Schwöbel: Global Constitutionalism in International Legal Perspective

Christine E.J. Schwöbel (Leiden Univ. - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies) has published Global Constitutionalism in International Legal Perspective (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2011). Here's the abstract:

The question of whether a global constitution exists or is emerging, and if so, what form it takes, is one of the most intriguing and controversial topics of recent international theory. This book examines public international law contributions to the debate, specifically taking a step back to enquire about the underlying assumptions that inform this debate. While contemporary contributors declare the idea of global constitutionalism to be global, this book reveals and interrogates the underlying liberal democratic themes that define prevailing approaches, thus calling universality into question. Drawing on critical theories within and without the international legal discipline, this book suggests a reconceptualisation of global constitutionalism in terms of what is named ‘organic global constitutionalism’. The book thus addresses significant shortcomings and illuminates necessary reorientations to a field that is currently still in the crucial phase of formation.

New Issue: Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (Vol. 29, no. 1, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Cees Flinterman, Eight Years in CEDAW
• Noel G. Villaroman, Rescuing a Troubled Concept: An Alternative View of the Right to Development
• Hannes Cannie & Dirk Voorhoof, The Abuse Clause and Freedom of Expression in the European Human Rights Convention: An Added Value for Democracy and Human Rights Protection?
• Gauthier de Beco, Article 33(2) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: An other Role for National Human Rights Institutions?

Mitchell & Powell: Domestic Law Goes Global: Legal Traditions and International Courts

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell (Univ. of Iowa - Political Science) & Emilia Justyna Powell (Univ. of Alabama - Political Science) have published Domestic Law Goes Global: Legal Traditions and International Courts (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

International courts have proliferated in the international system, with over one hundred judicial or quasi-judicial bodies in existence today. This book develops a rational legal design theory of international adjudication in order to explain the variation in state support for international courts. Initial negotiators of new courts, 'originators', design international courts in ways that are politically and legally optimal. States joining existing international courts, 'joiners', look to the legal rules and procedures to assess the courts' ability to be capable, fair and unbiased. The authors demonstrate that the characteristics of civil law, common law and Islamic law influence states' acceptance of the jurisdiction of international courts, the durability of states' commitments to international courts, and the design of states' commitments to the courts. Furthermore, states strike cooperative agreements most effectively in the shadow of an international court that operates according to familiar legal principles and rules.

New Issue: Journal of International Criminal Justice

The latest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 9, no. 3, July 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Janine Natalya Clark, Peace, Justice and the International Criminal Court: Limitations and Possibilities
• Alejandro Chehtman, Developing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Capacity to Process War Crimes Cases: Critical Notes on a ‘Success Story’
• Symposium: The Influence of the European Court of Human Rights’ Case Law on (International) Criminal Law
• Robert Roth & Françoise Tulkens, Introduction
• Françoise Tulkens, The Paradoxical Relationship between Criminal Law and Human Rights
• Emmanuel Decaux, The Place of Human Rights Courts and International Criminal Courts in the International System
• William A. Schabas, Synergy or Fragmentation?: International Criminal Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
• Olivier de Frouville, The Influence of the European Court of Human Rights’ Case Law on International Criminal Law of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
• Christoph Safferling, The Rights and Interests of the Defence in the Pre-Trial Phase
• Damien Scalia, Long-Term Sentences in International Criminal Law: Do They Meet the Standards Set Out by the European Court of Human Rights?
• Andrew Clapham, Concluding Remarks: Three Tribes Engage on the Future of International Criminal Law
• National Prosecution of International Crimes: Cases and Legislation: Universal Jurisdiction and Transitional Justice in Spain
• Nehal C. Bhuta & Volker Nerlich, Foreword
• Enrique Carnero Rojo, National Legislation Providing for the Prosecution and Punishment of International Crimes in Spain
• Josep María Tamarit Sumalla, Transition, Historical Memory and Criminal Justice in Spain
• Peter Burbidge, Waking the Dead of the Spanish Civil War: Judge Baltasar Garzón and the Spanish Law of Historical Memory

Meron: The Making of International Criminal Justice: A View from the Bench

Theodor Meron (Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) has published The Making of International Criminal Justice: A View from the Bench: Selected Speeches (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

There has been a quiet revolution over the course of the past quarter century in the prosecution of individuals for war crimes before international courts. Until recently, and with a few notable exceptions in the wake of World War II, violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law were addressed primarily as claims between states. However, this approach has changed radically in just the last twenty years, as the international community has increasingly accepted the idea of individual criminal responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law. The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have played a key role in this transformation and, as the trailblazers for a growing number of new international or hybrid criminal courts, in establishing the field of international criminal justice and encouraging the national prosecution of war crimes. Understanding the Tribunals' origins, their ground-breaking jurisprudence, and how they have addressed critical legal and practical challenges is essential to understanding both the revolution that has occurred over the past twenty years and how international criminal law will change and grow in the years ahead.

As a leading scholar on humanitarian law, past President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Appeals Judge for both the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, Theodor Meron has observed and influenced the development of international criminal law as it has evolved from a mostly academic exercise to a cornerstone of the new international legal order. In this collection of speeches delivered during his first decade on the bench, he offers an insightful overview of the foundations of international criminal law as well as a unique, insider's perspective on the challenges faced by international criminal tribunals, their creation of a corpus of substantive and procedural law regarding everything from sentencing and self-representation to the law of genocide and the protection of prisoners of war, the contributions of other international courts, and the responsibilities of international jurists. Judge Meron's personal reflections and unparalleled experience in international criminal justice make this volume as rewarding for experts as it is for the general public.

Kerbrat & Maljean-Dubois: The Transformation of International Environmental Law

Yann Kerbrat (Paul Cézanne Univ. (Aix-Marseille III)) & Sandrine Maljean-Dubois (Paul Cézanne University (Aix-Marseille III) - Center of International and European Studies) have published The Transformation of International Environmental Law (Pedone / Hart Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

Faced with environmental challenges which are becoming more serious, urgent, and global, international law has emerged as an essential instrument for state cooperation and an influential element in the harmonization and revitalization of domestic laws. At the same time international law has had to adapt; law-making has become more innovative and fresh mechanisms for implementation have been created. Over the last thirty years international environmental law has therefore experienced significant normative and institutional change. The authors of the present book set out to emphasize these changes, showing how environmental challenges have shaken and sometimes transformed the core categories and concepts of international law. Thus, in addition to being a book about environmental law, this is a work which also charts the way in which international protection of the environment has disrupted general international law. This book is the fruit of a longstanding collaborative project carried out at the Centre for International and European Studies and Research (CERIC). The publication in May 2010 of the French version of the proceedings of an international symposium held under the aegis of the French Society for International Law in Aix-en-Provence in June 2009 drew the first conclusions: Le droit face aux enjeux environnementaux, (Paris, Pedone, 2010). The present book takes them up partly and extends the lessons learned, this time in English.

Isaacs & Vernon: Accountability for Collective Wrongdoing

Tracy Isaacs( Univ. of Western Ontario) & Richard Vernon (Univ. of Western Ontario) have published Accountability for Collective Wrongdoing (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Contents include:

• Mark A. Drumbl, Collective responsibility and post-conflict justice
• David Luban, State criminality and the ambition of international criminal law
• Anthony F. Lang, Jr., Punishing genocide: a critical reading of the International Court of Justice
• Michael P. Scharf, Joint criminal enterprise, the Nuremberg precedent, and the concept of 'Grotian moment'
• Sara L. Seck, Collective responsibility and transnational corporate conduct
• Larry May, Collective punishment and mass confinement
• Erin I. Kelly, Reparative justice
• Avia Pasternak, The distributive effect of collective punishment
• Amy Sepinwall, Citizen responsibility and the reactive attitudes: blaming Americans for war crimes in Iraq
• Toni Erskine, Kicking bodies and damning souls: the danger of harming 'innocent' individuals while punishing 'delinquent' states
• Richard Vernon, Punishing collectives: states or nations?

New Issue: Review of European Community & International Environmental Law

The latest issue of the Review of European Community & International Environmental Law (Vol. 20, no. 1, April 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Articles on the Environmental Law Implications of Development in the Arctic
• Erika Rosenthal & Robert Watson, Multilateral Efforts to Reduce Black Carbon Emissions: A Lifeline for the Warming Arctic?
• Rebekah Church, Arctic Bottom Trawling in Canadian Waters: Exploring the Possibilities for Legal Action against Unsustainable Fishing
• Laura Bowman, Sealing the Deal: Environmental and Indigenous Justice and Mining in Nunavut
• Kirsten Manley-Casimir, Reconciliation, Indigenous Rights and Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Canadian Arctic
• Will Amos, Development of Canadian Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico
• General Articles
• Matthias Buck & Clare Hamilton, The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Arie Trouwborst, Conserving European Biodiversity in a Changing Climate: The Bern Convention, the European Union Birds and Habitats Directives and the Adaptation of Nature to Climate Change
• Caroline Haywood, Carbon Leakage – The First Mover Disadvantage: Australia's Trade-Related Assistance Measures for Emissions-Intensive, Trade-Exposed Industries
• Nicole Ahner & Leonardo Meeus, Global versus Low Carbon Economy: The Case of the Revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Voon: Orange Juice, Shrimp, and the United States Response to Adverse WTO Rulings on Zeroing

Tania Voon (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on Orange Juice, Shrimp, and the United States Response to Adverse WTO Rulings on Zeroing.

New Issue: Journal of International Criminal Justice

The latest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 9, no. 2, May 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Debate
• Malcolm N. Shaw, The Article 12(3) Declaration of the Palestinian Authority, the International Criminal Court and International Law
• Amir Attaran, Roger Bate, & Megan Kendall, Why and How to Make an International Crime of Medicine Counterfeiting
• Articles
• Darryl Robinson, The Controversy over Territorial State Referrals and Reflections on ICL Discourse
• Michele Caianiello, First Decisions on the Admission of Evidence at ICC Trials: A Blending of Accusatorial and Inquisitorial Models?
• Barbora Holá, Alette Smeulers, & Catrien Bijleveld, International Sentencing Facts and Figures: Sentencing Practice at the ICTY and ICTR
• Ruth Bettina Birn, Criminals as Manipulative Witnesses: A Case Study of SS General von dem Bach-Zelewski
• Anthology
• Ruth Bettina Birn & Walter H. Rapp, Introductory Note: Interrogation of Bach-Zelewski
• Highlights
• Katharina Margetts & Katerina I. Kappos, Current Developments at the Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 44, no. 3, May 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Maria Banda & John Oppermann, Building a Latin American Coalition on Forests: Negotiation Barriers and Opportunities
• Joseph S. Imburgia, Space Debris and Its Threat to National Security: A Proposal for a Binding International Agreement to Clean Up the Junk
• Timothy Webster, Ambivalence and Activism: Employment Discrimination in China

New Issue: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

The latest issue of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (Vol. 11, no. 2, May 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Gurdial Singh Nijar, Food security and access and benefit sharing laws relating to genetic resources: promoting synergies in national and international governance
• Rocío Dánica Cóndor, Antonino Scarelli & Riccardo Valentini, Multicriteria Decision Aid to support Multilateral Environmental Agreements in assessing international forestry projects
• Carel Dieperink, International water negotiations under asymmetry, Lessons from the Rhine chlorides dispute settlement (1931–2004)
• Mark Zeitoun, Naho Mirumachi & Jeroen Warner, Transboundary water interaction II: the influence of ‘soft’ power
• Andrea K. Gerlak, Jonathan Lautze & Mark Giordano, Water resources data and information exchange in transboundary water treaties

New Issue: International Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 15, no. 5, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Daniela Nadj, The culturalisation of identity in an age of 'ethnic conflict'-depoliticised gender in ICTY wartime sexual violence jurisprudence
• Debdatta Chowdhury, Space, identity, territory: Marichjhapi Massacre, 1979
• Kay Lalor, Constituting sexuality: rights, politics and power in the gay rights movement
• Laura Niada, The human right to medicines in relation to patents in sub-Saharan Africa: some critical remarks
• Nlerum S. Okogbule, Modest harvests: appraising the impact of human rights norms on international economic institutions in relation to Africa
• Frederick Cowell, Preventing coups in Africa: attempts at the protection of human rights and constitutions
• Michael Freitas Mohallem, Immutable clauses and judicial review in India, Brazil and South Africa: expanding constitutional courts' authority

Yamane: Interpreting TRIPS: Globalisation of Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines

Hiroko Yamane has published Interpreting TRIPS: Globalisation of Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines (Hart Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

Protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has become a global issue. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement outlines the minimum standards for IPR protection for WTO members and offers a global regime for IPR protection. However, the benefits of TRIPS are more questionable in poorer countries where national infrastructure for research and development (R&D) and social protection are inadequate, whereas the cost of innovation is high. Today, after more than a decade of intense debate over global IPR protection, the problems remain acute, although there is also evidence of progress and cooperation.

This book examines various views of the role of IPRs as incentives for innovation against the backdrop of development and the transfer of technology between globalised, knowledge-based, high technology economies. The book retraces the origins, content and interpretations of the TRIPS Agreement, including its interpretations by WTO dispute settlement organs. It also analyses sources of controversy over IPRs, examining pharmaceutical industry strategies of emerging countries with different IPR policies.

The continuing international debate over IPRs is examined in depth, as are TRIPS rules and the controversy about implementing the 'flexibilities' of the Agreement in the light of national policy objectives. The author concludes that for governments in developing countries, as well as for their business and scientific communities, a great deal depends on domestic policy objectives and their implementation. IPR protection should be supporting domestic policies for innovation and investment. This, in turn requires a re-casting of the debate about TRIPS, to place cooperation in global and efficient R&D at the heart of concerns over IPR protection.

New Issue: Ethics & International Affairs

The latest issue of Ethics & International Affairs (Vol. 25, no. 2, Summer 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium: The Ethics of America's Afghan War
• Richard W. Miller, The Ethics of America's Afghan War
• Geroge R. Lucas, The Strategy of Graceful Decline
• Jeff McMahan, Proportionality in the Afghanistan War
• Darrel Moellendorf, Jus ex Bello in Afghanistan
• Fernando R. Tesón, Enabling Monsters: A Reply to Professor Miller
• Features
• Mary Dowell-Jones & David Kinley, Minding the Gap: Global Finance and Human Rights
• John S. Dryzek, Global Democratization: Soup, Society, or System?

Kläger: 'Fair and Equitable Treatment' in International Investment Law

Roland Kläger (Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt) has published 'Fair and Equitable Treatment' in International Investment Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

A breach of fair and equitable treatment is alleged in almost every investor-state dispute. It has therefore become a controversial norm, which touches many questions at the heart of general international law. Roland Kläger sheds light on these controversies by exploring the deeper doctrinal foundations of fair and equitable treatment and reviewing its contentious relationship with the international minimum standard. The norm is also discussed in light of the fragmentation of international law, theories of international justice and rational balancing, and the idea of constitutionalism in international law. In this vein, a shift in the way of addressing fair and equitable treatment is proposed by focusing on the process of justificatory reasoning.

Delas: Principe de non refoulement dans la jurisprudence internationale des droits de l'homme

Olivier Delas has published Principe de non refoulement dans la jurisprudence internationale des droits de l'homme: De la consécration à la contestation (Bruylant 2011). Here's the abstract:

Les juridictions et quasi-juridictions internationales de protection des droits de l’Homme se sont saisies du contentieux de l’éloignement du territoire en s’appuyant sur la prohibition absolue de la torture et des traitements cruels, inhumains et dégradants, cette construction prétorienne ayant été par ailleurs sanctionnée conventionnellement. Bien que l’État partie ne soit pas directement l’auteur des mauvais traitements allégués, c’est la mise en oeuvre du refoulement vers le pays où les traitements risquent d’être subis qui emporte sa responsabilité.

Le droit international des droits de l’Homme va considérablement développer le principe de non-refoulement, en dépassant les limites que lui imposait le droit international des réfugiés qui l’avait créé. Le droit international des droits de l’Homme ne s’est donc pas limité à faire sien le principe de non- refoulement, mais il l’a réellement consacré en lui donnant une étendue et une portée sans égale à celle qui lui était déjà reconnue en droit international des réfugiés. Toutefois, la grille d’analyse établie pour assurer une telle protection est passée par la réaffirmation de la compétence souveraine des États en matière d’accès et de séjour sur le territoire. Si ce point est incontestable et incontesté, il appert qu’en en faisant le point de départ de tout contrôle d’une mesure d’éloignement, celui-ci influence indéniablement la protection offerte. Non content d’en limiter la mise en oeuvre en raison des difficultés de démonstration auxquelles il conduit, il laisse place à des velléités de contester la portée de la protection offerte au nom même de préoccupations souveraines.

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 44, no. 2, March 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Jonathan E. Davis, From Ideology to Pragmatism: China's Position on Humanitarian Intervention in the Post-Cold War Era
• James A. Green & Francis Grimal, The Threat of Force as an Action in Self-Defense Under International Law
• Charles P. Trumbull IV & Julie B. Martin, Elections and Government Formation in Iraq: An Analysis of the Judiciary’s Role
• Wulf A. Kaal, Hedge Fund Regulation via Basel III

Sloss, Ramsey, & Dodge: International Law in the U.S. Supreme Court: Continuity and Change

David L. Sloss (Santa Clara Univ. - Law), Michael D. Ramsey (Univ. of San Diego - Law), & William S. Dodge (Univ. of California - Hastings College of the Law) have published International Law in the U.S. Supreme Court: Continuity and Change (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Contents include:

• David L. Sloss, Michael D. Ramsey & William S. Dodge, International law in the Supreme Court, 1789–1860
• Duncan B. Hollis, Treaties in the Supreme Court, 1861–1900
• David J. Bederman, Customary international law in the Supreme Court, 1861–1900
• Thomas H. Lee & David L. Sloss, International law as an interpretive tool in the Supreme Court, 1861–1900
• John Fabian Witt, A social history of international law: historical commentary, 1861–1900
• Michael P. Van Alstine, Treaties in the Supreme Court, 1901–1945
• Michael D. Ramsey, Customary international law in the Supreme Court, 1901–1945
• Roger P. Alford, International law as an interpretive tool in the Supreme Court, 1901–1945
• Edward A. Purcell, Jr., Varieties and complexities of doctrinal change: historical commentary, 1901–1945
• Paul B. Stephan, Treaties in the Supreme Court, 1946–2000
• William S. Dodge, Customary international law in the Supreme Court, 1946–2000
• Melissa A. Waters, International law as an interpretive tool in the Supreme Court, 1946–2000
• Martin S. Flaherty, Global power in an age of rights: historical commentary, 1946–2000
• Lori F. Damrosch, Medellin and Sanchez-Llamas: treaties from John Jay to John Roberts
• John O. McGinnis, Sosa and the derivation of customary international law
• Mark Tushnet, International law and constitutional interpretation in the twenty-first century: change and continuity
• Ralf Michaels, Empagran's empire: international law and statutory interpretation in the U.S. Supreme Court of the twenty-first century
• David Golove, The Supreme Court, the war on terror, and the American just war constitutional tradition

New Issue: International Journal of Transitional Justice

The latest issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 5, no. 2, July 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Ahmad Nader Nadery, Editorial Note: In the Aftermath of International Intervention: A New Era for Transitional Justice?
• Siphiwe Ignatius Dube, Transitional Justice Beyond the Normative: Towards a Literary Theory of Political Transitions
• Kora Andrieu, An Unfinished Business: Transitional Justice and Democratization in Post-Soviet Russia
• Emily Haslam, Subjects and Objects: International Criminal Law and the Institutionalization of Civil Society
• Roger Duthie, Transitional Justice and Displacement
• Jay D. Aronson, The Strengths and Limitations of South Africa's Search for Apartheid-Era Missing Persons
• Eva Brems, Transitional Justice in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights

New Issue: Harvard Human Rights Journal

The latest issue of the Harvard Human Rights Journal (Vol. 24, no. 1, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Denise Gilman, A “Bilingual” Approach to Language Rights: How Dialogue Between U.S. and International Human Rights Law May Improve the Language Rights Framework
• Robin Perry, Balancing Rights or Building Rights? Reconciling the Right to Use Customary Systems of Law with Competing Human Rights in Pursuit of Indigenous Sovereignty
• David Weissbrodt, Joseph C. Hansen, & Nathaniel H. Nesbitt, The Role of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Interpreting and Developing International Humanitarian Law
• Dana Weiss & Ronen Shamir, Corporate Accountability to Human Rights: The Case of the Gaza Strip

Milanovic: Extraterritorial Application of Human Rights Treaties: Law, Principles, and Policy

Marko Milanovic (Univ. of Nottingham - Law) has published Extraterritorial Application of Human Rights Treaties: Law, Principles, and Policy (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

Questions as to when a state owes obligations under a human rights treaty towards an individual located outside its territory are being brought more and more frequently before both international and domestic courts. Victims of aerial bombardment, inhabitants of territories under military occupation, deposed dictators, suspected terrorists detained in Guantanamo by the United States, and the family of a former KGB spy who was assassinated in London through the use of a radioactive toxin, allegedly at the orders or with the collusion of the Russian government - all of these people have claimed protection from human rights law against a state affecting their lives while acting outside its territory. These matters are extremely politically and legally sensitive, leading to much confusion, ambiguity and compromise in the existing case law.

This study attempts to clear up some of this confusion, and expose its real roots. It examines the notion of state jurisdiction in human rights treaties, and places it within the framework of international law. It is not limited to an inquiry into the semantic, ordinary meaning of the jurisdiction clauses in human rights treaties, nor even to their construction into workable legal concepts and rules. Rather, the interpretation of these treaties cannot be complete without examining their object and purpose, and the various policy considerations which influence states in their behaviour, and courts in their decision-making. The book thus exposes the tension between universality and effectiveness, which is itself the cause of methodological and conceptual inconsistency in the case law. Finally, the work elaborates on the several possible models of the treaties' extraterritorial application. It offers not only a critical analysis of the existing case law, but explains the various options that are before courts and states in addressing these issues, as well as their policy implications.

New Issue: ASA Bulletin

The latest issue of the ASA Bulletin (Vol. 29, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Eleanor Mcgregor, L'arbitrage en droit public : un orphelin au sein de la LTF?
• Ahmed Ouerfelli, Recent Developments of Arbitration Law and Practice in Tunisia
• Laura Halonen, Bridging the Gap in the Notion of "Investment" between ICSID and UNCITRAL Arbitrations: Note on an Award Rendered under the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Switzerland and Uzbekistan

New Issue: Journal of International Maritime Law

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

• Thedora Nikaki, Himalaya clauses and the Rotterdam Rules
• David B. Sharpe, Jurisdiction and choice of law issues relating to the direct action against the insurer: the position under U.S. law
• Anders Mollmann, From bills of lading to transport documents - the role of transport documents under the Rotterdam Rules

Symposium: Border Skirmishes: The Intersection Between Litigation and International Commercial Arbitration

The Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law will host a symposium on "Border Skirmishes: The Intersection Between Litigation and International Commercial Arbitration," on October 21, 2011. The program is here. Here's the idea:

Once upon a time, international commercial arbitration and litigation were considered mutually exclusive means of resolving transnational disputes. However, those days appear to be gone forever. Instead, the existence of an arbitration agreement in a transnational dispute seems to be nothing more than an invitation for lawyers to engage in extensive (and expensive) tactical maneuvering in a variety of venues, both arbitral and judicial.

Some may see creative strategizing as the natural by-product of the significant amounts of money that are often at issue in these sorts of disputes. However, the border skirmishes between international commercial arbitration and litigation can also be attributed to the uncertainty that arises when the substantive and procedural laws of different jurisdictions collide.

Keynote speaker Gary Born joins panelists from Canada, Austria, Switzerland and the United States in a frank and timely discussion of some of the issues that can develop when parties attempt to combine litigation tactics with international commercial arbitration. This group of experts provides a uniquely transnational perspective on some of the most pressing questions facing the legal community today.

Panou: Le consentement à l'arbitrage: Etude méthodologique du droit international privé de l'arbitrage

Chrysoula Panou has published Le consentement à l'arbitrage: Etude méthodologique du droit international privé de l'arbitrage (IRJS Editions 2011). Here's the abstract:

Traditionnellement dissociées, la convention d'arbitrage et la sentence arbitrale sont supposées relever, en droit international privé, de méthodes différentes. Assimilée à un jugement étranger, la sentence arbitrale est ainsi réputée soumise à la méthode des effets des jugements étrangers tandis que la convention d'arbitrage devrait normalement déclencher l'application de la méthode du conflit de lois. La présente étude propose une interprétation différente du droit positif français de l'arbitrage international. Elle envisage la nature de l'arbitrage ainsi que le procédé de droit international privé mis en oeuvre, sous un angle unitaire, afin d'explorer les effets du consentement à l'arbitrage, du point de vue tant du droit interne que du droit international privé.

Okimoto: The Distinction and Relationship between Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello

Keiichiro Okimoto has published The Distinction and Relationship between Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello (Hart Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

This book explores the distinction and relationship between two principal branches of international law regulating the use of force: jus ad bellum (international law regulating the resort to force) and jus in bello (international humanitarian law). Two principles traditionally govern the relationship between the two: 1) separation of jus ad bellum and jus in bello and 2) equal application of jus in bello to the conflicting parties. These principles emerged in response to the claim that a conflicting party using force illegally under jus ad bellum should not benefit from the protection for victims of armed conflict under jus in bello, which would completely defeat the humanitarian purpose of jus in bello to protect all victims of armed conflict impartially. There is, however, a third principle: concurrent application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Unlike in the past, jus ad bellum now regulates the use of force during a conflict alongside jus in bello and hence, the two are now considered as one set of rules applying during a conflict. The book explores in detail the interaction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello in the light of these three principles.The relationship between the two has been principally discussed in the context of the use of force in self-defence and international armed conflict. However, this book examines the relationship in other contexts of a very different nature, namely the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, non-international armed conflict, and armed conflict of a mixed character. The book concludes that the three principles governing the relationship are equally valid, with certain variations, in these different contexts.

Anderson: 'Accountability' as 'Legitimacy': Global Governance, Global Civil Society and the United Nations

Kenneth Anderson (American Univ. - Law) has posted 'Accountability' as 'Legitimacy': Global Governance, Global Civil Society and the United Nations (Brooklyn Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This essay is a contribution to a symposium on international NGO accountability. It distinguishes between "internal" accountability for NGOs (fiduciary standards, fiscal and internal governance controls, etc.) and "external" accountability (the legitimacy with which they act in the international world, and the legitimacy which they confer upon others, and why). The essay focuses upon the latter, external accountability, and argues that the transformation of international NGOs into "global civil society" signaled an ideological move with regards to legitimacy in the global community, one which asserted claims of "representativeness" and not merely interest or expertise. The essay criticizes this legitimacy move, suggesting that it arises from mutual interests on the part of international NGOs and public international organizations such as the UN to confer legitimacy upon each other in the interest of promoting a mutually congenial form of global governance. The essay offers this account and critique in the context of a quasi-historical examination of the rise of the human rights movement as the "apex" values of the international system, with a special "legitimacy" place in that system accorded to international human rights NGOs. The essay concludes by noting that this "auto-legitimation" between international NGOs and international organizations does not lead to greater external accountability, particularly in an increasingly multipolar world.

Ohlin: Targeting Co-Belligerents

Jens David Ohlin (Cornell Univ. - Law) has posted Targeting Co-Belligerents (in Targeted Killings: Law & Morality in an Assymetrical World, Claire Finkelstein, Jens David Ohlin, & Andrew Altman eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

One of the central controversies of the targeted killing debate is the question of who can be targeted for a summary killing. The following chapter employs a novel normative framework: how to link an individual terrorist with a non-state group that threatens a nation-state. Six linking principles are catalogued and analyzed, including direct participation, co-belligerency, membership, control, complicity and conspiracy. The analysis produces counter-intuitive results, especially for civil libertarians who usually eschew status principles in favor of conduct principles. The concept of membership, a status concept central to international humanitarian law, is ideally suited to situations, like targeted killings, that involve summary killing on the battlefield. This chapter defends one version of the concept, called ‘functional membership’, which takes into account the uniqueness of irregular terrorist organizations. The defense relies on the fact that the alleged dichotomy between status and conduct is partially illusory. Second, functional membership is a hybrid between status and conduct and preserves the best elements of the law of war paradigm with the criminal law enforcement paradigm. Third, functional membership is necessary for applying the pre-existing international humanitarian law standards of ‘directly participating in hostilities’ and engaging in a ‘continuous combat function.’

Liber Amicorum en l'honneur de Serge Lazareff

Liber Amicorum en l'honneur de Serge Lazareff (Pedone 2011) has been published. Contents include:

• Laetitia de Montalivet, Avant-propos
• Laurent Levy & Yves Derains, Introdution
• Georges Affaki, Nouvelles réflexions sur la banque et l’arbitrage
• Gerald Aksen, The Short Life of International Class Arbitration in the USA
• Luiz Olavo Baptista, The Practice of Interpretation in Arbitration
• Piero Bernardini, International Arbitration: how to make it more Effective
• Fabio Bortolotti, Unidroit Principles and their Application in the Context of International Arbitration
• Michael Bühler, “The Arbitrator’s Remuneration - too much, too little?”
• Mohammed Chemloul, Contrats Internationaux/ Approche Culturelle
• Thomas Clay, Le Professeur Serge Lazareff
• Nayla Comair-Obeid, Mediation in the Arab World: ‘Challenges and Prospects
• Bernardo M. Cremades, State Participation in International Arbitration
• Antonio Crivellaro, Annulment of ICSID Awards: back to the “First Generation”?
• Marco Darmon, Quelques phares et balises…
• Filip De Ly, Arbitration and the European Convention on Human Rights
• Antonias Dimolitsa, Sur l’“autorité” de l’arbitre
• Caroline Duclerq, L’Arbitre…. vu de l’intérieur
• Abdul Hamid El Ahdab, Arbitration gained the Confidence of the Arab World to become a Means for Alternative Dispute Resolution Instead of War
• Ahmed S. El-Kosheri, Le Juge-Arbitre et le Juge-Conciliateur
• Mohammed El Mernissi, Réflexions sur la prestation de serment des témoins dans la procédure arbitrale
• Halil Ercüment Erdem, The Role of Trade Usages in ICC Arbitration
• Ibrahim Fadlallah, Retour sur investissement
• Marcel Fontaine, Quelques aspects de l’arbitrage en droit des assurances et de la reassurance
• Andrea Giardina, L'intervention et l'attraction des tiers dans la procédure arbitrale
• Teresa Giovannini, When do Arbitrators become Functus Officio?
• Horacio A. Grigera Naón, Arbitration and Insolvency: a Salient Issue
• Bernard Hanotiau, The Parties to the Arbitration Agreement
• Sigvard Jarvin, La Cour d'arbitrage de la Chambre de commerce internationale pendant la seconde guerre mondiale
• Kristine Karsten, The future of arbitration: Prophecy using the prism of the past
• Elie Kleiman, Arbitre, Intuitu personae
• Richard H. Kreindler, Legal Consequences of Corruption in International Investment Arbitration: An Old Challenge with New Answers
• Pierre Lalive, Forme et Fond dans l'arbitrage international
• Julian D.M. Lew, Iura Novit Curia and Due Process
• Munir A.F.M. Maniruzzaman, Resolving International Business and Energy Disputes in Asia – Traditions and Trends
• Fernando Mantilla Serrano, L’indépendance d’esprit de l’arbitre (ou l’issue conflict)
• Renzo Morera, Etre arbitre à l’époque de la globalisation
• Alexis Mourre, Serge Lazareff, une vision de l’arbitre à travers 10 ans d’éditoriaux des Cahiers de l’arbitrage
• Jan Paulsson, Thinking Simply About Public Policy
• François Perret, Quelques réflexions au sujet de l’application par l’arbitre international du droit matériel choisi par les parties
• Gerald H. Pointon, The Origins of Article VII.1 of the New York Convention 1958
• Hassan Ali Radhi, Regulations of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) …..A new concept in dispute resolution
• W. Michael Reisman, Investment and Human Rights Tribunals as Courts of Last Appeal in International Commercial Arbitration
• Claude Reymond, Pour une histoire des idées en matière d'arbitrage
• Tarek Fouad A. Riad, Contracts in the Middle East and Islamic Law
• James Otis Rodner, Unilateral Setoff and the Principles of Undroit
• Michael E. Schneider, The Essential Guidelines for the Preparation of Guidelines, Directives, Notes, Protocols and other Methods intended to help International Arbitration Practitioners to avoid the need for Independent Thinking and to promote the Transformation of Errors into “Best Practices”
• Eric A. Schwartz, Thoughts on the Finality of Arbitral Awards
• Pierre Tercier, « Banalisation » de l’arbitrage ?
• V.V. Veeder, Free Spirits – The Seach for “International” Arbitration
• Jacques Werner, The Arbitrator as Master of Time

Kouvo & Pearson: Feminist Perspectives on Contemporary International Law

Sari Kouvo (International Centre for Transitional Justice) & Zoe Pearson (Keele Univ. - Law) have published Feminist Perspectives on Contemporary International Law: Between Resistance and Compliance? (Hart Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

The essays in this volume analyse feminism's positioning vis-à-vis international law and the current paradigms of international law. The authors argue that, willingly or unwillingly, feminist perspectives on international law have come to be situated between 'resistance' and 'compliance'. That is, feminist scholarship aims at deconstructing international law to show why and how 'women' have been marginalised; at the same time feminists have been largely unwilling to challenge the core of international law and its institutions, remaining hopeful of international law's potential for women. The analysis is clustered around three themes: the first part, theory and method, looks at how feminist perspectives on international law have developed and seeks to introduce new theoretical and methodological tools (especially through a focus on psychoanalysis and geography). The second part, national and international security, focuses on how feminists have situated themselves in relation to the current discourses of 'crisis', the post-9/11 NGO 'industry' and the changing discourses of violence against women. The third part, global and local justice, addresses some of the emerging trends in international law, focusing especially on transitional justice, state-building, trafficking and economic globalisation.

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 44, no. 1, January 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Won Kidane, Managing Forced Displacement by Law in Africa: The Role of the New African Union IDPs Convention
• Mary-Hunter Morris McDonnell, Loran F. Nordgren, & George Loewenstein, Torture in the Eyes of the Beholder: The Psychological Difficulty of Defining Torture in Law and Policy
• Eki Yemisi Omorogbe, A Club of Incumbents? The African Union and Coups d'État

New Issue: Journal of International Trade Law and Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Trade Law and Policy (Vol. 10, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Uttam Deb & Muhammad Al Amin, Impact of the Doha round negotiation on Bangladesh agriculture: An analysis of the revised draft modalities
• Elimma C. Ezeani, Can the WTO judges assist the development agenda?
• Rajib Sanyal & Subarna Samanta, Trends in international bribe-giving: do anti-bribery laws matter?
• Montserrat González-Garibay, The trade-labour and trade-environment linkages: together or apart?
• Mohammad Mahabubur Rahman, Fariduddin Ahmed, Mohammad Osiur Rahman, & Azizul Hoque, Settlement of cyber disputes through terrestrial provisions: Law and technology converge in the US practice

New Issue: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (Vol. 14, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Peter L. Fitzgerald, “Morality” May Not Be Enough to Justify the EU Seal Products Ban: Animal Welfare Meets International Trade Law
• Donald K. Anton, Protecting Whales by Hue and Cry: Is There a Role for Non-State Actors in the Enforcement of International Law?