Friday, October 3, 2014

Call for Papers: The Judicialization of International Relations

The journal International Organization and the IO/IL working group of the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies at Northwestern University have issued a call for papers for a workshop on "The Judicialization of International Relations" to take place June 12-13, 2015. Here's the call:

The Judicialization of International Relations 2015 Workshop

A Workshop Sponsored by International Organization and the IO/IL working group of the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University

Karen J. Alter and Erik Voeten Co-Conveners

Application deadline: December 1, 2014 sent to judicializationconference@gmail.com

Workshop date: June 12-13, 2015

The end of the Cold War introduced a new era of international adjudication marked by the proliferation of international courts, an increased use of permanent and ad hoc international adjudicatory mechanisms, a widening of the issue areas that fall under the jurisdiction of adjudicatory bodies, and a rise in the domestic judicial enforcement of international laws, agreements, and court judgments. This workshop examines if and how the increased involvement of domestic and international judicial actors is transforming international relations; a process often referred to as the judicialization of politics.

Our common starting point is the judicialization in international relations via the introduction of a new set of institutions and actors with the authority to interpret and issue binding rulings involving international law. We define adjudicatory bodies broadly to include any institution, domestic or international, so long as it is composed of quasi-independent adjudicators that have the formal authority to issue binding legal determinations. This definition includes arbitral tribunals, ad hoc courts and domestic courts. Judicialization generates the possibility that decision-makers will begin to make decisions in the shadow of potential domestic and/or international judicial review.

The workshop will bring together scholars working on issues such as regional integration, terrorism, investment, trade, human rights, war crimes, law of the sea, the environment and other issue areas where adjudication is increasingly shaping international relations. We invite proposals for papers that make theoretical and/or empirical contributions towards understanding what, if any, effect this increased judicial application of international law has on international politics. Although we will consider papers that examine the causes and varied design of judicialized institutions, our primary interest is in the effects of judicialization in international relations. We especially welcome papers that address the following sets of issues (although we are open to others):

  • Studies that examine whether states, international institutions, firms or other nonstate actors act differently in the shadow of adjudication
  • Studies comparing politics in non-judicialized to judicialized contexts
  • Studies of the impact of judicialization across countries, regions or issue areas
  • Studies that analyze whether and when adjudicators are becoming consequential creators of international law
  • Examinations of the potential counter-responses to the increased authority of judicial institutions. For example, how and when do state actors successfully seek to influence adjudicators or otherwise reduce their jurisdiction or authority?
  • Analyses of whether international law differentially influences states depending on how much authority domestic judicial bodies have to utilize international law.
  • Inquiries into the larger theoretical implications of the emergence of these judicial actors.
  • Studies that provide generalizable insight into the practices, processes, politics and decision-making of adjudicatory bodies that have an international or transnational jurisdiction.

Application and Workshop Logistics

The ultimate goal of this workshop is to improve scholarly papers that might some day be published in International Organization. Interested participants should submit a paper proposal of no more than 500 words, and the name, institutional affiliation and contact information of the author(s) to judicializationconference@gmail.com. Selected participants will be notified by January 10 and invited to attend a two-day workshop to be held at Northwestern University June 12-13, 2015, where IO editors and participants will discuss each paper.

A paper of no more than 14,000 words is required in advance of the workshop, and all participants will be asked to write a review that provides feedback on at least one workshop paper. Travel expenses, economy class, and lodging for at least one author will be reimbursed by International Organization.

Questions can be addressed to Erik Voeten (ev42@georgetown.edu) and Karen Alter (kalter@northwestern.edu)

Bartels: Jurisdiction and Applicable Law in the WTO

Lorand Bartels (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) has posted Jurisdiction and Applicable Law in the WTO. Here's the abstract:
This paper considers the law applicable by WTO panels and the Appellate Body in dispute settlement proceedings. It looks at several discrete legal questions in which the question of the applicable law arises: questions concerning the proper establishment of a panel; questions concerning preconditions to the exercise of jurisdiction by a panel; questions concerning the application and (which is different) the applicability of rules of law to the facts of a matter. In each case the paper considers the law at issue, the law applicable to questions about that law, and the competence of WTO panels and the Appellate Body and (where relevant) the Dispute Settlement Body, to apply that law in answering these questions.

Boon: Are Control Tests Fit for the Future? The Slippage Problem in Attribution Doctrines

Kristen Boon (Seton Hall Univ. - Law) has posted Are Control Tests Fit for the Future? The Slippage Problem in Attribution Doctrines (Melbourne Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

When do subjects of international law bear responsibility for the acts of others? It is often a question of control. Control is an essential element of the doctrine of attribution, defining the legal relationship between states, international organizations (IOs), and individuals. Control is also a factor in determining what is properly within a state or IO’s purview, legally demarcating the public and private spheres. Yet while control tests are intended to operate according to objective standards, they have important normative dimensions because they can determine the outer bounds of state action, define the allocation of responsibility between states and IOs, and have feedback effects for state sovereignty.

This article argues that control tests under prevailing doctrines of attribution present a slippage problem. Slippage is occurring because the essence of the state, as a primary subject of international law, is changing. In response, various techniques have emerged to adapt control thresholds, locating responsibility within omissions, the duty to prevent or acting with due diligence, and articulating principles of shared responsibility. This development demonstrates great movement within attribution doctrines and the potential scope of state and IO responsibility. One consequence of this movement is that it may foretell the eclipse of general, secondary rules of attribution. Another consequence of this dynamism is the perception that the effective control test is an objective, portable, general concept of law is increasingly suspect.

McCrudden and Roth on Hopgood, Keys, and Moyn

Christopher McCrudden (Queen's Univ. Belfast) has posted Human Rights Histories (Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, forthcoming) and Kenneth Roth (Human Rights Watch) has published The End of Human Rights? (New York Review of Books, Oct. 23, 2104, pp. 72-74). McCrudden's paper reviews Samuel Moyn's The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History and Roth's reviews Stephen Hopgood's The Endtimes of Human Rights and Barbara J. Keys's Reclaiming American Virtue: The Human Rights Revolution of the 1970s.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 74, no. 3, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Gemeinsam arbeiten für Europa - Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Europarat, Europäischer Union und Mitgliedstaaten - Juristische Fachtagung an der Diplomatischen Akademie Wien, 15. November 2013
    • Dominik Haider, Ronald Faber & Matthias Traimer, Gemeinsam arbeiten für Europa - Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Europarat, Europäischer Union und Mitgliedstaaten - Juristische Fachtagung an der Diplomatischen Akademie Wien, 15. November 2013
    • Christoph Grabenwarter, Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen des Verhältnisses zwischen EU und Europarat aus der Perspektive des Europarates und die Rolle der Mitgliedstaaten
    • Bruno de Witte, The European Union's Place among the International Cooperation Venues of its Member States
    • Astrid Epiney, Außenbeziehungen von EU und Mitgliedstaaten: Kompetenzverteilung, Zusammenwirken und wechselseitige Pflichten am Beispiel des Datenschutzes
    • Udo Fink, Medienregulierung im Europarat
    • Christa Tobler, Equality and Non-Discrimination under the ECHR and EU Law - A Comparison Focusing on Discrimination against LGBTI Persons
    • Susanne Reindl-Krauskopf, Cyber-Kriminalität
  • Rainer Grote, Grundlagen, Hauptprobleme und Perspektiven des islamischen Verfassungsrechts – Eine Zwischenbilanz im Lichte des ”Arabischen Frühlings”
  • Mattias Wendel, Kompetenzrechtliche Grenzgänge: Karlsruhes Ultra-vires-Vorlage an den EuGH

New Issue: Air & Space Law

The latest issue of Air & Space Law (Vol. 39, nos. 4-5, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Stefan A. Kaiser, Legal Considerations about the Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370
  • Ruwantissa Abeyratne, Protocol to the Tokyo Convention of 1963: A Legal Triumph or Damp Squib?
  • Joachim J. Janezic & Sigmar Stadlmeier, Air Transport Services, Non-discrimination and the ‘General Rules’ of the EU Treaties
  • Jeremy Straub, Joe Vacek, & John Nordlie, Considering Regulation of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems in the United States

New Issue: Journal of International Arbitration

The latest issue of the Journal of International Arbitration (Vol. 31, no. 5, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Masood Ahmed, Loosening the Grip of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 on Arbitration Agreements
  • Miloš Novovic, Loose Lips Sink Ships: Mandatory Confidential Arbitration of Employment Disputes as a Reputational Risk Management Tool
  • Nadia Darwazeh & Simon Greenberg, No One’s Credit Is As Good As Cash: Awards and Orders for the Payment of the ICC Advance on Costs
  • Manu Thadikkaran, Enforcement of Annulled Arbitral Awards: What Is and What Ought to Be?
  • Samarth Sagar, ‘Waiver of Sovereign Immunity’ Clauses in Contracts
  • Teresa Cheng & Joe Liu, Enforcement of Foreign Awards in Mainland China: Current Practices and Future Trends
  • Corinne Nguyen & Anh Duong Vu, Arbitration in Vietnam

Benedek et al.: Bestand und Wandel des Völkerrechts

Wolfgang Benedek, Hans-Peter Folz, Hubert Isak, Matthias C. Kettemann, & Renate Kicker have published Bestand und Wandel des Völkerrechts: Beiträge zum 38. Österreichischen Völkerrechtstag 2013 in Stadtschlaining (Peter Lang 2014). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
Dieser Sammelband enthält die Beiträge des 38. Österreichischen Völkerrechtstags 2013 in Stadtschlaining, der dem Thema Bestand und Wandel des Völkerrechts gewidmet war. Der Fokus des ersten Teils liegt auf aktuellen Fragen von Frieden und Sicherheit in den internationalen Beziehungen. Der zweite Teil des Bandes zeigt die vielfältigen Herausforderungen aktueller Völkerrechtspraxis auf. Erfahrungsberichte beleuchten die Tätigkeit der Völkerrechtsbüros der Außenministerien Österreichs, Deutschlands und der Schweiz. Im dritten Teil werden herausragende Ergebnisse aktueller völkerrechtlicher Forschung vorgestellt, von der Vertragstreue bis zum Verhältnis von staatlicher und völkerrechtlicher bzw. staatlicher und europarechtlicher Rechtsordnung. Im abschließenden vierten Teil berichten Vertreterinnen und Vertreter österreichischer Universitäten über die Lehre des Völkerrechts und seine Didaktik.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Posner: The Twilight of Human Rights Law

Eric A. Posner (Univ. of Chicago - Law) has published The Twilight of Human Rights Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2014). Here's the abstract:

Countries solemnly intone their commitment to human rights, and they ratify endless international treaties and conventions designed to signal that commitment. At the same time, there has been no marked decrease in human rights violations, even as the language of human rights has become the dominant mode of international moral criticism. Well-known violators like Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan have sat on the U.N. Council on Human Rights. But it's not just the usual suspects that flagrantly disregard the treaties. Brazil pursues extrajudicial killings. South Africa employs violence against protestors. India tolerate child labor and slavery. The United States tortures.

In The Twilight of Human Rights Law--the newest addition to Oxford's highly acclaimed Inalienable Rights series edited by Geoffrey Stone--the eminent legal scholar Eric A. Posner argues that purposefully unenforceable human rights treaties are at the heart of the world's failure to address human rights violations. Because countries fundamentally disagree about what the public good requires and how governments should allocate limited resources in order to advance it, they have established a regime that gives them maximum flexibility--paradoxically characterized by a huge number of vague human rights that encompass nearly all human activity, along with weak enforcement machinery that churns out new rights but cannot enforce any of them. Posner looks to the foreign aid model instead, contending that we should judge compliance by comprehensive, concrete metrics like poverty reduction, instead of relying on ambiguous, weak, and easily manipulated checklists of specific rights.

Conference: Fall Meeting of the ABA Section of International Law

The 2014 Fall Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law will take place October 21-25 in Buenos Aires. The meeting's schedule is available here.

Conference: Canadian Council on International Law 2014 Annual Conference

The 43rd Annual Conference of the Canadian Council on International Law will take place November 13-15, 2014, in Ottawa. The theme is "Combustion: Energy, Resources and Environmental Issues Igniting International Law." The preliminary program is here. Here's the idea:

At a time when environmental degradation and the supply of energy are of increasing global concern, international law provides an opportunity for rules-based multilateralism. What is the role of international law in the promotion of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility? Is international law an influential tool to address climate change? What lessons can be gleaned from twenty years of arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement and Energy Charter Treaty?

The 2014 Annual Conference will explore the role of international law in global energy transactions, resource extraction and environmental issues. In particular, it will foster discussion of the international economic, humanitarian, and human rights facets of this theme. Topics will include but are not limited to the arbitration of mining and energy disputes, the role of the private sector in sustainable development, civil and criminal liability in the extractive industries, and the illegal wildlife trade. Confirmed speakers include representatives from the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, various UN agencies, and leading global law firms.

Nasu & McLaughlin: New Technologies and the Law of Armed Conflict

Hitoshi Nasu (Australian National Univ. - Law) & Robert McLaughlin (Australian National Univ. - Law) have published New Technologies and the Law of Armed Conflict (Asser Press 2014). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
Modern technological development has been both rapid and fundamentally transformative of the means and methods of warfare, and of the broader environment in which warfare is conducted. In many cases, technological development has been stimulated by, and dedicated to, addressing military requirements. On other occasions, technological developments outside the military sphere affect or inform the conduct of warfare and military expectations. The introduction of new technologies such as information technology, space technologies, nanotechnology and robotic technologies into our civil life, and into warfare, is expected to influence the application and interpretation of the existing rules of the law of armed conflict. In this book, scholars and practitioners working in the fields critically examine the potential legal challenges arising from the use of new technologies and future directions of legal development in light of the specific characteristics and challenges each technology presents with regard to foreseeable humanitarian impacts upon the battlespace.

Edwards & van Waas: Nationality and Statelessness under International Law

Alice Edwards (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) & Laura van Waas (Universiteit van Tilburg - Law) have published Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2014). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
Written by leading experts, Nationality and Statelessness under International Law introduces the study and practice of 'international statelessness law' and explains the complex relationship between the international law on nationality and the phenomenon of statelessness. It also identifies the rights of stateless people, outlines the major legal obstacles preventing the eradication of statelessness and charts a course for this new and rapidly changing field of study.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Wang: International Investment Law: A Chinese Perspective

Guiguo Wang (City Univ. of Hong Kong - Law) has published International Investment Law: A Chinese Perspective (Routledge 2014). Here's the abstract:

Increasing and intensified cross-border economic exchange such as trade and investment is an important feature of globalization. In the past, a distinction could be made between capital importing and exporting countries, or host and home countries for foreign direct investment (FDI). Due to globalization, FDI is presently made by and in both developed and developing countries. Differences in political, economic and legal systems and culture are no longer obstacles for FDI, and to varying degrees the economic development of almost all countries is closely linked with the inflow of FDI.

This book conducts critical assessments of aspects of current international law on FDI, focusing on cases decided by the tribunals of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and other tribunals as well as decisions of annulment ad hoc committees of the ICSID. In examining such cases, Guiguo Wang takes into account the Chinese culture and China’s practice in the related areas. The book explores topics including: the development and trend of international investment law; unilateral, bilateral and multilateral mechanisms for encouraging and protecting FDIs; determination of qualified investors and investments and consent as conditions for protection; relative and absolute standards of treatment; determination of expropriation in practice; assessment of compensation for expropriation; difficulties in enforcing investment arbitral awards; and alternatives for improving the existing system.

New Issue: Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé

The latest issue of the Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé (Vol. 91, no. 3, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • V. Zeno-zencovich & M.C. Paglietti, Le droit processuel des consommateurs
  • M. Bali, Les droits fondamentaux dans la Constitution tunisienne
  • I. Fassassi, Le procureur de la Cour pénale internationale et le jeu d'échecs

Free Online Course on the Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations

On October 13, 2014, the University of Glasgow will launch a "massive open online course" (MOOC) entitled "Paris 1919 – A New World Order?" The course – produced by Christian J. Tams in collaboration with the BBC and FutureLearn – consists of a series of short videos, articles, and online discussions. It introduces participants to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and to the League of Nations (created at Paris). It engages with the Conference's attempts to create a "new world order" and inquires into what remains of that vision today. The course is free of charge and runs for three weeks. For a short trailer video and information on how to subscribe, please visit the course website. Christian has asked that I point out that the course is directed at a general audience, so readers of this blog may be overqualified. Nonetheless, I would suggest that readers may still be interested or they may wish to forward the course announcement to those who they think might have an interest.

Rogers: Ethics in International Arbitration

Catherine Rogers (Penn State Univ. - Law) has published Ethics in International Arbitration (Oxford Univ. Press 2014). Here's the abstract:

International arbitration is a remarkably resilient institution, but many unresolved and largely unacknowledged ethical quandaries lurk below the surface. Globalisation of commercial trade has increased the number and diversity of parties, counsel, experts and arbitrators, which has in turn lead to more frequent ethical conflicts just as procedures have become more formal and transparent. The predictable result is that ethical transgressions are increasingly evident and less tolerable. Despite these developments, regulation of various actors in the systemarbitrators, lawyers, experts, third-party funders and arbitral institutionsremains ambiguous and often ineffectual.

Ethics in International Arbitration systematically analyses the causes and effects of these developments as they relate to the professional conduct of arbitrators, counsel, experts, and third-party funders in international commercial and investment arbitration. This work proposes a model for effective ethical self-regulation, meaning regulation of professional conduct at an international level and within existing arbitral procedures and structures. The work draws on historical developments and current trends to propose analytical frameworks for addressing existing problems and reifying the legitimacy of international arbitration into the future.

Call for Papers: The European Union and the Arctic

The School of Law of the University of Dundee and the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea at the University of Tromsø have issued a call for papers for a conference on "The European Union and the Arctic," to be held May 29-30, 2015, in Dundee. Here's the call:

The European Union and the Arctic

29-30 May 2015, Dundee, Scotland

Call for Papers

The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø, Norway are pleased to announce the call for papers for “The European Union and the Arctic” (2015 EU-Arctic Conference).

Background

The EU is inextricably linked to the Arctic region by a unique combination of history, geography, economics and scientific achievements (COM (2008) 763 final). Three Arctic countries are EU Member States (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and the EU maintains close relations with Iceland and Norway through the European Economic Area. Canada, Russia and the United States are also strategic partners of the EU. The European Commission has set out the EU’s interests in the Arctic and has proposed action around three main policy objectives: 1) Protecting and preserving the Arctic in unison with its population; 2) Promoting sustainable use of resources; 3) Contributing to enhanced Arctic multilateral governance (COM (2008) 763 final). However, the best way to ensure that the EU’s interests are protected and that the policies it pursues are adopted has not been mapped out. While the EU is willing to pursue its involvement within the relevant international framework (e.g., the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Convention on Biological Diversity) on Arctic issues such as climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem-based management, persistent organic pollutants, marine protected areas, energy, fisheries, tourism, international navigation and indigenous people (JOIN (2012) 19 final), choices must be made as to which policy avenue to pursue. How these choices are to be made and which avenues are the best to pursue its policy objectives are some of the many questions which have yet to be fully addressed by scholars.

Call for abstracts

This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU’s action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference. This conference is timely as the Council of the European Union recently (Council conclusions on developing a European Union Policy towards the Arctic Region, 24 May 2014) requested the European Commission and the High Representative to present proposals for the further development of an integrated and coherent Arctic Policy by December 2015.

Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be emailed to Dr. Nengye Liu (n.x.liu@dundee.ac.uk) by 15 January 2015. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed. Selected speakers will be notified by 31 January 2015. It is anticipated that an edited book of papers from the conference will be published in 2016.

Confirmed Speakers

A number of speakers have confirmed their availability to speak at the 2015 EU-Arctic Conference. Ms. Diana Wallis, former Vice President of the European Parliament, will deliver the keynote speech. Other confirmed speakers include:

Tom Barry, Executive Secretary, Working Group Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council

Prof. Timo Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland

Marten Koopmans, EU/European Maritime Safety Agency Representative to the International Maritime Organization

Prof. Frithjof Kuepper, Chair in Marine Biodiversity, University of Aberdeen, UK

Prof. Suzanne Lalonde, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, Canada

Daniel Simons, Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International

Dundee and the Arctic

Dundee, the fourth largest city in Scotland, is promoted as 'One City, Many Discoveries' in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery (Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed in the city harbour). The Discovery is part of Dundee’s history as the British whaling capital from about 1753 to 1914. Dundee whaling captains contributed significantly to surveying of remote regions in the Arctic and Antarctic. Another great Polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton, also chose Dundee built ships the ‘Nimrod’ and the ‘Aurora’ for his expeditions to the Antarctic. Conference participants will have the opportunity to visit the city's main museum and art gallery, McManus Galleries, for free to further discover Dundee’s strong link with the Arctic.

Travel arrangements

Dundee is very easy to reach by bus, train and flight from Edinburgh, Glasgow or London. Generously sponsored by the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (Call FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF Proposal No 328806, Acronym: EuroArcticLab project) of the European Union and K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, this event is free of charge for speakers. The conference will provide coffee, refreshments and lunch. The conference also plans to hold a reception on the main deck of the RSS Discovey. However, it is expected that selected speakers will cover their own travel and accommodation costs. Participants shall register with Ms. Vikki Watson (v.a.watson@dundee.ac.uk) by 1 May 2015. Further details will be emailed in January 2015.

Steering Committee

Nengye Liu, Marie Curie Fellow, School of Law, University of Dundee

Elizabeth Kirk, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Dundee

Robin Churchill, Professor of International Law, School of Law, University of Dundee

Tore Henriksen, Professor, Director of K.G.Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø

Monday, September 29, 2014

New Volume: Yearbook of Private International Law

The latest volume of the Yearbook of Private International Law (Vol. 15, 2013/2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Doctrine
    • Paul Lagarde, The Movement of Civil-Status Records in Europe, and the European Commission’s Proposal of 24 April 2013
    • Christian Kohler, Towards the Recognition of Civil Status in the European Union
    • Working Group of the Federal Association of German Civil Status Registrars, One Name Throughout Europe – Draft for a European Regulation on the Law Applicable to Names
    • Patrick Kinsch, Harroudj v. France: Indications from the European Court of Human Rights on the Nature of Choice of Law Rules and on Their Potentially Discriminatory Effect
    • Jan L. Neels, The Nature, Objective and Purposes of the Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Contracts
    • Benedetta Ubertazzi, Private International Law before the International Court of Justice
  • The Brussels I-bis Regulation and Future Perspectives
    • Fabrizio Marongiu Buonaiuti, Lis alibi pendens and Related Actions in the Relationships with the Courts of Third Countries in the Recast of the Brussels I Regulation
    • Ilaria Queirolo, Choice of Court Agreements in the New Brussels I-bis Regulation: A Critical Appraisal
    • Dorothee Schramm, Enforcement and the Abolition of Exequatur under the 2012 Brussels I Regulation
    • Francesco Seatzu, A Plea for Civil Remedy: The Municipal Implementation of Fundamental Rights Provisions in the Framework of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012
    • Luigi Mari & Ilaria Pretelli, Possibility and Terms for Applying the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) to Extra-EU Disputes – Excerpta of the Study PE 493.024 by the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law
  • Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions in Non-EU Jurisdictions
    • Sirko Harder, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Australia
    • Gérald Goldstein, The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions in Québec
    • Geneviève Saumier, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in the Canadian Common Law Provinces
    • Wenliang Zhang, Recognition of Foreign Judgments in China: The Essentials and Strategies
    • Song Lu & Kun Fan, The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Hong Kong
    • Richard Frimpong Oppong, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Commonwealth African Countries
    • Karim El Chazli, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions in Egypt
    • Yasuhiro Okuda, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Japan
    • Kwang Hyun Suk, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in the Republic of Korea
    • Anna Grishchenkova, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Russia – Recent Trends
    • Tiong Min Yeo, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Singapore
    • Paul Bäder & Thalia Kruger, The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in South Africa
    • Ceyda Süral & Zeynep Derya Tarman, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Court Decisions in Turkey

New Issue: Review of International Political Economy

The latest issue of the Review of International Political Economy (Vol. 21, no. 5, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • RIPE Focus on the International Currency System
    • Jonathan Kirshner, Same as it ever was? Continuity and change in the international monetary system
    • Benjamin J. Cohen & Tabitha M. Benney, What does the international currency system really look like?
    • Carla Norrlof, Dollar hegemony: A power analysis
    • Doug Stokes, Achilles’ deal: Dollar decline and US grand strategy after the crisis
    • Randall Germain & Herman Schwartz, The political economy of failure: The euro as an international currency

Call for Nominations: ASIL Book Awards (Reminder)

The American Society of International Law has announced that it is accepting nominations for its annual book awards. (I noted the winners of the 2012 awards here; the 2013 awards here; and the 2014 awards here.) Here's the announcement:

The Society annually bestows three book awards, known as ASIL Certificates of Merit, for a “preeminent contribution to creative scholarship;” “a specialized area of international law;” and “high technical craftsmanship and utility to practicing lawyers and scholars.” The awardees are selected by the Society's Executive Council on the nomination of the Scholarship Awards Committee and presented at the Society’s Annual Meeting.

The Scholarship Awards Committee is now accepting applications for the 2015 Certificates of Merit. Books of any nationality, language, or place of publication that have been published in the 24 months preceding February 1, 2015 are eligible. In order to apply, please send six copies of each book you wish to nominate, along with a list of titles being nominated, to the following address by October 1, 2014:

Lara Townzen

American Society of International Law

2223 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20008

United States

Nollkaemper: Grounds for the Application of International Rules of Interpretation in National Courts

Andre Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Grounds for the Application of International Rules of Interpretation in National Courts (in Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts, Helmut Philip Aust & Georg Nolte eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:
Interpretative practices between legal systems and domestic courts vary widely. This inevitably will affect the interpretation of rules of international law by domestic courts. The question is whether there are good grounds for national courts to limit divergence of interpretations, by relying on international principles of interpretation. This paper explores three possible grounds on the basis of which domestic courts can resort to an application of international rules of interpretation: the effective performance of treaty obligations, the international quality of domesticated norms, and the external authority of decisions of domestic courts. The paper argues that, depending on the context, each of these grounds may offer a justification for relying on international rules of interpretation, but that competing considerations may pull in diverging directions, and that the international rules of treaty interpretation do not necessarily preclude this.

ESIL Interest Group on the History of International Law

At the European Society of International Law tenth anniversary conference earlier this month, the Society announced the creation of a new interest group on the history of international law. The interest group's website is here. Those interested in becoming members should contact Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral and Randall Lesaffer.

New Issue: Global Policy

The latest issue of Global Policy (Vol. 5, no. 3, September 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Research Articles
    • Justin Gest, Anna Boucher, Suzanna Challen, Brian Burgoon, Eiko Thielemann, Michel Beine, Patrick McGovern, Mary Crock, Hillel Rapoport & Michael Hiscox, Measuring and Comparing Immigration, Asylum and Naturalization Policies Across Countries: Challenges and Solutions
    • Swenja Surminski & Andrew Williamson, Policy Indexes as Tools for Decision Makers: The Case of Climate Policy
    • Nives Dolšak & Kristen Houston, Newspaper Coverage and Climate Change Legislative Activity across US States
    • Mikko Huotari & Thilo Hanemann, Emerging Powers and Change in the Global Financial Order
    • Li Sheng, Income Inequality, Financial Systems, and Global Imbalances: A Theoretical Consideration
    • Richard Eccleston & Felicity Gray, Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act and American Leadership in the Campaign against International Tax Evasion: Revolution or False Dawn?
    • Ronen Palan & Duncan Wigan, Herding Cats and Taming Tax Havens: The US Strategy of ‘Not In My Backyard’
  • Special Section - Development Banks of the Developing World
    • Kathryn Hochstetler, Development Banks of the Developing World: Nature, Origins and Consequences
    • Deborah Bräutigam & Kevin P. Gallagher, Bartering Globalization: China's Commodity-backed Finance in Africa and Latin America
    • Mzukisi Qobo & Dimpho Motsamai, Developmental State Construction and Strategic Regionalism: The Continental Reach of South Africa's Development Finance Institutions
    • Kathryn Hochstetler, The Brazilian National Development Bank goes International: Innovations and Limitations of BNDES' Internationalization
    • Gregory T. Chin, The BRICS-led Development Bank: Purpose and Politics beyond the G20
  • Practitioner Commentaries
    • William Attwell, The Rise of Cities as Global Actors: What Consequences for Policy?
    • John O. Kakonge, Tackling the Challenges of Postcrisis Reconstruction in Africa: Lessons from the Field
    • Suresh Nanwani, Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in International Financial Organizations: Experiences and Collaborations in Broadening the Informal Process
  • Response to Article
    • Göran Collste, Colonialism, Epistemic Injustice and Global Justice

Symposium: Protection of Persons Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence

On October 20, 2014, the University of Luxembourg will host a symposium, jointly organised with the UNHCR, on "Protection of Persons Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence." The program is here. Here's the idea:
The event will consider the issue of assessing claims for international protection for persons fleeing armed conflict or other situations of violence: using Article 2A of the 1951 Geneva Convention or Article 15 of the EU Qualification Directive? Particular attention will be paid to the new UNHCR guidelines on the subject.

New Issue: International Peacekeeping

The latest issue of International Peacekeeping (Vol. 21, no. 4, 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Sandra Pogodda & Daniela Huber, India's Peacebuilding between Rights and Needs: Transformation of Local Conflict Spheres in Bihar, North-East India and Jammu and Kashmir?
  • Patrick Müller, Informal Security Governance and the Middle East Quartet: Survival of the Unfittest?
  • Forum Section: Future Directions for Peacekeeping Research
    • Paul F. Diehl, Future Directions for Peacekeeping Research: A Series of Commentaries
    • Paul F. Diehl, Behavioural Studies of Peacekeeping Outcomes
    • Séverine Autesserre, Going Micro: Emerging and Future Peacekeeping Research
    • Roland Paris, The Geopolitics of Peace Operations: A Research Agenda
    • Oliver P. Richmond, Peace During and After the Age of Intervention
    • Louise Olsson & Theodora-Ismene Gizelis, Advancing Gender and Peacekeeping Research
    • Rex Brynen, Teaching about Peace Operations

Sunday, September 28, 2014

New Issue: ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal

The latest issue of the ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal (Vol. 29, no. 3, Fall 2014) is out. Contents include:
  • Energy Charter Treaty 20 Year Anniversary
    • Graham Coop, 20 Years of the Energy Charter Treaty
    • Anatole Boute, The Protection of Russian Investments in the EU Energy Market: A Case in Support of Russia’s Ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty
  • Case Comments
    • Philippe Pinsolle, ABCI Investments Limited v Republic of Tunisia: How Explicit Must Be the Investor’s Consent to Arbitration?
    • Esmé Shirlow, Les Laboratoires Servier, SAA, and others v Republic of Poland: Defining the Nature of the Police Powers ‘Defence’ and the Deference Applicable in Regulatory Expropriation Cases
  • Articles
    • Inès El Hayek & Anne Gilles, The Multifaceted Settlement of International Investments Disputes: Thoughts about the Variety of Instruments Claiming Their Applicability to the Investment Dispute
    • Esmé Shirlow, Deference and Indirect Expropriation Analysis in International Investment Law: Observations on Current Approaches and Frameworks for Future Analysis
    • Utku Topcan, Abuse of the Right to Access ICSID Arbitration
    • Inna Uchkunova & Oleg Temnikov, A Procrustean Bed: Pre- and Post-award Interest in ICSID Arbitration
  • Notes
    • Veijo Heiskanen, Comment on Andrea Marco Steingruber’s Remarks on Veijo Heiskanen’s Note ‘Ménage à Trois? Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Competence in Investment Treaty Arbitration’
    • Andrea Marco Steingruber, Some remarks on Veijo Heiskanen’s Note: ‘Ménage à trois? Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Competence in Investment Treaty Arbitration’
    • S.I. Strong, Contractual Waivers of Investment Arbitration: Wa(i)ve of the Future?