Cannizzaro: The Law of Treaties Beyond the Vienna Convention

Enzo Cannizzaro (Univ. of Roma "La Sapienza" - Law) has published The Law of Treaties Beyond the Vienna Convention (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Contents include:

• Olivier Corten & Pierre Klein, Are Agreements between States and Non-State Entities Rooted in the International Legal Order?
• Paolo Palchetti, Article 18 of the 1969 Vienna Convention: A Vague and Ineffective Obligation or a Useful Means for Strengthening Legal Cooperation?
• Alain Pellet & Daniel Müller, Reservations to Treaties: An Objection to a Reservation is Definitely not an Acceptance
• Bruno Simma & Gleider I. Hernández, Legal Consequences of an Impermissible Reservation to a Human Right Treaty: Where Do We Stand?
• Mahnoush H. Arsanjani & W. Michael Reisman, Provisional Application of Treaties in International Law: The Energy Charter Treaty Awards
• Mark E. Villiger, The Rules on Interpretation - Misgivings, Misunderstandings, Miscarriage? The 'Crucible' Intended by the International Law Commission
• Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Evolutionary Interpretation of Treaties: Between Memory and Prophecy
• Georg Nolte, Subsequent Practice as a Means of Interpretation in the Jurisprudence of the WTO Appellate Body
• Luigi Sbolci, Supplementary Means of Interpretation
• Donald McRae, Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body: The Conundrum of Article 17(6) of the WTO Antidumping Agreement
• Benedetto Conforti, Consistency among Treaties Obligations
• Jan Klabbers, Beyond the Vienna Convention: Conflicting Treaty Provisions
• Christian Tomuschat, International Organizations as Third Parties under the Law of International Treaties
• Francesco Salerno, Treaties Establishing Objective Regimes
• Michael Wood, The Law of Treaties and the UN Security Council: Some Reflections
• Pieter Jan Kuijper, The European Courts and the Law of Treaties: The Continuing Story
• Fausto Pocar, Some Remarks on the Continuity of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Treaties
• Joe Verhoeven, Invalidity of Treaties: Anything New in/under the Vienna Conventions?
• Serena Forlati, Coercion as a Ground Affecting the Validity of Peace Treaties
• Alessandra Gianelli, Absolute Invalidity of Treaties and Their Non-Recognition by Third States
• Marcelo G. Kohen, Desuetude and Obsolescence of Treaties
• Annalisa Ciampi, Invalidity and Termination of Treaties and Rules of Procedure
• Karl Zemanek, The Metamorphosis of the Jus Cogens: From an Institution of Treaty Law to the Bedrock of the International Order?
• Paolo Picone, The Distinction between Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes
• Enzo Cannizzaro, A Higher Law for Treaties?

Alvarez & Sauvant: The Evolving International Investment Regime: Expectations, Realities, Options

José E. Alvarez (New York Univ. - Law) & Karl P. Sauvant (Columbia Univ. - Columbia Program on International Investment) have published The Evolving International Investment Regime: Expectations, Realities, Options (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Contents include:

• Roberto Echandi, What do Developing Countries Expect from the International Investment Regime?
• Howard Mann, Civil Society Perspectives: What Do Key Stakeholders Expect From the International Investment Regime?
• Peter T. Muchlinski, Regulating Multinationals: Foreign Investment, Development and the Balance of Corporate and Home Country Rights and Responsibilities in a Globalizing World
• Stanimir A. Alexandrov, On the Perceived Inconsistency in Investor-State Jurisprudence
• Susan D. Franck, Considering Recalibration of International Investment Agreements: Empirical Insights
• Petros C. Mavroidis, All Clear on the Investment Front: A Plea for a Restatement
• John Cobau, Legal Developments in U.S. National Security Reviews of Foreign Direct Investment (2006-2008)
• Nassib G. Ziadé, Challenges and Prospects Facing the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
• John H. Dunning & Sarianna M. Lundan, The Changing Political Economy of Foreign Investment: Finding a Balance Between Hard and Soft Forms of Regulation
• Rainer Geiger, Multilateral Approaches to Investment: The Way Forward
• Brigitte Stern, The Future of International Investment Law: A Balance Between the Protection of Investors and the States' Capacity to Regulate
• James Zhan, Jorg Weber & Joachim Karl, International Investment Rulemaking at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Stocktaking and Options for the Way Forward
• Andrea K. Bjorklund, Improving the International Investment Law and Policy System: Report of the Rapporteur

Conference: Private Norms and Public Interests in Transnational Economic Law

The Transnational Law Project of LSE's Department of Law will hold a conference on "Private Norms and Public Interests in Transnational Economic Law" on June 17, 2011. The program is here. Here's the idea:

Transnational law evolves in a field of tension between local and globalised concerns and on the fault line of public and private law, thus blurring traditional distinctions between horizontal and vertical relationships and defying acquired understandings of regulation. As a result, there is a need for reflection on the calibration of public interests in these predominantly private processes and on the reconciliation of the needs both of a globalised economy and local societies. This conference aims to address these issues by way of a series of case studies, both from the view of theory and practice.

New Issue: Leiden Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law (Vol. 24, no. 2, June 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Johannes Gerald van Mulligen, Global Constitutionalism and the Objective Purport of the International Legal Order
• Tony Cole & Anuj Kumar Vaksha, Power-Conferring Treaties: The Meaning of ‘Investment’ in the ICSID Convention
• Hague International Tribunals: International Court of Justice: Kosovo Symposium
• Dov Jacobs & Yannick Radi, Waiting for Godot: An Analysis of the Advisory Opinion on Kosovo
• Jure Vidmar, The Kosovo Advisory Opinion Scrutinized
• Hague International Tribunals: International Criminal Court and Tribunals
• Göran Sluiter, In Memoriam, Bert Swart
• Elies van Sliedregt, Introduction: Common Civility – International Criminal Law as Cultural Hybrid
• Michael Bohlander, Radbruch Redux: The Need for Revisiting the Conversation between Common and Civil Law at Root Level at the Example of International Criminal Justice
• Mohamed Elewa Badar, Islamic Law ( Shari'a) and the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
• Current Legal Developments
• Loukis G. Loucaides, Is the European Court of Human Rights Still a Principled Court of Human Rights After the Demopoulos Case?
• Cedric Ryngaert & Sven Sobrie, Recognition of States: International Law or Realpolitik? The Practice of Recognition in the Wake of Kosovo, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia
• Sam McMullan, Holding Counsel to Account in International Arbitration

New Issue: Journal of International Arbitration

The latest issue of the Journal of International Arbitration (Vol. 28, no. 1, February 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Stephan Wilske & Jade G. Ewers, Why South Africa Should Update Its International Arbitration Legislation
• Peng Xianwei, Validity of the "Beijing Arbitration" Clause — A Discussion of Two Landmark Civil Rulings of the Chinese Supreme People's Court
• Chetan Phull, U.S. Anti-suit Injunctions in Support of International Arbitration: Five Questions American Courts Ask
• Dania Kozlowska, The Revised UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules Seen through the Prism of Electronic Disclosure
• Mutasim Ahmad Alqudah, Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses in Online Business-to-Consumer Contracts

New Issue: Chicago Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Chicago Journal of International Law (Vol. 11, no. 2, Winter 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Simon Chesterman, Lawyers, Guns, and Money: The Governance of Business Activities in Conflict Zones
• Elizabeth Cosenza, Paradise Lost: § 10(b) after Morrison v National Australia Bank
• Rosalind Dixon & Eric A. Posner, The Limits of Constitutional Convergence
• Samuel Estreicher, Privileging Asymmetric Warfare? Part I: Defender Duties under International Humanitarian Law
• Dermot Groome, The Church Abuse Scandal: Were Crimes Against Humanity Committed?
• Claire R. Kelly Financial Crises and Civil Society
• Carl Landauer, Regionalism, Geography, and the International Legal Imagination
• Rafael Leal-Arcas, Proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements: Complementing or Supplanting Multilateralism?
• Meredith Kolsky Lewis, The Prisoners' Dilemma Posed by Free Trade Agreements: Can Open Access Provisions Provide an Escape?
• Matthew Lister, The Legitimating Role of Consent in International Law
• Jens David Ohlin, Joint Intentions to Commit International Crimes

New Issue: Indian Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Indian Journal of International Law (Vol. 50, no. 2, April-June 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Edith Brown Weiss, On Being Accountable in a Kaleidoscopic World
• Katak Malla, Benefit Sharing of International Watercourses: Equitable Process and Sustainable Outcome
• Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Because the Cart Situates the Horse: Unrecognized Movements Underlying the Indian Supreme Court's Internalization of International Environmental Law
• Anna Konert, Air Carrier Liability under Polish Air Law
• Upendra Baxi, 10th V. K. Krishna Memorial Lecture on Mission Impossible? — Some Thoughts Towards UN Charter Reform

New Issue: The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals

The latest issue of The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals (Vol. 10, no. 1, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Philippe Sands, The ILA Hague Principles on Ethical Standards for Counsel Appearing before International Courts and Tribunals
• The Hague Principles on Ethical Standards for Counsel Appearing before International Courts and Tribunals
• Mojtaba Kazazi, Commentary on the Hague Principles on Ethical Standards for Counsel Appearing before International Courts and Tribunals
• Jean-Pierre Cot, The Hague vs. Burgh House
• Frédéric Mégret, International Judges and Experts' Impartiality and the Problem of Past Declarations
• Arman Sarvarian, Problems of Ethical Standards for Representatives before ICSID Tribunals
• Juan J. Quintana, Procedural Developments at the International Court of Justice

Fidler: International Law and the Future of Cyberspace: The Obama Administration's International Strategy for Cyberspace

David P. Fidler (Indiana Univ., Bloomington - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on International Law and the Future of Cyberspace: The Obama Administration's International Strategy for Cyberspace.

New Issue: Virginia Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Virginia Journal of International Law (Vol. 51, no. 4, Summer 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Daniel Chow, Counterfeiting as an Externality Imposed by Multinational Companies on Developing Countries
• Susan D. Franck, The ICSID Effect? Considering Potential Variations in Arbitration Awards
• Ingrid Wuerth, Foreign Official Immunity Determinations in U.S. Courts: The Case Against the State Department
• Jordan J. Paust, Nonstate Actor Participation in International Law and the Pretense of Exclusion

Ronen: Transition from Illegal Regimes under International Law

Yaël Ronen (Sha'arei Mishpat Law College) has published Transition from Illegal Regimes under International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

Yaël Ronen analyses the international legal ramifications of illegal territorial regimes, namely the illegal annexation of territory or illegal declarations of independence, by reference to the stage of transition from an illegal territorial regime to a lawful one. Six case studies (Namibia, Zimbabwe, the Baltic States, the South African Bantustans, East Timor and northern Cyprus) are used to explore the tension between the invalidity of the illegal regime's acts and their effectiveness, with respect to the international relations of such territories, their domestic legal systems, the status of settlers and land transfers. Relying heavily on primary and previously unconsidered sources, she focuses on the international legal constraints on the post-transition regime's policy, particularly in the context of international human rights law.

Conference: Non-international Armed Conflict in the 21st Century

The International Law Department of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies of the U.S. Naval War College will host a conference on "Non-international Armed Conflict in the 21st Century," June 21-23, 2011, in Newport, Rhode Island. The program is available here. Here's the idea:

The conference's purpose is to examine the legal issues surrounding Non-international Armed Conflict (NIAC) in the 21st Century. During this conference, distinguished scholars and practitioners of international law will analyze the state of the law applicable to the many facets of NIAC and will discuss their views on how the law will develop as the world continues to struggle with the evolving threats to national and international security posed by failed and failing states, insurgencies, and transnational criminal and terrorist organizations.

New Issue: Chinese Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Chinese Journal of International Law (Vol. 10, no. 1, March 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Michael Sheng-ti Gau, The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as a Mechanism to Prevent Encroachment upon the Area
• Christine Gray, President Obama's 2010 United States National Security Strategy and International Law on the Use of Force
• Wei Shen, The Good, the Bad or the Ugly? A Critique of the Decision on Jurisdiction and Competence in Tza Yap Shum v. The Republic of Peru
• Comments, Essays and Notes
• Kibrom Tesfagabir, The State of Functional Immunity of International Organizations and Their Officials and Why It Should be Streamlined
• Courts and Tribunals
• Eriko Tamura, The Isayeva Cases of the European Court of Human Rights: The Application of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law in Non-International Armed Conflicts
• Developments and History
• Margreet Wewerinke & Curtis F.J. Doebbler, Exploring the Legal Basis of a Human Rights Approach to Climate Change
• Young Sok Kim, The Korean Implementing Legislation on the ICC Statute

Alter: The Evolving International Judiciary

Karen J. Alter (Northwestern Univ. - Political Science) has posted The Evolving International Judiciary (Annual Review of Law & Social Science, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article explains the rapid proliferation in international courts first in the post WWII and then the post Cold War era. It examines the larger international judicial complex, showing how developments in one region and domain affect developments in similar and distant regimes. Situating individual developments into their larger context, and showing how change occurs incrementally and slowly over time, allows one to see developments in economic, human rights and war crimes systems as part of a longer term evolutionary process of the creation of international judicial authority. Evolution is not the same as teleology; we see that some international courts develop and change while others stay at in their same role and with the same low level of activity for long periods of time. The evolutionary approach of this article suggests that building judicial authority evolves through practice and takes time, and that the overall international judicial context and developments in parallel institutions shape the development of individual ICs.

New Issue: Yale Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Yale Journal of International Law (Vol. 36, no. 2, Summer 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Maximo Langer & Joseph W. Doherty, Managerial Judging Goes International, but Its Promise Remains Unfulfilled: An Empirical Assessment of the ICTY Reforms
• Jules Lobel, Fundamental Norms, International Law, and the Extraterritorial Constitution
• Deepa Varadarajan, A Trade Secret Approach to Protecting Traditional Knowledge
• Matthew C. Waxman, Cyber-Attacks and the Use of Force: Back to the Future of Article 2(4)

Conference: Organisation Mondiale du Commerce et responsabilité internationale

The Institut du Droit de la Paix et du Développement of the l'Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis will host a conference on "Organisation Mondiale du Commerce et responsabilité internationale," June 23-24, 2011. The program is here.

New Issue: Human Rights Quarterly

The latest issue of the Human Rights Quarterly (Vol. 33, no. 1, February 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Jeremy Sarkin & Mark Koenig, Developing the Right to Work: Intersecting and Dialoguing Human Rights and Economic Policy
• Maya Sabatello, Advancing Transgender Family Rights through Science: A Proposal for an Alternative Framework
• Bonny Ibhawoh, The Right to Development: The Politics and Polemics of Power and Resistance
• Lena Khor, Human Rights and Network Power
• Anna Maedl, Rape as Weapon of War in the Eastern DRC?: The Victims’ Perspective
• Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen & Amaya Úbeda de Torres, “War” in the Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• Barbara Oomen, Between Rights Talk and Bible Speak: The Implementation of Equal Treatment Legislation in Orthodox Reformed Communities in The Netherlands
• Surya P. Subedi, Protection of Human Rights through the Mechanism of UN Special Rapporteurs

New Issue: Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 11, no. 2, June 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Paul Roberts, Does Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights Require Reasoned Verdicts in Criminal Trials?
• Vanja Hamzić, The Case of ‘Queer Muslims’: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Human Rights Law and Muslim Legal and Social Ethos
• Brian Griffey, The ‘Reasonableness’ Test: Assessing Violations of State Obligations under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Simone Cusack & Alexandra S. H. Timmer, Gender Stereotyping in Rape Cases: The CEDAW Committee’s Decision in Vertido v The Philippines
• Aoife Nolan, ‘Aggravated Violations’, Roma Housing Rights and Forced Expulsions in Italy: Recent Developments under the European Social Charter Collective Complaints System
• Judith Schönsteiner, Alma Beltrán y Puga, & Domingo A. Lovera, Reflections on the Human Rights Challenges of Consolidating Democracies: Recent Developments in the Inter-American System of Human Rights
• Murray Wesson, Reasonableness in Retreat? The Judgment of the South African Constitutional Court in Mazibuko v City of Johnnesburg

Chesterman: Resolving Territorial Disputes: Cambodia-Thailand, the South China Sea, and the Role of International Law

Simon Chesterman (National Univ. of Singapore - Law; New York Univ. - Law, Singapore Programme) has posted Resolving Territorial Disputes: Cambodia-Thailand, the South China Sea, and the Role of International Law. Here's the abstract:

International law - indeed, the present international order - is grounded on the concept of the modern state. The foundation of that state, and thus of international law, lies in the effort to limit conflict by agreeing on the inviolability of borders. International law assists in the avoidance or resolution of territorial disputes in four ways. Which of these tools is used will depend on the state concerned, but there is some interesting literature suggesting a link between the domestic legal regime of a state and the preferred dispute resolution method. This paper, presented at the 2011 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, considers those tools in the context of two current examples: the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute and the competing claims over the South China Sea.

New Issue: Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht

The latest issue of the Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht (Vol. 20, no. 3, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Aktuell
• Schwerpunktheft SVIR Jahrestagung - Referate der SVIR-Veranstaltung « Klimaschutz: Das Umwelt(völker)recht vor neuen Herausforderungen » vom 27. November 2009 in Fribourg
• Pascal Ruch, Andreas Furrer, & Daniel Girsberger, Convergence and Divergence in Private International Law
• Sabine Schlacke & Susanna Much, Rechtsprobleme der CO2-Sequestrierung
• Ludwig Kramer, Klimaschutzrecht der Europäischen Union
• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, La protection du climat en droit international — Eléments d'un régime juridique en émergence
• Jürg Bally & Barbara Nägeli, Die Umsetzung der völkerrechtlichen Verpflichtungen zum Klimaschutz in der Schweiz

Corten & Klein: The Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties

Olivier Corten (Université libre de Bruxelles - Law) & Pierre Klein (Université libre de Bruxelles - Law) have published The Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties: A Commentary (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

The 1969 and 1986 Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties are essential components of the contemporary international legal order. They aim at regulating what has become the main source of public international law and a crucial tool in inter-state relations. The Vienna Conventions codify to a significant extent the customary rules that pre-existed in the field, but also put forward innovative concepts, such as jus cogens. In spite of their importance, these two instruments had so far not been the object of a detailed commentary. These volumes fill that gap, by providing both international and national lawyers with an in-depth analysis of each provision of both Conventions. The structure of each commentary is essentially uniform, with the first part dedicated to the exposition of that provision's object and purpose and to the assessment of its customary status. The second part of each commentary deals with the main issues of interpretation raised by the provision in question. Extensive reference is made to the travaux préparatoires of both Conventions, including the work of the UN International Law Commission and the proceedings of the 1969 and 1986 diplomatic conferences, and to practice both prior to and following the adoption of the Conventions. The 90 + authors who contributed to the book come from twenty different countries and include some of the most respected experts in international law.

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 71, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Abhandlungen
• Andreas S. Kolb, Thilo Neumann, & Tim René Salomon, Die Entführung deutscher Seeschiffe: Flaggenrecht, Strafanwendungsrecht und diplomatischer Schut
• Stephen W. Schill, Internationales Investitionsschutzrecht und Vergleichendes Öffentliches Recht: Grundlagen und Methode eines öffentlich-rechtlichen Leitbildes für die Investitionsschiedsgerichtsbarkeit
• Yoshifumi Tanaka, The Changing Approaches to Conservation of Marine Living Resources in International Law
• Werner Scholtz & Gerrit Ferreira, Much Ado About Nothing? The SADC Tribunal's Quest for the Rule of Law Pursuant to Regional Integration
• Ulf Linderfalk, The Creation of Jus Cogens – Making Sense of Article 53 of the Vienna Convention
• Kristin Henrard, Boosting Positive Action: The Asymmetrical Approach towards Non-Discrimination and Special Minority Rights

Sari: Between Legalization and Organizational Development: Explaining the Evolution of EU Competence in the Field of Foreign Policy

Aurel Sari (Univ. of Exeter - Law) has posted Between Legalization and Organizational Development: Explaining the Evolution of EU Competence in the Field of Foreign Policy (in EU External Relations Law and Policy in the Post-Lisbon Era, Paul James Cardwell ed., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The absorption of the European Community by the European Union has laid the foundations for the Union to become a more coherent and effective international actor. At the same time, the merger of the previously separate legal orders of the Community and the Union has put the intergovernmental character of the Common Foreign and Security Policy under considerable strain. The nature and extent of the Union’s competences in foreign policy matters constitutes one of the areas where this tension is particularly acute. The present chapter investigates why the question of Union competence in the field of foreign policy was not the subject of concern before the Treaty of Lisbon and what prompted the Member States to address this question during the treaty reform process. The chapter develops an answer to these questions by relying on two concepts borrowed from international relations scholarship, legalization and organization development, and argues that the institutional design of European foreign policy cooperation is governed by what we may term the Goldilocks Principle.

New Issue: Goettingen Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Goettingen Journal of International Law (Vol. 3, no. 1, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Keynote Speech: Resources of Conflict – Conflicts over Resources
• Cindy Daase, The Redistribution of Resources in Internationalized Intra-State Peace Processes by Comprehensive Peace Agreements and Security Council Resolutions
• Alice Ruzza, The Falkland Islands and the UK v. Argentina Oil Dispute: Which Legal Regime?
• Saiful Karim, Conflicts over Protection of Marine Living Resources: The 'Volga Case' Revisited
• Christiana Ochoa & Patrick J. Keenan, Regulating Information Flows, Regulating Conflict: An Analysis of United States Conflict Minerals Legislation
• Moshik Lavie & Christophe Muller, Incentives and Survival in Violent Conflicts
• Annyssa Bellal & Stuart Casey-Maslen, Enhancing Compliance with International Law by Armed Non-State Actors
• Alexander Kees, Regulation of Private Military Companies
• Alice Gadler, Armed Forces as Carrying both the Stick and the Carrot? Humanitarian Aid in U.S. Counterinsurgency Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Stormy-Annika Mildner & Gitta Lauster, Settling Trade Disputes over Natural Resources: Limitations of International Trade Law to Tackle Export Restrictions
• Anastasia Telesetsky, Resource Conflicts over Arable Land in Food Insecure States: Creating an United Nations Ombudsman Institution to Review Foreign Agricultural Land Leases
• Bjørn-Oliver Magsig, Overcoming State-Centrism in International Water Law: 'Regional Common Concern' as the Normative Foundation of Water Security
• Dereje Zeleke Mekonnen, Between the Scylla of Water Security and Charybdis of Benefit Sharing: The Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement – Failed or Just Teetering on the Brink?
• Lucian Dervan, Information Warfare and Civilian Populations: How the Law of War Addresses a Fear of the Unknown
• Eszter Kirs, Limits of the Impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on the Domestic Legal System of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Freya Baetens & Rumiana Yotova, The Abyei Arbitration: A Model Procedure for Intra-State Dispute Settlement in Resource-Rich Conflict Areas?
• Juan Guillermo Sandoval Coustasse & Emily Sweeney-Samuelson, Adjudicating Conflicts Over Resources: The ICJ’s Treatment of Technical Evidence in the Pulp Mills Case
• Pelin Ekmen, From Riches to Rags – the Paradox of Plenty and its Linkage to Violent Conflict

Tsagourias: The Responsibility of International Organisations for Military Missions

Nicholas Tsagourias (Univ. of Glasgow - Law) has posted The Responsibility of International Organisations for Military Missions (in International Military Missions and International Law, M. Odello & R. Piotrowicz eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article examines the conditions under which wrongful conduct during a peacekeeping or a United Nations authorised operation can be attributed to the United Nations or to other International Organisations as well as the conditions under which such conduct can be attributed to multiple entities giving rise to their responsibility. Finally, the article considers the role of consent, self-defence and necessity as circumstances precluding the wrongfulness of such conduct in the context of such operations.

Call for Papers: The Eichmann Trial at 50

The Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law and Melbourne Law School have issued a call for papers for a two-day symposium on "The Eichmann Trial at 50." Here's the call:

THE EICHMANN TRIAL AT 50

A two-day international symposium to discuss one of the most important trials of the 20th Century

Melbourne Law School

14-15 October 2011

Presented by The Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, Melbourne Law School, and supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant

Organizers: Kevin Jon Heller & Gerry Simpson

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for Abstracts: 15 June 2011

On 11 April 1961, the trial of Adolf Eichmann began in the District Court of Jerusalem. The trial was broadcast internationally, the first televised trial in the history of television, drawing millions of viewers around the world. Eight months later, after the testimony of nearly 100 witnesses had changed perceptions of the Holocaust forever, the court convicted Eichmann and sentenced him to death. Five months after that, Eichmann was hanged and his ashes were scattered at sea, bringing to a close one of the most important trials of the 20th century.

2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the Eichmann trial. The trial has had a profound impact on a variety of academic disciplines – law, philosophy, literary theory, political science, and history, to name only a few – yet scholars in those disciplines have rarely interacted with each other. The goal of symposium is to bridge that gap by bringing together scholars who have nothing in common other than a shared interest in the trial. The organizers thus encourage proposals from any discipline on any topic related to Eichmann.

The symposium will be held over two days. We regret we cannot offer travel or accommodation expenses, but lunches and teas (morning and afternoon) will be provided. A speakers’ dinner will be held on the evening of the 14th and an informal dinner on the 15th for those who remain in town.

The symposium is the third of four symposia being held as part of the Australian Research Council-funded project “Invoking Humanity: A History of War Crimes Trials.” The organizers intend to publish a selection of papers presented at the symposium as an edited book, although there will be no obligation to publish. Conversely, the organizers are happy to consider contributions to the book from scholars who are unable to attend the symposium.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the symposium or contributing to the planned book, please send a 300-500 word abstract and a short C.V. no later than 15 June 2011 to Kevin Jon Heller, c/o James Ellis (j.ellis@student.unimelb.edu.au). Doctoral students are welcome to submit abstracts. Participants will be selected by July 1 to facilitate travel plans.

Questions about the symposium should be directed to Kevin at kheller@unimelb.edu.au.

Sato: The Execution of Illegal Orders and International Criminal Responsibility

Hiromi Sato has published The Execution of Illegal Orders and International Criminal Responsibility (Springer 2011). Here's the abstract:

The legal consequence of the superior orders defense has long been debated as one of the major problems in international criminal law. Several controversial issues such as the immunity of the state, the absolute character of military discipline, and immunity on the grounds of mistake of law and/or coercion have been complexly interwoven in the debates. The Execution of Illegal Orders and International Criminal Responsibility provides a comprehensive portrait of the relevant debates at the international level up to the present, analyzes the conflicting views, and shows the significance of the development of international rules for the superior orders defense as well as the implication of the fact that issues concerning some detailed or related rules have been left unresolved. This study presents to present a new standpoint not only on dealing with the problem of the superior orders defense but also on reconsidering the international stipulation of rulemaking with regard to criminal matters.

Fidler: International Law and the E. coli Outbreaks in Europe

David P. Fidler (Indiana Univ., Bloomington - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on International Law and the E. coli Outbreaks in Europe.

Duxbury: The Participation of States in International Organisations: The Role of Human Rights and Democracy

Alison Duxbury (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has published The Participation of States in International Organisations: The Role of Human Rights and Democracy (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

The admission of a state to membership is an important decision for an international organisation. In making this determination, organisations are increasingly promoting the observance of human rights and democratic governance as relevant principles. They have also applied the same criteria in resolving the question of whether existing members should be excluded from an organisation's processes. Through a systematic examination of the records, proceedings and practice of international organisations, Alison Duxbury examines the role and legitimacy of human rights and democracy as membership criteria. A diverse range of examples is discussed, including the membership policies and practice of the League of Nations and the United Nations; the admission of the Central and Eastern European states to the European Union; developments in regional organisations in Africa, Asia and the Americas; and the exclusion of members from the UN specialised agencies.

New Volume: Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 3, Número Especial, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos y Derecho Internacional Humanitario
• Ricardo Abello Galvis, Editorial
• Elisabeth Lambert Abdelgawad, L’exécution des décisions des juridictions internationales des droits de l’homme : vers une harmonisation des systèmes régionaux
• Syméon Karagiannis, Expulsion d’étrangers et convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le risque de mauvais traitements dans l’état de destination
• Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen & Amaya Úbeda de Torres, La “guerra” en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos
• Noëlle Quénivet, The “War on Terror” and the Principle of Distinction in International Humanitarian Law
• Claudia Morini, First Victims then Perpetrators: Child Soldiers and International Law
• Manuel Andrés Galvis Martínez, El uso de recompensas en el conflicto armado colombiano
• Jernej Letnar Černič, Corporate Human Rights Obligations and International Investment Law

New Issue: Indian Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Indian Journal of International Law (Vol. 50, no. 1, January-March 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Upendra Baxi, Towards Understanding the Diplomacy of Human Rights: A Review Essay
• Abdul Haseeb Ansari, Poverty Link to the Environment: International and National Perspectives
• R. Rajesh Babu, Interpretation of the WTO Agreements, Democratic Legitimacy and Developing Nations
• Anuradha Saibata Rajesh, The Fundamental Right to Primary Education in India: A Critical Evaluation

New Volume: Canadian Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Canadian Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 47, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Graham Mayeda, Pushing the Boundaries: Rethinking International Law in Light of Cosmopolitan Obligations to Developing Countries
• Louis-Philippe Jannard, Le traitement jurisprudentiel du traffic de migrants en droit comparé: Un désaveu des dispositions legislatives canadiennes
• Michael Elliot, Where Precision Is the Aim: Locating the Targeted Killing Policies of the United States and Israel within International Humanitarian Law
• Gregg Erauw, Trading Away Women’s Rights: A Feminist Critique of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Justin Carter, The Protracted Bargain: Negotiating the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement
• Notes and Comments
• Fannie Lafontaine, Poursuivre le génocide, les crimes contre l’humanité et les crimes de guerre au Canada: une analyse des éléments des crimes à la lumière de l’affaire Munyaneza
• Benjamin Perrin, Searching for Accountability: The Draft UN International Convention on the Regulation, Oversight and Monitoring of Private Military and Security Companies
• Juan-Francisco Escudero Espinosa, The Definition of Damage Resulting from Transboundary Movements of Living Modified Organisms in Light of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosecurity

New Volume: Anuario Hispano-Luso-Americano de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Hispano-Luso-Americano de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 19, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Ponencias del XXV Congreso
• Núria Bouza Vidal, Perspectiva universal y regional en la consolidación del arbitraje comercial internacional
• Zlata Drnas de Clément, Arbitraje y procesos de integración económica regional: La experiencia en el MERCOSUR
• José Juste Ruiz, Los contenciosos de límites en América Latina en la jurisprudencia reciente de la Corte Internacional de Justicia
• Hugo Llanos Mansilla, El arbitraje en la solución de controversias: Arbitraje comercial internacional y arbitraje de inversiones
• Iñigo Salvador Crespo, Tendencias en los litigios entre Estados de Iberoamérica ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia
• Comunicaciones
• Miguel Ángel Ciuro Caldani, Aportes jusfilosóficos para la comprensión de las perspectivas regional y universal del arbitraje comercial internacional
• Pedro Alberto de Miguel Asensio, Mecanismos internacionales de solución de controversias sobre dominios de Internet: Interacción con las jurisdicciones estatales
• Adriana Dreyzin de Klor, La primera Opinión Consultiva en MERCOSUR: ¿Germen de cuestión prejudicial?
• Hortensia D.T. Gutiérrez Posse, Apuntes sobre un tema acordado de solución de controversias
• Orlando Mejía Herrera, Involución del sistema jurisdiccional del SICA: Los tribunales arbitrales ad hoc en el proceso de integración económica centroamericana
• Alfredo Héctor Rizzo Romano, Demarcación de la región andina comprendida entre los montes Fitz Roy y Murallón, conforme el Tratado de 1998 entre la República Argentina y la República de Chile, y sus precedentes. Eliminación de minas antipersonales en la frontera común
• Luis Ignacio Savid Bas & Arturo Santiago Pagliari, Las fuentes de la normativa aplicable por la Corte Penal Internacional
• Amalia Uriondo de Martinoli, Etapas del proceso arbitral en la jurisprudencia argentina
• Ana Elizabeth Villalta Vizcarra, El aporte de América al Derecho Internacional

Foster: Science and the Precautionary Principle in International Courts and Tribunals

Caroline E. Foster (Univ. of Auckland - Law) has published Science and the Precautionary Principle in International Courts and Tribunals: Expert Evidence, Burden of Proof and Finality (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

By canvassing a range of international scientific disputes, including the EC-Biotech and EC-Hormones disputes in the WTO, the Case concerning Pulp Mills and the Gabcíkovo–Nagymaros case in the International Court of Justice, and the Mox Plant and Land Reclamation cases dealt with under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Caroline Foster examines how the precautionary principle can be accommodated within the rules about proof and evidence and advises on the boundary emerging between the roles of experts and tribunals. A new form of reassessment proceedings for use in exceptional cases is proposed. Breaking new ground, this book seeks to advance international adjudicatory practice by contextualising developments in the taking of expert evidence and analysing the justification of and potential techniques for a precautionary reversal of the burden of proof, as well as methods for dealing with important scientific discoveries subsequent to judgments and awards.

Luban: War as Punishment

David J. Luban (Georgetown Univ. - Law) has posted War as Punishment. Here's the abstract:

For more than a thousand years, just war theorists accepted that wars could be launched to punish or avenge wrongdoing, the war itself being an instrument of retribution. Today, this punishment theory of just cause has completely disappeared from international law, which recognizes only individual and collective self-defense as legitimate cause for war. But retributive emotions are as strong today as ever, and the punishment theory is still alive and well in the moral imaginations of modern societies, even if the diplomats and lawyers scrub it from their official pronouncements about the wars their nations fight. Furthermore, intuitions about enemy collective guilt underlie current debates over who counts as a direct participant in hostilities, how voluntary human shields should be treated, and how much risk soldiers must take to minimize casualties among enemy civilians.

This paper addresses two principal questions: how we got from there to here - that is, from just war theories that embraced the punishment theory to its current erasure - and whether the punishment theory may nevertheless be right.

In answer to the first question, the paper traces the punishment theory from its initial formulation in writings of St. Augustine (whose views it examines in detail) through its medieval and early modern defenses, to its rejection by Kant and Vattel. Defenders of the theory, notably Cajetan, viewed punitive war through the lens of criminal justice by which states punish miscreants; they argued that natural reason cannot accept notorious unpunished wrongdoing. Those who rejected the theory did so because it requires one state to judge the conduct of another. This objection raises two distinct issues: violation of sovereign equality, and biased judgment. The paper rejects the sovereignty objection, but elaborates the biased judgment objection by examining the distinction between retribution and revenge.

These arguments lead to five objections to the punishment theory: (1) It places punishment in the hands of a biased judge, namely the aggrieved party, which (2) makes it more likely to be vengeance than retributive justice. (3) Vengeance does not follow the fundamental condition of just retribution, namely proportionality between punishment and offense. (4) Furthermore, punishment through warmaking is collective punishment that punishes the wrong people, and (5) it employs the wrong methods. Ultimately, Cajetan's concerns about unpunished wrongdoing argue for international criminal law, not punitive warfare.

New Issue: European Journal of International Relations

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Relations (Vol. 17, no. 1, March 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Nukhet A. Sandal & Patrick James, Religion and International Relations theory: Towards a mutual understanding
• Srdjan Vucetic, Bound to follow? The Anglosphere and US-led coalitions of the willing, 1950–2001
• Lene Hansen Theorizing the image for Security Studies: Visual securitization and the Muhammad Cartoon Crisis
• Kléber Ghimire, The United Nations world summits and civil society activism: Grasping the centrality of national dynamics
• Isak Svensson & Mathilda Lindgren, Community and consent: Unarmed insurrections in non-democracies
• Brian Grodsky, Exploring the Schelling conjecture in reverse: ‘International constraints’ and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

New Issue: Journal of Conflict Resolution

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution (Vol. 55, no. 2, April 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Amanda Murdie & Tavishi Bhasin, Aiding and Abetting: Human Rights INGOs and Domestic Protest
• Ross A. Miller & Özlem Elgün, Diversion and Political Survival in Latin America
• Arzu Kibris, Funerals and Elections: The Effects of Terrorism on Voting Behavior in Turkey
• Timothy M. Peterson & Leah Graham, Shared Human Rights Norms and Military Conflict
• Eran Halperin, Alexandra G. Russell, Carol S. Dweck, & James J. Gross, Anger, Hatred, and the Quest for Peace: Anger Can Be Constructive in the Absence of Hatred
• Bear F. Braumoeller & Austin Carson, Political Irrelevance, Democracy, and the Limits of Militarized Conflict

New Issue: Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 11, no. 1, March 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Fons Coomans, The Extraterritorial Scope of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Work of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Frédéric Mégret, The Human Rights of Older Persons: A Growing Challenge
• Steven Greer, Should Police Threats to Torture Suspects Always be Severely Punished? Reflections on the Gäfgen Case
• Nicolas A. J. Croquet, The International Criminal Court and the Treatment of Defence Rights: A Mirror of the European Court of Human Rights’ Jurisprudence?
• Nigel D. White, The Privatisation of Military and Security Functions and Human Rights: Comments on the UN Working Group’s Draft Convention
• Sévrine Knuchel, Samantar v Yousuf: Narrowing the Prospects for Human Rights Litigation against Foreign Officials?
• Loveday Hodson, A Marriage by Any Other Name? Schalk and Kopf v Austria

Johnstone: The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics and Organizations

Ian Johnstone (Tufts Univ. - Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy) has published The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics and Organizations (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

Arguing about matters of public policy is ubiquitous in democracies. The ability to resolve conflicts through peaceful contestation is a measure of any well-ordered society. Arguing is almost as ubiquitous in international affairs, yet it is not viewed as an important element of world order. In The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics and Organizations, Ian Johnstone challenges the assumption that arguing is mere lip service with no real impact on the behavior of states or the structure of the international system. Johnstone focuses on legal argumentation and asks why, if the rhetoric of law is inconsequential, governments and other international actors bother engaging in it.

Johnstone joins the efforts of international relations scholars and democracy theorists who consider why argumentation occurs beyond nation states. He focuses on deliberation in and around international organizations, drawing on various strands of legal, political and international relations theory to identify common features of legal argumentation and deliberative politics. Johnstone's central claim is that international organizations are places where "interpretive communities" coalesce, and the quality of the deliberations these communities provoke is a measure of the legitimacy of the organization.

Heller: A Sentence-Based Theory of Complementarity

Kevin Jon Heller (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has posted A Sentence-Based Theory of Complementarity. Here's the abstract:

Scholars have long debated to what extent the Rome Statute’s principle of complementarity permits states to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide as ordinary crimes such as rape and murder instead of as international crimes. Two positions dominate the discourse, what I call the, “hard mirror thesis,” and the, “soft mirror thesis.” Proponents of the hard mirror thesis argue that such prosecutions never satisfy the principle of complementarity, because the mere act of prosecuting an international crime as an ordinary crime indicates that the state is unwilling or unable to genuinely prosecute. Proponents of the soft mirror thesis, by contrast, accept that prosecuting an international crime as an ordinary crime does not necessarily mean that the state is unwilling or unable to prosecute, but nevertheless insist that states should prosecute international crimes as international crimes whenever possible, because such prosecutions better serve the goals of the Rome Statute. I challenge both theses in the essay and defend an alternative theory of complementarity that focuses exclusively on sentence. In particular, I argue that any national prosecution of an ordinary crime should satisfy the principle of complementarity as long as it results in a sentence equal to, or longer than, the sentence the perpetrator would receive from the ICC.

Barnett: Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism

Michael Barnett (George Washington Univ. - International Affairs and Political Science) has published Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism (Cornell Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

Empire of Humanity explores humanitarianism’s remarkable growth from its humble origins in the early nineteenth century to its current prominence in global life. In contrast to most contemporary accounts of humanitarianism that concentrate on the last two decades, Michael Barnett ties the past to the present, connecting the antislavery and missionary movements of the nineteenth century to today’s peacebuilding missions, the Cold War interventions in places like Biafra and Cambodia to post–Cold War humanitarian operations in regions such as the Great Lakes of Africa and the Balkans; and the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 to the emergence of the major international humanitarian organizations of the twentieth century. Based on extensive archival work, close encounters with many of today’s leading international agencies, and interviews with dozens of aid workers in the field and at headquarters, Empire of Humanity provides a history that is both global and intimate.

Avoiding both romanticism and cynicism, Empire of Humanity explores humanitarianism’s enduring themes, trends, and, most strikingly, ethical ambiguities. Humanitarianism hopes to change the world, but the world has left its mark on humanitarianism. Humanitarianism has undergone three distinct global ages—imperial, postcolonial, and liberal—each of which has shaped what humanitarianism can do and what it is. The world has produced not one humanitarianism, but instead varieties of humanitarianism. Furthermore, Barnett observes that the world of humanitarianism is divided between an emergency camp that wants to save lives and nothing else and an alchemist camp that wants to remove the causes of suffering. These camps offer different visions of what are the purpose and principles of humanitarianism, and, accordingly respond differently to the same global challenges and humanitarianism emergencies. Humanitarianism has developed a metropolis of global institutions of care, amounting to a global governance of humanity. This humanitarian governance, Barnett observes, is an empire of humanity: it exercises power over the very individuals it hopes to emancipate.

Although many use humanitarianism as a symbol of moral progress, Barnett provocatively argues that humanitarianism has undergone its most impressive gains after moments of radical inhumanity, when the "international community” believes that it must atone for its sins and reduce the breach between what we do and who we think we are. Humanitarianism is not only about the needs of its beneficiaries; it also is about the needs of the compassionate.