New Issue: Fordham International Law Journal

The latest issue of the Fordham International Law Journal (Vol. 32, no. 6, June 2009) is out. Contents include:

• David M. Crane, "Back to the Future" - Reflections on the Beginning of the Beginning: International Criminal Law in the Twenty-First Century
• Jorge Contesse & Jeanmarie Fenrich, "It's Not OK": New Zealand's Efforts to Eliminate Violence Against Women

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 42, no. 4, October 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium: Mounting Tensions and Melting Ice: Exploring the Legal and Political Future of the Arctic
• Peter C. Marshall, Jr., Symposium Introduction
• Hans Corell, The Arctic: An Opportunity to Cooperate and to Demonstrate Statesmanship
• Mary Beth West, Arctic Warning: Environmental, Human, and Security Implications
• James Kraska, Creeping Uniqueness in the Northwest Passage and the Global Order of the Oceans
• Suzanne LaLonde, Arctic Waters: Cooperation or Competition
• John E. Noyes, Dispute Settlement and the Outer Limits on the Continental Shelf
• Vladimir Jares, The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 M, the Work of the Commission on the Arctic
• Jonathan D. Greenberg, Political Ecology of the Arctic

Nollkaemper: The Reception by the International Court of Justice of Decisions of Domestic Courts

André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Center for International Law) has posted The Reception by the International Court of Justice of Decisions of Domestic Courts (Federalismi.it, Rivista di Diritto Pubblico Italiano, Comunitario e Comparato, n. 15/2009). Here's the absract:

This paper examines the practice of the ICJ in its reception of decisions of national courts. It demonstrates that while the ICJ continues to recognize the formal separation between international law and domestic law, the practice of the Court is not based on a rigid dichotomy between the international and the domestic spheres. In particular cases, decisions of domestic courts play a role in judgments of the Court, not only as fact but also in terms of legal effects. Indeed, the dominant ‘decisions of domestic courts as facts’ doctrine fails to capture the variety of the ways in which the Court treats such decisions.

New Issue: Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 9, no. 4, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Hugh King, The Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of States
• Amrei Müller, Limitations to and Derogations from Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Dominic McGoldrick, Accommodating Muslims in Europe: From Adopting Sharia Law to Religiously Based Opt Outs from Generally Applicable Laws

Nollkaemper: The Power of Secondary Rules of International Law to Connect the International and the National Legal Orders

André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Center for International Law) has posted The Power of Secondary Rules of International Law to Connect the International and the National Legal Orders (in Multi-Sourced Equivalent Norms, Y. Shany, et. al. eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This papers examines on what basis, and to what extent, secondary rules of international law, notably those relating to interpretation and reparation, may help to moderate the divergence between international norms, on the one hand, and the national manifestations of such norms, on the other. To the extent that secondary rules indeed can induce convergence between international and national norms, they also may reduce divergence of interpretations between states. As such, the paper contributes to the debate on the phenomenon of fragmentation in international law.

New Issue: Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (Vol. 27, no. 3, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Morris Kiwinda Mbondenyi, Invigorating the African System on Human and Peoples’ Rights Through Institutional Mainstreaming and Rationalisation
• Joke Swiebel & Dennis Van Der Veur, Hate Crimes Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons and the Policy Response of International Governmental Organisations
• Antenor Hallo de Wolf & James Watson, Navigating the Boundaries of Prevention: The Role of OPCAT in Deportations with Diplomatic Assurances

Workshop: Becker Lorca

Arnulf Becker Lorca (King's College London - Law) will give a talk today at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law Friday Lunchtime Lecture Series on "'Peripheral' International Lawyers, 1900-1950: Alvarez and Others."

Kumar: European Border Measures and Trade in Generic Pharmaceuticals: Issues of TRIPs, Doha Declaration and Public Health

Shashank Kumar (National Law Univ., Jodhpur) has posted European Border Measures and Trade in Generic Pharmaceuticals: Issues of TRIPs, Doha Declaration and Public Health (International Trade Law & Regulation, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp.176-184, 2009). Here's the abstract:

This work seeks to analyze European efforts at promoting higher standards of IP protection and enforcement through border measures. In doing so, it traces the evolution of EC Regulation 1383/03 and identifies trends in its systemic enforcement against in-transit generic pharmaceuticals. The analysis of the European border measures reveals that in addition to the relevant law, the EC has undertaken several bilateral and multilateral efforts to supplement its maximalist agenda in border enforcement. Further, it raises some important issues relating to the interpretation of the TRIPS Agreement, the jurisprudential implications of the Doha Declaration and the human right to health.

Jain: The Khmer Rouge Tribunal Paves the Way for Additional Investigations

Neha Jain (Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on The Khmer Rouge Tribunal Paves the Way for Additional Investigations.

Gross: Moral Dilemmas of Modern War: Torture, Assassination, and Blackmail in an Age of Asymmetric Conflict

Michael L. Gross (Univ. of Haifa - International Relations) has published Moral Dilemmas of Modern War: Torture, Assassination, and Blackmail in an Age of Asymmetric Conflict (Cambridge Univ. Press 2010). Here's the abstract:

Asymmetric conflict is changing the way that we practise and think about war. Torture, rendition, assassination, blackmail, extortion, direct attacks on civilians, and chemical weapons are all finding their way to the battlefield despite longstanding international prohibitions. This book offers a practical guide for policy makers, military officers, students, and others who ask such questions as: Do guerillas deserve respect or long jail sentences? Are there grounds to torture guerillas for information or assassinate them on the battlefield? Is there room for nonlethal weapons to subdue militants and safeguard the lives of noncombatants? Who are noncombatants in asymmetric war? What is the status of civilians who shelter and aid guerillas? And, do guerillas have any right to attack civilians, particularly those who aid and shelter members of the stronger army? If one side can expand the scope of civilian vulnerability, then why can’t the other?

The Aleinikoff Appointment

T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center, has been appointed U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees. According to the UNHCR news item, Aleinikoff's "appointment, in consultation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was announced following an extensive search and interviews with several candidates." Of course, that depends on what the phrase "extensive search" means, as the position of Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees is, in practice, invariably given to an American. Aleinikoff's predecessor was L. Craig Johnstone, who served for many years in the State Department. Johnstone took over from Wendy Chamberlin, also a former State Department official. Chamberlin replaced Mary Ann Wyrsch, who replaced Frederick Barton, both of whom had previously held positions in the U.S. Government. In 1999, Barton replaced Gerald Walzer, an Austrian and a long-time UNHCR official, who had held the position since 1993. But Walzer's appointment was an anomaly, the result of a deal made between the United States and Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali that gave other U.N. positions to the United States in exchange for the refugees slot. Walzer had replaced M. Douglas Stafford, an American. See Al Kamen, A Power Drain at the United Nations?, Washington Post, June 21, 1993, at A15. I review the practice of informal control of high-level appointments at international organizations in Representation and Power in International Organization: The Operational Constitution and Its Critics, published earlier this year in the American Journal of International Law. (Because of space constraints, I was unable to discuss in that article the informal agreement regarding the Deputy position at UNCHR described here.)

Let me be clear that I point this out not to criticize Aleinikoff's appointment itself. He is clearly well-qualified for the position in a number of ways. And there may be advantages to having an American in the Deputy's office. So I make no claim regarding the appropriateness of Aleinikoff's selection or the informal agreement that apparently limited the pool of candidates. I point this out, simply, because it is worth knowing how things actually work (the press releases and news reports will not or cannot provide this information), so that an honest conversation can be had regarding current and future practice.

Lantschner: Soft jurisprudence im Minderheitenrecht

Emma Lantschner has published Soft jurisprudence im Minderheitenrecht: Standardsetzung und Konfliktbearbeitung durch Kontrollmechanismen bi- und multilateraler Instrumente (Nomos 2009). Here's the abstract:

Die Arbeit geht der Frage nach, inwiefern sich die multilaterale und die bilaterale Ebene in ihren Bemühungen im Bereich des Minderheitenschutzes hinsichtlich der standardsetzenden und der konfliktbearbeitenden Funktion ergänzen. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung stehen dabei die Kontrollmechanismen bi- und multilateraler Instrumente. Auf der Seite der multilateralen Mechanismen nimmt eine Analyse der Stellungnahmen des Beratenden Ausschusses für das Rahmenübereinkommen des Europarats zum Schutz nationaler Minderheiten breiten Raum ein. Auf der bilateralen Ebene werden hauptsächlich die Gemischten Kommissionen zur Überwachung der bilateralen Verträge, die Ungarn mit seinen Nachbarstaaten abgeschlossen hat, untersucht.

Eine umfassende monographische Bearbeitung, die für die einzelnen im Rahmenübereinkommen gewährten Rechte anhand der Stellungnahmen des Beratenden Ausschusses Standards ermittelt, gab es bislang nicht. Auch war es aufgrund der dürftigen Quellenlage zu den Tätigkeiten und Ergebnissen von Gemischten Kommissionen bisher schwierig, deren Funktionen und Wirkung zu untersuchen. Im Zuge der Recherchen an dieser Arbeit konnten neue Materialien zugänglich gemacht und verarbeitet werden. Die vorliegende Publikation schließt damit zwei Lücken in der bisher bestehenden Literatur zum Minderheitenrecht.

Lecture: Okowa on "International Law and the Protection of Natural Resources in Situations of Armed Conflict"

Phoebe Okowa (Queen Mary Univ. of London - Law) will deliver a lecture today as part of the UCL Laws Current Legal Problems Lecture Series on "International Law and the Protection of Natural Resources in Situations of Armed Conflict."

Workshop: Bates

Ed Bates (Univ. of Southampton - Law) will give a talk today at the Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group on "The European Court of Human Rights: The First Half-Century."

Soohoo, Albisa, & Davis: Bringing Human Rights Home: A History of Human Rights in the United States

Cynthia Soohoo (Center for Reproductive Rights), Catherine Albisa (National Economic and Social Rights Initiative), & Martha F. Davis (Northeastern Univ. - Law) have published an abridged edition of Bringing Human Rights Home: A History of Human Rights in the United States (Univ. of Pennsylvania Press 2009). This is another volume in the series Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights. Contents include:

• Paul Gordon Lauren, A Human Rights Lens on U.S. History: Human Rights at Home and Human Rights Abroad
• Elizabeth Borgwardt, FDR's Four Freedoms and Wartime Transformations in America's Discourse of Rights
• Carol Anderson, A "Hollow Mockery": African Americans, White Supremacy, and the Development of Human Rights in the United States
• Hope Lewis , "New" Human Rights? U.S. Ambivalence Toward the International Economic and Social Rights Framework
• Dorothy Q. Thomas, Against American Supremacy: Rebuilding Human Rights Culture in the United States
• Catherine Albisa, Economic and Social Rights in the United States: Six Rights, One Promise
• Cynthia Soohoo, Human Rights and the Transformation of the "Civil Rights" and "Civil Liberties" Lawyer
• Margaret Huang, "Going Global": Appeals to International and Regional Human Rights Bodies
• Martha F. Davis, Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: States, Municipalities, and International Human Rights
• Wendy Patten, The Impact of September 11 and the Struggle Against Terrorism on the U.S. Domestic Human Rights Movement
• Kathryn Sikkink, Bush Administration Noncompliance with the Prohibition on Torture and Cruel and Degrading Treatment
• Lance CompaTrade Unions and Human Rights

New Issue: ASA Bulletin

The latest issue of the ASA Bulletin (Vol. 27, no. 4, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Alexander J. Bělohlávek, West Tankers as a Trojan Horse with Respect to the Autonomy of Arbitration Proceedings and the New York Convention 1958
• Gabrielle Nater-Bass, Class Action Arbitration: A New Challenge?
• Tetiana Bersheda, Les clauses d’arbitrage statutaires en droit suisse
• Philipp Ritz, Pitfalls to Avoid When Drafting Arbitration Clauses in India-Related Contracts

von Bogdandy et al.: The Exercise of Public Authority by International Institutions

Armin von Bogdandy, Rüdiger Wolfrum, Jochen von Bernstorff, Philipp Dann, & Matthias Goldmann have published The Exercise of Public Authority by International Institutions: Advancing International Institutional Law (Springer 2010). The table of contents is available here. Here's the abstract:

This book develops a framework for the legal analysis of global governance phenomena. Today, international institutions are responsible for more and more governance activities which cover a wide range of issue areas and which affect individuals and governments alike. So far, there exists no legal, doctrinal approach to such phenomena. The dominant social science approach is unsatisfactory from a normative standpoint: it does not allow to single out those activities on the part of international institutions which compromise individual or collective self-determination. To this end, the book proposes the concept of "international public authority." In a series of thematic studies, it identifies important hard and soft mechanisms that constitute unilateral exercises of power by the institutions of global governance. Cross-cutting analyses single out procedural and substantive principles which could become the corner stones of the further development of international institutional law.

Marimon et al.: Multilevel Judicial Governance between Global and Regional Economic Integration Systems: Institutional and Substantive Aspects

Ramon Marimon, James H. Mathis, Roderick E. Abbott, Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, & Nikos Lavranos (all, European Univ. Institute) have posted Multilevel Judicial Governance between Global and Regional Economic Integration Systems: Institutional and Substantive Aspects. Here's the abstract:

The Brazilian Tyres case that was adjudicated by both MERCOSUR and WTO dispute settlement bodies illustrates the issues raised by multilevel judicial governance. The relationship between regional and global trading systems has become increasingly complex, raising the question whether Article XXIV GATT is still sufficient. Similarly, the way Article XX GATT is applied to balance trade and non-trade issues is increasingly disputed. Underlying these issues are more fundamental aspects of delivering justice while at the same time preserving the world trading system. In his contribution Lavranos takes the view that the WTO Appellate Body failed to show sufficient respect to the MERCOSUR dispute settlement body decision. More specifically, Lavranos argues that trade interests were wrongly given primacy over the health and environmental concerns of Brazil. Mathis’ paper discusses in more detail Article XXIV GATT and the question whether this could serve as an exception for Brazil being a member of MERCOSUR to give precedence over its GATT obligations. Mathis also analyzes Article XX GATT in this regard, concluding that Brazil finally is presented with the option to comply with its own regional law and compensate its WTO partners accordingly, or to comply with the WTO ruling and disregard its own regional law. Abbott’s indicates some of the lessons to be drawn from past experience in applying Art. XXIV during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as some problems associated with Art. XX, and looks ahead to an important future debate - potentially - on trade and non-trade factors: the measures that may be taken in association with measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to control the effects of global warming and climate change. Finally, Petersmann’s outlook criticizes Lavranos critique on the Appellate Body by arguing that at the end of day justice was delivered according to the present WTO rules. In sum, this collection of very different views on multilevel judicial governance offer a tour d’horizon, which hopefully stimulates further discussion and analysis.

Boulle: The Law of Globalization: An Introduction

Laurence Boulle has published The Law of Globalization: An Introduction (Kluwer Law International 2009). Here's the abstract:

There is a growing clamor ― particularly from the main beneficiaries of globalization ― that rules need to be established to govern the international economy, with a specific focus on questions such as copyright violations, trade sanctions, and protections for increased foreign investment.

While there is little doubt that globalization is a major contributor to changes in the definition, boundaries and nature of law, the question remains as to how much law and regulation from different sources is compatible with the assumptions of economic globalization. From a market perspective the point at which state law and regulation move from ‘legitimate’ non-economic interests into the ‘illegitimate’ restriction of trade and investment will materialize much sooner than it will from other perspectives. These theoretical questions arise in concrete form for the decisions of international economic institutions such as the WTO.

This thoughtful work focuses on the different forms of law which create the legal infrastructure of economic globalization and on how they interact with one another. It also explains how law is used both to maintain and oppose aspects of globalization. In addition it evaluates the governance of the global political economy in terms of the standards of the Rule of Law.

Tienhaara: The Expropriation of Environmental Governance

Kyla Tienhaara (Australian National Univ.) has published The Expropriation of Environmental Governance: Protecting Foreign Investors at the Expense of Public Policy (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

Recent years have seen an explosive increase in investor-state disputes resolved in international arbitration. This is significant not only in terms of the number of disputes that have arisen and the number of states that have been involved, but also in terms of the novel types of dispute that have emerged. Traditionally, investor-state disputes resulted from straightforward incidences of nationalisation or breach of contract. In contrast, modern disputes frequently revolve around government measures taken to further public policy goals, such as the protection of the environment. This book explores the outcomes of several investor-state disputes over environmental policy. In addition to examining the pleadings of parties and decisions of arbitral tribunals in disputes that have been resolved in arbitration, the influence that investment arbitration has had in negotiated outcomes to conflicts is also explored.

de Guchteneire, Pecoud, & Cholewinski: Migration and Human Rights

Paul de Guchteneire (UNESCO), Antoine Pecoud (UNESCO), & Ryszard Cholewinski (International Organization for Migration) have published Migration and Human Rights: The United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers' Rights (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

The UN Convention on Migrant Workers’ Rights is the most comprehensive international treaty in the field of migration and human rights. Adopted in 1990 and entered into force in 2003, it sets a standard in terms of access to human rights for migrants. However, it suffers from a marked indifference: only forty states have ratified it and no major immigration country has done so. This highlights how migrants remain forgotten in terms of access to rights. Even though their labour is essential in the world economy, the non-economic aspect of migration – and especially migrants’ rights – remain a neglected dimension of globalisation. This volume provides in-depth information on the Convention and on the reasons behind states’ reluctance towards its ratification. It brings together researchers, international civil servants and NGO members and relies upon an interdisciplinary perspective that includes not only law, but also sociology and political science.

Dan-Cohen: Skirmishes on the Temporal Boundaries of States

Meir Dan-Cohen (Univ. of California, Berkeley - Law) has posted Skirmishes on the Temporal Boundaries of States (Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 72, p. 95, Spring 2009). Here's the abstract:

This paper focuses on the special difficulties of resolving collective disputes, specifically among states, that result from past mischief. Past events are fixed, casting a permanent shadow. So how can collectivities cope with the “dead weight” of history and address past-oriented grievances? In considering this question, I introduce the notion of a state’s temporal boundary, and argue that changes in this boundary, analogous to the more familiar changes in territorial borders, can lift the shadow of the past and relieve past-oriented grievances. I then connect this conceptual framework to the distinction between history and memory as two different modalities of relating to the past. I maintain that a proper understanding of a state’s relationship to the past, and in particular the possibility of changes in a state’s temporal boundaries, offer a way to retain historical knowledge of past wrongs without the rancor and acrimony that mark this knowledge when it assumes the form of collective memory.

In the same issue (a symposium on on "Group-Conflict Resolution: Sources of Resistance to Reconciliation"), John C.P. Goldberg (Harvard Univ. - Law) comments.

Osiatyński: Human Rights and Their Limits

Wiktor Osiatyński (Central European Univ. - Legal Studies) has published Human Rights and Their Limits (Cambridge Univ. Press 2009). Here's the abstract:

Human Rights and Their Limits shows that the concept of human rights has developed in waves: each call for rights served the purpose of social groups that tried to stop further proliferation of rights once their own goals were reached. While defending the universality of human rights as norms of behavior, Osiatyński admits that the philosophy on human rights does not need to be universal. Instead he suggests that the enjoyment of social rights should be contingent upon the recipient’s contribution to society. He calls for a ‘soft universalism’ that will not impose rights on others but will share the experience of freedom and help the victims of violations. Although a state of unlimited democracy threatens rights, the excess of rights can limit resources indispensable for democracy. This book argues that, although rights are a prerequisite of freedom, they should be balanced with other values that are indispensable for social harmony and personal happiness.

New Volume: Israel Yearbook on Human Rights

The latest volume of the Israel Yearbook on Human Rights (Vol. 39, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• International Workshop: "The War in Afghanistan: A Legal Analysis" - United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island , 25-27 June 2008
• Charles Garraway, Afghanistan and the Nature of Conflict
• Geoffrey Corn, Making the Case for Conflict Bifurcation in Afghanistan: Transnational Armed Conflict, Al Qaeda, and the Limits of the Associated Militia Concept
• John F. Murphy, Afghanistan, Hard Choices and the Future of International Law
• Michael N. Schmitt, Targeting and International Humanitarian Law in Afghanistan
• Gary D. Solis, Law of War Issues in Ground Hostilities in Afghanistan
• Matthew C. Waxman, United Nations Detention Operations in Afghanistan and the Law of Armed Conflict
• Marco Sassòli, The International Legal Framework for Stability Operations: When May International Forces Attack or Detain Someone in Afghanistan
• David Turns, Jus ad Pacem in Bello? Afghanistan, Stability Operations and International Law Relating to Armed Conflict
• Kenneth Watkin, Stability Operations: A Guiding Framework for “Small Wars” and Other Conflicts of the 21st Century?
• Eric Talbot Jensen & Amy M. Pomeroy, Afghanistan Legal Lessons Learned: Army Rule of Law Operations
• Sean D. Murphy, The International Legality of U.S. Military Cross-Border Operations from Afghanistan into Pakistan
• Yoram Dinstein, Concluding Remarks on Terrorism and Afghanistan
• Miscellaneous Issues
• Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg, The International Legal Framework of Submarine Operations
• Daphna Shraga, The Secretary-General’s Bulletin on the Observance by United Nations Forces of International Humanitarian Law: A Decade Later

Corn: Mixing Apples and Hand Grenades: The Logical Limit of Applying Human Rights Norms to Armed Conflict

Geoffrey S. Corn (South Texas College of Law) has posted Mixing Apples and Hand Grenades: The Logical Limit of Applying Human Rights Norms to Armed Conflict (Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

One of the most complex contemporary debates related to the regulation of armed conflict is the relationship between international humanitarian law (or the law of armed conflict) and international human rights law. Since human rights experts first began advocating for the complimentary application of these two bodies of law, there has been a steady march of human rights application into an area formerly subject to the exclusive law of armed conflict regulation. While the legal aspects of this debate are both complex and fascinating, like all areas of conflict regulation the outcome must ultimately produce guidelines that can be translated into an effective operational framework for war-fighters. In an era of an already complex and often confused battle space, there can be little tolerance for adding complexity and confusion to the rules that war-fighters must apply in the execution of their missions. Instead, clarity is essential to aid them in navigating this complexity.

This article will explore this debate from a military operational perspective. It asserts the invalidity of extreme views in this complementarity debate, and that the inevitable invocation of human rights obligations in the context of armed conflict necessitates a careful assessment of where symmetry between these two sources of law is operationally logical and where that logic dissipates. While acknowledging a legitimate role for human rights norms in relation to the treatment of noncombatants and subdued opposition personnel, I argue that these norms cannot be permitted to influence the legal framework that regulates the application of combat power against operational opponents. Preventing this intrusion is essential to balance the interest of protecting human rights with the fundamental purpose of armed hostilities – securing the prompt and efficient submission of an opponent. Perhaps the most critical premise of this article is that failing to recognize the existence of this boundary will produce a distortion of this historic authority/restraint balance at the core of the law of armed conflict – a distortion that will inevitably be perceived as operationally illogical by armed forces thereby risking the credibility of both bodies of law.

Fontanelli, Martinico, & Carrozza: Shaping Rule of Law Through Dialogue. International and Supranational Experiences

Filippo Fontanelli (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), Giuseppe Martinico (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), & Paolo Carrozza (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) have published Shaping Rule of Law Through Dialogue. International and Supranational Experiences (Europa Law Publishing 2009). Contents include:

• Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, ‘Constitutional Justice’ Requires Judicial Cooperation and ‘Comity’ in the Protection of ‘Rule of Law’
• Yuval Shany, Dédoublement fonctionnel and the Mixed Loyalties of National and International Judges
• Joost Pauwelyn & Luiz Eduardo Salles, Forum Shopping before International Tribunals. (Real) Concerns, (Im)Possible Solutions
• Jan Komárek, In the Court(s) We Trust? On the Need for Hierarchy and Differentiation in the Preliminary Ruling Procedure
• Nikolaos Lavranos, Revisiting Article 307 EC. The Untouchable Core of Fundamental European Constitutional Law Values and Principles
• Federico Fabbrini, Judicial Review of United Nations Counter-Terrorism Sanctions in the European Multilevel System of Human Rights Protection. A Case Study in Ineffectiveness
• Stanislas Adam, Overcoming Dissonance to Reshape Coherence. The European Court of Justice, Terrorist Lists and the Rule of Law
• Giuseppe Martinico, Preliminary Reference and Constitutional Courts. Are You in the Mood for Dialogue?
• Fulvio Cortese, ECJ and Administrative Courts in EU Member States. Towards a Common Judicial Reasoning?
• Antonella Angelini, Behrami and Saramati: When Silence Matters
• Rosa Raffaelli, The Relationship between the ICC and Other International Tribunals. An Analysis of the Lubanga Confirmation of Charges
• Jorge A. Huerta-Goldman, Trade Remedies Disputes – Reciprocal Relationship between WTO and NAFTA Tribunals
• Alberto Alemanno, The Dialogue between Judges & Experts in the EU and WTO
• Filippo Fontanelli, Whose Margin Is It? State Discretion and Judges’ Appreciation in the Necessity Quicksand
• Gianluigi Palombella, Global Threads: Weaving the Rule of Law and the Balance of Legal Software

Mégret: Justifying Compensation by the International Criminal Court’s Victims Trust Fund: Lessons from Domestic Compensation Schemes

Frédéric Mégret (McGill Univ. - Law) has posted Justifying Compensation by the International Criminal Court’s Victims Trust Fund: Lessons from Domestic Compensation Schemes. Here's the abstract:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first international criminal tribunal that pays significant attention to victims. In particular, the Victims Trust Fund is tasked with both implementing complex Court ordered reparation awards and providing “assistance” to victims. Although this has clear implications for the nature of international criminal justice, which is being pushed in a more restorative direction, less attention has been paid to the normative rationale for setting up a Victims Trust Fund. It is anticipated that most of the condemned will not be in a position to pay the reparations imposed on them, but at the same time that reparations are a “right” of victims. The VTF, in addition, may receive funding through voluntary contributions by states, international organizations or individuals. The article draws on the theory and experience of several decades of domestic victim compensation schemes to try and provide a normative account of what the VTF will effectively be doing. It argues that there is a tension between the Court’s emphasis on reparations and the fact that the VTF has control over its own funds. The proper way to see the VTF is, ultimately, as both a way to supplement reparation awards and to provide assistance. It is suggested, however, that the VTF, like domestic compensation schemes, will evolve away from a rights model to one based on solidarity with and welfare towards victims.

Raz: Human Rights in the New World Order

Joseph Raz (Columbia Univ. - Law) has posted Human Rights in the New World Order. Here's the abstract:

A reflection on the importance and some of the problems involved with the practice of human rights in international relations in the age of globalization. Beginning with rights in general to claim that their justification is in protecting and advancing individual interest, and distributing power to individuals. This is the main distinctive contribution of human rights in the international arena: they empower individuals, and voluntary organizations, endowing them with a voice alongside states and multinational corporations, and creating an additional channel of political action. I argue that human rights recognized in human rights law and practice are not universal rights, but they are syncronically universal, pertaining to all human beings alive today. I explain and justify that feature by the fact that human rights set a limit to state sovereignty. This fact makes clear the importance of impartial, efficient and reliable institutions for administering and enforcing human rights. Where such institutions are impossible there are no human right. Even when they are possible we face the risk that the practice of human rights would lead to an international regime which is blind to cultural diversity, and tends to serve the interests of big businesses and nothing more. This - I claim - is not something inseparable from the idea of human rights, but it confronts its practice with as yet unresolved problems. The human rights to education and to health are used to illustrate the points made in the paper.

New Issue: International Legal Materials

The latest issue of International Legal Materials (Vol. 48, no. 4, July 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Exchange of Letters Between the European Union and the Government of Kenya on the Conditions and Modalities for the Transfer of Persons Suspected of Having Committed Acts of Piracy, with introductory note by Eugene Kontorovich
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes: Funnekotter and Others v. Republic of Zimbabwe, with introductory note by Ben Love
• European Court of Justice (GC): Apostolides v. Orams, with introductory note by Thomas D. Grant
• United States Supreme Court: Ministry of Defense & Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi, with introductory note by Ronald J. Bettauer
• United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit: King et al. v. Cessna Aircraft Co., with introductory note by Charles T. Kotuby Jr.
• United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: El-Shifa Pharm. Indus. Co. v. United States, with introductory note by Chad G. Marzen
• Human Rights Action Plan for China (2009-2010), with introductory note by Philip C. Aka
• European Court of Human Rights: Ould Dah v. France, with introductory note by Maria Gavouneli

New Issue: Review of European Community & International Environmental Law

The latest issue of the Review of European Community & International Environmental Law (Vol. 18, no. 3, November 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Articles on Climate Change
• Kati Kulovesi & María Gutiérrez, Climate Change Negotiations Update: Process and Prospects for a Copenhagen Agreed Outcome in December 2009
• Froukje Maria Platjouw, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Home or Abroad? The Implications of Kyoto's Supplementarity Requirement for the Present and Future Climate Change Regime
• Tuula Honkonen, The Principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility in Post-2012 Climate Negotiations
• Sanmeet Kaur, Using State Aid to Correct the Market Failure of Climate Change
• David Langlet, Safe Return to the Underground? The Role of International Law in Subsurface Storage of Carbon Dioxide
• Christina Voigt, Environmental Integrity and Non-Discrimination in the Norwegian Emissions Trading Scheme
• General Articles
• Simon Marsden, MOX Plant and the Espoo Convention: Can Member State Disputes Concerning Mixed Environmental Agreements be Resolved Outside EC Law?
• Tom Delreux, The EU in Environmental Negotiations in UNECE: An Analysis of its Role in the Aarhus Convention and the SEA Protocol Negotiations

New Issue: Journal of Conflict & Security Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Vol. 14, no. 2, Summer 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Inger Österdahl & Esther van Zadel, What Will Jus Post Bellum Mean? Of New Wine and Old Bottles
• Hitoshi Nasu, Operationalizing the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ and Conflict Prevention: Dilemmas of Civilian Protection in Armed Conflict
• Daniela Gavshon, The Applicability of IHL in Mixed Situations of Disaster and Conflict
• Steven Blockmans & Ramses A Wessel, The European Union and Crisis Management: Will the Lisbon Treaty Make the EU More Effective?
• Lisa Tabassi, The Nuclear Test Ban: Lex Lata or de Lege Ferenda?

Call for Submissions: Journal of International Law and International Relations

The Journal of International Law and International Relations, a peer-reviewed journal at the University of Toronto, has issued a call for submissions for its forthcoming issue 2 of volume 6. Here's the call:

Call for Submissions

Volume 6, Issue 2

Deadline for Submissions: January 23, 2010

The Journal of International Law and International Relations (JILIR) invites submissions from scholars of both International Law and International Relations for its Spring 2010 issue. The JILIR is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that seeks to develop interdisciplinary discourse at the nexus of two dynamic and relevant disciplines.

JILIR recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with one issue guest-edited by Antje Wiener, and with a thematic issue focused on secession. The Journal is now returning to its general mandate, and is welcoming submissions on the wide variety of topics located in the intellectual space jointly occupied by International Law and International Relations.

A joint venture of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Munk Centre for International Studies, the Journal's advisory board is comprised of scholars from both International Law and International Relations, including Kenneth Abbott, Jose Alvarez, Upendra Baxi, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Jutta Brunnée, Michael Byers, Martha Finnemore, Robert Keohane, Benedict Kingsbury, Karen Knop, Martti Koskenniemi, Stephen Krasner, Friedrich Kratochwil, Oona Hathaway, Réné Provost, Philippe Sands, Shirley Scott, Gerry Simpson, Janice Gross Stein, Stephen Toope, and Rob Walker.

Please send submissions via e-mail to submissions@jilir.org, as attachments in Microsoft Word or Rich Text format, preferably with footnoted citations. Please include the author’s full contact information (name, institutional affiliation, mailing address, telephone number(s), and e-mail address) in the body of the e-mail.

The deadline for submissions is January 23, 2010.

BIICL: Prospects for the 2010 Review Conference of the NPT: Challenges for the Legal Regime for Nuclear Non-proliferation

John Everard (formerly, U.K. Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Mark Fitzpatrick (International Institute for Strategic Studies), Daniel Joyner (Univ. of Alabama - Law), and John Simpson (Univ. of Southampton - Mountbatten Centre for International Studies) will speak today at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law on "Prospects for the 2010 Review Conference of the NPT: Challenges for the Legal Regime for Nuclear Non-proliferation."

Workshop: Vladeck

Stephen Vladeck (American Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the Georgetown University Law Center Foreign Relations Law Colloquium on "The Laws of War as a Constitutional Limit on Military Jurisdiction."

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 43, no. 6, December 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Faizel Ismail, The Role of the Chair in the WTO Negotiations from the Potsdam Collapse in June 2007 to July 2008
• Darnita York Akers & Sencer Ecer, The TRIPS Agreement and Its Effects on the R&D Spending of US-Owned Multinational Companies in Developing Countries
• Laura Nielsen, Green Farm Subsidies Sponsoring Eco Labeling: Is the Separation of Market Access and Subsidies Regulation in WTO Law Sustainable?
• Humberto Zúñiga Schroder, Definition of the Concept ‘International Standard’ in the TBT Agreement
• Yoshiko Naiki, Accountability and Legitimacy in Global Health and Safety Governance: The World Trade Organization, the SPS Committee, and International Standard-Setting Organizations
• Louise Curran, EU Trade Defence Actions against China and Their Impacts: The Cases of Textiles and Footwear
• Stuart Smyth, Peter W.B. Phillips, & William A. Kerr, Global Governance Quandaries Regarding Transformative Technologies for Bioproducts, Crops, and Foods
• Valentin Zahrnt, For a New Classification System of Domestic Support in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture