Call for Submissions: The Use of Force in International Law

The University of New South Wales Law Journal has issued a call for submissions for a forthcoming issue that will focus in part on "The Use of Force in International Law." Here's the call:

Call for Submissions to UNSW Law Journal Issue 36(2):

‘The Use of Force in International Law’

The Editors of the UNSW Law Journal are currently welcoming submissions for Issue 36(2). The issue will comprise both a thematic component and a general component with articles on a variety of topics. The question posed by the thematic component is:

What significance do recent developments in the international sphere have with respect to the law governing the use of force?

Submissions can address any issue relating to the use of force in international law, including purely doctrinal questions. Authors may wish to consider (but are not limited to) the international law implications of contemporary issues such as:

• The Arab Spring, including the conflict in Syria and the intervention in Libya, and its significance for humanitarian intervention or the responsibility to protect.

• The prospect of a US or Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities to inhibit its presumed development of nuclear weapons.

• Counterterrorism-related controversies raised by the Osama bin Laden raid into Pakistan; drone strikes crossing national borders; the Afghanistan war; and operations resulting in extrajudicial killings (including of a state’s own citizens).

• The use or threat of use of force in circumstances of secession, for example the war in Georgia in 2008, or the People’s Republic of China’s ‘anti-secession’ law, by which it may attack Taiwan in the event of a declaration of independence.

• The rise of cyber-warfare, evidenced by the Flame and Stuxnet worms.

• Security and self-defence issues involving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Recent discussions about the definition of the crime of aggression, and the criminalisation of the use of force as an individual crime.

The Journal is one of Australia’s leading scholarly journals. Currently in its 36th year, the Journal enjoys a diverse and influential readership, and is one of the most widely cited legal reviews in Australia. Submissions for publication are received from local and international academics, judges, and legal professionals from a wide range of practice areas.

The Journal publishes three issues per year, each with a thematic and a general component. The submission deadline for the thematic component of Issue 36(2) is 30 April 2013. Publication is set for the second half of 2013. In addition to submissions exploring the matters of the thematic, authors are welcome to submit on any topic for the general components of this year’s issues, the deadlines for which will be indicated on the website at http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/.

We are accepting articles of between 7,000 and 12,000 words in length (excluding footnotes). The style guide for the Journal is the third edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, available online at http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/AGLC3, along with the Journal’s ‘Additions’, available on our website at http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/pdfs/UNSWLJ %20AGLC3%20Additions.pdf.

The Journal is an independent, peer reviewed publication. Although all submissions received are subject to rigorous peer review, decisions as to publication remain at the discretion of the Editor, in council with the Executive Committee of the Journal. Please also note that the Journal does not accept articles that have been or will be published elsewhere, either in identical or substantially similar form.

If you are interested in submitting an article for Issue 36(2), please contact the Journal at law.journal@unsw.edu.au. It would be appreciated if you could give some early indication of your proposed topic or area of research. If you know of a colleague producing original research in this field, please pass on this invitation.