New Volume: ISIL Year Book of International Humanitarian and Refugee Law

The latest volume of the ISIL Year Book of International Humanitarian and Refugee Law (Vol. 10, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Leandro Moll, Developments in the Bases of the International Obligation to Repress the Crime of Terrorism
• W. A.D.J. Sumanadasa, Principle of Proportionality: the Criticized Compromising Formula of International Humanitarian Law
• Timothy F. Yerima, Still Searching for Solution: From Protection of Individual Human Rights to Individual Criminal Responsibility for Serious Violations of Humanitarian Law
• David I. Efevwerhan, The Responsibility to Protect: A Justification for Humanitarian Wars?
• Rishi Gulati, The 26/11 Terrorist Attacks and the Application of the Laws of Armed Conflict
• V. Seshaiah Shasthri, Role of International Humanitarian Institutions in Ensuring that ‘Armed Non State Actors’ Augment the Fundamental Notions of IHL – A Critique
• U. C. Jha, Special Laws and the Armed Forces in South Asia
• Aftab Alam, ICC and the Crime of Aggression: The Kampala Compromise or Consensus?
• B. C. Nirmal, UNHCR After Six Decades and Beyond
• Ranjana Ferrao, Retaining Portuguese Nationality in Goa
• Shorter Articles
• Oinam Jitendra Singh, Armed Violence in Manipur and Human Rights
• Vijay A. Chavan, Curbing the Menace of Child Soldiers: An Unsolved Riddle of International Humanitarian Law
• Cyntia Sampaio, Prevailing Relevance of the 1951 Convention on its 60th Anniversary

New Issue: Indian Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Indian Journal of International Law (Vol. 52, no. 2, April-June 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• A. Jayagovind, Impact of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources on WTO: A Critique of WTO Ruling in China: Exportation of Raw Materials Case
• Ashraf U. Sarah Kazi & Shahrizal Mohd Zin, The Ambiguity in Article XX of GATT and the Hurdles Posed in the Path of Harmony of International Law: An Examination of World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Environmental Law
• Rajneesh Dube, D.S. Sengar & Slahuddin Ahmed, The National Green Tribunal - A Dimension of Environmental Adjudication in India
• Shorter Articles
• Sunil Aggarwal, The Arctic Climate Impact and International Law: Issues and Challenges
• Gaius E. Okwezuzu, Gas Flaring in the Nigerian Niger Delta: A Glaring Case of Human Rights and Environmental Atrocity

ASIL: Proceedings of the Fifth International Humanitarian Law Dialogs

The American Society of International Law has published Proceedings of the Fifth International Humanitarian Law Dialogs (ASIL 2012). Here's the abstract:

This volume provides a record of the proceedings of the fifth annual meeting of international prosecutors at Chautauqua Institution from August 28 to 30, 2011. The theme of these Dialogs was, “Widespread and Systematic! – Crimes Against Humanity in the Shadow of Modern International Criminal Law.” The international prosecutors, academics, practitioners, and members of the public discussed the evolution of this crime and challenges in its prosecution. The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, an initiative working towards the development and signing of an International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, is also presented and its Proposed Convention is included in this volume. The volume also contains the prosecutors’ updates regarding the activities of their respective courts and tribunals during the past year.

Gazzini & de Brabandere: International Investment Law: The Sources of Rights and Obligations

Tarcisio Gazzini (VU Univ. Amsterdam - Law) & Eric de Brabandere (Leiden Univ. - Law) have published International Investment Law: The Sources of Rights and Obligations (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2012). Here's the abstract:

Transnational investment involves a variety of actors (States, public and private legal entities, and natural persons) whose relationships are governed by rules and legal instruments belonging to different legal systems. This book provides a systematic study of the sources of rights and obligations in the field of transnational investment, and their coordination and interaction.

It focuses primarily on the network of over 3,000 Bilateral Investment Treaties, international investment contracts, customary international law, the main multilateral treaties, national legislation, international case law and general principles of law.

The book, firmly based on State practice, arbitral awards and national decisions, is indispensable to fully appraise the nature and content of the claims of private investors as well as to identify the law applicable in investment arbitration.

New Issue: Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Institutions

The latest issue of Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Institutions (Vol. 18, no. 4, October-December 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Global Insights
• Richard Gowan, “Less Bound to the Desk”: Ban-Ki-moon, the UN, and Preventive Diplomacy
• Articles
• Thomas Richard Davies, A “Great Experiment” of the League of Nations Era: International Nongovernmental Organizations, Global Governance, and Democracy Beyond the State
• Matti Joutsen & Adam Graycar, When Experts and Diplomats Agree: Negotiating Peer Review of the UN Convention Against Corruption
• Special Focus
• David Black, The G8 and Africa: A Partial Reckoning
• Ian Taylor, Spinderella on Safari: British Policies Toward Africa Under New Labour
• Scarlett Cornelissen, Selling Africa: Japan’s G8 Politics and Its Africa Diplomacy
• Ulf Engel, The G8 and Germany’s Africa Policy: A Case of Hegemonic Mainstreaming
• Review Essay
• Roni Kay O’Dell, New Perspectives on the Independence of International Organizations: How Do They Influence Peacebuilding and Good Governance?

d'Aspremont: The Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations: Magnifying the Fissures in the Law of International Responsibility

Jean d'Aspremont (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted The Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations: Magnifying the Fissures in the Law of International Responsibility (International Organizations Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

It is against the backdrop of the conceptual impairment inherited from the Articles on State Responsibility (hereafter ASR) that this note, rather than zeroing in on what could have been better devised at the micro-level of the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (hereafter ARIO), adopts a holistic view on the approaches to the law of international responsibility. In so doing, the ARIO are not approached in isolation but together with the ASR. This paper argues that, envisaged together with the ASR, the ARIO magnify the structural straits of the law of international responsibility. It more particularly argues that the ARIO reveal that the minor and almost invisible defects at the level of the ASR have enlarged on the occasion of their transposition to the responsibility of international organizations, unveiling the conceptual fissures of the whole law of international responsibility (Section 1). It then formulates a few epistemological considerations on how a normative instrument that so openly lays bare the limits of the current law of international responsibility could nonetheless be usefully received by our professional community (Section 2).

ILA (British Branch) 2012-2013 Regional Seminar Series at Bristol

Here's the schedule for the International Law Association (British Branch)'s Regional Seminar Series for 2012-2013 that will take place at the University of Bristol Law School:

• Novmeber 1, 2012: Emyr Jones Parry (formerly, Permanent Representative of the UK to the United Nations and NATO), Law and Diplomacy in the United Nations
• December 10, 2012: Nigel White (Univ. of Nottingham - Law), Private Military and Security Contractors and the Monopoly on the Use of Force
• January 21, 2013: Michael Wood (Member, International Law Commission), The International Law on the Use of Force: Is it Effective?
• March 4, 2013: Larissa van den Herik (Leiden Univ. - Law), The Multifaceted Nature of UN Sanctions: From Peace to Law Enforcement

Alder: The Inherent Right of Self-Defence in International Law

Murray Colin Alder has published The Inherent Right of Self-Defence in International Law (Springer 2013). Here's the abstract:

Determining the earliest point in time at which international law authorises a state to exercise its inherent right of self-defence is an issue which has been debated, but unsatisfactorily reasoned, by scholars and states since the 1960’s. Yet it remains arguably the most pressing question of law that faces the international community. This book unravels the legal and factual complications which have obscured the answer to this question. In contrast to most other works, it takes an historic approach by tracing the evolution of the rights, rules and principles of international law which have governed the use of force by states since the 16th century. Its emphasis on self-defence provides the reader with a new and complete understanding of how and why the international legal framework limits defensive force to repelling an imminent threat or use of offensive force which is directed at the territory of a state.

Taking an historic approach enables this book to resurrect an understanding of the human defensive instinct which has guided the formation of the international law of self-defence. It also explains the true legal nature and scope of the inherent right of self-defence, of anticipatory self-defence and provides a definition of the legal commencement of an armed attack for the purpose of Article 51 of the Charter. Finally, the reader will receive a unique source of research materials and analysis of state practice and of scholarly works concerning self-defence and the use of force since the 16th century, which is suitable for all readers of international law around the world.

Conference: The Boundaries of the Battlefield

On January 10-11, 2013, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague will host a conference on "The Boundaries of the Battlefield: A Critical Look at the Legal Paradigms and Rules in Countering Terrorism." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, in cooperation with the International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Platform, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Municipality of The Hague, will host a symposium with the aim of discussing the contours of various approaches states take against non-state actors with the goal of countering terrorism. Specifically, the conference will address issues related to uses of force and how these may affect and define the geographic and temporal scope and limitations of the laws of armed conflict in relation to counterterrorism. Besides this main theme, which operates within the armed conflict paradigm, this conference will also discuss and assess the law-enforcement paradigm.

The two-day event will take place a little more than ten years after the first CIA drone strike in Yemen was carried out against an alleged Al-Qaeda operative suspected of being the mastermind behind the 2000 U.S.S. Cole Bombing. In the so-called “global war on terror,” this was the first of many drone strikes by the United States, one of the various counterterrorism strategies employed by the US in its fight against Al-Qaeda and associated forces. Ten years later, these strikes are still occurring as part of the US’ strategy in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan and beyond. Law enforcement mechanisms, such as intelligence gathering, arrest, detention and judicial proceedings have been employed by various states in order to combat terrorism as well.

With these facts in mind, questions about the scope of the pertinent legal framework arise.

Questions also arise about the sufficiency of the current international legal system for addressing counterterrorism strategies, both within and outside of armed conflict. International humanitarian law plays a large part of this regulatory framework and the law enforcement paradigm, encapsulating many principles of international human rights law, also occupies a substantial place in this regulation. However, the precise roles of these areas of law are becoming more and more fragmented as the international community searches for a comprehensive way to deal with cross-border terrorist threats. With the US response to the attacks of 9/11 and the employment of an armed conflict paradigm against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces as the starting point, it is imperative to first clarify the boundaries of the battlefield and also to identify the way forward with constructing counterterrorism strategies that are compliant with international law and able to effectively address new threats. This symposium will be a large step forward in addressing this need.

Beneyto & Kennedy: New Approaches to International Law: The European and the American Experiences

José María Beneyto (CEU San Pablo Univ. - Institute for European Studies) & David Kennedy (Harvard Univ. - Law) have published New Approaches to International Law: The European and the American Experiences (T.M.C. Asser Press 2013). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

This volume offers a unique reflection on the historic and contemporary influence of the New Approaches to International Law (NAIL) movement within the context of Europe and America. In particular, the contributions focus on the intellectual product of NAIL's founder, David Kennedy, in relation to three legal streams: human rights, legal history, and the law of war. On the one hand, the volume is valuable reading for a broad audience interested in the current challenges facing global governance, and how critical studies might contribute to innovative intellectual and practice-oriented developments in international law. On the other hand, stemming from a 2010 seminar in Madrid that brought together scholars to discuss David Kennedy's scholarship over the last three decades, the contributions here are a testament to the community and ideas of the NAIL tradition. The volume includes scholars from a wide field of legal interests and backgrounds.

New Issue: Review of International Political Economy

The latest issue of the Review of International Political Economy (Vol. 19, no. 4, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: RIPE Focus on Governing Global Finance and Banking
• Randall Germain, Introduction: Governing global finance and banking
• Aaron Major, Neoliberalism and the new international financial architecture
• Nicolas Jabko & Elsa Massoc, French capitalism under stress: How Nicolas Sarkozy rescued the banks
• Injoo Sohn, Toward normative fragmentation: An East Asian financial architecture in the post-global crisis world
• Ranjit Lall, From failure to failure: The politics of international banking regulation
• William Vlcek, Power and the practice of security to govern global finance
• Kevin L. Young, Transnational regulatory capture? An empirical examination of the transnational lobbying of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
• RIPE Commentary: Debate on the Future of the Euro
• Benjamin J. Cohen, The future of the euro: Let's get real
• Herman Schwartz, Euro-crisis, American lessons?
• Benjamin J. Cohen, The future of the euro: Rejoinder to Schwartz

Cottier, Jackson, & Lastra: International Law in Financial Regulation and Monetary Affairs

Thomas Cottier (Univ. of Bern - World Trade Institute), John H. Jackson (Georgetown Univ. - Law), & Rosa M. Lastra (Queen Mary Univ. of London - Law) have published International Law in Financial Regulation and Monetary Affairs (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The early twenty-first century has seen a conspicuous absence of formal international law concerning money and finance. This book argues that this lack of formal international regulation was a significant contributing factor to the global financial crisis that began in 2007. It focuses on this lack of global substantive principles and 'hard law' rules in the field of financial regulation and monetary affairs, and analyses the emerging framework within international law that aims to govern financial institutions and markets. The global financial crisis has demonstrated the essential need for financial and monetary regulatory reform, and for the establishment of appropriate mechanisms for the settlement of financial disputes and for the regulation of cross-border financial institutions. This book therefore presents the foundations of solutions that could fill these critical gaps in international financial law. It addresses cross-border issues, financial regulation, and provides detailed analyses of monetary policies and regulation.

This book is an updated collection of papers first published in the Special Edition of the Journal of International Economic Law on 'The Quest for International Law in Financial Regulation and Monetary Affairs' (Volume 12, Number 3, September 2010), which also show that the regulatory hands-off approach was not replicated in other areas of international economic law. International trade regulation witnessed an increased number of international rules and the reinforcement of a rule-oriented, if not rule-based, approach. Judicial dispute settlement and retaliation, exclusively based upon international ruling and authorization, was reinforced. Given the importance of trade regulation and WTO law, which has an established institutional and legal framework, the book therefore provides a much-needed comparative approach.

Opeskin, Perruchoud, & Redpath-Cross: Foundations of International Migration Law

Brian Opeskin (Macquarie Univ. - Law), Richard Perruchoud (International Organisation for Migration), & Jillyanne Redpath-Cross (International Organisation for Migration) have published Foundations of International Migration Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

International migration law is an important field of international law, which has attracted exceptional interest in recent years. This book has been written from a wide variety of perspectives for those wanting to understand the legal framework that regulates migration. It is intended for students new to this field of study who seek an overview of its many components. It will also appeal to those who have focussed on a particular branch of international migration law but require an understanding of how their specialisation fits with other branches of the discipline. Written by migration law specialists and led by respected international experts, this volume draws upon the combined knowledge of international migration law and policy from academia; international, intergovernmental, regional and non-governmental organisations; and national governments. Additional features include case studies, maps, break-out boxes and references to resources which allow for a full understanding of the law in context.

Zimmermann, Oellers-Frahm, Tomuschat, & Tams: The Statute of the International Court of Justice: A Commentary (Second Edition)

Andreas Zimmermann (Universität Potsdam - Law), Karin Oellers-Frahm (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law), Christian Tomuschat (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Law), & Christian J. Tams (Univ. of Glasgow - Law) have published the second edition of The Statute of the International Court of Justice: A Commentary (Oxford Univ. Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and plays a central role in both the peaceful settlement of international disputes and the development of international law. This comprehensive Commentary on the Statute of the International Court of Justice, now in its second edition, analyses in detail not only the Statute of the Court itself but also the related provisions of the United Nations Charter as well as the relevant provisions of the Court's Rules of Procedure. Five years after the first edition was published, the second edition of the Commentary embraces current events before the International Court of Justice as well as before other courts and tribunals relevant for the interpretation and application of its Statute.

The Commentary provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of all legal questions and issues the Court has had to address in the past and will have to address in the future. It illuminates the central issues of procedure and substance that the Court and counsel appearing before it face in their day-to-day work.

In addition to commentary covering all of the articles of the Statute of the ICJ, plus the relevant articles of the Charter of the United Nations, the book includes three scene-setting chapters: Historical Introduction, General Principles of Procedural Law, and Discontinuation and Withdrawal. The second edition of the Commentary adds two important and instructive chapters on Counter-Claims and Evidentiary Issues.

ILA (British Branch) 2012-2013 Regional Seminar Series at Nottingham

Here's the schedule for the International Law Association (British Branch)'s Regional Seminar Series for 2012-2013 that will take place at the University of Nottingham School of Law:

• October 17, 2012: David Sugarman (Lancaster Univ. - Law), A Collision Between Law and Politics: The Secret History of the Pinochet Case, 1998-2000
• November 14, 2012: Meghna Abraham (Amnesty International), A Unified Bill of Rights? Progress and Gaps in Advancing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• December 5, 2012: Panos Koutrakos (Univ. of Bristol - Law), A Difficult Child in an Unhappy Family: Europe's Security and Defence Policy
• February 6, 2013: Alexandra Xanthaki (Brunel Univ. - Law), Indigenous Rights and the Challenge After the Adoption of the 2007 U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• February 27, 2013: Robin R. Churchill (Univ. of Dundee - Law), The International Labour Organization's Maritime Labour Convention - The First Effective Human Rights Treaty for Seafarers?
• March 6, 2013: Kimberley N. Trapp (Univ. College London - Law), State Responsibility for Terrorism
• March 20, 2013: Michael K. Addo (Univ. of Exeter - Law), The Uniqueness of the U.N. Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework as a Corporate Governance Regime

Alam et al.: Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law

Shawkat Alam, Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan, Tareq M.R. Chowdhury, & Erika J. Techera have published Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law (Routledge 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law is an advanced level reference guide which provides a comprehensive and contemporary overview of the corpus of international environmental law (IEL). The Handbook features specially commissioned papers by leading experts in the field of international environmental law, drawn from a range of both developed and developing countries in order to put forward a truly global approach to the subject. Furthermore, it addresses emerging and cross-cutting issues of critical importance for the years ahead.

The book is split into six parts for ease of reference: The Legal Framework, Theories and Principles of International Environmental Law - focuses on the origins, theory, principles and development of the discipline; Implementing International Environmental Law - addresses the implementation of IEL and the role of various actors and institutions, including corporations, intergovernmental organisations and NGOs; Key Issues and Legal Frameworks - brings fresh perspectives of the common general issues of international environmental law, such as biological diversity and marine environmental law; Regional Environmental Law - explores the specific regimes developed to address regional environmental issues, considering the evolution, prospects and relationship of regional law and mechanisms to IEL; Cross-Cutting Issues - considers the engagement of international environmental law with other key fields and legal regimes, including international trade, human rights and armed conflict; Contemporary and Future Challenges - analyses pressing current and emerging issues in the field including environmental refugees and climate change, REDD and deforestation, and ‘treaty congestion’ in IEL.

New Volume: Indian Yearbook of International Law and Policy

The latest volume of the Indian Yearbook of International Law and Policy (Vol. 2, 2010-2011) is out. Contents include:

• Yearbook Focus–Liability of Multinational Corporations in the Third World
• Susan F. Mandiberg & Marcel Gesmundo Would Serious Criminal Sanction Apply If Bhopal Occurred in the United States?
• Articles
• Kevin Hugh Govern, A Survey of Islamic Attitudes Towards the Legitimacy of International Law and International Agreements
• Margreet Wewerinke & Curtis F.J. Doebbler, Development Cooperation and Human Rights International Climate Change Action : Saving Human Rights After Cancun
• Nandan Nawn, Juxtaposing Scientific Uncertainty with Legal Certainty— The Carbon Conundrum
• Nikolaos Lavranos, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITS) and EU Law
• Rukmini Sen, UNCRPD and PWD: Gaps in Promises, Perspectives, and Programs
• Sanford R. Silverburg, The Contravention of Consistency: Indian Foreign Policy Toward Israel
• Comments
• Sanhita Ambast & Arghya Sengupta, The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010: Compliance with CAT
• Gregory Travaini, How to Coach a Team Participating in International Law Moots

Bjorge: Evolutionary Interpretation and the Intention of the Parties

Eirik Bjorge (Univ. of Oxford - Law) has posted Evolutionary Interpretation and the Intention of the Parties (European Public Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

While many authors have seen, and continue to see, evolutionary treaty interpretation as something that by definition goes against the grain of the intentions of the parties to the treaty, this working paper puts the opposite point of view. It is argued that evolutionary interpretation, whether conducted by the European Court of Human Rights or by the International Court of Justice, is nothing if not built upon the common will of the parties. Evolutionary interpretation, in itself nothing else than the name we have given to a particular type of interpretive result, must in common with all other interpretive results in the law of treaties be the outcome of a process aimed at establishing as fully an fairly the intention of the parties to the treaty.

Conference: Canadian Council on International Law 2012 Annual Conference

The 41st Annual Conference of the Canadian Council on International Law will take place November 8-10, 2012, in Ottawa. The theme is "SOS International Law: International Law in Times of Crisis and Emergency." I noted the call for papers here. The preliminary program is here.

New Issue: European Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law (Vol. 23, no. 3, August 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial
  • JHHW, Impact Factor – The Food is Bad and What’s More There is Not Enough of It; EJIL – the Beginning of an Existential Debate; Masthead Changes; In this Issue
• Articles
• Alan Boyle, Human Rights and the Environment: Where Next?
• Symposium: Global Public Goods and the Plurality of Legal Orders
• Fabrizio Cafaggi & David D. Caron, Global Public Goods amidst a Plurality of Legal Orders: A Symposium
• Daniel Bodansky, What’s in a Concept? Global Public Goods, International Law, and Legitimacy
• Gregory Shaffer, International Law and Global Public Goods in a Legal Pluralist World
• Fabrizio Cafaggi, Transnational Private Regulation and the Production of Global Public Goods and Private ‘Bads’
• Francesco Francioni, Public and Private in the International Protection of Global Cultural Goods
• Petros C. Mavroidis, Free Lunches? WTO as Public Good, and the WTO’s View of Public Goods
• Elisa Morgera, Bilateralism at the Service of Community Interests? Non-Judicial Enforcement of Global Public Goods in the Context of Global Environmental Law
• André Nollkaemper, International Adjudication of Global Public Goods: The Intersection of Substance and Procedure
• Roaming Charges
• Moments of Dignity: Waitresses at Rest at the Toufuya Restaurant by the Isuzu River, Ise, Japan
• EJIL: Debate!
• Vahagn Avedian, State Identity, Continuity, and Responsibility: The Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey and the Armenian Genocide
• Pulat Tacar & Maxime Gauin, State Identity, Continuity, and Responsibility: The Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey and the Armenian Genocide: A Reply to Vahagn Avedian
• William E. Conklin, The Peremptory Norms of the International Community
• Alexander Orakhelashvili, Peremptory Norms of the International Community: A Reply to William E. Conklin
• William E. Conklin, The Peremptory Norms of the International Community: A Rejoinder to Alexander Orakhelashvili
• Review Essay
• Andreas Wagner, Lessons of Imperialism and of the Law of Nations:Alberico Gentili’s Early Modern Appeal to Roman Law

New Issue: New York University Journal of International Law and Politics

The latest issue of the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (Vol. 44, no. 4, Summer 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Harlan Grant Cohen, Finding International Law, Part II: Our Fragmenting Legal Community
• Irene M. Ten Cate, International Arbitration and the Ends of Appellate Review
• Harro van Asselt, Managing the Fragmentation of International Environmental Law: Forests at the Intersection of the Climate and Biodiversity Regimes

Burri & Cottier: Trade Governance in the Digital Age

Mira Burri (Univ. of Bern - World Trade Institute) & Thomas Cottier (Univ. of Bern - World Trade Institute) have published Trade Governance in the Digital Age (Cambridge 2012). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The development of new digital technologies has resulted in significant transformations in daily life, from the arrival of online shopping to more fundamental changes in the ways we work and communicate. Many of these changes raise questions that transcend market access and liberalisation, and demand cooperation and coherent regulatory design. International trade regulation has hitherto not reacted in a forward-looking manner to the digital revolution and, particularly at the multilateral level, legal engineering has yielded few tangible results. This book examines whether WTO laws possess the necessary flexibility and resilience to accommodate the changes brought about by burgeoning digital trade. By revealing both the potential and the limitations of the WTO framework, it provides a broad picture of the interaction between digital technologies and trade regulation, links the often disconnected discourses of international trade law, intellectual property and cyberlaw and explores discrete problems in different domains of global trade regulation.

Mazower: Governing the World: The History of an Idea

Mark Mazower (Columbia Univ. - History) has published Governing the World: The History of an Idea (Penguin Press 2012). Here's the abstract:

The story of global cooperation between nations and peoples is a tale of dreamers goading us to find common cause in remedying humanity’s worst problems. But international institutions have also provided a tool for the powers that be to advance their own interests and stamp their imprint on the world. Mark Mazower’s Governing the World tells the epic story of that inevitable and irresolvable tension—the unstable and often surprising alchemy between ideas and power.

From the beginning, the willingness of national leaders to cooperate has been spurred by crisis: the book opens in 1815, amid the rubble of the Napoleonic Empire, as the Concert of Europe was assembled with an avowed mission to prevent any single power from dominating the continent and to stamp out revolutionary agitation before it could lead to war. But if the Concert was a response to Napoleon, internationalism was a response to the Concert, and as courts and monarchs disintegrated they were replaced by revolutionaries and bureaucrats.

19th century internationalists included bomb-throwing anarchists and the secret policemen who fought them, Marxist revolutionaries and respectable free marketeers. But they all embraced nationalism, the age’s most powerful transformative political creed, and assumed that nationalism and internationalism would go hand in hand. The wars of the twentieth century saw the birth of institutions that enshrined many of those ideals in durable structures of authority, most notably the League of Nations in World War I and the United Nations after World War II.

Throughout this history, we see that international institutions are only as strong as the great powers of the moment allow them to be. The League was intended to prop up the British empire. With Washington taking over world leadership from Whitehall, the United Nations became a useful extension of American power. But as Mazower shows us, from the late 1960s on, America lost control over the dialogue and the rise of the independent Third World saw a marked shift away from the United Nations and toward more pliable tools such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. From the 1990s to 2007, Governing the World centers on a new regime of global coordination built upon economic rule-making by central bankers and finance ministers, a regime in which the interests of citizens and workers are trumped by the iron logic of markets.

Now, the era of Western dominance of international life is fast coming to an end and a new multi-centered global balance of forces is emerging. We are living in a time of extreme confusion about the purpose and durability of our international institutions. History is not prophecy, but Mark Mazower shows us why the current dialectic between ideals and power politics in the international arena is just another stage in an epic two-hundred-year story.

New Issue: Global Society

The latest issue of Global Society (Vol. 26, no. 4, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Onyebuchi Ralph Chima & Paul Langley, Putting Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again: Financialisation and the Management of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis
• Hugo Dobson, Where Are the Women in Global Governance? Leaders, Wives and Hegemonic Masculinity in the G8 and G20 Summits
• Matthias Ecker-Ehrhardt, “But the UN Said So …”: International Organisations as Discursive Authorities
• Touko Piiparinen, McDonaldisation of Sovereignty: A Foucauldian Analysis of Responsibility to Protect
• Bettina Scholz, Advancing Cosmopolitanism through International Competition
• Catia Gregoratti, Transnational Partnerships: What Democracy? Whose Justice?
• Joanna Tidy, The Social Construction of Identity: Israeli Foreign Policy and the 2006 War in Lebanon

Brou & Ruta: A Commitment Theory of Subsidy Agreements

Daniel Brou (Univ. of Western Ontario) & Michele Ruta (World Trade Organization) have posted A Commitment Theory of Subsidy Agreements. Here's the abstract:

This paper examines the rationale for the rules on domestic subsidies in international trade agreements through a framework that emphasizes commitment. We build a model where the policy-maker has a tariff and a production subsidy at its disposal, taxation can be distortionary and the import-competing sector lobbies the government for favourable policies. The model shows that, under political pressures, the government will turn to subsidies when its ability to provide protection is curtailed by a trade agreement that binds tariffs only. We refer to this as the policy substitution problem. When factors of production are mobile in the long-run but investments are irreversible in the short-run, we show that the government cannot credibly commit vis-à-vis the domestic lobby unless the trade agreement also regulates production subsidies, thus addressing the policy substitution problem. Finally, we employ the theory to analyze the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement within the GATT/WTO system.

Call for Submissions: Francis Lieber Prizes

The American Society of International Law's Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict has issued a call for submissions for its annual book and article prizes. Here's the call:

The Francis Lieber Prize is awarded annually by the American Society of International Law's Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict to the authors of publications which the judges consider to be outstanding in the field of law and armed conflict. Both monographs and articles (including chapters in books of essays) are eligible for consideration, as the prize is awarded to the best submission in each of these two categories.

Criteria: Any work in the English language published during 2012 or whose publication is imminent at the time of submission may be nominated for this prize. The re-submission of works that have already been considered for this prize is not allowed. Entries may address such topics as the use of force in international law, the conduct of hostilities during international and non-international armed conflicts, protected persons and objects under the law of armed conflict, the law of weapons, operational law, rules of engagement, occupation law, peace operations, counter-terrorist operations, and humanitarian assistance. Other topics bearing on the application of international law during armed conflict or other military operations are also appropriate.

Age Limit: Competitors must be 35 years old or younger at the time of submission. They need not be members of the American Society of International Law. Multi-authored works may be submitted if all the authors are eligible to enter the competition. Should a multiauthored submission win the competition, the cash component of the prize shall be divided, pro rata, between the authors. Submissions from outside the United States are welcomed.

Submission: Submissions, including a letter or message of nomination, must be received by 21 January 2013. Three copies of books must be submitted. The electronic submission of articles is encouraged. Authors may submit their own work. Any work not already published must be accompanied by documentation indicating that it has been accepted for publication. All submissions must include contact data (e-mail, fax, phone, address). The Prize Committee will acknowledge receipt of the submission by e-mail.

Printed submissions must be sent to:

Professor Iain Scobbie

Department of Law

School of Oriental and African Studies

Thornhaugh Street

Russell Square

London WC1H 0XG

United Kingdom

Electronic submissions must be sent to:

is17{at}soas.ac.uk

Please indicate clearly in the subject line that the email concerns a submission for the Lieber Prize.

Prize: The Selection Committee will select one submission for the award of the Francis Lieber Prize in the book category and one in the article category. The Prizes consist of $500, a certificate of recognition, and a year's membership of the American Society of International Law. The winner of the Lieber Prize in both categories will be announced at the American Society of International Law's Annual Meeting in March 2013.

New Issue: Archiv des Völkerrechts

The latest issue of Archiv des Völkerrechts (Vol. 50, no. 2, June 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Abhandlungen
• Daniel Thym, Intergouvernementale Exekutivgewalt. Die Verfassung der europäischen Außen-, Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik
• Andreas Fischer-Lescano & Steffen Kommer, Entschädigung für Kollateralschäden? Rechtsfragen anlässlich des Luftangriffs bei Kunduz im September 2009
• Isabelle Ley, Zur Politisierung des Völkerrechts: Parlamentarische Versammlungen im Außenverhältnis
• Beitrage und Berichte
• Matthias Kloth & Manuel Brunner, Staatenimmunität im Zivilprozess bei gravierenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen

Addison-Agyei: Nationality Planning und Treaty Shopping im Internationalen Investitionsrecht

Sange Addison-Agyei (Hessischen Ministerium der Justiz, für Integration und Europa) has published Nationality Planning und Treaty Shopping im Internationalen Investitionsrecht (Peter Lang 2012). Here's the abstract:

Können sich Briefkastengesellschaften auf den Schutz von Investitionsabkommen berufen und vor internationalen Schiedsgerichten klagen? Die Arbeit untersucht den Schutz von Briefkastenfirmen nach der ICSID Convention, dem North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) und dem Energiecharta-Vertrag (ECV). Das Ergebnis fällt differenziert aus: Das NAFTA und der ECV erfassen zunächst einmal alle Briefkastenfirmen; in Analogie zu den Vertragsbestimmungen können Vertragsstaaten jedoch Briefkastenfirmen, die im Eigentum oder unter der Kontrolle von Angehörigen des Gaststaates stehen, den Schutz des Vertrags verweigern. Gemäß der ICSID Convention sind Briefkastengesellschaften unter «gaststaatlicher Kontrolle» hingegen von vornherein keine tauglichen Investoren.

Symposium: Tug of War: The Tension Between Regulation and International Cooperation

On October 25, 2012, the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics will host a symposium on "Tug of War: The Tension Between Regulation and International Cooperation." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The symposium will examine how U.S. courts balance our regulatory interest against the need for international cooperation in the context of transnational litigation. While a balance is critical throughout the litigation process, we will feature three panels that focus on situations where this tension is most controversial: (1) forum non conveniens dismissal, (2) the application of foreign law, and (3) judgment enforcement and recognition. With each panel, we will question whether the status quo is working and the extent to which it can be improved through changes in practices and procedures. After the panel discussions, Lord Lawrence Collins of Mapesbury will speak on the effect of corruption in foreign courts.

New Issue: Global Environmental Politics

The latest issue of Global Environmental Politics (Vol. 12, no. 4, November 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Jakob Skovgaard, Learning about Climate Change: Finance Ministries in International Climate Change Politics
• Monika Bauhr & Naghmeh Nasiritousi, Resisting Transparency: Corruption, Legitimacy, and the Quality of Global Environmental Policies
• Frances C. Moore, Negotiating Adaptation: Norm Selection and Hybridization in International Climate Negotiations
• Peter Newell & Adam Bumpus, The Global Political Ecology of the Clean Development Mechanism
• Johannes Urpelainen, Global Warming, Irreversibility, and Uncertainty: A Political Analysis
• Andrew Biro, Water Wars by Other Means: Virtual Water and Global Economic Restructuring
• Hannes R. Stephan, Revisiting the Transatlantic Divergence over GMOs: Toward a Cultural-Political Analysis
• Nurcan Atalan-Helicke & Becky Mansfield, Seed Governance at the Intersection of Multiple Global and Nation-State Priorities: Modernizing Seeds in Turkey