Bibas & Burke-White: International Idealism Meets Domestic-Criminal-Procedure Realism

Stephanos Bibas (Univ. of Pennsylvania - Law) & William W. Burke-White (Univ. of Pennsylvania - Law) have posted International Idealism Meets Domestic-Criminal-Procedure Realism (Duke Law Journal, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Though international criminal justice has developed into a flourishing judicial system over the last two decades, scholars have neglected institutional design and procedure questions. International criminal-procedure scholarship has developed in isolation from its domestic counterpart but could learn much realism from it. Given its current focus on atrocities like genocide, international criminal law’s main purpose should be not only to inflict retribution, but also to restore wounded communities by bringing the truth to light. The international justice system needs more ideological balance, more stable career paths, and civil-service expertise. It also needs to draw on the domestic experience of federalism to cultivate cooperation with national authorities and to select fewer cases for international prosecution. Revised plea bargaining and sentencing rules could learn from domestic lessons and pitfalls, husbanding scarce resources and minimizing haggling while still buying needed cooperation. Finally, in blending adversarial and inquisitorial systems, international criminal justice has jettisoned too many safeguards of either one. It needs to reform discovery, speedy-trial rules, witness preparation, cross-examination, and victims’ rights in light of domestic experience. Just as international criminal law can benefit from domestic realism, domestic law could incorporate more international idealism and accountability, creating healthy political pressures to discipline and publicize enforcement decisions.

Conference: 38th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of International Law

Tomorrow and Saturday, April 17-18, 2009, the Indian Society of International Law will hold its 38th Annual Conference. The program is here.

A few days off

I'll be taking a break for a few days due to the birth of our third child. I hope you come back again toward the end of the week.

Wolfrum & Deutsch: The European Court of Human Rights Overwhelmed by Applications: Problems and Possible Solutions

Rüdiger Wolfrum (Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) & Ulrike Deutsch (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) have published The European Court of Human Rights Overwhelmed by Applications: Problems and Possible Solutions (Springer 2009). Here's the abstract:

The European Court of Human Rights is faced with an enormous and ever-increasing caseload, which poses a considerable threat to the effectiveness of the protection of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols. Compiling the contributions of distinguished academics and practitioners who are active in the field of European human rights law, this publication is meant as a contribution to the still ongoing discussion on the reform of the control mechanism of the European Court of Human Rights, which is necessary to prevent a failure of the European system of human rights protection.

Conference: Fordham's Fourth Annual Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation

Fordham Law School will host its Fourth Annual Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation, June 15-16, 2009, in New York City. The program is here.

New Issue: New York University Journal of International Law and Politics

The latest issue of the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (Vol. 41, no. 1, Fall 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Gregory Shaffer, A Structural Theory of WTO Dispute Settlement: Why Institutional Choice Lies at the Center of the GMO Case
• Naomi Burke, A Change in Perspective: Looking at Occupation Through the Lens of the Law of Treaties

Conference: Business and International Law (Update)

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law will host its annual conference on June 5, 2009, in London. The conference theme is: "Business and International Law." (I previously noted the call for papers here.) The program is now available here.

New Issue: European Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law (Vol. 20, no. 1, February 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Special Anniversary Article
• Martti Koskenniemi, The Politics of International Law - 20 Years Later
• Changing Paradigms in International Law: A Symposium
• Benedict Kingsbury, The Concept of 'Law' in Global Administrative Law
• Eyal Benvenisti & George W. Downs, National Courts, Domestic Democracy, and the Evolution of International Law
• Yuval Shany, No Longer a Weak Department of Power? Reflections on the Emergence of a New International Judiciary
• Martin A. Schain, The State Strikes Back: Immigration Policy in the European Union
• Article
• Marc Weller, Settling Self-determination Conflicts: Recent Developments
• EJIL: Debate!
• Monica Garcia-Salmones, Taking Uncertainty Seriously: Adaptive Governance and International Trade: A Reply to Rosie Cooney and Andrew Lang
• Andrew Lang & Rosie Cooney, Taking Uncertainty Seriously: Adaptive Governance and International Trade: A Rejoinder to Monica Garcia-Salmones
• Critical Review of Jurisprudence: An Occasional Series
• Pasquale De Sena & Maria Chiara Vitucci, The European Courts and the Security Council: Between Dedoublement Fonctionnel and Balancing of Values