Call for Papers: Procedural Fairness in International Courts and Tribunals

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "Procedural Fairness in International Courts and Tribunals," to take place September 19-20, 2014, at the University of Surrey. Here's the call:

Procedural Fairness in International Courts and Tribunals

University of Surrey, Guildford

19-20 September 2014

The Surrey International Law Centre of the School of Law of the University of Surrey with the support of the Institute of Advanced Studies, the McCoubrey Centre of the University of Hull and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (‘BIICL’) will host a two-day workshop on the identification of core standards of procedural fairness before international courts and tribunals. A topical and timely subject for study, the question of procedural fairness entails the identification of fundamental principles inherent to the judicial and arbitral processes. Whilst the manifestation of such core standards of fairness will necessarily diverge according to the particular forum, the workshop aims to identify their essence with reference to the procedural issues arising in practice.

The aim of this workshop is to bring academics and practitioners together to initiate ground-breaking research into this novel topic. The workshop employs a comparative approach whereby participants will analyse the procedures and practices of various international courts and tribunals. It aims to identify patterns of commonality and divergence in the core standards of procedural fairness of international courts and to develop a holistic understanding of the nature of procedural fairness and the challenges to its realisation in the international judicial system.

Proposals are invited on topics relating to the aforementioned themes in addition to specific aspects of international judicial procedure. In addition, the workshop welcomes contributions on the theoretical question of the implications that fairness in international procedural law may have for general international law, such as its systemic traits, the ‘humanisation’ of international procedure and the responsibility of international courts and tribunals for failure to meet standards of fairness.

This call is directed to academics at all career stages who wish to bring fresh perspectives to the workshop with established scholars and practitioners. Senior scholars and practitioners who have committed to participate, subject to scheduling, include: Judge Paul Mahoney (European Court of Human Rights), Professor Philippe Sands QC (University College London and Matrix Chambers), Judge Sir Kenneth Keith (International Court of Justice), Judge Awn al-Khasawneh (former Judge, International Court of Justice), Dr Andraz Zidar (Dorset Senior Research Fellow, BIICL), Professor Sir David Edward QC (University of Edinburgh and Blackstone Chambers), Mr N. Jansen Calamita (University of Birmingham and Senior Research Fellow, BIICL), Ms Jill Barrett (Arthur Watts Senior Research Fellow, BIICL), Judge Joanna Korner QC (former prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), Dr John Sorabji (University College London), and Mr Phillip Weiner (former prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia).

Submissions: Interested parties should submit an abstract of maximum 500 words by the 1st of April 2014 here. The organising committee comprises: Dr Arman Sarvarian (University of Surrey), Professor Sir Michael Aaronson CBE (University of Surrey), Professor Makane Mbengue (University of Geneva), Mr Rudy Baker (University of Surrey), Dr Sabine Braun (University of Surrey), Dr Filippo Fontanelli (University of Surrey), and Dr Vassilis Tzevelekos (University of Hull). Speakers will be informed of acceptance by the 1st of May, 2014 and will be expected to submit a paper by the 1st of August, 2014. Participants will be expected to pay a fee and to cover their travel and accommodation, details of which will be announced in due course.