Conference: Ethics, Issue Conflicts and Arbitrator Challenges

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law will host the Thirteenth Investment Treaty Forum Public Conference on Friday, September 11, 2009. The theme is: "Ethics, Issue Conflicts and Arbitrator Challenges." Here's the idea:

In recent times ethical issues have featured prominently in investment treaty arbitration. Parties have challenged arbitrators on numerous occasions, in different forums, national and international (most recently in Hrvatska Elektroprivreda, d.d. v. Slovenia; EDF v Argentina awards and the NAFTA case Grandriver Enterprises v USA) and on a variety of grounds. The conference will review and analyze the emerging practice on relevant matters such as repeat appointments, issue conflicts, duty of disclosure, financial interest, same-chamber barrister participation and others, with a view to discern good practices in this area for both counsel and arbitrators.

A Note to Readers

Blogging will be lighter than usual over the next two weeks as I take some time off.

New Issue: Revue de l'Arbitrage

The latest issue of the Revue de l'Arbitrage (2008, no. 4) is out. Contents include:

• Andrea Pinna, L'annulation d'une sentence arbitrale partielle
• Maximin de Fontmichel, Arbitrage et actions de groupe - les leçons nord-américaines
• Jacques El Hakim, La nouvelle loi sur l'arbitrage en Syrie du 25 mars 2008

Arnardóttir & Quinn: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir (Reykjavík Univ. - Law) & Gerard Quinn (National Univ. of Ireland, Galway - Law) have published The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: European and Scandinavian Perspectives (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009). Here's the abstract:

The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in the 21st century. It seeks to secure the equal and effective enjoyment of human rights for the estimated 650 million persons with disabilities in the world. It does so by tailoring general human rights norms to their circumstances. It reflects and advances the shift away from welfare to rights in the context of disability. The Convention itself represents a mix between non-discrimination and other substantive human rights and gives practical effect to the idea that all human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This collection of essays examines these developments from the global, European and Scandinavian perspectives and the challenge of transposing its provisions into national law. It marks the coming of age of disabilty as a core human rights concern.

Call for Papers: Investment Treaty Law and Arbitration - Evolution and Revolution in Substance and Procedure

Sydney Law School has issued a call for papers for its conference on "Investment Treaty Law and Arbitration - Evolution and Revolution in Substance and Procedure," February 19-20, 2010. Here's the call:

Conference Theme

This conference explores some of the most controversial issues in contemporary investment treaty law and arbitration discourse and practice. A global web of investment treaties has emerged, free trade agreements increasingly contain investment protection provisions, and investor–state arbitration is now well-established on the international plane as a significant dispute resolution mechanism. These developments are, however, impacting on a wide range of non-investment areas and politico-legal issues. The conference will explore these impacts, emerging issues in the nature of investment treaties, evolving jurisprudential trends, and potential changes in future direction for investment law and arbitration. Structurally, the conference will have two streams — one addressing the way in which developments in investment agreements and investment treaty arbitration are impacting on the substantive principles of international investment law, and one addressing emerging procedural issues. There will also be two further streams of cross-cutting issues — one addressing the interaction between investment arbitration and ‘commercially-oriented’ areas such as international commercial arbitration, WTO law, or international tax treaty dispute resolution; and one addressing the interaction between foreign investment law and policy with issues relating to the environment, development, human rights, and the Asia-Pacific.

Paper Proposals

Paper proposals are sought from both established and early-career researchers and practitioners, incorporating insights from a variety of disciplines. They must be submitted by 31 August 2009 to Kate Miles, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, at k.miles@usyd.edu.au. Proposals should include the author’s name, institutional affiliation, full contact information, and an abstract of no more than 400 words. Please also include a short CV of the author.

Decisions on inclusion in the conference programme will be sent by 30 September 2009. Selected speakers will be expected to submit draft papers of 5,000–7,000 words by 1 February 2010. These draft papers will be made available to all conference participants to facilitate discussion. It is expected that post-conference publication will include an edited volume with an international publisher.

Chesterman: Global Administrative Law

Simon Chesterman (New York Univ. - Law, Singapore Program) has posted Global Administrative Law (Working Paper for the S.T. Lee Project on Global Governance). Here's the abstract:

Efforts to address global governance deficits approach the problem at a strategic or tactical level. Strategic efforts would reshape the politics or institutions of global order; tactical efforts focus on the processes of governance, either seeking to utilize informal networks for improved outcomes, or to formalize the processes themselves for greater accountability. This paper considers the last approach and the claims that “global administrative law” could remedy at least some accountability deficits at the global level. Recent challenges to the UN Security Council in the area of targeted financial sanctions are discussed, before sketching out what global administrative law might offer the governance challenges posed in the areas of energy, public health, and finance.

New Issue: Revue de l'Arbitrage

The latest issue of the Revue de l'Arbitrage (2008, no. 3) is out. Contents include:

• Anne Lefebvre-Teillard, Arbiter, arbitrator seu amicabilis compositor
• Horatia Muir Watt, Economie de la justice et arbitrage international (Réflexions sur la gouvernance privée dans la globalisation)
• Mohand Issad, La nouvelle loi algérienne relative à l'arbitrage international

New Issue: Harvard International Law Journal

The latest issue of the Harvard International Law Journal (Vol. 50, no. 2, Summer 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Rachel Brewster, Unpacking the State's Reputation
• Michael D. Ramsey, International Law Limits on Investor Liability in Human Rights Litigation
• Alex Whiting, In International Criminal Prosecutions, Justice Delayed Can Be Justice Delivered
• Sean Watts, Reciprocity and the Law of War
• Susan D. Franck, Development and Outcomes of Investment Treaty Arbitration

New Issue: Columbia Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 47, no. 3, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Nuno Garoupa & Tom Ginsburg, Judicial Audiences and Reputation: Perspectives from Comparative Law
• Thierry J. Sénéchal & John Y. Gotanda, Interest as Damages
• José Alvarez, The Internationalization of U.S. Law

New Issue: World Arbitration and Mediation Review

The latest issue of the World Arbitration and Mediation Review (Vol. 2, no. 5, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Christopher R. Drahozal, Disenchanted? Business Satisfaction With International Arbitration
• Alan Redfern, Stemming the Tide of Judicialisation in International Arbitration
• Christopher Whytock, The Arbitration-Litigation Relationship in Transnational Dispute Resolution: Empirical Insights from the U.S. Federal Courts
• Loukas Mistelis & Crina M. Baltag, Trends and Challenges in International Arbitration: Two Surveys of In-House Counsel of Major Corporations
• Michael Mcilwrath, Ignoring the Elephant in the Room: International Arbitration: Corporate Attitudes and Practices (2008)
• William K. Slate, II, International Arbitration - The Facts in Need of Data and Metrics - Less Reliance on Anecdotes

Klabbers: An Introduction to International Institutional Law (Second Edition)

Jan Klabbers (Univ. of Helsinki - Law) has published the second edition of An Introduction to International Institutional Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

International institutions are powerful players on the world stage, and every student of international law requires a clear understanding of the forces that shape them. For example, with increasing global influence comes the need for internal control and accountability. This thought-provoking overview considers these and other forces that govern international institutions such as the UN, EU and WTO, and the complex relationship that exists between international organizations and their member states. Covering recent scholarly developments, such as the rise of constitutionalism and global administrative law, and analysing the impact of important cases, such as the ICJ’s Genocide case (2007) and the Behrami judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (2007), its clarity of explanation and analytical approach allow students to understand and think critically about a complex subject.

Conference: India-United States Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

The University of Reading, in association with Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, will be holding a workshop on September 14, 2009, to examine various issues arising from the India-United States Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (123 Agreement). Here's the announcement:

The 123 Agreement was signed by the United States and India in 2007 to operationalise the Joint Statement by United States President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 whereby India agreed to separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities and place the former under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. The purpose of the Agreement is to facilitate the exchange of civil nuclear technology between India and the United States. The Agreement is exceptional in that it goes against the grain of several decades of United States non-proliferation practice and implicitly recognises India’s status as a nuclear weapons state. Despite claims that the Agreement benefits India by ending its nuclear isolation and contributing to its burgeoning energy needs, there has been stinted opposition to the Agreement; the Singh government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion brought by opposition parties in 2008 over the issue.

The University of Reading, in association with Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, is organising a workshop on 14 September 2009 to examine various issues arising from the Agreement. The workshop, which is generously funded by the British Academy, will start at 8.30 and end at 16.45 and will take place at the School of Law, Foxhill House, University of Reading. Panellists from South Asia, Europe, and the United States will address such topics as the Agreement’s legal issues, implications for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and theoretical perspectives.

Those who would like to attend the all-day workshop can register by contacting Mrs. Deborah Edwards (d.edwards@reading.ac.uk), who can advise as to payment. The fee, which includes lunch and coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon, is £20 for non-students and £10 for students. Numbers are limited. Cancellations to bookings made on or before Wednesday, 9 September 2009, will be refunded in full. Cancellations received after 9 September 2009 will be non-refundable.

New Issue: Archiv des Völkerrechts

The latest issue of Archiv des Völkerrechts (Vol. 47, no. 2, June 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Friedrich Germelmann, Heiliger Stuhl und Vatikanstaat in der internationalen Gemeinschaft: Völkerrechtliche Praxis und interne Beziehungen
• Christina Binder, Die Veränderung innerstaatlicher Verhältnisse als Nichterfüllungsgrund von völkerrechtlichen Vertragspflichten:
  Welche Rolle spielen demokratiepolitische und menschenrechtliche Erwägungen?
• Donald Rižnik, Die voraussichtliche Schließung des ICTY im Jahre 2013: Ein Freibrief für flüchtige Kriegsverbrecher?: Die Bewältigungsstrategie und ihre Folgen

Jojarth: Crime, War, and Global Trafficking

Christine Jojarth (Stanford Univ. - Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law) has published Crime, War, and Global Trafficking: Designing International Cooperation (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

Globalization creates lucrative opportunities for traffickers of drugs, dirty money, blood diamonds, weapons, and other contraband. Effective countermeasures require international collaboration, but what if some countries suffer while others profit from illicit trade? Only international institutions with strong compliance mechanisms can ensure that profiteers will not dodge their law enforcement responsibilities. However, the effectiveness of these institutions may also depend on their ability to flexibly adjust to fast-changing environments. Combining international legal theory and transaction cost economics, this book develops a novel, comprehensive framework which reveals the factors that determine the optimal balance between institutional credibility and flexibility. The author tests this rational design paradigm on four recent anti-trafficking efforts: narcotics, money laundering, conflict diamonds, and small arms. She sheds light on the reasons why policymakers sometimes adopt suboptimal design solutions and unearths a nascent trend toward innovative forms of international cooperation which transcend the limitations of national sovereignty.

New Volume: Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation

The inaugural volume of the Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation (Vol. 1, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Peter B. Rutledge, Common Ground in the Arbitration Debate
• Christopher R. Drahozal, Buckeye Check Cashing and the Separability Doctrine
• David Mclean & Sean-Patrick Wilson, Does Section 2 Have No Class? Preemption and the Enforceability of Class Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
• Stephan Wilske & Todd J. Fox, 50th Anniversary of the New York Convention: A Success Story or an Outdated Text (or Both)?
• David M. Bamlango, Taking Stock of NAFTA’s Chapter 11 Expropriation Jurisprudence
• Susan Nauss Exon, The Misnomer of a Mediation Value: Why All Mediators Cannot Remain Impartial
• Adam Gregg, Contractual Expansion of the Scope of Judicial Review After Hall Street: Time to Amend the FAA

Seibert-Fohr: Prosecuting Serious Human Rights Violations

Anja Seibert-Fohr (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) has published Prosecuting Serious Human Rights Violations (Oxford Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

Criminal punishment is increasingly seen as a necessary element of human rights protection. There is a growing conviction at the international level that those responsible for the most serious crimes should not go unpunished. Although there is a wealth of legal writing on international criminal law, an extensive analysis is still needed of the questions why and to what extent criminal prosecution is a necessary means of human rights protection at the domestic level. This book is the first to examine comprehensively the duty to prosecute serious human rights violations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American and European Conventions on Human Rights, and customary international law. It does so by exploring the phenomena of impunity and amnesties. These issues are particularly relevant for post-conflict situations in which it is often argued that criminal punishment threatens peace and reconciliation. The question of how to deal with post-conflict justice under international human rights law is therefore a continuing theme throughout the book.

Apart from post-conflict justice the text also considers the relevance of criminal measures in times of peace by exposing flaws in the criminal legislation and in the conduct of criminal procedure. With its survey of the relevant human rights instruments and jurisprudence, Prosecuting Serious Human Rights Violations is placed at the interface of international criminal law and international human rights. The book analyses the rapidly growing body of human rights case law, dealing with criminalization, prosecution and punishment of serious human rights violations. It identifies and critically examines the standards for the conduct of criminal proceedings developed by the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee, providing a unique reference tool for scholars and practitioners working in this area of law. It also describes the standards for criminal law under the Conventions Against Genocide, Torture, and Enforced Disappearances.

As the analysis of pertinent case law reveals shortcomings in the current conceptualization of the prosecution of human rights violations, the author develops a solid theoretical framework for future jurisprudence. By evaluating the relationship between criminal law and the protection of human rights, the book elucidates not only the potential but also the limits of the role human rights law can play in the emerging concept of international criminal justice.

Mills: The Confluence of Public and Private International Law

Alex Mills (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) has published The Confluence of Public and Private International Law: Justice, Pluralism and Subsidiarity in the International Constitutional Ordering of Private Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

A sharp distinction is usually drawn between public international law, concerned with the rights and obligations of states with respect to other states and individuals, and private international law, concerned with issues of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in international private law disputes before national courts. Through the adoption of an international systemic perspective, Dr Alex Mills challenges this distinction by exploring the ways in which norms of public international law shape and are given effect through private international law. Based on an analysis of the history of private international law, its role in US, EU, Australian and Canadian federal constitutional law, and its relationship with international constitutional law, he rejects its conventional characterisation as purely national law. He argues instead that private international law effects an international ordering of regulatory authority in private law, structured by international principles of justice, pluralism and subsidiarity.

Estevadeordal, Suominen, & Teh: Regional Rules in the Global Trading System

Antoni Estevadeordal (Inter-American Development Bank), Kati Suominen (Inter-American Development Bank), & Robert Teh (World Trade Organization) have published Regional Rules in the Global Trading System (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Contents include:

• Antoni Estevadeordal, Kati Suominen, & Robert Teh, Introduction
• Richard Baldwin, Big-think regionalism: a critical survey
• Antoni Estevadeordal, Matthew Shearer, & Kati Suominen, Market access provisions in regional trade agreements
• Robert Teh, Thomas J. Prusa, & Michele Budetta, Trade remedy provisions in regional trade agreements
• Roberta Piermartini & Michele Budetta, A mapping of regional rules on technical barriers to trade
• Martin Roy, Juan Marchetti, & Hoe Lim, Services liberalization in the new generation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs): how much further than the GATS?
• Barbara Kotschwar, Mapping investment provisions in regional trade agreements: towards an international investment regime?
• Robert Teh, Competition provisions in regional trade agreements