Van Alstine: Stare Decisis and Foreign Affairs

Michael P. Van Alstine (Univ. of Maryland - Law) has published Stare Decisis and Foreign Affairs (Duke Law Journal, Vol. 61, no. 5, p. 941, February 2012). Here's the abstract:

This Article examines whether the jurisprudential and institutional premises of the doctrine of stare decisis retain their validity in the field of foreign affairs. The proper role of the judicial branch in foreign affairs has provoked substantial scholarly debate—historical, institutional, and normative—since the founding of the Republic. Precisely because of the sensitivity of the subject, the Supreme Court has both warned about the judicial branch’s comparative lack of expertise in the field and established a web of deference doctrines designed to protect against improvident judicial action. Notwithstanding all of this discussion, however, neither the Supreme Court nor any scholar has ever examined the complicated relationship between stare decisis and foreign affairs.

This Article first contextualizes the discussion with an analysis of the foundations of stare decisis. After a review of the values that animate the doctrine, it explores the subtly important jurisdictional premises of stare decisis. Almost entirely overlooked by both courts and scholars, these inherent jurisdictional limitations on the force of precedent have direct implications for the proper role of stare decisis in foreign affairs law. The Article then examines the special constitutional arrangement of powers in the field, in particular the respective roles of Congress and the executive. Just as significant, the Article also canvasses the multiplicity of avenues by which the American legal system channels foreign affairs issues to the federal courts. This growing interbranch tension highlights the significance of reflexively cloaking the resultant judicial precedents with full stare decisis effect.

The analysis in this Article demonstrates that in fact a more nuanced and accommodating understanding of precedent is required with respect to certain fundamental aspects of foreign affairs law. For purely domestic statutes, fidelity to the value judgments first made by Congress within and for the domestic legal system should avoid both the fact and appearance of independent judicial agency. Moreover, when Congress takes it upon itself to define the entire content of the law—without importing international legal norms—the courts need look only to familiar domestic sources and materials in their interpretive inquiries. Matters are different, however, for the broad and expanding field of controversies that likewise fall within the Article III “judicial Power” but that involve the courts in the enforcement of rights or obligations grounded in international law. Within this field, the analysis in this Article demonstrates that the likelihood and consequences of judicial error are greater, that precedents are particularly susceptible to rapid erosion by exogenous forces of change, and that institutional considerations make judicial leadership that has been fortified by rigid precedent particularly problematic. It ultimately concludes that these distinct considerations should function as an additional “special justification” for reexamining international law precedents. Consistent with the systemic values of stare decisis, however, the reexamination power should exist only for the issuing court; lower courts in the hierarchically integrated judicial branch—courts that are subject to the vertical dimension of stare decisis—should remain bound by precedents to the full extent of existing law.

New Issue: Mealey's International Arbitration Report

The latest issue of Mealey's International Arbitration Report (Vol. 27, no. 2, February 2012) is out.

Kristjansdottir, Nollkaemper, & Ryngaert: International Law in Domestic Courts: Rule of Law Reform in Post-Conflict States

Edda Kristjansdottir (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law), André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law), & Cedric Ryngaert (Leuven Univ. - Law; Utrecht Univ. - Law) have published International Law in Domestic Courts: Rule of Law Reform in Post-Conflict States (Intersentia 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the idea:

States that are in transition after a violent conflict or an authoritarian past face daunting challenges in (re)establishing the rule of law. This volume examines in detail attempts that were made in certain significant post-conflict or post-authoritarian situations to strengthen the domestic rule of law with the aid of international law. Attention is paid in particular to the empowerment of domestic courts in such situations. International law may serve these courts as a tool for reconciling the demands for new rights and responsibilities with due process and other rule of law requirements.

The volume contains case studies of the role of domestic courts in various post-conflict and transitional situations (Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, East Timor, Russia, South Africa, and Rwanda). Each of these case studies seeks to answer questions relating to the exact constitutional moment empowering domestic courts to apply international law, the range of international legal norms that are applied, the involvement of international actors in bringing about change, the contextualization of international legal norms in states in transition, tension within such states as a result of the application of international law, and the legacy of domestic courts’ empowerment in terms of durable rule of law entrenchment.

Haque: Proportionality (in War)

Adil Ahmad Haque (Rutgers Univ., Newark - Law) has posted Proportionality (in War) (in International Encyclopedia of Ethics, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This entry for the International Encyclopedia of Ethics discusses the moral and legal requirement of proportionality in armed conflict. Among other things, the entry discusses the relationship between proportionality and just cause; the relative weight of the harms inflicted and the harms prevented by war and acts of war; the relevance of national partiality; and the effect of human shields and mixed battle spaces on the stringency of the proportionality requirement.

Call for Papers: 2012 ASIL Research Forum

The American Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its Research Forum, to be held at the University of Georgia School of Law, October 20-21, 2012. Here's the call:

Call for Scholarly Papers

ASIL Research Forum

The American Society of International Law calls for submissions of scholarly paper proposals for the ASIL Research Forum to be held at the University of Georgia School of Law on October 20-21, 2012.

The Research Forum, a Society initiative introduced in 2011, aims to provide a setting for the presentation and focused discussion of works-in-progress by Society members. All ASIL members are invited to attend the Forum, whether presenting a paper or not.

Interested participants should submit an abstract (no more than 500 words in length) summarizing the scholarly paper to be presented at the Forum. Papers can be on any topic related to international and transnational law and should be unpublished (for purposes of the call, publication to an electronic database such as SSRN is not considered publication). Interdisciplinary projects, empirical studies, and jointly authored papers are welcome. Member proposals should be submitted by April 15. Proposals will include 1) the name, institutional affiliation, professional position, and contact information for the author(s), and 2) an abstract. Review of the abstracts will be blind, and therefore abstracts should not include any identifying information about the author. Abstracts containing identifying information will not be reviewed. Proposals will be vetted by the Research Forum Committee with selections to be announced by July 15.

At present, it is the intent of the Research Forum Committee to organize the selected paper proposals around common issues, themes, and approaches. Discussants, who will comment on the papers, will be assigned to each cluster of papers. All authors will be required to submit a draft paper 4 weeks before the Research Forum. The expectation is that drafts will be posted on the Research Forum website.

The 2012 ASIL Research Forum Committee:

Laura Dickinson (George Washington), Co-Chair

Timothy Meyer (Georgia), Co-Chair

Jose Alvarez (NYU)

Laurence Helfer (Duke)

Hari Osofsky (Minnesota)

Kal Raustiala (UCLA)

David Zaring (Wharton)

Proposal should be submitted online here.

Sadat: Emerging from the Shadow of Nuremberg: Crimes Against Humanity in the Modern Age

Leila N. Sadat (Washington Univ. in Saint Louis - Law) has posted Emerging from the Shadow of Nuremberg: Crimes Against Humanity in the Modern Age. Here's the abstract:

This Article demonstrates the central importance of Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) prosecutions at the ad hoc international criminal tribunals and in the International Criminal Court (ICC). It represents the first comprehensive and empirical assessment of what CAH charges accomplish as a matter of observable practice. This empirical analysis informs the construction of a new theory of CAH in modern international criminal law. The Article analyzes the early jurisprudence of the ICC and challenges the conventional wisdom that CAH must be interpreted unduly restrictively, with reference to Nuremberg in mind. Instead, CAH at the world’s first permanent international criminal court must emerge from the shadow of Nuremberg -- as the framers of the Statute intended it to do -- and continue to develop as a contemporary response to widespread or systematic human rights violations against civilian populations. Opinions in the Court’s early case law unduly restricting the scope and application of CAH or proposing a return to the Nuremberg paradigm may have the effect of limiting the effectiveness of CAH charges at the ICC. This could render CAH at the ICC, like genocide at the ICTY, impotent not only as a basis for the post hoc punishment of offenders, but in terms of prevention and deterrence. The Article critiques this jurisprudence with a view towards developing a theory of CAH at the ICC that not only respects State sovereignty, but implements its mandate to prevent and punish “unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity.”

Moyn on Martinez's "The Slave Trade" and Sikkink's "The Justice Cascade"

In the current issue of The Nation (March 19, 2012), Samuel Moyn (Columbia Univ. - History) has published a joint book review of Jenny S. Martinez's The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2012) and Kathryn Sikkink's The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions Are Changing World Politics (W.W. Norton & Co. 2011) .

van Sliedregt: Individual Criminal Responsibility in International Law

Elies van Sliedregt (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - Law) has published Individual Criminal Responsibility in International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

This book examines the concept of individual criminal responsibility for serious violations of international law, i.e. aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Such crimes are rarely committed by single individuals. Rather, international crimes generally connote a plurality of offenders, particularly in the execution of the crimes, which are often orchestrated and masterminded by individuals behind the scene of the crimes who can be termed 'intellectual perpetrators'. For a determination of individual guilt and responsibility, a fair assessment of the mutual relationships between those persons is indispensable.

By setting out how to understand and apply concepts such as joint criminal enterprise, superior responsibility, duress, and the defence of superior orders, this work provides a framework for that assessment. It does so by bringing to light the roots of these concepts, which lie not merely in earlier phases of development of international criminal law but also in domestic law and legal doctrine. The book also critically reflects on how criminal responsibility has been developed in the case law of international criminal tribunals and courts. It thus illuminates and analyses the rules on individual responsibility in international law.

de Wet & Vidmar: Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights

Erika de Wet (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law; Univ. of Pretoria - Law) & Jure Vidmar (Univ. of Oxford - Law) have published Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Contents include:

• Erika de Wet & Jure Vidmar, Introduction
• Jure Vidmar: Norm Conflicts and Hierarchy in International Law, Towards a Vertical International Legal System?
• Antonios Tzanakopoulos, Human Rights and United Nations Security Council Measures
• Riccardo Pavoni, Human Rights and the Immunities of Foreign States and International Organizations
• Philippa Webb, Human Rights and the Immunities of State Officials
• Harmen van der Wilt, On the Hierarchy between Extradition and Human Rights
• Geoff Gilbert, Human Rights, Refugees and Other Displaced Persons in International Law
• Dinah Shelton, Resolving Conflicts between Human Rights and Environmental Protection: Is there a Hierarchy?
• Susan Karamanian, Human Rights Dimensions of Investment Law
• Andreas Ziegler & Bertram Boie, The Relationship between International Trade Law and International Human Rights Law
• Erika de Wet & Jure Vidmar, Conclusions

Clapp: Hunger in the Balance: The New Politics of International Food Aid

Jennifer Clapp (Univ. of Waterloo) has published Hunger in the Balance: The New Politics of International Food Aid (Cornell Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

Food aid has become a contentious issue in recent decades, with sharp disagreements over genetically modified crops, agricultural subsidies, and ways of guaranteeing food security in the face of successive global food crises. In Hunger in the Balance, Jennifer Clapp provides a timely and comprehensive account of the contemporary politics of food aid, explaining the origins and outcomes of recent clashes between donor nations—and between donors and recipients.

She identifies fundamental disputes between donors over "tied" food aid, which requires that food be sourced in the donor country, versus “untied” aid, which provides cash to purchase food closer to the source of hunger. These debates have been especially intense between the major food aid donors, particularly the European Union and the United States. Similarly, the EU's rejection of GMO agricultural imports has raised concerns among recipients about accepting GMO foodstuffs from the United States. For the several hundred million people who at present have little choice but to rely on food aid for their daily survival, Clapp concludes, the consequences of these political differences are profound.

Gourevitch, Lake, & Stein: The Credibility of Transnational NGOs: When Virtue is Not Enough

Peter A. Gourevitch (Univ. of California, San Diego - Political Science), David A. Lake (Univ. of California, San Diego - Political Science), & Janice Gross Stein (Univ. of Toronto - Political Science) have published The Credibility of Transnational NGOs: When Virtue is Not Enough (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). Contents include:

• Peter A. Gourevitch & David A. Lake, Beyond virtue: evaluating and enhancing the credibility of non-governmental organizations
• Susan D. Hyde, Why believe international election monitors?
• Irfan Nooruddin & Sarah Wilson Sokhey, Credible certification of child labor free production
• Wendy H. Wong, Becoming a household name: how human rights NGOs establish credibility through organizational structure
• Carew Boulding, Dilemmas of information and accountability: foreign aid donors and local development NGOs
• Laura Thaut, Michael Barnett & Janice Gross Stein, In defense of virtue: credibility, legitimacy dilemmas, and the case of Islamic Relief
• Craig McIntosh, Monitoring repayment in online peer-to-peer lending
• Peter A. Gourevitch & David A. Lake, Credibility and compromises

Gangjee: Relocating the Law of Geographical Indications

Dev Gangjee (London School of Economics - Law) has published Relocating the Law of Geographical Indications (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

There is considerable variation in the nature, scope and institutional forms of legal protection for valuable geographical brands such as Champagne, Colombian coffee and Darjeeling tea. While regional products are increasingly important for producers, consumers and policy makers, the international legal regime under the TRIPS Agreement remains unclear. Adopting a historical approach, Dev Gangjee explores the rules regulating these valuable geographical designations within international intellectual property law. He traces the emergence of geographical indications as a distinct category while investigating the key distinguishing feature of the link between regional products and their places of origin. The research addresses long-standing puzzles, such as the multiplicity of regimes operating in this area; the recognition of the link between product and place and its current articulation in the TRIPS definition; the varying scope of protection; and the extent to which geographical indications ought to be treated as a category distinct from trade marks.

New Volume: Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional (Décimo Aniversario 2012) is out. This is a special tenth anniversary volume. Contents include:

• Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor, The International Court of Justice and the Law of the Sea
• Rafael A. Prieto Sanjuán, Acuerdos de cooperación y bases militares en territorio extranjero: ¿un “acto de agresión
• Juan Manuel Portilla Gómez, El devenir histórico y legal de Kosovo
• Katalin Tünde Huber & Alejandro Rodiles, An Ombudsperson in the United Nations Security Council: a Paradigm Shift?
• José Luiz Quadros de Magalhães & Tatiana Ribeiro de Souza, Violência e modernidade: o dispositivo de narciso. A superação da modernidade na construção de um novo sistema mundo
• Jorge E. Viñuales & Facundo Pérez Aznar, La distribución del riesgo regulatorio ambiental en el derecho de las inversiones internacionales
• Alberto César Moreira, La protección ambiental en los procesos de integración. Aportes para cubrir un déficit del Mercosur
• Jorge Witker, Comercio, integración y competencia en la perspectiva latinoamericana
• Rodolfo Cruz Miramontes, El año primero de la Zona de Libre Comercio de América del Norte: retos planteados
• Amada María Arley Orduña, Más allá del TLCAN: a negociar mediante la ASPAN
• Dolores Bentolila, Hacia una jurisprudencia arbitral en el arbitraje internacional de inversiones
• Alonso Gómez-Robledo, Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. Caso Radilla Pacheco vs México. Desaparición Forzada de Personas

Call for Papers: International Business and Human Rights

The Interest Group on Business and Human Rights of the European Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for a workshop, to be held on the occasion of the Fifth Biennial ESIL Conference, in Valencia, September 13–15, 2012. Here's the call:

European Society of International Law

Interest Group on Business and Human Rights

Workshop, held on the occasion of the Fifth Biennial ESIL Conference on ‘Regionalism and International Law’

Valencia, 13–15 September 2012

Call for Papers

The IG on Business and Human Rights would like to invite all members of the ESIL to submit works addressing contemporary issues and debates in the field of international business and human rights. Papers might consider (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Corporate responsibilities in developing countries
• Regulation of private military contractors
• Business in conflict zones
• Ruggie’s principles: future applications by states and corporations
• The future of Alien Torts Statute litigation
• Labour rights
• Children’s rights
• Judicial and non-judicial accountability mechanism
• Corporate complicity and criminal liability
• Piercing the corporate veil: legal theory and practice

Please submit a 300-word proposal via email to marta.requejo@usc.es by 30 March 2012, accompanied by a short cv of the applicant.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by 30 April 2012*. Those whose papers have been chosen will be asked to provide a final version by mid-August.

*Please note that the ESIL Interest Group on Business and Human Rights is unable to provide funds to cover the conference registration fee or related transport and accommodation costs.

New Issue: Journal of International Criminal Justice

The latest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 10, no. 1, March 2012) is out. Contents include:

• 10th Anniversary Special Issue - Aggression: After Kampala
• Introduction
• Claus Kreß & Philippa Webb, Introduction
• I. The Long Shadow of Early Controversies
• Kirsten Sellars, Delegitimizing Aggression: First Steps and False Starts after the First World War
• Thomas Weigend, ‘In general a principle of justice’: The Debate on the ‘Crime against Peace’ in the Wake of the Nuremberg Judgment
• II. Uncertainties and Risks: Policy Issues Arising out of the Kampala Compromise
• Erin Creegan, Justified Uses of Force and the Crime of Aggression
• Alexander G. Wills, The Crime of Aggression and the Resort to Force against Entities in Statu Nascendi
• Leonie von Braun & Annelen Micus, Judicial Independence at Risk: Critical Issues regarding the Crime of Aggression Raised by Selected Human Rights Organizations
• Beth Van Schaack, Par in Parem Imperium Non Habet: Complementarity and the Crime of Aggression
• III. Testing the Limits: Legal Issues Arising from the Kampala Compromise
• Marko Milanovic, Aggression and Legality: Custom in Kampala
• Mary Ellen O’Connell & Mirakmal Niyazmatov, What is Aggression?: Comparing the Jus ad Bellum and the ICC Statute
• Andreas Zimmermann, Amending the Amendment Provisions of the Rome Statute: The Kampala Compromise on the Crime of Aggression and the Law of Treaties
• Kevin Jon Heller, The Uncertain Legal Status of the Aggression Understandings
• Friedrich Rosenfeld, Individual Civil Responsibility for the Crime of Aggression
• IV. Last Word: Assessing Kampala and Looking Forward
• Mauro Politi, The ICC and the Crime of Aggression: A Dream that Came Through and the Reality Ahead

Giorgetti: The Rules, Practice, and Jurisprudence of International Courts and Tribunals

Chiara Giorgetti (White & Case LLP) has published The Rules, Practice, and Jurisprudence of International Courts and Tribunals (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

International courts and tribunals are key actors in international law, both because of their primary dispute resolution function and for their role in developing international law in a more general sense. Their growing number and complexity makes a detailed study of their practice particularly relevant.

The Rules, Practice, and Jurisprudence of International Courts and Tribunals examines existing international dispute resolution institutions, including those of general jurisdiction (ICJ, PCA), specialised jurisdiction (ITLOS, ICSID, WTO), as well as human rights courts, international criminal courts and tribunals, courts of regional integration agreements, claims commissions and tribunals, and administrative tribunals of international organizations. Uniquely, it assesses both procedural rules and essential case-law, making it relevant for both academics and practitioners in international law.

Voon: Cigarettes and Public Health at the WTO: The Appeals of the TBT Labeling Disputes Begin

Tania Voon (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on Cigarettes and Public Health at the WTO: The Appeals of the TBT Labeling Disputes Begin.

Matheson: International Civil Tribunals and Armed Conflict

Michael J. Matheson (George Washington Univ. - Law) has published International Civil Tribunals and Armed Conflict (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2012). Here's the abstract:

At various times in modern history, the international community has turned to international litigation as a hoped-for means of avoiding, ending, or dealing with the consequences of armed conflict; but until the past three decades, such litigation rarely had a significant impact. However, since the 1980s, international civil tribunals have become increasingly involved in armed conflicts, sometimes with important results. This book explores the recent cases in which the International Court of Justice and other tribunals have dealt with such situations. It assesses the manner in which these cases have been decided, the degree to which they have affected the resolution of the conflicts in question, and their contribution to the development of the applicable substantive law.

Ku & Yoo: Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order

Julian Ku (Hofstra Univ. - Law) & John Yoo (Univ. of California, Berkeley, - Law) have published Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

In 1997, a Mexican national named Jose Ernesto Medellin was sentenced to death for raping and murdering two teenage girls in Texas. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that he was entitled to a new trial, since the arresting officers had not informed him of his right to seek assistance from the Mexican consulate prior to trial, as prescribed by a treaty ratified by Congress in 1963. In 2008, amid fierce controversy, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the international ruling had no weight. Medellin subsequently was executed.

As Julian Ku and John Yoo show in Taming Globalization, the Medellin case only hints at the legal complications that will embroil American courts in the twenty-first century. Like Medellin, tens of millions of foreign citizens live in the United States; and like the International Court of Justice, dozens of international institutions cast a legal net across the globe, from border commissions to the World Trade Organization. Ku and Yoo argue that all this presents an unavoidable challenge to American constitutional law, particularly the separation of powers between the branches of federal government and between Washington and the states. To reconcile the demands of globalization with a traditional, formal constitutional structure, they write, we must re-conceptualize the Constitution, as Americans did in the early twentieth century, when faced with nationalization. They identify three "mediating devices" we must embrace: non-self-execution of treaties, recognition of the President's power to terminate international agreements and interpret international law, and a reliance on state implementation of international law and agreements. These devices will help us avoid constitutional difficulties while still gaining the benefits of international cooperation.

Call for Papers: Universalism and Particularism in International Law

The Interest Group on International Legal Theory of the European Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for a workshop to be held on the occasion of the Fifth Biennial European Society of International Law Conference, in Valencia, September 13–15, 2012. Here's the call:

European Society of International Law

Interest Group on International Legal Theory

Workshop, held on the occasion of the Fifth Biennial ESIL Conference on ‘Regionalism and International Law’

Valencia, 13–15 September 2012

Call for Papers

Universalism and Particularism in International Law

On the occasion of the Fifth Biennial ESIL Conference in Valencia, the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory invites submissions for a workshop on the theoretical dimensions of the universalism–particularism dynamic in international law.

The Topic

This panel will address the universal and the particular in the structures of international law and the role of regionalism in expressing, mediating, cutting across or subverting universal-particular dynamics. International legal scholars are accustomed to analysing questions of regionalism on the basis of general theories of normative differentiation and centre–periphery dynamics, typically adapted from social theory, historical sociology, or political economy. Indeed, only a few scholars have sought to undertake independent investigations into the competing interpretations of the concept of regionalism in international legal discourse itself. What might a sustained theorisation of the concept of regionalism in international law look like? How might such a theorisation relate to international legal debates animated by universalism and/or particularism? To what extent should international law recognize and support the political, historical, cultural, and economic differences among states?

The Application Process

We invite submissions of abstracts of no more than 400 words from all scholars with an interest in international legal theory. Selection will be based on scholarly merit, and with regard to producing an engaging workshop, but without prejudice to gender, seniority, language or geographical location.

Each submission should include the following:

(a) a short curriculum vitae containing the author’s name, institutional affiliation, contact information and e-mail address;

(b) an abstract of no more than 400 words; and

(c) the intended language of presentation.

Applications should be submitted to legaltheory@esil-sedi.eu by 1 April 2012. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by 15 April 2012.

Please note that the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory is unable to provide funds to cover the conference registration fee or related transport and accommodation costs. For further information about the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory, please see: http://esiligilt.blogspot.com

The Co-ordinating Committee of the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory

Aeyal Gross, Fleur Johns, Jörg Kammerhofer, Umut Özsu, Sundhya Pahuja, Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral, Akbar Rasulov and Mortimer Sellers.

Martinico: Lo spirito polemico del diritto europeo. Studio sulle ambizioni costituzionali dell'Unione

Giuseppe Martinico (Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales) has published Lo spirito polemico del diritto europeo. Studio sulle ambizioni costituzionali dell'Unione (2011). Here's the abstract:

Il c.d. “fallimento costituzionale” (i.e. il rigetto del Trattato Costituzionale) ha rappresentato la fine di ogni ambizione costituzionale per l’Unione europea? Il c.d. “fallimento costituzionale” europeo può essere comparato alle “difficoltà” incontrate da altri ordinamenti caratterizzati da alto pluralismo culturale? Il volume mira a rispondere a queste e ad altre domande. Il fine della presente ricerca non è quello di costruire una teoria costituzionale dell’Unione europea, quanto quello di mostrare perché la lettura costituzionale del processo di integrazione sovranazionale rappresenti un’alternativa valida e più che plausibile, cercando di rispondere a una serie di obiezioni che più o meno recentemente, in Italia e nel resto d’Europa, sono state sollevate a questo proposito.

According to many scholars, the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty and the disappointment caused by the contents of the Lisbon Treaty –- defined by Somek (2007) as a mere post-Constitutional Treaty – mark the failure of any possible constitutional ambition for the European Union (EU). This book aims at challenging this point both from a theoretical point of view – by describing the EU as an example of “evolutionary constitutionalism” – and a pragmatic one (i.e., looking at the functioning of concrete constitutional experiences). My idea is that the latest attempts at amending the EU treaties – the period of the “Conventions” – can be traced back to the genus of mega-constitutional politics and starting from this parallelism I argue that the so-called constitutional “failure” of the EU is actually a confirmation of the current constitutional nature of the EU rather than the proof of the impossibility of transplanting the constitutional discourse to the EU level.

New Issue: European Journal of International Relations

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Relations (Vol. 18, no. 1, February 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Andrew Phillips, Saving civilization from empire: Belligerency, pacifism and the two faces of civilization during the Second Opium War
• Nikolas M. Rajkovic, ‘Global law’ and governmentality: Reconceptualizing the ‘rule of law’ as rule ‘through’ law
• Jonathan Kirshner, The tragedy of offensive realism: Classical realism and the rise of China
• Injoo Sohn, After renaissance: China’s multilateral offensive in the developing world
• Mona Lena Krook & Jacqui True, Rethinking the life cycles of international norms: The United Nations and the global promotion of gender equality
• Jon Hovi, Detlef F. Sprinz, & Guri Bang, Why the United States did not become a party to the Kyoto Protocol: German, Norwegian, and US perspectives
• Jack Donnelly, The differentiation of international societies: An approach to structural international theory
• Luca Mavelli, Security and secularization in International Relations

New Issue: Human Rights Quarterly

The latest issue of the Human Rights Quarterly (Vol. 34, no. 1, February 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Ron Dudai, "Rescues for Humanity": Rescuers, Mass Atrocities, and Transitional Justice
• Evan J. Criddle & Evan Fox-Decent, Human Rights, Emergencies, and the Rule of Law
• Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Human Security: Undermining Human Rights?
• Hilde Reiding, The Netherlands Gradually Changing Views on International Economic and Social Rights Protection
• Shyama Kuruvilla, Flavia Bustreo, Paul Hunt, Amarjit Singh, Eric Friedman, Thiago Luchesi, Stefan Germann, Kim Terje Loraas, Alicia Ely Yamin, Ximena Andion, & Julio Frenk, The Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights: Realizing Shared Commitments
• Jean Grugel & Enrique Peruzzotti, The Domestic Politics of International Human Rights Law: Implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina
• David R. Davis, Amanda Murdie, & Coty Garnett Steinmetz, "Makers and Shapers": Human Rights INGOs and Public Opinion
• Rauna Kuokkanen, Self-Determination and Indigenous Women's Rights at the Intersection of International Human Rights
• Burns H. Weston, The Theoretical Foundations of Intergenerational Ecological Justice: An Overview

New Issue: Journal of International Dispute Settlement

The latest issue of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Vol. 3, no. 1, March 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Bruno Simma, Mainstreaming Human Rights: The Contribution of the International Court of Justice
• Federico Ortino, Legal Reasoning of International Investment Tribunals: A Typology of Egregious Failures
• John Martin Gillroy, Philosophical-Policy and International Dispute Settlement: Process↹Principle and the Ascendance of the WTO's Concept of Justice
• Chang-Fa Lo, A Clearer Rule for Dictionary Use Will Not Affect Holistic Approach and Flexibility of Treaty Interpretation—A Rejoinder to Dr Isabelle Van Damme
• Erlend M. Leonhardsen, Looking for Legitimacy: Exploring Proportionality Analysis in Investment Treaty Arbitration
• Michele Potestà & Marija Sobat, Frivolous Claims in International Adjudication: A Study of ICSID Rule 41(5) and of Procedures of Other Courts and Tribunals to Dismiss Claims Summarily
• Sumit Rai, Proposed Amendments to the Indian Arbitration Act: A Fraction of the Whole?
• Patrick Dumberry, Satisfaction as a Form of Reparation for Moral Damages Suffered by Investors and Respondent States in Investor-State Arbitration Disputes

Schabas: Unimaginable Atrocities: Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals

William Schabas (Middlesex Univ. - Law) has published Unimaginable Atrocities: Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

As international criminal courts and tribunals have proliferated and international criminal law is increasingly seen as a key tool for bringing the world's worst perpetrators to account, the controversies surrounding the international trials of war criminals have grown. War crimes tribunals have to deal with accusations of victor's justice, bad prosecutorial policy and case management, and of jeopardizing fragile peace in post-conflict situations. In this exceptional book, one of the leading writers in the field of international criminal law explores these controversial issues in a manner that is accessible both to lawyers and to general readers.

Professor William Schabas begins by considering the discipline of international criminal law, outlining the differing approaches to the description of international crimes and examining the frequent claims relating to the retroactive application of these crimes. The book then discusses the relationship between genocide and crimes against humanity, studying the fascination with what Schabas calls the 'genocide mystique'. International criminal tribunals have often been stigmatized as an exercise in victor's justice. This book traces how this critique developed and the difficulty it poses to the identification of situations for prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The claim that amnesty for international crimes is prohibited by international law is challenged, with a more nuanced approach to the relationship between justice and peace being proposed. Throughout the book there is a strong historical perspective, with constant reference to the early experiments in international justice at Nuremberg and Tokyo. The work also analyses the growing pains of the International Criminal Court as it enters its second decade.

New Volume: The Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence

The latest volume of The Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence (Vol. 2010) is out. Contents include:

• In Focus: Global Policies and Law
• Graham Dutfield & Uma Suthersanen, Global Intellectual Property Law and Policy
• Kishan Khoday & Usha Natarajan, Sustainable Development as Freedom: On the Nature of International Law and Human Development
• Geert-Jan Alexander Knoops, The Legal-Political Connotation of Material Support to Terrorism
• Notes and Comments
• Michele Nino, The Protection and Promotion of Sport in the European Union Following the Treaty of Lisbon and the Bernard Ruling
• Anna Vigorito, The CAT-MED Program and EU Policies for Sustainable Urban Development
• Forum – Jurisprudential Cross-Fertilization: An Annual Overview
• Module – International Criminal Law – The Relationship Between International Criminal Tribunals and Their Relationship with the ICJ or Another International Court or Arbitral Tribunal - Comment and Analysis - Fausto Pocar & Andrea Carcano
• Module – European Law – The Relationship Between the European Courts and Their Relationship with the ICJ or Another International Court or Arbitral Tribunal - Comment and Analysis - Oreste Pollicino

New Issue: International Journal of Transitional Justice

The latest issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 6, no. 1, March 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Colm Campbell & Ita Connolly, The Sharp End: Armed Opposition Movements, Transitional Truth Processes and the Rechtsstaat
• Bert Ingelaere & Dominik Kohlhagen, Situating Social Imaginaries in Transitional Justice: The Bushingantahe in Burundi
• Renée Jeffery, Amnesty and Accountability: The Price of Peace in Aceh, Indonesia
• Simon Robins, Challenging the Therapeutic Ethic: A Victim-Centred Evaluation of Transitional Justice Process in Timor-Leste
• Jelena Subotić, The Transformation of International Transitional Justice Advocacy
• Briony Jones, Exploring the Politics of Reconciliation through Education Reform: The Case of Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Christoph Sperfeldt, Cambodian Civil Society and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Rolland: Development at the WTO

Sonia E. Rolland (Northeastern Univ. - Law) has published Development at the WTO (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

Seeking to open paths for reconsidering the trade and development relationship at the WTO, this book takes into account both the heritage of the trade regime and its present dynamics. It argues that the institutional processes for creating and implementing trade rules at the WTO and the actual regulatory outcomes are inseparable. A consideration of the development dimension at the WTO must examine both jointly.

It shows that the shortcomings of the Doha Development Round are in part due to the failure to assess trade rules as part of the legal processes and institutions that produced them. This book devotes significant analysis to the systemic impact of the WTO as an institution on developing and least developed members. From a pragmatic perspective, it provides a coherent and systematic analysis of the legal meaning, the implementation, and the adjudication of special and differential treatment rules for developing members. It then evaluates the different regulatory approaches to trade and development from a more theoretical perspective. The book finishes by presenting a range of proposals for a better balance between trade liberalization and the development needs of many WTO members.