Chorev: The World Health Organization between North and South

Nitsan Chorev (Brown Univ. - Sociology) has published The World Health Organization between North and South (Cornell Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

Since 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched numerous programs aimed at improving health conditions around the globe, ranging from efforts to eradicate smallpox to education programs about the health risks of smoking. In setting global health priorities and carrying out initiatives, the WHO bureaucracy has faced the challenge of reconciling the preferences of a small minority of wealthy nations, who fund the organization, with the demands of poorer member countries, who hold the majority of votes. In The World Health Organization between North and South, Nitsan Chorev shows how the WHO bureaucracy has succeeded not only in avoiding having its agenda co-opted by either coalition of member states but also in reaching a consensus that fit the bureaucracy's own principles and interests.

Chorev assesses the response of the WHO bureaucracy to member-state pressure in two particularly contentious moments: when during the 1970s and early 1980s developing countries forcefully called for a more equal international economic order, and when in the 1990s the United States and other wealthy countries demanded international organizations adopt neoliberal economic reforms. In analyzing these two periods, Chorev demonstrates how strategic maneuvering made it possible for a vulnerable bureaucracy to preserve a relatively autonomous agenda, promote a consistent set of values, and protect its interests in the face of challenges from developing and developed countries alike.

New Volume: Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 27, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Estudios doctrinales sobre la crisis Libia
• Romualdo Bermejo García, La protección de la población civil en Libia como coartada para derrocar un gobierno: un mal inicio para la responsabilidad de proteger
• Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada, Sobre el "núcleo duro" de la Resolución 1973 (2011) del Consejo de Seguridad y acerca de su aplicación práctica
• María José Cervell Hortal, La Resolución 1970 (2011) del Consejo de Seguridad y la remisión de la cuestión libia a la CPI: ¿la unión hace la fuerza?
• Eugenia López-Jacoiste Díaz, La crisis de Libia desde la perspectiva de la responsabilidad de proteger
• J. Daniel Oliva Martínez, Cuestiones en torno a la legitimidad del Consejo Nacional de Transición Libio a raíz de su reconocimiento por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas
• Carlos Echeverría Jesús, Revueltas, guerra civil tribal e intervención militar extranjera en Libia
• Romualdo Bermejo García & Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada, Conclusiones
• Otros estudios doctrinales
• Carlos R. Fernández Liesa, Desarrollos del Derecho internacional frente a los desastres / catástrofes internacionales
• Carlos Ruiz Miguel, Rebelión en Siria: ¿en la encrucijada o hacia el precipicio?
• Felipe Gómez Isa, Diversidad cultural y Derechos Humanos desde los referentes cosmovisionales de los pueblos indígenas
• José Elías Esteve Moltó, Los Principios Rectores sobre las empresas transnacionales y los derechos humanos en el marco de las Naciones Unidas para "proteger, respetar y remediar": ¿hacia la responsabilidad de las corporaciones o la complacencia institucional?
• Francisco José Pascual Vives, La institución de amicus curiae y el arbitraje de inversiones
• Leire Moure, Programas de Investigación Científica: una aplicación de las Relaciones Internacionales
• Notas
• Christina Binder, Anything new since the end of the Cold War? or International Law goes Domestic: International electoral standards and their legitimacy
• Rosana Garciandía Garmendia, Los Centros de Internamiento de extranjeros en España a examen
• Marco Eugenio Odello, The right to take part to cultural life: General Comment nº 21 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Juan Jorge Piernas López, El abordaje de la Flotilla de la Liberación por parte de Israel: algunas luces y muchas sombras tras siete investigaciones
• Bénédicte Real, La cuestión de la representación única de la Unión Europea en el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas
• Francesco Seatzu, The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Right to adequate food
• Eric Tardif, Medicamentos falsificados: una píldora difícil de tragar y un reto sanitario global

Galbraith on Meyer's "Codifying Custom"

Jean Galbraith (Univ. of Pennsylvania - Law) has posted Custom, Codification, and the Verdict of History, a comment on Timothy Meyer's Codifying Custom (University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 160, no. , p. 4, 995, April 2012). Here's the abstract:

In a terrific new article, Professor Timothy Meyer challenges this exalted view of codification, which numerous scholars since Oppenheim have echoed. Meyer argues in Codifying Custom that codification is a self-interested project undertaken by rational and perhaps even cunning states seeking to write the rules in their own favor. He does not dismiss the possibility that codification projects clarify or progressively develop international law, but he views this possibility, which he terms the Clarification Thesis, as overstated. He argues that another common motive for codification is what he calls the Capture Thesis: “states often use codification to capture customary international legal rules to benefit themselves at the expense of the general welfare . . . .”

In this Response, I consider the strength of Professor Meyer’s Capture Thesis and discuss some implications of his findings. Professor Meyer makes a persuasive case that states might pursue codification to advance understandings of customary international law that will advantage them at the expense of other states. But I have difficulty with his further claim that such capture is in fact a common motive for codification. My objections stem from two main sources. First, Professor Meyer relies on a model that overstates the likely power of capture. Second, the landscape of codification today aligns more with the Clarification Thesis than with the Capture Thesis. Thus, I think the Capture Thesis is much less powerful than Professor Meyer suggests. Since I accept that capture could sometimes drive codification, however, I close this Response by considering how international law might respond to the risk of capture. I argue that international law already responds to these risks by codifying international law through mechanisms that partially bypass the traditional principle of state consent.

New Issue: Die Friedens-Warte

The latest issue of Die Friedens-Warte (2012, no. 1) is out. The theme is "Aufstand und Revolution im Arabischen Raum - Friedenswissenschaftliche Perspektiven." Contents include:

• Debatte
• Gernot Erler, Ein unabhängiges und lebensfähiges Palästina ist überfällig
• Rainer Stinner, Anerkennung eines Palästinensischen Staates: Chance oder Risiko für den Friedensprozess im Nahen Osten?
• Thema
• Abdullahi Ahmed An-Nacim, Islam, Sharia and Democratic Transformation in the Arab World
• Niels Petersen, Der Arabische Frühling und das Recht auf Demokratie
• Mehrdad Payandeh, Die Militärintervention in Libyen zwischen Legalität und Legitimität
• Annette Jünemann, Europa und der Arabische Frühling. Kritische Anmerkungen zur Lernfähigkeit der Europäischen Union
• Abhandlungen
• Bettina Engels & Sven Chojnacki, Raus aus der Klimafalle! Wie die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung mit ökologischem Wandel umgehen kann

New Issue: Human Rights & International Legal Discourse

The latest issue of Human Rights & International Legal Discourse (Vol. 6, no. 1, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Business and Human Rights in Conflict Zones
• K. Buhmann & C. Ryngaert, Human Rights Challenges for Multinational Corporations Working and Investing in Conflict Zones
• A. K.D. Heyer, Corporate Complicity under International Criminal Law: A Case for Applying the Rome Statute to Business Behaviour
• N. Jägers, Regulating the Private Security Industry: Connecting the Public and the Private through Transnational Private Regulation
• M. Frost & C. Kinsey, Ethical Accounting for the Conduct Of Private Military And Security Companies
• R. Raffaelli & B. Wray, False Extraterritoriality? Municipal and Multinational Jurisdiction over Transnational Corporations
• J. C. Drimmer & N. J. Phillips, Sunlight for the Heart of Darkness: Conflict Minerals and the First Wave of SEC Regulation of Social Issues
• M. E. Footer, Shining Brightly? Human Rights and the Responsible Sourcing of Diamond and Gold Jewellery from High Risk and Conflict-Affected Areas
• V. Van Den Eeckhout, Corporate Human Rights Violations and Private International Law. A Facilitating Role for PIL or PIL as a Complicating Factor?

New Issue: International Organization

The latest issue of International Organization (Vol. 66, no. 1, Winter 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Erik Ringmar, Performing International Systems: Two East-Asian Alternatives to the Westphalian Order
• Teri L. Caraway, Stephanie J. Rickard, & Mark S. Anner, International Negotiations and Domestic Politics: The Case of IMF Labor Market Conditionality
• Jarrod Hayes, Securitization, Social Identity, and Democratic Security: Nixon, India, and the Ties That Bind
• Sarah M. Brooks & Marcus J. Kurtz, Paths to Financial Policy Diffusion: Statist Legacies in Latin America’s Globalization
• David B. Carter, A Blessing or a Curse? State Support for Terrorist Groups
• Michaela Mattes, Democratic Reliability, Precommitment of Successor Governments, and the Choice of Alliance Commitment

Oral: Transit Passage Rights in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s Threats to Block the Passage of Oil Tankers

Nilufer Oral (Istanbul Bilgi Univ. - Marine Law & Policy Research Center) has posted an ASIL Insight on Transit Passage Rights in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s Threats to Block the Passage of Oil Tankers.

New Issue: Global Trade and Customs Journal

The latest issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal (Vol. 7, no. 5, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Edwin Vermulst & Gary N. Horlick, Judicial Review of Trade Remedy Determinations in Ten User Countries
• Daniel Moulis & Alistair Bridges, Administrative and Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Measures in Australia
• Carol Monteiro de Carvalho & Andréa Weiss Balassiano, Administrative and Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in Brazil
• James McIlroy, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in Canada
• Pu Lingchen, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Measures in China
• Edwin Vermulst & Davide Rovetta, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in the EU
• Sampath Seetharaman, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Actions Country Study: India
• Erry Bundjamin, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in Indonesia
• Gustavo A. Uruchurtu, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in Mexico
• Gustav Brink, Anti-dumping and Judicial Review in South Africa: An Urgent Need for Change
• Thomas J. Trendl & Gary N. Horlick, Judicial Review of Anti-dumping Determinations in the United States

New Issue: Journal of African and International Law

The latest issue of the Journal of African and International Law (Vol. 4, no. 3, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Andrew L. Mollel, Accountability for Genocide and the Imperfections of Codification : Taking Stock of Judicial Intepretation by Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals
• Dan Kuwali & Gilbert Mittawa, The Hague or Lilongwe? : Prosecution of Article 5 Crimes in Malawi
• Ken Obura, The Security Council's Power to Defer ICC Cases Under Article 16 of the Rome Statute
• Michael Luena, The Legal Framework for the Regulation and Supervision of Microfinance Institutions in Tanzania
• Sekela K. Mlungu, Regional Economic Integrations and Overlapping Memberships : an Analysis of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Arrangement

Symposium: André Nollkaemper's National Courts and the International Rule of Law

The latest issue of the Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies (Vol. 4, April 2012) contains a symposium on André Nollkaemper's National Courts and the International Rule of Law. Contents include:

• Andreas Paulus, National Courts and the International Rule of Law — Remarks on the Book by André Nollkaemper
• Paul B. Stephan, Rethinking the International Rule of Law: The Homogeneity Fallacy and International Law's Threat to Itself
• Eyal Benvenisti, Comments on the Systemic Vision of National Courts as part of an International Rule of Law
• Yuval Shany, An Old House with New Bricks or a New House of Old Cards? On National Courts, the International Rule of Law and the Power of Legal Imagination
• André Nollkaemper, A Response to the Reviewers

New Issue: Diritti umani e diritto internazionale

The latest issue of Diritti umani e diritto internazionale (Vol. 6, no. 1, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Studi
• Noemi Corso, Occupazione militare e tutela della proprietá privata
• Xiaodan Wu, The Current Situation and Prospects for Regional System(s) of Human Rights in Asia
• Ornella Porchia, Gli strumenti sovranazionali in materia di ascolto del minore
• Maria Clara Maffei, The Right to ‘Special Food’ under Art. 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights
• Interventi
• Gabriella Citroni & Maria Giovanna Bianchi, The Committee on Enforced Disappearances: Challenges Ahead

Pérez González: Migraciones irregulares y Derecho Internacional

Carmen Pérez González (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Law) has publshed Migraciones irregulares y Derecho Internacional (Tirant lo Blanch 2012). Here's the abstract:

La gestión eficaz de los flujos migratorios constituye uno de los principales objetivos cuya consecución preocupa hoy a Estados y Organizaciones Internacionales. Y es posible constatar, en este sentido, la incipiente conformación de un Derecho Internacional de las Migraciones que cumple las funciones primordiales de proteger los derechos humanos del migrante, convertido así en sujeto de derechos, y de perfilar los contornos de un derecho humano a migrar cuyo contenido iría conformándose a medida que los Estados ven acotada su facultad de resolver unilateralmente sobre la entrada, permanencia y salida de los extranjeros de su territorio. Este trabajo aborda el modo en el que el Derecho Internacional y el Derecho de la Unión Europea se enfrentan hoy al fenómeno migratorio y, en particular, a la inmigración ilegal, analizando los límites que se imponen a los Estados a la hora de decidir sobre la devolución de aquellos extranjeros que se encuentran en situación administrativa irregular.

Gartner: Foreign Relations, Strategic Doctrine and Presidential Power

David Gartner (Arizona State Univ. - Law) has posted Foreign Relations, Strategic Doctrine and Presidential Power (Alabama Law Review, Vol. 63, No. 3, p. 499, 2012). Here's the abstract:

There is a central debate in foreign relations law between scholars who argue that the President inherited great power from the founding and those who contend that only after World War II was there a significant shift in the balance of powers over foreign relations. This Article highlights a third perspective by focusing on the significance of presidential assertions of power during the decade after the Spanish-American War. In this period, presidents asserted unprecedented power to dispatch the armed forces of the United States into foreign conflicts and to independently enter into binding international agreements without the participation of Congress. The Article concludes that shifting international relations, shaped by strategic foreign policy doctrine, have been central drivers of presidential assertions of authority over foreign relations.

New Issue: Rivista di Diritto Internazionale

The latest issue of the Rivista di Diritto Internazionale (Vol. 94, no. 4, 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Articoli
• C. Campiglio, Identità culturale, diritti umani e diritto internazionale privato
• F. Vismara, Il problema dell’efficacia diretta delle decisioni del Consiglio di sicurezza: alcune riflessioni
• E. Cimiotta, Immunità personali dei Capi di Stato dalla giurisdizione della Corte penale internazionale e responsabilità statale per gravi illeciti internazionali
• Note e commenti
• V. Spiga, Sulla compatibilità della prescrizione del reato con la Convenzione europea dei diritti dell’uomo: il caso Alikaj c. Italia
• Panorama
• S. Forlati, Intervento nel processo ai sensi dell’art. 62 dello Statuto: quale coerenza nella giurisprudenza della Corte internazionale di giustizia?
• A. Annoni, L’abbordaggio della Gaza Freedom Flotilla alla luce del diritto internazionale

Franck: Managing Expectations: Beyond Formal Adjudication

Susan D. Franck (Washington and Lee Univ. - Law) has posted Managing Expectations: Beyond Formal Adjudication. Here's the abstract:

The international investment system has depended heavily on international arbitration to provide guidance and clarification on the standards contained in international investment agreements. In order to assess the system realistically, this commentary discusses unpacking stakeholder expectations by recognizing where expectations may have been overly optimistic and thinking systematically about the mechanisms through which to capture and manage regulatory discretion. This article evaluates ideas expressed by Anne van Aaken and Bart Legum, which consider different ways to achieve regulatory and commercial balance, and offers a lens for thinking systematically about managing stakeholder expectations in the international investment system. A critical issue for international investment law relates to cognitive psychology and how to manage the expectations of differently situated stakeholders. This commentary explores different methods to managing stakeholder expectations and investment treaty conflict such as education and different doctrinal opportunities such as administrative law’s model of formal and informal rule-making and adjudication. This commentary concludes that an evidence-based nuanced analysis allows consideration of specific dynamics about stakeholder objectives, enabling a more realistic assessment of the international investment regime.

Symposium: The Ruptures in International Law

The latest issue of the German Law Journal (Vol. 13, no. 5, 2012) contains a symposium on "The Ruptures in International Law." Contents include:

• Symposium: The Ruptures in International Law
• Ignacio de la Rasilla Y del Moral, Introduction – The Ruptures in International Law
• John D. Haskell, The Strategies of Rupture in International Law: The Retrenchment of Conservative Politics and the Emancipatory Potential of the Impossible
• Paavo Kotiaho, A Return to Koskenniemi, or the Disconcerting Co-optation of Rupture
• Leïla Choukroune, Global “Harmonious Society” and the Law: China’s Legal Vision in Perspective
• Noemi Gal-Or & Cedric Ryngaert, From Theory to Practice: Exploring the Relevance of the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (DARIO)— The Responsibility of the WTO and the UN
• Evan Fox-Decent & Evan J. Criddle, Interest-Balancing vs. Fiduciary Duty: Two Models for National Security Law
• Isobel Roele, We Have Not Seen the Last of the Rogue State

Stahl: Schutzpflichten im Völkerrecht – Ansatz einer Dogmatik

Sandra Stahl has published Schutzpflichten im Völkerrecht – Ansatz einer Dogmatik (Springer 2012). Here's the abstract:

Die Arbeit konnte zeigen, dass es möglich ist, einen im universellen Völkerrecht gültigen Ansatz einer Schutzpflichtendogmatik zu entwickeln. Die Arbeit war auf konventionellen Menschenrechten aufzubauen, da Schutzrechte derzeit nur aus der Rechtsquelle „Völkervertragsrecht“ folgen. Dabei waren die 3 bedeutendsten regionalen und universellen Abkommen (EMRK, IPbpR, AMRK) und ihre Spruchpraxis zu untersuchen. Sodann waren die wesentlichen Fragen, die sich im Zusammenhang mit völkerrechtlichen Schutzrechten und -pflichten stellen zu identifizieren, systematisch zu ordnen und zu beantworten. Entsprechend waren die Teile und Kapitel der Arbeit aufzubauen. Ausführungen zu Normzugehörigkeit und Normstruktur völkerrechtlicher Schutzrechte waren in Teil 2 voranzustellen, um sie im „praktischen“ Teil 3 anzuwenden. In Teil 3 wurde kapitelweise untersucht: Allgemeingut, Rechtsgrund und Tatbestandsvoraussetzungen völkerrechtlicher Schutzrechte, ihre Rechtsfolgen (Schutzpflichten) sowie Prozessuales.

Basedow, Magnus, & Wolfrum: The Hamburg Lectures on Maritime Affairs 2009 & 2010

Jürgen Basedow (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law), Ulrich Magnus (Universität Hamburg - Law), & Rüdiger Wolfrum (Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) have published The Hamburg Lectures on Maritime Affairs 2009 & 2010 (Springer 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

In 2007, the International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs together with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), both based in Hamburg, decided to establish an annual lecture series, the "Hamburg Lectures on Maritime Affairs" - giving distinguished scholars and practitioners the opportunity to present and discuss recent developments in this field. The present volume - the second in the series - collects eight of the lectures held in 2009 and 2010 by David Joseph Attard, Lucius Caflisch, Beate Czerwenka, Lars Gorton, Francesco Munari, Kyriaki Noussia, Peter Wetterstein and Wolfgang Wurmnest.

New Issue: Global Trade and Customs Journal

The latest issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal (Vol. 7, no. 4, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• John R. Magnus, Russia’s WTO Accession and the United States’ Jackson-Vanik Conundrum
• Warren H. Maruyama, Russia PNTR: Who Is Going to Lead the Charge?
• Dan Cannistra, Miguel A. Rodriguez Cuadros, & Michael Lux, The Customs Treatment of Royalties and License Fees with Regard to Imported Goods
• Brian Gatta & Edwin Vermulst, Disciplining the Use of TDI against China through WTO Dispute Settlement
• Robert M. MacLean, The EU’s Anti-Dumping Refund System: Too Many Hurdles to Jump for Effective Relief?
• Patrick J. Togni, Are You There, America? It’s Me, Section 421
• Francesca Stefania Condello, & Laurent Ruessmann, The CJEU Judgment in Nokia and Philips Clarifies the Customs Detention of Goods Suspected of Infringing Intellectual Property Rights
• Brian Facey, Prakash Narayanan, & Cliff Sosnow, Promises Are Meant to Be Kept: A Case Comment on Attorney General of Canada v. United States Steel Corporation

Neier: The International Human Rights Movement: A History

Aryeh Neier (Open Society Foundations) has published The International Human Rights Movement: A History (Princeton Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

During the past several decades, the international human rights movement has had a crucial hand in the struggle against totalitarian regimes, cruelties in wars, and crimes against humanity. Today, it grapples with the war against terror and subsequent abuses of government power. In The International Human Rights Movement, Aryeh Neier--a leading figure and a founder of the contemporary movement--offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of this global force, from its beginnings in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to its essential place in world affairs today. Neier combines analysis with personal experience, and gives a unique insider's perspective on the movement's goals, the disputes about its mission, and its rise to international importance.

Discussing the movement's origins, Neier looks at the dissenters who fought for religious freedoms in seventeenth-century England and the abolitionists who opposed slavery before the Civil War era. He pays special attention to the period from the 1970s onward, and he describes the growth of the human rights movement after the Helsinki Accords, the roles played by American presidential administrations, and the astonishing Arab revolutions of 2011. Neier argues that the contemporary human rights movement was, to a large extent, an outgrowth of the Cold War, and he demonstrates how it became the driving influence in international law, institutions, and rights. Throughout, Neier highlights key figures, controversies, and organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and he considers the challenges to come.

Illuminating and insightful, The International Human Rights Movement is a remarkable account of a significant world movement, told by a key figure in its evolution.

Fernández de Casadevante Romani: International Law of Victims

Carlos Fernández de Casadevante Romani has published International Law of Victims (Springer 2012). Here's the abstract:

After having ignored victims, only recently both domestic and international law have begun to pay attention to them. As a consequence, different international norms related to victims have progressively been introduced. These are norms generally characterized by a certain concept from the perspective of victims, as well as by the enumeration of a list of rights to which they are entitle to; rights upon which the international statute of victims is built. In reverse, these catalogues of rights are the states’ obligations. Most of these rights are already existent in the international law of human rights. Consequently, they are not new but consolidated rights. Others are strictly linked to victims, concerning the following categories: victims of crime, victims of abuse of power, victims of gross violations of international human rights law, victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law, victims of enforced disappearance, victims of violations of international criminal law and victims of terrorism.

Ratner: Self-Defense Against Terrorists: The Meaning of Armed Attack

Steven R. Ratner (Univ. of Michigan - Law) has posted Self-Defense Against Terrorists: The Meaning of Armed Attack (in The Leiden Policy Recommendations on Counter-terrorism and International Law, Nico Schrijver & Larissa van den Herik eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The last decade has witnessed increased recourse by states to military force to respond to terrorist attacks on their soil that have originated from abroad. A number of states -- including the United States -- have justified these military actions as lawful self-defense in response to an armed attack, as permitted under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. These claims raise multiple interpretive questions about the meaning of "armed attack" under Article 51 and of the various options that are allowed in response to one. This essay explores the contemporary understanding of an "armed attack" in terms of an attack's origins (i.e., can an attack under the Charter originate from nonstate actors?), scale (i.e., must such attacks meet a threshold of intensity to trigger lawful self-defense?), and military nature. It also focuses on the the permissibility of attributing an attack by nonstate actors to a particular state, as well as the consequences of such an attribution. It then identifies a number of outstanding areas of disagreement in the law as well as practical issues for states contemplating the use of force in response to terrorist attacks. The essay concludes with a series of recommendations for resolving these disagreements in a way that respects the imperative of avoiding an escalation in force while deterring such attacks.

Keller & Ulfstein: UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Law and Legitimacy

Helen Keller (Universität Zürich) & Geir Ulfstein (Universitetet i Oslo - Law) have published UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Law and Legitimacy (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). Contents include:

• Helen Keller & Geir Ulfstein, Introduction
• Walter Kälin, Examination of state reports
• Geir Ulfstein, Individual complaints
• Helen Keller & Leena Grover, General comments of the Human Rights Committee and their legitimacy
• Urfan Khaliq & Robin Churchill, The protection of economic and social rights: a particular challenge?
• Birgit Schlütter, Aspects of human rights interpretation by the UN Treaty bodies
• Nigel S. Rodley, UN Treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council
• Rosanne van Alebeek & André Nollkaemper, The legal status of decisions by human rights treaty bodies in national law
• Helen Keller & Geir Ulfstein, Conclusions

Voon: The WTO Appellate Body Outlaws Discrimination in U.S. Flavored Cigarette Ban

Tania Voon (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on The WTO Appellate Body Outlaws Discrimination in U.S. Flavored Cigarette Ban.

Ratner: Persuading to Comply: On the Deployment and Avoidance of Legal Argumentation

Steven R. Ratner (Univ. of Michigan - Law) has posted Persuading to Comply: On the Deployment and Avoidance of Legal Argumentation (in International Law and International Relations: Synthesizing Insights from Interdisciplinary Scholarship, Jeffrey L. Dunoff & Mark A. Pollock eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

For those international actors seeking to promote respect for international law, persuasion -- the process of social interaction whereby one actor seeks to convince another to believe or do something through principled rational arguments and interactions, without any overt coercion -- is at the core of the enterprise. Yet the scholarship in international law and international relations is woefully thin on the content of such a communication of persuasion, and, in particular, on the role of legal argumentation. This paper constructs a theoretical model for determining when and how international actors deploy legal argumentation in contrast to other arguments that might convince a violating entity to comply. A compliance strategy can invoke a range of law, along several dimensions, and the choices regarding the argumentation to use are highly contextual. This reality contrasts with static or uni-dimensional approaches to persuasion and the role of law assumed by most scholarship on compliance.

The paper first identifies the shortcomings of the debates within international law and relations on persuasion. It then offers a basic framework of factors that influence the choices of an entity seeking to effect compliance to use legal arguments (inputs), and proposes a set of modalities regarding the content of the resulting legal argumentation (outputs). These outputs consist of a legal argument's publicity, density, directness, and tone. After applying this model to one institution, the International Committee of the Red Cross, it suggest ways to generalize this rubric to others. The essay concludes with some thoughts about the priorities for international law and its advocates in terms of an effective persuasive process. It argues that efforts by international lawyers to seek "internalization" of norms ask for too much, and that nonlegal argumentation may often be the best way to achieve compliance with legal norms.

Epps: Recent developments in WTO jurisprudence: Has the Appellate Body resolved the issue of an appropriate standard of review in SPS cases?

Tracey Epps (New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) has published Recent developments in WTO jurisprudence: Has the Appellate Body resolved the issue of an appropriate standard of review in SPS cases? (University of Toronto Law Journal, Volume 62, Number 2, Spring 2012, pp. 201-227). Here's the abstract:

A critical issue in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement is what standard of review dispute panels ought to apply to questions of fact when assessing the consistency of a country's measures with trade rules. This question has arisen most acutely in the context of the SPS Agreement which requires countries to ensure that any SPS measure not based on international standards is not maintained without scientific evidence and is based on a risk assessment. This article explores how WTO dispute panels and the Appellate Body can strike a balance between a standard of review that, on the one hand, affords countries a degree of deference or flexibility and, on the other, ensures that they do not have open rein to justify any trade-restrictive measure on health-related grounds. Looking at recent cases, it finds that the Appellate Body has moved towards a balanced approach that requires panels to undertake a primarily procedural review and scrutinize the method by which the member reaches the decision in question, rather than focusing on the outcome of the decision.

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 27, no. 2, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium: Biological Diversity and Governance of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Petra Drankier & Alex G. Oude Elferink, Introduction
• David Freestone, International Governance, Responsibility and Management of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Alex G. Oude Elferink, Governance Principles for Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Richard A. Barnes, Consolidating Governance Principles for Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Petra Drankier, Marine Protected Areas in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Kristina M. Gjerde & Anna Rulska-Domino, Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Some Practical Perspectives for Moving Ahead
• Petra Drankier, Alex G. Oude Elferink, Bert Visser, & Tamara Takács, Marine Genetic Resources in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Access and Benefit-Sharing
• David Leary, Moving the Marine Genetic Resources Debate Forward: Some Reflections
• Alex G. Oude Elferink, Environmental Impact Assessment in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
• Robin Warner, Oceans beyond Boundaries: Environmental Assessment Frameworks
• Petra Drankier & Alex G. Oude Elferink, Summary of the Discussions at the Symposium

New Issue: International Law: Revista Colombiana de derecho Internacional

The latest issue of International Law: Revista Colombiana de derecho Internacional (No. 19, Julio-Diciembre 2011) is out. Contents include:

• Santiago Wills−Valderrama, Protección a la inversión extranjera en infraestructura por medio de acuerdos internacionales de inversión: un nuevo reto para Colombia
• José Manuel Vassallo−Magro & María de los Ángeles Baeza−Muñoz, Las redes transeuropeas de transporte, RTE−T
• Natalia Giraldo−Carrillo, The "repeat arbitrators" issue: a subjective concept
• Diego Bernal−Corredor, El riesgo en los contratos de concesión en colombia, su desarrollo por medio del régimen de zonas francas. Una mirada desde el derecho internacional de la inversión
• Felipe Serrano−Pinilla, El derecho de la competencia como mecanismo para garantizar rivalidad en las licitaciones públicas e impulsar el crecimiento económico
• Rafael Ibarra−Coronado, La ley de concesiones de obras públicas chilena en el tiempo
• Juan Diego Martínez−García & Antonio Leal−Holguín, Arbitrariedad en la determinación de los requisitos para contratar con el estado. El principio de proporcionalidad como protección contra la arbitrariedad
• Viridiana Molinares−Hassan & Judith Echeverría−Molina, El derecho humano al agua: posibilidades desde una perspectiva de género

New Issue: Legal Issues of Economic Integration

The latest issue of Legal Issues of Economic Integration (Vol. 39, no. 2, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Angelos Dimopoulos & Mavluda Sattorova, The Present and Future of EU International Investment Treaties
• August Reinisch, Articles 30 and 59 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Action: The Decisions on Jurisdiction in the Eastern Sugar and Eureko Investment Arbitrations
• Steffen Hindelang, Circumventing Primacy of EU Law and the CJEU’s Judicial Monopoly by Resorting to Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Provided for in Inter-se Treaties? The Case of Intra-EU Investment Arbitration
• Markus Burgstaller, Investor-State Arbitration in EU International Investment Agreements with Third States
• Mavluda Sattorova, Return to the Local Remedies Rule in European BITs? Power (Inequalities), Dispute Settlement, and Change in Investment Treaty Law
• Nicole Ahner, Jean-Michel Glachant, & Adrien de Hauteclocque, Differentiated Integration Revisited: EU Energy Policy as Experimental Ground for a Schengen Successor?
• M.J. van den Brink, EU Citizenship and EU Fundamental Rights: Taking EU Citizenship Rights Seriously?

Combs: Legitimizing International Criminal Justice: The Importance of Process Control

Nancy Combs (College of William & Mary - Law) has posted Legitimizing International Criminal Justice: The Importance of Process Control (Michigan Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

International criminal tribunals that prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes have recently undergone two important evolutions: a procedural evolution and an evolution in the regulation of defense counsel. These two evolutions appear largely unrelated, and they appear to have stemmed from two very different motivations: the procedural evolution from a desire to reduce the length and cost of international criminal proceedings, while the defense regulation evolution from a desire to improve the quality of defense representation. This article argues that, although those motivations do explain the respective evolutions at a superficial level, a far more profound and far-reaching evolution stands at the heart of both of them. This article shows that the early international tribunals had little choice but to adopt party-driven adversarial procedures and to permit defendants maximum discretion in selecting the counsel to represent them. More importantly, by invoking decades of social psychology research involving process control, this article shows the way in which the tribunals’ early procedures and policies served to strengthen and legitimate the then-vulnerable institutions that employed them. Once international criminal justice had gained a measure of legitimacy, the tribunals were able to institute valuable procedural and regulatory reforms. Thus, this article shows that the procedural and defense counsel evolutions reflect an underlying and far more fundamental evolution in international criminal justice as a whole: the evolution from a novel, distrusted criminal justice system to a respected, credible accountability mechanism.