all Member States to maintain their support to the work of the Tribunal so that it can expeditiously complete its cases, and ensure that domestic institutions, particularly in the former Yugoslavia, carry on its fight against impunity and guarantee its long lasting legacy.

Weisburd: The International Court of Justice and the Concept of State Practice

Arthur Mark Weisburd (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - Law) has posted The International Court of Justice and the Concept of State Practice. Here's the abstract:

State practice is an important element of international law, both as a key component of customary international law and as a crucial tool for interpreting treaties. In this paper, Professor Weisburd seeks to show that there are important flaws in the application of state practice by the International Court of Justice. The Court has relied on actual practice to determine the content of customary rules surprisingly rarely, frequently basing its conclusions instead on non-binding actions by international bodies or on its own decisions. It has reached decisions in some cases clearly inconsistent with significant and relevant state practice and in others proclaimed as rules of law formulations unsupported by state behavior. The Court has been inconsistent in its treatment of the practice of parties to treaties in cases presenting interpretation questions, sometimes proclaiming the necessity of relying on such practice while on other occasions failing even to acknowledge the existence of practice contrary to the result it reaches. This behavior by the Court is problematic for a number of reasons and, paradoxically, makes the Court itself an impediment to wider reliance on international law.

New Volume: South African Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the South African Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 32, 2007) is out. Contents include:

• MP Ferreira-Snyman & GM Ferreira, Global good governance and good global governance
• André Mbata B Mangu, The African peer-review mechanism and the promotion of democracy and good political governance in Africa
• KG Balakrishnan, Good governance in international law: An Indian perspective
• Michele E Olivier, International and regional requirements for good governance and the rule of law
• John King Gamble & Lauren Piera, Good governance, non-state actors and international law: A cautionary note
• Diego Quiroz, Expanding international law to non-state actors (The corporation)
• André Thomashausen, The 'war on terror' in Africa in international law and state practice
• Charlotte Ku, Strengthening international law's capacity to govern through multilayered strategic partnerships
• Hennie Strydom, Will the Cotonou agreement succeed where Lomé I—IV have failed?
• Natalie Klein, Non-state actors in inter-state litigation: Beneficiaries or blameworthy?
• Evadne Grant, Accountability for human rights abuses: Taking the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of human rights seriously
• Rebecca MM Wallace, Non-state actors in the context of refugee determination processes, with particular reference to the position of women
• Greg Marks, Governance and indigenous minorities in Australia
• Coenraad Visser, International intellectual property norm setting: Democratising the World Intellectual Property Organization?
• Environmental criteria as condition for space activities of non-state entities? Mahulena Hofmann
• Werner Scholtz, Northern NGOs, southern NGOs and international environmental law: The common interest of humankind is the interest of northern mankind!
• 'Dejo Olowu, Environmental governance and the accountability of non-state actors in Africa: A rights-based approach
• Duncan French, Managing global change for sustainable development: Technology, community and multilateral environmental agreements
• Rainer Hofmann, Reparation for victims of war and non-state actors?
• MG Cowling, Outsourcing and the military: Implications for international humanitarian law
• Natalia Szablewska, Non-state actors and human rights in non-international armed conflicts
• Susana Camargo Vieira, Brazil-South Africa: South-south cooperation for sustainable development
• Tana Pistorius, The impact of intellectual property law and policy on sustainable development
• Dire Tladi, Corporates and the flexible mechanisms in the climate change regime: The privatisation of sustainable development?
• Irene-marié Esser, A global perspective on african corporate governance: The protection of stakeholders' interests
• Annelize Nienaber, The accountability of states for human rights abuses by non-state actors during preventive HIV vaccine efficacy trials in Africa
• Math Noortmann, Women and the United Nations: Who makes who matter?
• Christina Knahr, The role of non-state actors in international investment arbitration

Workshop: Young

Margaret Young (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) will give a talk today at the University College London Faculty of Laws WTO Scholars' Forum on "Preempting International Law's Fragmentation Through Regime Interaction: The WTO and Fisheries Subsidies."

New Issue: International Tax Journal

The latest issue of the International Tax Journal (Vol. 34, no. 5, September-October 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Bashar H. Malkawi, The Case of Income Tax Evasion in Jordan: Symptoms and Solutions
• Philip F. Postlewaite, Stephanie R. Hoffer & Matthew T. Kemp, The Adaptation of U.S. Tax Treaties to Changing Business Forms - A Case Study of Hybrid Entities

ASIL Annual Meeting: Call for "Cutting Edge" Paper Proposals

The program committee for the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law has issued a call for "cutting edge" paper proposals. Here's the call:

Background

ASIL is soliciting paper abstracts relating to the 2009 conference theme, "International Law as Law." We will select from submitted abstracts for presentation at the Annual Meeting as part of a "Cutting Edge Panel." The Cutting Edge Panel will introduce conference members to work that are at the very cutting edge of the field of international law, allowing discussion and critique of current work, including works in progress and yet to be published works. Papers to be presented by this panel will be selected through a competitive selection process. The panel is patterned on the New Voices model, but it is not restricted to students and new professionals. It is open to all interested applicants.The abstracts should be based on current work. Strong preference will be given to papers not already published. Eligibility is open to all interested participants. Applicants should be members of the Society at the time of their presentation.

Cutting Edge Submission Guidelines

Applicants must submit: (1) a 1000-2000 word abstract of their paper; (2) a progress statement of no more than 200 words explaining its current stage (e.g., yet to be drafted, fully drafted but not yet accepted for publication, accepted for publication, published); (3) contact information for the applicant, and (4) a statement of whether the applicant would or would not also like to be considered for a new poster session format (if no preference is indicated, the application will also be considered for the poster session format). Those who have completed a draft of the paper are welcome but not required to submit the completed draft. The submission deadline is December 1, 2008.

Please submit applications to 2009annualmeeting@asil.org no later than December 1, 2008.

New Issue: Australian Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Australian Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 13, no. 2, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Daniel Tarantola, Andrew Byrnes, Michael Johnson, Lynn Kemp, Anthony B. Zwi & Sofia Gruskin, Human rights, health and development
• Rebekah Gay, Mainstreaming wellbeing: an impact assessment for the right to health
• Annalijn Conklin & Benjamin Mason Meier, A 'vector of rights' approach for public health: towards an intersectional human rights framework for considering the prevention and treatment of harms to girl child soldiers
• Alexis Kalagas, Healthy mind, healthy body: SARS, HIV/AIDS and the justifiability of restrictions on media freedom in the People's Republic of China
• Peter Saunders & Yuvisthi Naidoo, The deprivation approach and the attainment of human rights: evidence for Australia
• Loren Hallgath & Daniel Tarantola, A rights-based approach to the assessment of global health initiatives
• Terry Carney & Fleur Beaupert, Mental health tribunals: rights drowning in un-'Chartered' health waters?
• Richard Sahlin, Legislating discrimination protection for persons with disabilities in Australia and Sweden: a comparative analysis

Reed: Treaties in US Domestic Law: Medellin v. Texas in Context

American Society of International Law President Lucy Reed gave a talk in August at the the inauguration of two law societies - the Malaysian Chapter of the Asian Society of International Law and the Malaysian Society of International Law. The subject of Reed's remarks was "Treaties in US Domestic Law: Medellin v. Texas in Context." The full text can be found here.