New Volume: Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 10, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• José Luis Vallarta Marrón, La argumentación jurídica en torno al ius cogens internacional
• Mauricio Iván del Toro Huerta, El derecho de propiedad colectiva de los miembros de comunidades y pueblos indígenas en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos
• Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral, Una aproximación al debate democrático en derecho internacional
• Oswaldo Ruiz Chiriboga, La valoración de la prueba de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. El caso Apitz Barbera y otros vs. Venezuela
• Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Consideraciones sobre el Estado de derecho en el plano internacional
• Cecilia Añaños Meza, La "responsabilidad de proteger" en Naciones Unidas y la doctrina de la "responsabilidad de proteger"
• André Luiz Cosme Ladeia, A relativização da soberania em face da preservação dos direitos e garantias fundamentais
• Ana Paula Akerman Sheps, The Dispute over the Raposa Serra do Sol Reserve Demarcation: A Matter of Indigenous Constitutional Rights or National Sovereignty?
• Elena F. Pérez Carrillo, Europa ante la crisis financiera. Plan europeo de recuperación y principales políticas europeas para hacer frente a la crisis
• José María Valenzuela Robles Linares, Yacimientos transfronterizos de hidrocarburos. Entre el hecho jurídico y el diplomático
• Sergio Peña-Neira, Derechos de los Estados en el ámbito marítimo: interpretación y aplicación de los principios y normas de los Estados en materia de diversidad biológica
• Federico Picinali, Can the Crime of "Persecution" Encompass Hate Speech?
• Alfonso Chacón Mata, Breve reseña de la naturaleza y alcances del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos

Conference: ESIL 4th Biennial Conference (Update)

The 4th Biennial Conference of the European Society of International Law will take place in Cambridge, England on September 2-4, 2010, with the overarching theme "International Law 1989-2010: A Performance Appraisal." The conference will be hosted by the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. I previously noted the call for papers here. The provisional program is now available here.

New Issue: Review of International Organizations

The latest issue of the Review of International Organizations (Vol. 5, no. 2, June 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Stephen C. Nelson, Does compliance matter? Assessing the relationship between sovereign risk and compliance with international monetary law
• Robert L. Brown, Measuring Delegation
• Hans Pitlik, Björn Frank & Mathias Firchow, The demand for transparency: An empirical note
• M.J. Peterson, How the indigenous got seats at the UN table

New Issue: Manchester Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Manchester Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 7, no. 1, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Laura Nielsen, Trade and Climate Change
• Aniekan Iboro Ukpepp, Market Access and the EU Rules of Origin: Reforming EU-Africa Trade Relationship
• Mohamed Salem Abou El Farag, Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Enforcement in Arab Countries: Some Reflections on the United States "Special 301" Report of 2009
• Devin S. Sikes, The Need for New Causation Standards in Antidumping, Countervailing Duty & Safeguard Actions
• Ben Sharp, Comparing Preferential Trade Agreement Scrutiny Under GATT Article XXIV and the Enabling Clause:Lessons Learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council

Schmitt: Military Necessity and Humanity in International Humanitarian Law: Preserving the Delicate Balance

Michael N. Schmitt (Durham Univ. - Law) has posted Military Necessity and Humanity in International Humanitarian Law: Preserving the Delicate Balance (Virginia Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Explores the relationship between military necessity and humanity in IHL. Argues that the two principles are inherent in extant IHL norms, but do not exist as norms that are additional to the black letter. Suggests that the balance is becoming somewhat skewed.

Workshop: Brien

Joshua Brien (Legal Adviser, Special Advisory Services Division, Commonwealth Secretariat) will give a talk today at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law Friday Lunchtime Lecture Series on "The Determination of Outer Continental Shelf under Annex 2 of UNCLOS."

Hurd: How Not to Argue Against the Crime of Aggression: A Response to Michael Glennon

Ian Hurd (Northwestern Univ. - Political Science) has posted How Not to Argue Against the Crime of Aggression: A Response to Michael Glennon. Here's the abstract:

The International Criminal Court is considering adding ‘aggression’ to the crimes for which individuals can be prosecuted by the Court. Michael Glennon’s recent article on the subject criticizes this effort from many angles, but a close consideration of his objections shows that each of them misses its target. I use his argument to suggest that there are five important legal and political questions that the ICC must answer to defend its project. Glennon’s article helps raise these questions but does little to answer them.

New Issue: Journal of World Intellectual Property

The latest issue of the Journal of World Intellectual Property (Vol. 13, no. 3, May 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Estelle Derclaye, Are Fashion Designers Better Protected in Continental Europe than in the United Kingdom? A Comparative Analysis of the Recent Case Law in France, Italy and the United Kingdom
• Sigrid Sterckx & Julian Cockbain, The Patentability of Computer Programs in Europe: An Improved Interpretation of Articles 52(2) and (3) of the European Patent Convention
• Brenda Pamela Mey, Unfettered Consumer Access to Affordable Therapies in the Post-TRIPS Era: A Dead-End Journey for Patients? Kenya and India Case Studies
• Nagla Rizk, Notes from Egypt's Alternative Music Scene: Business Models, Commons and Copyright

Schmitt: Deconstructing Direct Participation in Hostilities: The Constitutive Elements

Michael N. Schmitt (Durham Univ. - Law) has posted Deconstructing Direct Participation in Hostilities: The Constitutive Elements (New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper examines one aspect of the ICRC's Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities, the constitutive elements. The constitutive elements address the issue of whether an act by a civilian in hostilities amounts to direct participation, such that he or she loses protection from attack.

Moore: Do U.S. Courts Discriminate Against Treaties? Equivalence, Duality, and Treaty Non-Self-Execution

David H. Moore (Brigham Young Univ. - Law) has posted Do U.S. Courts Discriminate Against Treaties? Equivalence, Duality, and Treaty Non-Self-Execution (Columbia Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Despite the inclusion of treaties in the Supremacy Clause, only self-executing treaties are immediately enforceable in U.S. courts. The Supreme Court confirmed as much in its recent decision in Medellín v. Texas, which adopted a broad notion of non-self-execution. Most foreign relations law scholars seek to limit the incidence of non-self-execution. They argue, among other things, that non-self-execution violates the Supremacy Clause, which mandates equivalent treatment of the Constitution, statutes, and treaties. A minority of scholars has responded by arguing variously that the doctrine of non-self-execution does not discriminate against treaties, that the Constitution does not require equivalence, and that differential treatment is justified by treaties’ dual nature – they are, first, instruments of foreign affairs and, second, domestic law.

This Essay introduces a new argument in favor of a broad notion of non-self-execution. Rather than emphasize the unique duality of treaties, this Essay highlights the previously unacknowledged reality that the Constitution and statutes also possess a dual nature. While their primary role is as domestic law, they also play a role in foreign relations, particularly when they apply extraterritorially. Recent guidance from the Supreme Court on the extraterritorial application of the Constitution and statutes permits a timely comparison of the judicial treatment of all three sources of supreme law in their area of secondary application. Comparison along this new axis reveals that treaties fare better than statutes under even a broad notion of non-self-execution. The new analysis thus advances the argument for non-self-execution. The comparison also has important implications for other issues bearing on the domestic status of treaties.

Dwertmann: The Reparation System of the International Criminal Court

Eva Dwertmann (Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany) has published The Reparation System of the International Criminal Court Its Implementation, Possibilities and Limitations (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2010). Here's the abstract:

When the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court was adopted in 1998, one of its great innovations was that victims were granted an active role in the proceedings. In its early jurisprudence on victims’ rights, the International Criminal Court stated that “the success of the Court is, to some extent, linked to the success of its reparation system.” This book is among the first to focus on the International Criminal Court’s power to order reparations to victims. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework of the reparation system, taking into account relevant Court decisions. Possibilities for its implementation are drawn up, providing potential solutions for its multiple challenges, including the distinct asymmetry between the individualized responsibility to provide reparations and the collective nature of the crimes and its consequences. With its practical approach, this book is particularly valuable for practitioners, but also for students and researchers.

Workshop: Wheatley

Steven Wheatley (Univ. of Leeds - Law) will give a talk today at the Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group on "The Idea of (Legitimate) Authority and the (Democratic) Rule of International Law."

Digest of United States Practice in International Law (Electronic Publication)

An electronic version of the Digest of United States Practice in International Law for the years 1989 through 2008 is now available on the U.S. Department of State's website 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. 42, no. 2, Winter 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Laura A. Dickinson, Military Lawyers, Private Contractors, and the Problem of International Law Compliance
• Beth Lyon, The Unsigned United Nations Migrant Worker Rights Convention: An Overlooked Opportunity to Change the "Brown Collar" Migration Paradigm

New Issue: Revue Générale de Droit International Public

The latest issue of the Revue Générale de Droit International Public (Vol. 114, no. 1, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Leire Escajedo San Epifanio, Vers un cadre régulateur de la sécurité de l'application de la biotechnologie: le chemin parcouru
• Olivier Corten, Le rapport de la Mission d'enquête internationale indépendante sur le conflit en Géorgie: quel apport au jus contra bellum?
• Ghislain Poissonnier & Pierre Osseland, Les colonies israéliennes de Cisjordanie en droit international
• Jérôme de Hemptinne, La définition de la notion de " population civile " dans le cadre du crime contre l'humanité. Commentaire critique de l'arrêt Martic
• Werner Hoeffner, Observations sur le transfèrement international de personnes condamnées à la lueur de la situation de certains Français détenus à l'étranger
• Anaïd Panossian & Christophe Colette, À propos de la 15e Conférence des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques et de l'accord de Copenhague

Bloxham & Moses: The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies

Donald Bloxham (Univ. of Edinburgh - History) & A. Dirk Moses (Univ. of Sydney - History) have published The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies (Oxford Univ. Press 2010). Here's the abstract:

Genocide has scarred human societies since Antiquity. In the modern era, genocide has been a global phenomenon: from massacres in colonial America, Africa, and Australia to the Holocaust of European Jewry and mass death in Maoist China. In recent years, the discipline of 'genocide studies' has developed to offer analysis and comprehension.

The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies is the first book to subject both genocide and the young discipline it has spawned to systematic, in-depth investigation. Thirty-four renowned experts study genocide through the ages by taking regional, thematic, and disciplinary-specific approaches. Chapters examine secessionist and political genocides in modern Asia. Others treat the violent dynamics of European colonialism in Africa, the complex ethnic geography of the Great Lakes region, and the structural instability of the continent's northern horn. South and North America receive detailed coverage, as do the Ottoman Empire, Nazi-occupied Europe, and post-communist Eastern Europe. Sustained attention is paid to themes like gender, memory, the state, culture, ethnic cleansing, military intervention, the United Nations, and prosecutions.

The work is multi-disciplinary, featuring the work of historians, anthropologists, lawyers, political scientists, sociologists, and philosophers. Uniquely combining empirical reconstruction and conceptual analysis, this Handbook presents and analyses regions of genocide and the entire field of 'genocide studies' in one substantial volume.

Workshop: The role of the Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council in the development and promotion of international human rights (Update)

The Centre for International Governance at the University of Leeds will host a research workshop on "The role of the Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council in the development and promotion of international human rights," June 24-25, 2010. I previously noted the call for participation. For more information or to reserve a place (there is no cost for attending), email Mr. Steven Wheatley, Director of the Centre for International Governance. Please note that places are limited. Here's the program:

Session 1: Further musings of a UN special rapporteur on human rights

Professor Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Commissioner and Rapporteur on Children, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, formerly Special Rapporteur for Burundi and for Myanmar).

Session 2: The Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteurs

Professor Lyal S. Sunga (Visiting Professor, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Lund, Sweden), 'The Role of NGOs in UN Human Rights Special Procedures, Treaty Bodies and Field Presences in Relation to ICC Fact-Finding'.

Professor Rhona Smith (Northumbria), 'The possibilities of an independent Special Rapporteur scheme?'

Session 3: The Working Methods of a Special Rapporteur

Professor Sir Nigel Rodley (Essex, formerly Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment), 'On the Responsibility of Special Rapporteurs'

Professor Javaid Rehman (Brunel), 'Complexities in promoting and protecting Freedom of Religion, and the Role of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion'

Ted Piccone (Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings Institution, Washington, DC), 'Strengthening The Working Methods of the Special Rapporteurs'.

Session 4: The role of Country Mandate Holders

Professor Vitit Muntharborn (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok and Special Rapporteur for North Korea, previously Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography), 'The Role of the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteur et al): Challenges of a Country Mandate'.

Professor Surya Subedi (Leeds University and Special Rapporteur for Cambodia), 'The Experience of the UN Special Rapporteur in a Country in Transition: A Case Study of Cambodia'.

Professor John Packer (Essex, and formerly Director of the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights), 'Developing an effective Special Rapporteur regime; Reflections from Practice'.

Session 5: The role of Special Rapporteurs in Developing International Law

Professor Claire Mahon (Graduate Institute, Geneva), 'The impact of the UN Special Procedures on the development of Economic Social and Cultural rights'.

Mr. Paul O'Connell (Leicester), 'Catalytic Conversers: The Role of Special Rapporteurs in Advancing Awareness, Understanding and Protection of Human Rights'.

Allehone Mulugeta Abede (First Secretary, Ethiopian mission to the United Nations in Geneva), 'Special Procedures and the development of a legal framework on the human rights of internal displacement'.

Session 6: Conclusions, reflections, recommendations

And here's the idea:

The importance of the Special Rapporteur system appears evident, yet there is no consensus on good or best practice in the way that mandates should be carried out or the extent or limits of the responsibilities of governments to assist Special Rapporteurs. Moreover, there is limited systematic scholarly examination of the nature and impact of the role of the Special Rapporteur in international law. It is then timely to examine the role of the Special Rapporteurs in the development and promotion of international human rights norms. The research workshop brings together existing and previous Special Rapporteurs, civil society actors and academics working in this area to examine the role (or roles) of the Special Rapporteurs.

Key themes include the following: The Working Methods of a Special Rapporteur; The Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteurs; The role of country mandate holders; The role of Special Rapporteurs in developing international law.

New Issue: International Organizations Law Review

The latest issue of the International Organizations Law Review (Vol. 6, no. 2, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium on Global Administrative Law in the Operations of International Organizations
• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Lorenzo Casini, & Benedict Kingsbury, Foreword
• Benedict Kingsbury & Lorenzo Casini, Global Administrative Law Dimensions of International Organizations Law
• Gian Luca Burci, Public/Private Partnerships in the Public Health Sector
• Davinia Abdul Aziz, Privileges and Immunities of Global Public-Private Partnerships: A Case study of the Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria
• Lorenzo Casini, Global Hybrid Public-Private Bodies: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
• Rutsel Silvestre J. Martha, Mandate Issues in the Activities of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• Gabrielle Marceau & Ousseni Illy,Global Administrative Law Perspective of the WTO Aid for Trade Initiative
• Joost Pauwelyn, & Ayelet Berman, Emergency Action by the WTO Director-General: Global Administrative Law and the WTO's Initial Response to the 200809 Financial Crisis
• Anne Trebilcock, Implications of the UN Convention against Corruption for International Organizations: Oversight, Due Process, and Immunities Issues
• Anne van Aaken & Richard Chambers, Accountability and Independence of International Election Observers
• Ulrich Garms, Promoting Human Rights in the Administration of Justice in Southern Sudan. Mandate and Accountability Dilemmas in the Fiel Work of a DPKO Human Rights Officer
• Frederick Rawski, Engaging with Armed Groups: A Human Rights Field Perspective from Nepal
• Axel Marschik, The Administration of Arms Control: Ensuring Accountability and Legitimacy of Field Operations
• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Changing Roles of International Organizations: Global Administrative Law and the Interplay of Legitimacies

Conference: Challenges of Sustainable Development and Sovereignty in the Arctic

The Université Laval's Faculty of Law will host a conference on "Challenges of Sustainable Development and Sovereignty in the Arctic," May 17-18, 2010. The program is here. Here's the idea:

The arctic question, in many ways, is a strategic one that covers a group of particularly complex realities involving a multitude of environmental, social, cultural, and economic facets that can sometimes appear to be difficult to reconcile.

Particularly affected by climate change, the arctic environment is undergoing major transformations brought on by the ice melt, among other issues. This situation creates extremely attractive economic exploitation opportunities (e.g. new lines of communication and access to mineral resources), the consequences of which are all the more threatening for arctic life (e.g. destruction of wildlife habitat and interference with Inuit culture).

Due to these upheavals, it is of utmost importance to observe and analyze all the various interests through a common "prism", thus making it possible to grasp all of the elements which make the Arctic a unique and vulnerable space. This "prism" is that of sustainable development, an approach whose flexibility and encompassing nature permits such a perspective. As a result of its normative and conceptual evolution, sustainable development requires a redefinition of the issues around multiple axes, favours an integrated approach of the sectors involved, and can lead to the reevaluation of the dominant models currently in use. Furthermore, the underlying principles of this approach present a certain number of challenges regarding the conditions of the expression of sovereignty particularly by modifying the parameters of state governance of the territory as well as imposing a larger responsibility on the national population.

By gathering researchers and specialists from different fields of study who hold a common concern for this transforming arctic space, this symposium hopes to provide to the university community, political decision makers, as well as members of the general public interested in the arctic question, a platform for discussion capable of offering a rich and diversified analysis of the current situation. This presentation will also provide an opportunity to take a multi-faceted look at upcoming challenges.

In order to achieve this objective, discussions will be structured around four large themes. First, the current architecture of international law and, its keystone, state sovereignty will be examined using the principles of sustainable development. The second section will be devoted to the dual logic of exploitation and preservation of natural resources. The third will focus on the input of the rights of arctic populations and their cultures into the renewal of the dominant models. Finally, discussions will come to a close over favorable conditions for sustainable economic and social development in the arctic.

New Issue: European Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law (Vol. 21, no. 1, February 2010) is out. Contents include:

• JHHW, Editorial: Lautsi: Crucifix in the Classroom Redux
• The Human Dimension of International Law, 'Progress or Stagnation': A Symposium in Honour of Antonio Cassese
• Paola Gaeta, Symposium: The Human Dimension of International Law: Introduction
• Giorgio Gaja, The Position of Individuals in International Law: An ILC Perspective
• Christian Tomuschat, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
• Andrew Clapham, The Role of the Individual in International Law
• Luigi Condorelli, Some Thoughts about the Optimistic Pessimism of a Good International Lawyer
• Francesco Francioni, International Human Rights in an Environmental Horizon
• B. S. Chimni, Prolegomena to a Class Approach to International Law
• Mario Mendez, The Legal Effect of Community Agreements: Maximalist Treaty Enforcement and Judicial Avoidance Techniques
• Katherine Del Mar, The Requirement of ‘Belonging’ under International Humanitarian Law
• Carlo Focarelli, Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Soap Bubble?
• Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker, Customary International Law in the 21st Century: Old Challenges and New Debates
• Critical Review of International Governance: An Occasional Series
• Milagros Álvarez-Verdugo, Will Climate Change Alter the NPT Political Balance? New Challenges for the Non-proliferation Regime
• Review Essay
• Lindsey Cameron & Rebecca Everly, Conceptualizing the Administration of Territory by International Actors

Workshop: Meyersfeld

Bonita Meyersfeld (Univ. of the Witwatersrand - Centre for Applied Legal Studies) will give a talk today at the Oxford Human Rights Discussion Group on "State Responsibility in International Law for Systematic Intimate Violence."

van Baarda & Verweij: The Moral Dimension of Asymmetrical Warfare

Th. A. van Baarda & D.E.M. Verweij have published The Moral Dimension of Asymmetrical Warfare: Counter-terrorism, Democratic Values and Military Ethics (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009). Contents include:

• Harry van der Linden, Questioning the Resort to U.S. Hegemonic Military Force
• Martin L. Cook & Mark Conversino, Asymmetric Air War: Ethical Implications
• Thomas Frank, Reframing Asymmetrical Warfare: Beyond the Just War Idea
• Allard Wagemaker, Armed Intervention and Democratic Dreams: Small Western Liberal Democracies and Multinational Intervention
• Carl Ceulemans, Asymmetric Warfare and Morality: From Moral Asymmetry to Amoral Symmetry?
• John W. Lango, Military operations by armed UN peace-keeping missions: An application of generalized just war principles
• Daren Bowyer, The Moral Dimension of Asymmetrical Warfare: Accountability, Culpability and Military Effectiveness
• David Benest, British Leaders and Irregular Warfare
• Lawrence P. Rockwood, The Lesson Avoided: The Official Legacy of the My Lai
• Donald A. MacCuish, Culpability – Senior Leaders Have Dirty Hands
• Eyal Ben-Ari, Between Violence and Restraint: Human Rights, Humanitarian Considerations, and the Israeli Military in the Al-Aqsa Intifada
• Erella Grassiani, The Phenomenon of Breaking the Silence in Israel: “Witnessing” as Consciousness Raising Strategy of Israeli Excombatants
• Jarmo Toiskallio, Ethics in the Core of Officer Education: Some Philosophical Aspects for Curriculum Transformation
• J. Peter Bradley, Why People Make the Wrong Choices – The Psychology of Ethical Failure
• Daniel S. Blocq, (Dis)respecting the Law of Armed Conflict in Asymmetrical Warfare?: A Consequentialist Approach to a Consequentialist Question
• Patrick Mileham, Moral Dynamics in Culture Centric Warfare
• Eric Vermetten, Dilemmas in the Employment of Combat Stress-related Clinical Research – the Imperative of Prevention
• Javier G. Marín & Óscar G. Luengo, Politics, Media and War Coverage: an Indexed Relation?
• Uroš Svete, Asymmetrical Warfare and Modern Digital Media: An Old Concept Changed by New Technology?
• Wim Smit, Security versus Liberty?:Ethical Lessons from Post-9/11 American Counter-Terrorist Security Politics
• Maureen Ramsay, Saying no to torture: a moral absolute, self-righteous or just naïve?
• Asta Maskaliūnaitė, Dirty War, or: How Democracies Can Lose in the Fight against Terrorism
• Ted van Baarda & Désiree Verweij, Human Dignity in the Era of Counter-terrorism

Vogenauer: Common Frame of Reference and UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: Coexistence, Competition, or Overkill of Soft Law?

Stefan Vogenauer (Univ. of Oxford - Law) has posted Common Frame of Reference and UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: Coexistence, Competition, or Overkill of Soft Law? (European Review of Contract Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper compares the scope, the purpose, the legal effect and the content of the emerging Common Frame of Reference on the one hand and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts on the other. It predicts that the two instruments will largely coexist side by side, rather than compete for potential users. The author further argues that, in the area of commercial law, there is no strong need for a non-binding, or ‘soft’ Common Frame of Reference because the UNIDROIT Principles are sufficiently capable of performing the functions that such a Frame of Reference can legitimately claim to fulfil: the Common Frame of Reference may be just one soft law instrument too many.

New Issue: Michigan Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Michigan Journal of International Law (Vol. 31, no. 2, Winter 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Penelope Mathew, Fifth Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law - The Michigan Guidelines on the Right to Work: Explanatory Note
• Penelope Mathew, The Michigan Guidelines on the Right to Work
• Mark Toufayan, Identity, Effectiveness, and Newness in Transjudicialism’s Coming of Age
• Matt A. Vega, Balancing Judicial Cognizance and Caution: Whether Transnational Corporations Are Liable for Foreign Bribery Under the Alien Tort Statute

Conference: L’eau en droit international (Update)

The annual conference of the Société française pour le droit international (S.F.D.I.) will be held June 3-5, 2010, at the Université d’Orléans. The conference theme is: "L’eau en droit international." I previously noted the call for papers. The program is now available here.

New Issue: Journal of Conflict Resolution

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution (Vol. 54, no. 2, April 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Todd Sandler, Terrorism and Policy: Introduction
• Patrick T. Brandt & Todd Sandler, What Do Transnational Terrorists Target? Has It Changed? Are We Safer?
• Jean-Paul Azam & Véronique Thelen, Foreign Aid Versus Military Intervention in the War on Terror
• Walter Enders & Paan Jindapon, Network Externalities and the Structure of Terror Networks
• Jonathan S. Feinstein & Edward H. Kaplan, Analysis of a Strategic Terror Organization
• S. Brock Blomberg, Rozlyn C. Engel, & Reid Sawyer, On the Duration and Sustainability of Transnational Terrorist Organizations
• Efraim Benmelech, Claude Berrebi, & Esteban F Klor, The Economic Cost of Harboring Terrorism
• Daniel G. Arce & Todd Sandler, Terrorist Spectaculars: Backlash Attacks and the Focus of Intelligence