Chatterjee: The Ethics of Preventive War

Deen K. Chatterjee (Univ. of Utah - Law) has published The Ethics of Preventive War (Cambridge Univ. Press 2013). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

In this book, eleven leading theorists debate the normative challenges of preventive war through the lens of important public and political issues of war and peace in the twenty-first century. Their discussion covers complex and topical subjects including terrorism, the 'Bush doctrine' and the invasion of Iraq, Iran's nuclear capabilities, superpower unilateralism and international war tribunals. They examine the moral conundrum of preventive intervention and emphasize the need for a stronger and more effective international legal and political order and a corresponding re-evaluation of the normative status of international law. Together their essays form a challenging and timely volume that will be of interest to scholars in ethics and political philosophy, political theory, international relations, international law and peace studies and to general readers interested in the broader issues of peace and justice in the new world order.

Scharf: Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change: Recognizing Grotian Moments

Michael P. Scharf (Case Western Reserve Univ. - Law) has published Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change: Recognizing Grotian Moments (Cambridge Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

This is the first book to explore the concept of "Grotian Moments." Named for Hugo Grotius, whose masterpiece De Jure Belli ac Pacis helped marshal in the modern system of international law, Grotian Moments are transformative developments that generate the unique conditions for accelerated formation of customary international law. In periods of fundamental change, whether by technological advances, the commission of new forms of crimes against humanity, or the development of new means of warfare or terrorism, customary international law may form much more rapidly and with less state practice than is normally the case to keep up with the pace of developments. The book examines the historic underpinnings of the Grotian Moment concept, provides a theoretical framework for testing its existence and application, and analyzes six case studies of potential Grotian Moments: Nuremberg, the continental shelf, space law, the Yugoslavia Tribunal's Tadic decision, the 1999 NATO intervention in Serbia, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Call for Suggestions: 2014 Joint ASIL Annual Meeting and ILA Biennial Conference (Deadline Extended)

As noted previously, the American Society of International Law and the American Branch of the International Law Association have issued a call for suggestions for a joint conference, which will comprise the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law and the 76th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association. The deadline has been extended until June 28, 2013.

Buyse: Tacit Citing - The Scarcity of Judicial Dialogue between the Global and the Regional Human Rights Mechanisms in Freedom of Expression Cases

Antoine Buyse (Utrecht Univ. - Law) has posted Tacit Citing - The Scarcity of Judicial Dialogue between the Global and the Regional Human Rights Mechanisms in Freedom of Expression Cases (in The United Nations and Freedom of Expression and Information: Critical Perspectives, Tarlach McGonagle & Yvonne Donders eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This chapter delves into the issue of possible interactions concerning freedom of expression standards between the global and the regional levels. The continuing development and interpretation of human rights norms on these two levels poses questions of coherence. The chapter conducts a case study in order to assess whether there is a (quasi-)judicial dialogue between both levels. Specifically, the norm of freedom of expression contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee, is compared with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This specific comparison has been chosen because the Strasbourg system is usually considered to be the most developed and detailed in the sense of norm-interpretation and therefore provides the greatest chance of conducting a viable comparison with the UN level. The chapter also includes a short comparison with the American and African regional human rights systems in this respect. Does the one explicitly refer to the interpretations of the other and vice versa or is any guidance only taken up implicitly? Can either of the two be seen as trend-setters or rather as followers and is there coherence between the two levels of norm-interpretation? These are some of the questions that are addressed in the present chapter.

O'Keefe & Tams: The United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property: A Commentary

Roger O'Keefe (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) & Christian J. Tams (Univ. of Glasgow - Law) have published The United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property: A Commentary (Oxford Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

State immunity, the idea that a state, including its individual organs, officials and other emanations, may not be proceeded against in the courts of another state in certain instances, has long been and remains a source of international controversy. Although customary international law no longer recognizes the absolute immunity of states from foreign judicial process, the evolution of the contemporary notion of restrictive state immunity over the past fifty years has been an uncoordinated and contested process, leading to disputes between states. The adoption, in 2004, of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property has significantly contributed to reaching consensus among states on this fundamental question of international law.

This book provides article-by-article commentary on the text of the Convention, complemented by a small number of cross-cutting chapters highlighting general issues beyond the scope of any single provision, such as the theoretical underpinnings of state immunity, the distinction between immunity from suit and immunity from execution, the process leading to the adoption of the Convention, and the general understanding that the Convention does not extend to criminal matters. It presents a systematic analysis of the Convention, taking into account its drafting history, relevant state practice (including the considerable number of national statutes and judicial decisions on state immunity), and any international judicial or arbitral decisions on point.

Gragl: The Accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights

Paul Gragl (City Univ. London - Law) has published The Accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2013). Here's the abstract:

After more than 30 years of discussion, negotiations between the Council of Europe and the European Union on the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights have resulted in a Draft Accession Agreement. This will allow the EU to accede to the Convention within the next couple of years. As a consequence, the Union will become subject to the external judicial supervision of an international treaty regime. Individuals will also be entitled to submit applications against the Union, alleging that their fundamental rights have been violated by legal acts rooted in EU law, directly to the Strasbourg Court.

As the first comprehensive monograph on this topic, this book examines the concerns for the EU's legal system in relation to accession and the question of whether and how accession and the system of human rights protection under the Convention can be effectively reconciled with the autonomy of EU law. It also takes into account how this objective can be attained without jeopardising the current system of individual human rights protection under the Convention. The main chapters deal with the legal status and rank of the Convention and the Accession Agreement within Union law after accession; the external review of EU law by Strasbourg and the potential subordination of the Luxembourg Court; the future of individual applications and the so-called co-respondent mechanism; the legal arrangement of inter-party cases after accession and the presumable clash of jurisdictions between Strasbourg and Luxembourg; and the interplay between the Convention's subsidiarity principle (the exhaustion of local remedies) and the prior involvement of the Luxembourg Court in EU-related cases.

The analysis presented in this book comes at a crucial point in the history of European human rights law, offering a holistic and detailed enquiry into the EU's accession to the ECHR and how this move can be reconciled with the autonomy of EU law.

Kjos: Applicable Law in Investor-State Arbitration: The Interplay Between National and International Law

Hege Elisabeth Kjos (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has published Applicable Law in Investor-State Arbitration: The Interplay Between National and International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

This book examines the law, national and/or international, that arbitral tribunals apply on the merits to settle disputes between foreign investors and host states. In light of the freedom that the disputing parties and the arbitrators have when designating the applicable law, and because of the hybrid nature of legal relationship between investors and states, there is significant interplay between the national and the international legal order in investor-state arbitration.

The book contains a comprehensive analysis of the relevant jurisprudence, legal instruments, and scholarship surrounding arbitral practice with respect to the application of national law and international law. It investigates the awards in which tribunals referred to consistency between the legal orders, and suggests alternatives to the traditional doctrines of monism and dualism to explain the relationship between the national and the international legal order. The book also addresses the territorialized or internationalized nature of the tribunals; relevant choice-of-law rules and methodologies; and the scope of the arbitration agreement, including the possibility of host states presenting counterclaims in investment treaty arbitration. Ultimately, it argues that in investor-state arbitration, national and international law do not only coexist but may be applied simultaneously; they are also interdependent, each complementing and informing the other both indirectly and directly for a larger common good: enforcement of rights and obligations regardless of their national or international origin.

New Issue: International Studies Quarterly

The latest issue of the International Studies Quarterly (Vol. 57, no. 2, June 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Daniel W. Hill Jr, Will H. Moore & Bumba Mukherjee, Information Politics Versus Organizational Incentives: When Are Amnesty International's "Naming and Shaming" Reports Biased?
• Wade M. Cole, Government Respect for Gendered Rights: The Effect of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Women’s Rights Outcomes, 1981–2004
• Håvard Hegre, Joakim Karlsen, Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, Håvard Strand & Henrik Urdal, Predicting Armed Conflict, 2010–2050
• Yuri M. Zhukov & Brandon M. Stewart, Choosing Your Neighbors: Networks of Diffusion in International Relations
• Daniel Finke, Reforming International Institutions: The Domestic Origins and Conditional Logic of Governmental Reform Preferences
• Errol A. Henderson & Reşat Bayer, Wallets, Ballots, or Bullets: Does Wealth, Democracy, or Military Capabilities Determine War Outcomes?
• Jenny H. Peterson, Creating Space for Emancipatory Human Security: Liberal Obstructions and the Potential of Agonism
• Erika Forsberg, Do Ethnic Dominoes Fall? Evaluating Domino Effects of Granting Territorial Concessions to Separatist Groups
• Anthony Pezzola, States in the Customs House: Institutional Reforms and Structural Change in Mexican Trade Policy
• Johannes Kleibl, Tertiarization, Industrial Adjustment, and the Domestic Politics of Foreign Aid
• Renato Corbetta, Cooperative and Antagonistic Networks: Multidimensional Affinity and Intervention in Ongoing Conflicts, 1946–2001
• Mark S. Copelovitch & Jon C.W. Pevehouse, Ties that Bind? Preferential Trade Agreements and Exchange Rate Policy Choice
• Terrence L. Chapman & Stephen Chaudoin, Ratification Patterns and the International Criminal Court
• Jesse C. Johnson, Mark Souva & Dale L. Smith, Market-Protecting Institutions and the World Trade Organization's Ability to Promote Trade
• Keith A. Grant, Outsourcing Security: Alliance Portfolio Size, Capability, and Reliability

Conference: The Role of Opinio Juris in Customary International Law

On July 12-13, 2013, the Duke University School of Law will host a conference on “The Role of Opinio Juris in Customary International Law,” in Geneva. The program, including links to the short discussion papers prepared by the participants, is here. Here's the idea:

Customary international law covers a wide range of subject areas, including the law of the sea, sovereign immunity, conduct during wartime, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and international human rights. This conference will explore the generally accepted idea that nations must be acting out of a sense of legal obligation (i.e., opinio juris) in order for their practices to generate binding rules of customary international law.

Thomas: International Law against Sex Trafficking, in Perspective

Chantal Thomas (Cornell Univ. - Law) has posted International Law against Sex Trafficking, in Perspective. Here's the abstract:

This study places international law on sex trafficking in a broad theoretical and historical context. First, it identifies the international law on sex trafficking as part of an “international law of prohibitionism” that operates as a particular kind of response to and management of globalization. Second, this study identifies dynamic forces both “external to” and “internal to” law that lead to prohibitionism. “External” factors refer to economic, sociological and cultural phenomena that seem to have triggered the turn to prohibition. The international legal framework responds to and reflects these external sociological factors; these factors are also productive of state power for the purposes of policing illegal transactions. Taking an historical approach, it is possible to construct a loose parallel between prohibitionism during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. If such dynamics helped secure the basis for the modern administrative state in the early 20th century, by supporting the consolidation of national police power, they may undergird and reinforce the expansion, not only of national, but also of international legal authority, in the 21st. The study’s “internal” factors are social and legal concepts that determine the formulation, interpretation and application of a legal test. This internal analysis here examines the interaction within doctrinal structures of the dichotomy between legal consent and legal coercion, and of the mediating concepts of normality and abnormality. Both external and internal factors buttress the international law of prohibition as a basis for the expansion of state authority and of the authoritativeness of international law. Third, the study refines the historical context mentioned above to look at the international law against sex trafficking in particular. In the last great era of unregulated economic expansionism, the turn of the 19th century, concerns similar to anti-trafficking were in wide circulation, but expressed under the rubric of “white slavery.” The earlier law, and the discourse surrounding it, exhibited some of the same features as the contemporary law. Finally, this study suggests that, whatever the moralistic or misguided features of prohibitionism, its rise may also prefigure a transition to broader market regulation. Prohibitionism is deeply implicated in a laisser-faire approach to law; it is the mirror image of, but also the continuation of, the vast apparatus necessary to maintain a market-oriented regulatory posture. It provides a vocabulary – mediated by constructs of ‘abnormality,’ or ‘extraordinary’ cases – to enable the discussion of market controls in an ideological environment in which such discussion might otherwise be discouraged. Even as it supports the market, however, prohibitionism is also associated with a set of concerns about the market’s potentially harmful effects. Under the ideological constraints of laisser-fair-ism, concerns relating to the abuses of the deregulated market may tend to focus on extraordinary cases. Such concerns, however, though first expressed about “abnormal” contracts (such as those related to the trafficking of persons), may turn out slowly to gain sufficient currency to apply to “ordinary,” “normal” contracts. As legal subjects, women seem to have provided the template for this discursive transformation in both historical eras (consider that the West Coast Hotel case that ended the Lochner era addressed the social need to protect women in the workplace). If the study’s suggestions are accurate, then, prohibitionism may signal a change from the view that market regulation must be exceptional to an understanding of its pervasive importance.

New Issue: Diritti umani e diritto internazionale

The latest issue of Diritti umani e diritto internazionale (Vol. 7, no. 1, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Studi
• Elisa Tino, L’accesso diretto dei soggetti privati alla giustizia nelle organizzazioni regionali dei Paesi in via di sviluppo
• Roberto Perrone, Il concetto di public morals nella giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani: spunti per l’elaborazione di una ‘moralità pubblica’ europea – Parte I
• Federica Morrone, La violenza contro le donne migranti, tra strumenti normativi di cooperazione e prassi internazionale
• Maria Irene Papa, Interesse ad agire davanti alla Corte internazionale di giustizia e tutela di valori collettivi nella sentenza sul caso Belgio c. Senegal
• Emanuele Cimiotta, Aut dedere aut judicare, universalità ‘condizionata’ e Convenzione contro la tortura: a margine del caso Belgio c. Senegal
• Interventi
• Giuseppe Cataldi, L’esecuzione nell’ordinamento italiano della sentenza della Corte internazionale di giustizia nel caso Germania c. Italia: quale equilibrio tra obblighi internazionali e tutela dei diritti fondamentali?
• Gabriele Della Morte, La situazione carceraria italiana viola strutturalmente gli standard sui diritti umani (a margine della sentenza Torreggiani c. Italia)
• Flavia Zorzi Giustiniani, Giurisdizione penale universale e immunità degli organistatali: la decisione del Tribunale Federale svizzero nel caso Nezzar

New Issue: Revista Electrónica de Estudios Internacionales

The latest issue of the Revista Electrónica de Estudios Internacionales (No. 25, June 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Estudios
• Manuel Cienfuegos Mateo, Cuestiones prejudiciales en la Unión Europea y consultas prejudiciales en la Comunidad Andina: Similitudes, diferencias e influencias
• Javier Maseda Rodríguez, El juego de las normas imperativas en el Reglamento Roma II sobre ley aplicable a las obligaciones no contractuales: límites a la aplicación de la lex causae
• Ana Gemma López Martín, El ‘cierre’ del estrecho de Ormuz: Un análisis desde el derecho internacional
• Carmen Azcárraga Monzonís, Impulso de la mediación en Europa y España y ejecución de acuerdos de mediación en la Unión Europea como documentos públicos con fuerza ejecutiva
• Alejandro del Valle Gálvez, La acción exterior del Estatuto de Andalucía: Aciertos, desajustes, especificidades ocultas, desarrollos en tiempos de crisis
• Marta Abegón Novella, La codificación de los efectos de los conflictos armados en los tratados: El proyecto de artículos de la Comisión de Derecho Internacional
• Inmaculada González García & Miguel A. Acosta Sánchez, La difícil aplicación de la estrategia marina europea y la protección del medio marino en la Bahía de Algeciras/Gibraltar
• Juan Soroeta Liceras, La opinión consultiva de la Corte Internacional de Justicia sobre Kosovo de 22 de julio de 2010: Una interpretación judicial sui generis para un caso que no lo es. Aplicabilidad de la cláusula de salvaguardia de la Resolución 2625 (XXV) o de la “secesión como remedio”
• Vanessa Ballesteros Moya, Las empresas militares y de seguridad privadas como entidades que ejercen prerrogativas públicas a efectos de la responsabilidad internacional del estado
• Notas
• Gloria Fernández Arribas, Entrada en vigor y ejercicio por la Corte Penal Internacional de la jurisdicción sobre el crimen de agresión
• Mª del Pilar Diago Diago, Reglamento 1206/2001 relativo a la cooperación entre los órganos jurisdiccionales de los Estados miembros en el ámbito de la obtención de pruebas en materia civil y mercantil: estudio sobre su obligatoriedad, imperatividad y exclusividad
• Natalia Millán Acevedo, Una doctrina cosmopolita para un mundo interdependiente

Radi: La standardisation et le droit international : Contours d'une théorie dialectique de la formation du droit

Yannick Radi (Leiden Univ. - Law) has published La standardisation et le droit international : Contours d'une théorie dialectique de la formation du droit (Bruylant 2013). Here's the abstract:

Cet ouvrage propose une théorie dialectique de la formation du droit : la standardisation. Cette théorie inscrit la réflexion sur la formation du droit dans un cadre conceptuel novateur, caractérisé par le procéduralisme et le systémisme. Ce faisant, elle renouvelle l’approche positiviste classique qui envisage la création du droit statiquement, par le prisme des sources. Cette nouvelle théorie permet de penser la formation du droit dans un archétype idéal, l’ordre juridique coopératif, et est ici étudiée à l’égard de deux ordres coopératifs contemporains: les ordres juridiques nationaux et l’ordre juridique international.

Dans le cadre de l’exposé de la standardisation, cet ouvrage propose des analyses originales sur des thèmes clefs de la pensée juridique. Il en est ainsi à l’égard de concepts tels le « standard » ou l’ordre juridique, mais aussi de questions telles la normativité et ses caractéristiques, le raisonnement juridique ou encore la dichotomie création/application du droit. Au-delà et dans une perspective plus pratique, cet ouvrage offre des études détaillées de l’évolution des ordres juridiques nationaux et international ainsi que de la formation de leurs droits. Tel est notamment le cas de la formation du droit international des investissements, en relation avec les pratiques conventionnelles et arbitrales.

Conference: Beyond Responsibility to Protect: Towards Responsible Use of International Law?

On July 4-5, 2013, the McCoubrey Centre for International Law at the University of Hull Law School will host a conference on "Beyond Responsibility to Protect: Towards Responsible Use of International Law?" I noted the call for papers here. The program is here.

New Issue: Journal of International Law and International Relations

The latest issue of the Journal of International Law and International Relations (Vol. 8, 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Kenneth W. Abbott & David Gartner, Reimagining Participation in International Institutions
• Carly Nyst, Solidarity in a Disaggregated World Universal Jurisdiction and the Evolution of Sovereignty

Menezes: Tribunais Internacionais : jurisdição e competência

Wagner Menezes (Univ. of São Paulo - Law) has published Tribunais Internacionais : jurisdição e competência (Editora Saraiva 2013). Here's the abstract:

A obra aborda em linguagem clara e didática o fenômeno da jurisdicionalização do Direito Internacional, trazendo interpretação sobre o crescente fenômeno da criação e funcionamento dos Tribunais Internacionais, esclarecendo os limites de sua jurisdição e a extensão do exercício de suas competências.

A presente obra não é só um manual reprodutor de conceitos, sistematizador de classificações, mas trabalho inovador onde podem ser encontradas novas convicções, novas propostas de sistematização e de leitura doutrinária sobre o tema, propondo-se a provocar novas discussões e reflexões acadêmicas sobre a matéria.

Diversos temas são tratados cuidadosamente: A evolução da jurisdição internacional, os mecanismos de solução de controvérsias no direito internacional; o conceito de tribunais internacionais sua jurisdição e competência, os Tribunais internacionais, contexto de seu funcionamento e mecanismos de solução de potenciais conflitos, a relação dos tribunais internacionais com os Tribunais nacionais.

Ao abordar temática contemporânea e ser obra inovadora no Direito Internacional trata-se de obra fundamental como referencia de pesquisa e estudo para cursos de pós-graduação e para as mais exigentes bibliotecas jurídicas não só para aqueles que trabalham com Direito Internacional, mas também para todo operador do Direito como instrumento fundamental de trabalho.

New Issue: International Studies Review

The latest issue of International Studies Review (Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Costas M. Constantinou, Between Statecraft and Humanism: Diplomacy and Its Forms of Knowledge
• Sarah S. Stroup & Wendy Wong, Come Together? Different Pathways to International NGO Centralization
• Emily Meierding, Climate Change and Conflict: Avoiding Small Talk about the Weather
• Amir Lupovici, Pacifization: Toward a Theory of the Social Construction of Peace
• Cian O'Driscoll, Why Don't You Tell Us About Them Rabbits, George? The Tragedy of Just War
• Steven Kettell & Alex Sutton, New Imperialism: Toward a Holistic Approach
• Daniel S. Geller & Paul F. Diehl, The Forum: Reflections and Reassessments on the Early Work and Ideas of J. David Singer

Nollkaemper: Conversations Among Courts: Domestic and International Adjudicators

André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Conversations Among Courts: Domestic and International Adjudicators (in The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication, Karen Alter, Cesare Romano & Yuval Shany eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper explores the interactions between national and international courts by adopting a functional analysis. One cannot really speak about ‘the’ relationship between national and international courts. Rather, there is a multitude of legal relationships that, both in their empirical and normative dimensions, are best studied by distinguishing between the different functions that national and international courts fulfill vis-à-vis each other. The paper discusses the diverse functions that national courts can fulfill in relation to international courts and vice versa, and explore what principles should apply to the exercise of these functions.

Spain: The U.N. Security Council's Duty to Decide

Anna Spain (Univ. of Colorado - Law) has posted The U.N. Security Council's Duty to Decide (Harvard National Security Journal, Vol. 4, pp. 320-384, 2013). Here's the abstract:

When faced with a global crisis within the scope of its mandate, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC or Council) has no obligation to decide whether or not to take action. This Article argues that it should. The UNSC is the only governing body with the legal authority to authorize binding measures necessary to restore peace and security, yet neither the United Nations Charter nor the UNSC’s own rules clarify the extent of its obligations. Unlike courts, the UNSC lacks a procedural rule establishing that it has a duty to decide. Unlike the United States Congress, which accepts its practical duty to declare war, the UNSC lacks consensus about when it must take up a matter. As a result, UNSC members can, and frequently do, defer making decisions in politically difficult cases. The costs of this ambiguity to those who depend on the UNSC for their security are high, making debate about UNSC reform critical and necessary.

In contrast to conventional scholarship addressing UNSC reform, this Article focuses on improving the UNSC’s decision-making process through the adoption of new procedural measures. It presents a novel approach to thinking about UNSC reform by translating wisdom from the realm of legal process theory to the political, quasi-judicial UNSC. The central argument is that the Council itself should adopt three procedural duties aimed at improving its decision-making process. First, the duty to decide would require the Council to take up decisions about whether or not it will take action in crises under its jurisdiction. Second, the duty to disclose would require the Council, when it makes no decision in a particular situation, to publicly disclose its reasoning for not doing so. Third, the duty to consult would obligate the Council to take reasonable measures to consult those nations, and the people therein, most affected by decisions falling under its Chapter VII authority regarding sanctions, intervention, and the use of force.

After describing these duties, this Article draws upon qualitative data from within the U.N. itself to justify why this reform proposal, unlike many others, is viable. It also draws upon insights from the disciplines of legal process theory, social psychology, and negotiation to give explanatory power to why such reform matters will prove effective. Making these changes will enhance the UNSC's decision processes in ways that will further its legitimacy and relevance in today's world of multi-varied and evolving forms of conflict.

Borrás Pentinat: Control Internacional de los Tratados Multilaterales de Protección del Medio Ambiente ¿Apariencias o Realidades?

Susana Borrás Pentinat has published El Control Internacional de los Tratados Multilaterales de Protección del Medio Ambiente ¿Apariencias o Realidades? (Tirant lo Blanch 2013). Here's the abstract:

El interés por el análisis del control internacional en el ámbito del Derecho inter­nacional del medio ambiente se justifica por la creciente degradación ambiental y la necesidad de articular una respuesta internacional a los graves problemas am­bientales a los que se enfrenta la sociedad internacional. El crecimiento económico basado en la industrialización y en la explotación irracional de los recursos natu­rales ha minado las capacidades naturales del planeta y lejos de aportar bienestar a la población mundial, ha acrecentado aun más la brecha entre Estados desarro­llados y Estados en desarrollo. La necesidad de aportar una solución común a los problemas ambientales exige comprometer y responsabilizar a los Estados a través del Derecho internacional, no sólo mediante la conclusión de tratados internacio­nales, sino también mediante el refuerzo del cumplimiento de las obligaciones que los Estados han asumido internacionalmente en materia de protección ambiental. La principal contribución de esta obra es la de aportar un análisis exhaustivo del fenómeno del control internacional aplicado al ámbito del medio ambiente y de ofrecer el primer estudio transversal, que se realiza en nuestro país, sobre los dife­rentes regímenes de protección ambiental.

Bradlow: A Framework for Assessing Global Economic Governance

Daniel Bradlow (American Univ. - Law) has posted A Framework for Assessing Global Economic Governance (Boston College International & Comparative Law Review, Vol. 36, p. 971, 2013). Here's the abstract:

Increased globalization over the last twenty years has made effective global economic governance more important than ever. This period has witnessed the rise of a number of new international governance actors, such as the Group of Twenty and the Financial Stability Board. This Article proposes a five-part test to evaluate how the existing global governance actors serve the interests of all stakeholders in the global economy. The test is based on four fundamental indicators of good global governance. The Article uses the five-part test to evaluate the G20’s performance at the G20 Summit at Los Cabos, Mexico. Finally, this Article concludes that the G20 is not fully satisfying any of the five parts of the test, and therefore fails to reach its full potential as a global economic governance actor.

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 46, no. 3, May 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Laurie R. Blank & Geoffrey S. Corn, Losing the Forest for the Trees: Syria, Law, and the Pragmatics of Conflict Recognition
• Ziv Bohrer & Mark Osiel, Proportionality in Military Force at War’s Multiple Levels: Averting Civilian Casualties vs. Safeguarding Soldiers
• Benjamin Shmueli, Civil Actions for Acts that Are Valid According to Religious Family Law but Harm Women’s Rights: Legal Pluralism in Cases of Collision Between Two Sets of Laws

New Issue: International Journal of Transitional Justice

The latest issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 7, no. 2, July 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Stiina Löytömäki, The Law and Collective Memory of Colonialism: France and the Case of ‘Belated’ Transitional Justice
• Stephen Winter, Towards a Unified Theory of Transitional Justice
• Paloma Aguilar, Judiciary Involvement in Authoritarian Repression and Transitional Justice: The Spanish Case in Comparative Perspective
• Ronen Steinberg, Transitional Justice in the Age of the French Revolution
• Danielle Celermajer, Mere Ritual? Displacing the Myth of Sincerity in Transitional Rituals
• Jo-Marie Burt, Gabriela Fried Amilivia, & Francesca Lessa, Civil Society and the Resurgent Struggle against Impunity in Uruguay (1986–2012)
• Jelena Obradović-Wochnik, The ‘Silent Dilemma’ of Transitional Justice: Silencing and Coming to Terms with the Past in Serbia
• Doris H. Gray & Terry Coonan, Notes from the Field: Silence Kills! Women and the Transitional Justice Process in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia

Articles on "The Impact of International Courts on Domestic Criminal Procedure in Mass Atrocity Cases"

The current issue of the Israel Law Review (Vol. 46, no. 2, July 2013) includes a cluster of articles from the research project on "The Impact of International Courts on Domestic Criminal Procedure in Mass Atrocity Cases." Contents include:

• Harmen van der Wilt, Domestic Courts' Contribution to the Development of International Criminal Law: Some Reflections
• Antonietta Trapani, Bringing National Courts in Line with International Norms: A Comparative Look at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Military Courts of the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Dunia P. Zongwe, Taking Leaves out of the International Criminal Court Statute: The Direct Application of International Criminal Law by Military Courts in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Rogier Bartels, Dealing with the Principle of Proportionality in Armed Conflict in Retrospect: The Application of the Principle in International Criminal Trials

d'Aspremont: The Law of International Responsibility and Multilayered Institutional Veils: The Case of Authorized Regional Peace-Enforcement Operations

Jean d'Aspremont (Univ. of Manchester - Law) has posted The Law of International Responsibility and Multilayered Institutional Veils: The Case of Authorized Regional Peace-Enforcement Operations (in Aux Confins du Ius ad Bellum et du Ius in Bello, K. Bannelier ed., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This short article sheds some light on the difficulties inherent in the application of international responsibility mechanisms to situations of authorized regional uses of force. It shows the extent to which the double institutional veil that characterizes these situations comes to frustrate the applicability of the specific provisions designed by the International Law Commission to address these situations. It argues that the way some of the articles on the responsibility of international organizations operate and their conditions of application create inconclusiveness which make the narratives accompanying these operations and how they are presented determinative of the functioning of the law of responsibility.

New Issue: Review of International Political Economy

The latest issue of the Review of International Political Economy (Vol. 20, no. 3, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Rawi Abdelal, The profits of power: Commerce and realpolitik in Eurasia
• Jeffrey M. Chwieroth & Timothy J. Sinclair, How you stand depends on how we see: International capital mobility as social fact
• W. Travis Selmier II & Chang Hoon Oh, The Power of Major Trade Languages in Trade and Foreign Direct Investment
• Mahrukh Doctor, Prospects for deepening Mercosur integration: Economic asymmetry and institutional deficits
• Ana Margheritis, Piecemeal regional integration in the post-neoliberal era: Negotiating migration policies within Mercosur
• Lauren M. Phillips, The politics of joint sovereign borrowing: The Venezuelan/Argentine Bono del Sur
• Rosaleen Duffy, The international political economy of tourism and the neoliberalisation of nature: Challenges posed by selling close interactions with animals

New Issue: Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé

The latest issue of the Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé (Vol. 90, no. 2, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• J. Degryse, La consolidation progressive du régime du climat
• L. Nyabeyeu Tchoukeu, Actualisation et universalisation du financement des opérations de maintien de la paix de l'organisation des Nations unies
• T. Ondo, Le contrôle de constitutionnalité des engagements internationaux par la Cour constitutionnelle du Gabon

Durrieu: Rethinking Money Laundering & Financing of Terrorism in International Law

Roberto Durrieu has published Rethinking Money Laundering & Financing of Terrorism in International Law (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2013). Here's the abstract:

In Rethinking Money Laundering & Financing of Terrorism in International Law: Towards a New Global Legal Order, Roberto Durrieu provides a broad and original analysis of the phenomenon of money laundering, through a thorough examination of the financing of terrorism. The necessity of excluding the financing of terrorism from the legal definition of money laundering is clearly illustrated through extensive, original and comparative research.

In addition, the book advocates the recognition of money laundering as an international crime strictu sensu that can be tried by a special international tribunal. The hidden, mutable, complex and global nature of the crime must be addressed multilaterally through a new, integrated and more effective global legal order which is consistent and compatible with civil guarantees and human rights principles.

Part I studies the main extra-legal and legal aspects of money laundering by analyzing the meaning, causes and effects of this phenomenon and their link with the financing of terrorism, with special attention to the interconnection between the so-called preventive/regulatory AML-CFT system and the punitive approach. Part II provides a global-comparative analysis to determine whether or not the adoption of money laundering offences is consistent with sound principles of criminal law and criminal procedure. Finally, Part III examines the jurisdictional problems with respect to extra-territorial and large-scale money laundering cases.

The book offers nuanced and thought-provoking answers to questions regarding the prohibition of money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the relationship between them, the current state of associated International Law, the need for future action, and the human rights consequences of these crimes.

Conference: III Encontro Luso-Espanhol de Professores de Direito Internacional Público e Relações Internacionais

On June 21-22, 2013, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and the Universidad de Sevilla will host the third Encontro Luso-Espanhol de Professores de Direito Internacional Público e Relações Internacionais, in Porto. The theme is "Jurisdições internacionais e evolução da ordem internacional." The program is here. Here's the idea:

Nos dias 21 e 22 de Junho de 2013, terá lugar no Porto (na Universidade Católica, campus Foz) o III Encontro Luso-Espanhol de Professores de Direito Internacional Público e Relações Internacionais. São co-organizadores a Universidade Católica Portuguesa e a Universidade de Sevilha, depois de, em 2011 e 2012, os I Encontro (Braga) e II Encontro (Santiago de Compostela) terem sido co-organizados pela Universidade do Minho e pela Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. O tema geral deste Encontro é Jurisdições internacionais e evolução da ordem internacional, desdobrado em três Sessões Temáticas. A primeira, “O Tribunal Internacional de Justiça. Novas perspectivas da Justiça internacional”. A segunda, “Tribunais penais e de protecção de direitos humanos”. E a terceira, “Outras jurisdições internacionais e arbitragem”. Intervêm neste III Encontro palestrantes oriundos de mais de dez Universidades portuguesas e espanholas. E estarão presentes, como participantes, professores de outras Universidades portuguesas e espanholas. Este facto, na sequência aliás do que já tinha sido o êxito assinalável dos I e II Encontros, confirma e consolida as relações e o diálogo científico entre Professores portugueses e espanhóis da área do Direito Internacional e das Relações Internacionais.

Cortés Martín: European Exceptionalism in International Law? The European Union and the System of International Responsibility

José Manuel Cortés Martín (Universidad Pablo de Olavide - Law) has posted European Exceptionalism in International Law? The European Union and the System of International Responsibility (in Responsibility of International Organizations Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, Maurizio Ragazzi ed., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Is a new custom emerging in favor of the existence of a special responsibility rule for regional economic integration organization (REIO) based on normative control? According to this special rule, the conduct of a State that executes acts under the normative control of a REIO could be considered an act of that organization under International law, taking account of the nature of the organization’s external competence and its international obligations in the field where the conduct occurred. The ILC final Report on the responsibility of IIOO seems do not take up this possibility. As a result, these articles do not contain any rule about ‘normative control’ in cases of cooperation between IIOO and states. This is due to contradictions among ECHR Case Law, WTO cases and ECJ Case Law. Whereas the trade-related 'jurisprudence' has accepted that Member States act as de facto organs of the EU, for which the Union would be responsible under WTO law and International law in general, the human-rights related jurisprudence kept on attributing action of the Member States implementing Union law to the latter. Similarly, the ECJ Kadi Case militates against a special rule on attribution. These disagreements seem to deny the emergence of a new custom, even in statu nascendi. However, article 64 ARIO deals with the lex specialis principle as a means for IIOO to “contract out” of a given general regime of international law on the basis of their autonomy. This raises the question if some REIO have evolved until considering that a special rule over normative control has emerged so that conduct of MMSS that execute the acts under the normative control of these organizations may be considered acts of that organization under International law. The ILC Commentary to Article 64 of the ARIO refers to the possible existence of a special rule with regard to attribution to the EU of conduct of Member States. However, while the applicability of general international law is not completely excluded, the extent to which the general rules of international law are displaced ultimately depends on the special rules in question. As a result, derogation from general international law is a partial matter or a matter of “extent”. All this raises the question if some REIO have evolved until considering that a special rule over normative control has emerged so that conduct of Member States that execute the law or acts under the normative control of these organizations may be considered acts of that organization under International law.