Saturday, January 31, 2009

New Issue: Ocean Development & International Law

The latest issue of Ocean Development & International Law (Vol. 40, no. 1, 2009) is out. Contents include:
  • Robert Beckman & Clive Schofield, Moving Beyond Disputes Over Island Sovereignty: ICJ Decision Sets Stage for Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Singapore Strait
  • Alex G. Oude Elferink, “Openness” and Article 76 of the Law of the Sea Convention: The Process Does Not Need to Be Adjusted
  • Tomasz Górski, A Note on Submarine Ridges and Elevations with Special Reference to the Russian Federation and the Arctic Ridges
  • Michael Sheng-Ti Gau, Third Party Intervention in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Regarding a Submission Involving a Dispute
  • Tore Henriksen, Revisiting the Freedom of Fishing and Legal Obligations on States Not Party to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
  • Benjamin K. Sovacool, A Game of Cat and Fish: How to Restore the Balance in Sustainable Fisheries Management

Friday, January 30, 2009

Teitel & Howse: Cross-Judging: Tribunalization in a Fragmented But Interconnected Global Order

Ruti Teitel (New York Law School) & Robert L. Howse (New York Univ. - Law) have posted Cross-Judging: Tribunalization in a Fragmented But Interconnected Global Order (New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:
This paper explores connections, parallels, contact points and dissonances between increasing adjudication in international criminal law/human rights and international trade/investment.

Symposium: Constitutional Rights and International Human Rights

The latest issue of the Israel Law Review (Vol. 41, no. 3, 2008) contains a symposium on "Constitutional Rights and International Human Rights" honoring Professor David Kretzmer. Contents include:
  • Yuval Shany, Introduction
  • Henry J. Steiner, Two Sides of the Same Coin?: Democracy and International Human Rights
  • Eckart Klein, Establishing a Hierarchy of Human Rights: Ideal Solution or Fallacy?
  • Jochen A. Frowein, The Transformation of Constitutional Law Through the European Convention on Human Rights
  • Nigel Rodley, The Singarasa Case: Quis Custodiet . . . ? A Test for the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct
  • Arthur Chaskalson, What’s Happening to the Right to a Fair Hearing
  • Fionnuala Ni Aoláin & Oren Gross, A Skeptical View of Deference to the Executive in Times of Crisis
  • Fiona De Londras, What Human Rights Law Could Do: Lamenting the Absence of an International Human Rights Law Approach in Boumediene & Al Odah
  • Frances Raday, Traditionalist Religious and Cultural Challengers - International and Constitutional Human Rights Responses
  • Yousef T. Jabareen, Toward Participatory Equality: Protecting Minority Rights Under International Law
  • A. Kodzo Paaku Kludze, Constitutional Rights and Their Relationship with International Human Rights in Ghana

Workshops: Landau, Spiro, Roberts, Vázquez

Toby Landau (Essex Court Chambers) will give a talk today at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law's Friday Lunchtime Lecture Series on "Investor-State Arbitration: Politics, Legitimacy and the New UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules."

Adam Roberts (Univ. of Oxford - Law) will give a talk today at the Faculty Transnational Law Colloquium at the Center for Transnational Legal Studies on "The Equal Application of the Laws of War: A Principle Under Pressure."

Peter Spiro (Temple Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the University Cincinnati College of Law Faculty Colloquium on "An International Law of Citizenship."

Carlos M. Vázquez (Georgetown Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the University of Georgia School of Law International Law Colloquium Series on "'Not a Happy Precedent': The Story of Ex parte Quirin."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

New Volume: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law

The latest volume of the African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (Vol. 2007) is out. Contents include:
  • Letetia Van der Poll, Emerging jurisprudence on sexual violence perpetrated against women during armed conflict
  • Shaun A. de Freitas, Humanity, the unborn and the intersection of international humanitarian law and human rights law
  • Marion Harroff-Tavel, Cultural diversity and the challenges it poses for humanitarian practitioners
  • Cephas Lumina, Child soldiers: war criminals or pawns in a deadly game?
  • The special court for Sierra Leone
  • Interstate communications under the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • The value of customary international law- recent emergence of non-state actors as subjects of international law
  • Reflections on the study of customary IHL
  • IHL - Past accomplishments and future challenges
  • Study on customary IHL - The understanding and respect for the rule of law in armed conflict

New Issue: Mealey's International Arbitration Report

The latest issue of Mealey's International Arbitration Report (Vol. 24, no. 1, January 2009) is out.

Barthe: Joint Criminal Enterprise: Ein (originär) völkerstrafrechtliches Haftungsmodell mit Zukunft?

Christoph Barthe has published Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE): Ein (originär) völkerstrafrechtliches Haftungsmodell mit Zukunft? (Duncker & Humblot 2009). Here's the abstract:

Gegenstand der Untersuchung ist die in der zeitgenössischen völkerstrafrechtlichen Rechtsprechung seit der Berufungsentscheidung des UN-Kriegsverbrechertribunals für das ehemalige Jugoslawien (ICTY) im Verfahren Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic aus dem Jahr 1999 in das Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit gerückte Lehre vom Joint Criminal Enterprise. Diese dort erstmals vom ICTY explizit angewandte Doktrin hat ihren rechtsdogmatischen Ursprung im englischen Common Law und erfreut sich in der Spruchpraxis der Ad-hoc-Gerichte seither größter Beliebtheit, um den auf völkerstrafrechtlicher Ebene vorzufindenden Schwierigkeiten bei der Aufklärung und effektiven Verfolgung von Kollektiv- bzw. Massenverbrechen zu begegnen.

Der Autor nimmt die Entscheidung im Tadic-Verfahren zum analytischen Ausgangspunkt und untersucht u. a., ob und inwieweit die im Urteil zitierten historischen Quellen geeignet sind, die von der Rechtsmittelkammer entwickelten Prinzipien zu stützen. Im Anschluss daran wird die Verankerung der Rechtsfigur im nationalen Recht von zehn ausgewählten Staaten des Common Law- und des Civil Law-Rechtskreises (England, Australien, Südafrika, Kanada, USA, Deutschland, Frankreich, Spanien, Österreich, Italien) untersucht. Nach einer kritischen Würdigung der Haftungsfigur folgen Überlegungen zur Frage ihrer Vereinbarkeit mit Artikel 25 Abs. 3 des Römischen Statuts des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofes (IStGH-Statut) und Schlussbetrachtungen.

Im Kern ist der Verfasser der Ansicht, dass es bei Anwendung des für die Zukunft des materiellen Völkerstrafrechts maßgeblichen IStGH-Statuts bereits de lege lata keines Rückgriffs auf die Grundsätze des JCE bedarf, weil die sog. "Führungstäter" regelmäßig als mittelbare Täter i.S.d. Artikels 25 Abs. 3 (a) 3. Fall IStGH-Statut oder nach den Grundsätzen der Vorgesetztenverantwortlichkeit gemäß Artikel 28 IStGH-Statut bestraft werden können, während die Organisations- und Ausführungstäter (allein) als Mittäter nach Artikel 25 Abs. 3 (a) 2. Fall IStGH-Statut zur Verantwortung zu ziehen sind.

Workshops: Calhoun, Wilson

Craig Calhoun (New York Univ. - Institute for Public Knowledge) will give a talk today at the New York University School of Law Institute for International Law and Justice International Legal Theory Colloquium on "The Idea of Emergency: Humanitarian Action and Global (Dis)Order."

Bruce Wilson (World Trade Organization) will give a talk today at the Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group on "Recent Developments in WTO Dispute Settlement (And Anything Else You Ever Wanted to Know About the WTO)."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

New Volume: African Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the African Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 15, 2007) is out. Contents include:
  • Special Theme: Realising Economic and Social Rights in Africa: Innovations, Challenges, and Prospects
    • Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Introduction
    • Pierre So, The Implementation Gap in the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Field: A Critical Cross-Examination of the Agenda of the United Nations
    • Dakas C. J. Dakas, Beyond Officialdom: Fallacies and Hypocrisy in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Discourse and Implementation in Nigeria
    • Bonny Ibhawoh, Beyond Naming and Shaming: Methodological Imperatives of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Advocacy
    • Amy Tsanga, Moving Beyond Rights in the Realisation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Challenges in Contemporary Africa
    • John Cantius Mubangizi, The Protection and Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in Africa: Lessons from the South African Experience
    • Chima C. Nweze, Justifiability or Judicialization: Circumventing Armageddon Through the Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights
    • Judy A. Oder, Litigating the Right to Health Before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Record so Far
    • Anashri Pillay, Enforcing Social and Economic Constitutional Guarantees Before the Courts: The South African and Indian Experiences
    • Mosope Fagbongbe, Regional Protection of Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa: The Women’s Protocol and the African Union
    • Paul D. Ocheje, Neo-Liberal Economic Reforms and the Realisation of Social and Economic Rights in Africa
    • Jeanne M. Woods, Impunity or Accountability in the Extractive Industries: Regulation, Reform, or Resistance?
    • Obijiofor Aginam, The Rights to “The Highest Attainable Standard of Health”: Trade Agreements and the Rights to Health in Africa
    • Cyril Uchenna Gwam, Toxic Waste Dumping and the Enjoyment of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa

Call for Papers: Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional

The Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional has issued a call for papers for its forthcoming volume 10. Here's the call:

The Mexican Yearbook of International Law has been published by the Institute of Juridical Research from the National University of Mexico for the last 9 years; we receive articles from different countries. Submissions are now invited for volume 10 of the Review, which is to be published in January 2010.

Articles of 25-35 pages on topical issues of international law are welcome. Submissions in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian are accepted.

The closing date for submissions is 10th July 2009. Submissions must be written in the Mexican Yearbook Style, details of which are available on the website. Please send an email with your name, year and contact details in the body with an electronic copy of your article attached to amdi_iij@yahoo.com.mx.

Workshops: Drumbl, Heller, Sriram

Mark Drumbl (Washington & Lee Univ. - Law) will deliver a lecture today at the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society on "Justice after Atrocity: A Cosmopolitan Pluralist Approach."

Kevin Jon Heller (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) will deliver a lecture today at the T.M.C. Asser Institute on "Situational Gravity Under the Rome Statute."

Chandra Sriram (Univ. of East London - Law) will give a talk today at the International Law Association (British Branch)-University College London Faculty of Laws International Law Seminar on "Power-Sharing, Armed Groups and Contemporary Peace Negotiations."

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Space Law: Selected Documents 2008

The National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law has published Space Law: Selected Documents 2008. Background on the publication is available at the Res Communis blog here.

New Issue: Cambridge Review of International Affairs

The latest issue of the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Vol. 21, no. 4, 2008) is out. Contents include:
  • Special Issue: The politics of climate change: environmental dynamics in international affairs
    • Paul G. Harris, Introduction: the glacial politics of climate change
    • Loren R. Cass, A climate of obstinacy: symbolic politics in Australian and Canadian policy
    • Liliana B. Andonova, The climate regime and domestic politics: the case of Russia
    • Miriam Schroeder, The construction of China's climate politics: transnational NGOs and the spiral model of international relations
    • Oriol Costa, Is climate change changing the EU? The second image reversed in climate politics
    • Richard Benwell, Linking as leverage: emissions trading and the politics of climate change
    • Stephan Kroll & Jason F. Shogren, Domestic politics and climate change: international public goods in two-level games
    • Maria Julia Trombetta, Environmental security and climate change: analysing the discourse
    • Shirley V. Scott, Securitizing climate change: international legal implications and obstacles
    • Bradley C. Parks & J Timmons Roberts, Inequality and the global climate regime: breaking the north-south impasse
    • Paul Baer, Glenn Fieldman, Tom Athanasiou, & Sivan Kartha, Greenhouse Development Rights: towards an equitable framework for global climate policy
    • Paul G. Harris, Conclusion: constructing the climate regime

Stephan: Symmetry and Selectivity: What Happens in International Law When the World Changes

Paul B. Stephan (Univ. of Virginia - Law) has posted Symmetry and Selectivity: What Happens in International Law When the World Changes (Chicago Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article has a simple hypothesis: Selectivity in international law increases as international relations become more symmetrical. Conversely, international law becomes more universal as asymmetry grows. This relation holds true during the modern period. Its existence in turn supports the theoretical claim that the content of international law reflects the rational interests of those actors that make it.

Consider first international relations. A simple narrative, seriously incomplete but good enough for present purposes, would go something like this: From the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet empire a bipolar superpower competition dominated international relations. There followed a period of U.S. hegemony, but more recently significant Chinese, European, Indian and Russian challenges to the United States have complicated that structure. The details do not matter, neither the dates, nor the extent of U.S. hegemony when it existed, nor the number of the new great powers, nor the precise relative influence of each. What matters is that the basic structure of international relations underwent a transformation in the latter part of the twentieth century and now appears to have changed again.

Next consider competing trends in international law, that toward universality and that toward selectivity. Universal international law applies equally to all states. Selective international law means that states vary in what rights and obligations they recognize as well as how to allow them to be enforced. In the extreme case of selectivity the content of international law and its enforcement depends entirely on the identity of the state in question. If the recognition of international law reflects the rational interests of states, then international law should trend toward universality during times of hegemony and toward selectivity during periods of multipolar great power competition. Conversely, if international law does not conform to this pattern, then something other than the rational interest of states must explain its content. Much more is going on, of course, but this simple hypothesis suffices to ground an inquiry into the nature of international law as a creature of, and dependent on, international relations.

Developments in international law since World War II are consistent with the claim that selectivity increases as international relations become less asymmetrical.

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 24, no. 1, 2009) is out. Contents include:
  • Davor Vidas, The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the European Union and the Rule of Law: What is going on in the Adriatic Sea?
  • Dikdik Mohamad Sodik, Analysis of IUU Fishing in Indonesia and the Indonesian Legal Framework Reform for Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of Fishing Vessels
  • Yann-huei Song, The Efforts of ICCAT to Combat IUU Fishing: The Roles of Japan and Taiwan in Conserving and Managing Tuna Resources
  • Torbjørn Pedersen & Tore Henriksen, Svalbard's Maritime Zones: The End of Legal Uncertainty?

Verdier: Transnational Regulatory Networks and Their Limits

Pierre-Hugues Verdier (Boston Univ. - Law) has posted Transnational Regulatory Networks and Their Limits (Yale Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:
In recent years, the rise of transnational regulatory networks (TRNs) has attracted the attention of international law scholars. Advocates of TRNs contend that, by cooperating directly with their counterparts abroad to address common regulatory issues, national regulators are creating a revolutionary system of effective global governance without centralized world government. This Article advocates for a more cautious approach to this phenomenon. Based on a theoretical analysis of TRNs, it argues that they may be successful in overcoming relatively simple problems of international regulatory coordination where state interests converge. However, TRNs are less likely to succeed when faced with more difficult regulatory issues where, for example, the choice of a specific policy has distributive implications or states have incentives to defect from common standards. In such cases, their effectiveness is undermined by the numerous domestic legal and political constraints faced by national regulators and by the institutional incapacity of TRNs to monitor or enforce the rules they adopt. To support this theory, this Article analyzes three TRNs-in international securities regulation, banking, and antitrust-widely seen as successful, and shows how the institutional weaknesses inherent in TRNs have limited their effectiveness. It concludes that ambitious claims regarding the transformative potential of TRNs are overly optimistic, and that future scholarship on TRNs should be more sensitive to the political aspects of international regulatory cooperation and the intrinsic limitations of informal governance structures.

The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles

Today, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law is hosting a seminar on "The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles." Here's the idea:
As a growing number of States receive recommendations from the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), it is increasingly important to clarify the legal extent of continental shelf limits and the content of continental shelf jurisdiction. Given the critical importance of seabed resources such as petroleum to countries seeking energy security and the potential future uses of biological organisms, many stakeholders including States, private industry and environmental groups have a keen interest in the delineation of the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200nm and its subsequent regulation. This half-day conference brings together government officials, academics and practitioners to examine the United Kingdom's submission to the CLCS, analyse key legal issues associated with the CLCS submission process, and to look at the legal content of a coastal State's jurisdiction over its continental shelf beyond 200nm.

Fernández-Sánchez: International Legal Dimension of Terrorism

Pablo Antonio Fernández-Sánchez (Univ. of Seville - Law & International Relations) has published International Legal Dimension of Terrorism (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009). Here's the abstract:
More than ever before International Humanitarian Law needs to find new solutions to new types of conflicts. The current state of the fight against terrorism is without doubt one of the new problems facing international society and one of the concerns of International Humanitarian Law. This volume offers reflections on the international legal theory of terrorism, international responsibility, the obligation to prevent terrorist acts, terrorism in armed conflicts, the responses to terrorism by regional international organizations and the legal limits to the fight against terrorism. The contributors consist of academics (and politicians) from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Israel, as well as from Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and a representative for the Organisation of American States. The book thus contains a wide, multidisciplinary debate, with an emphasis on a Mediterranean perspective. In addition to examining all aspects of international terrorism, the objective of the symposium which gave rise to these essays was to establish some guidelines, in the form of a Declaration, to serve as the basis for the UN’s High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilisations on the subject of international terrorism. This overall objective was achieved with the adoption of the Huelva Declaration for an Alliance of Civilisations against Terrorism, the text of which is included at the end of this book.

Monday, January 26, 2009

WTO Panel Report: China - Measures affecting the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights

Today, a Panel established by the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body issued its Report on the case China - Measures affecting the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (DS362). The United States brought the complaint. The full Report can be found here. An excerpt containing just the Panel's conclusions and recommendation can be found here. A summary of the case can be found here.

Kirsch: The Limits of Administrative Guidance in the Interpretation of Tax Treaties

Michael S. Kirsch (Univ. of Notre Dame - Law) has posted The Limits of Administrative Guidance in the Interpretation of Tax Treaties (Texas Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This Article addresses the increasingly important role of administrative guidance in interpreting the United States' international treaty obligations. The relationship between administrative guidance and treaties raises important issues at the intersection of international law, constitutional law, and administrative law.

These issues are explored in the context of the United States' extensive tax treaty network. Tax treaties play an important role in a global economy, attempting to reconcile the complex and ever-changing internal tax laws of different countries. The Treasury Department is considering the increased use of administrative guidance to interpret the meaning and application of tax treaties, particularly in response to the increasingly sophisticated business structures and cross-border transactions utilized by multinational corporations.

This Article considers the weight that courts should give to unilateral administrative guidance when interpreting tax treaties. The Article concludes that Treasury's traditional ad hoc approach based on informal technical explanations is entitled to little, if any, deference in interpreting previously negotiated bilateral agreements between sovereign nations. However, the Article identifies certain limited circumstances where formal Treasury regulations might enable the Treasury Department to influence the application of previously negotiated tax treaties without violating the United States' obligations under these treaties.

Nordquist, Koh, & Moore: Freedom of Seas, Passage Rights and the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention

Myron H. Nordquist (Univ. of Virginia - Center for Oceans Law and Policy), Tommy T.B. Koh (National Univ. of Singapore - Law), & John Norton Moore (Univ. of Virginia - Law) have published Freedom of Seas, Passage Rights and the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009). Here's the abstract:
Freedom of the seas and passage rights is a highly topical subject for the international community that cuts across a broad spectrum of scholarly disciplines and maritime operations. The contents of the book include in-depth analysis of current international and regional approaches to freedom of navigation, transit passage through straits used for international navigation, archipelagic sea lanes passage, scientific research and hydrographic surveys in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), military surveys in the EEZ, as well as vessel source pollution and protection of the marine environment. Many of the chapters describe measures in place at multilateral and regional levels to improve information sharing and operational coordination. This collection will especially appeal to those concerned with freedom of the seas and passage rights. The CD accompanying the volume includes important documents such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well many PowerPoint presentations delivered at the conference. It also includes a draft index to the multi-volume series United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary. This book contains the edited papers and associated documents from the 32nd annual Virginia conference held in Singapore, January 9-10, 2008. Presentations were delivered by government officials, senior naval and coast guard commanders as well as by leading jurists and academics with impressive expertise in the law of the sea.

New Issue: European Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the European Human Rights Law Review (2008, no. 6) is out. Contents include:
  • Michael J. Dennis & Andre M. Surena, Application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Times of Armed Conflict and Military Occupation: The Gap Between Legal Theory and State Practice
  • Philip Leach, The Chechen Conflict: Analysing the Oversight of the European Court of Human Rights
  • Conor McCarthy, Human Rights and the Laws of War under the American Convention on Human Rights

Born: International Commercial Arbitration (Third Edition)

Gary B. Born (WilmerHale) has published the third edition of his International Commercial Arbitration (Kluwer Law International 2009). Here's the abstract:
International Commercial Arbitration is an authoritative treatise providing the most complete available commentary and analysis on all aspects of the international commercial arbitration process. This completely revised and expanded edition of Gary Born's authoritative work is divided into three main parts, dealing with the International Arbitration Agreement, International Arbitral Procedures and International Arbitral Awards. International Commercial Arbitration provides a systematic framework for both current analysis and future developments, as well as exhaustive citations from all leading legal systems.

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 42, no. 6, December 2008) is out. Contents include:
  • Jean-Christophe Maur, Regionalism and Trade Facilitation: A Primer
  • Jeanine Gama Sá Cabral & Gabriella Giovanna Lucarelli de Salvio, Considerations on the Mercosur Dispute Settlement Mechanism and the Impact of its Decisions in the WTO Dispute Resolution System
  • Joseph M. Senona, Negotiating Special and Differential Treatment from Doha to Post-Hong Kong: Can Poor People Still Benefit?
  • Laura Páez, GATS Financial Services Liberalization: How do OECD Members Schedules Impact Commercial Banking FDI?
  • Andrew T.F. Lang, Provisional Measures Under Article 5.7 of the WTO’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: Some Criticisms of the Jurisprudence So Far
  • Henrik Horn & Petros C. Mavroidis, The Permissible Reach of National Environmental Policies
  • Tien Quang Tran, Reforms in FDI Policy and the Investment Climate in Vietnam
  • Caroline E. Foster, Prior Approval Systems and the Substance—Procedure Dichotomy Under the WTO SPS Agreement

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Call for Papers: Comparative Private International Law

A call for papers has been issued for the third quadrennial international conference on Comparative Private International Law, to be held at the University of Johannesburg, September 9-11, 2009. Here's the call:

Topics

Papers must include a comparative element and should deal with one or more of the following:

(a) Jurisdiction in civil and commercial cases with an international link

(b) Applicable law / choice of law

(c) Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements and foreign or international arbitral awards.

Title, Abstract, and CV

Please send the (provisional) title of your proposed paper to Prof J L Neels at jlneels@uj.ac.za before the end of February 2009, an abstract of the content of the paper before the end of March 2009 and a final title before the end of May 2009. Please add a short curriculum vitae to your first email. If you are interested in attending the conference without delivering a paper, please send an email to the same address.

Publication

The conference papers will not be published by the university. However, authors are welcome to submit their papers for consideration for publication in the Journal of South African Law. Please send the relevant article to the editor, Prof J C Sonnekus, at jsonnekus@uj.ac.za. Authors are welcome to publish their papers elsewhere but are requested to indicate that the paper was read at a conference at the University of Johannesburg.

Amerasinghe: Jurisdiction of Specific International Tribunals

Chittharanjan F. Amerasinghe (formerly, Judge, UN Administrative Tribunal) has published Jurisdiction of Specific International Tribunals (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009). Here's the abstract:
This volume examines the jurisdiction, both contentious and advisory, of the ICJ as a specific permanent international court or tribunal but also brings together in one book the examination of the jurisdiction of certain other tribunals, not excluding most of the other four tribunals or groups of tribunals examined in Jurisdiction of International Tribunals by the same author. Material relating to them is expanded, re-examined and brought up to date. Hence, This volume covers the jurisdiction of: (i) the World Court, i.e., the ICJ and PCIJ — both contentious and advisory jurisdiction, (ii) the leading International Administrative Tribunals, (iii) the ECHR, (iv) ICSID tribunals, (v) the WTO Panels and Appellate Body, and (vi) the ITLOS. The six systems for the judicial settlement of disputes chosen to be examined in this work are by far the most important in the modern era and deserve close attention.