Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Seminar: Distribution of Responsibilities in International Law

On May 30-31, 2013, the Research Project on Shared Responsibility in International Law (SHARES) will host a seminar on "Distribution of Responsibilities in International Law," in Amsterdam. The program is here. Here's the idea:

This Seminar will consider extra-legal perspectives on how responsibility is to be distributed when multiple wrongdoing actors contribute to a harmful outcome. The relevant principles of international law leave open many questions. Should the responsibility of all actors be based on their individual contribution to such harms? Are there grounds for differentiation? Or should all actors be held responsible in an equal amount, or should they, if no differentiation can be made, be held responsible collectively?

While various grounds have been advanced to distribute responsibilities in other disciplines, such grounds have only to a limited extent been linked to the international legal discourse. In view of the increasing relevance of questions of distribution of responsibilities and of the paucity of international law on this point, there is much reason for a fundamental inquiry into the bases and justifications for apportionment of responsibilities. Such an inquiry could support an articulation of critique of present international law, and provide a basis for reform. At the seminar, 13 contributions by leading experts from various disciplines will be discussed.

Only limited seats are available. If you are interested to participate, please send an email to: contact@sharesproject.nl.