Symposium: Global Security and the Evolution of International Law

On February 23, the Virginia Journal of International Law will host its 2015 symposium. The topic is "Global Security and the Evolution of International Law." The program is here. Here's the idea:

This year the symposium will feature several panels addressing modern international security concerns with significant, potentially unforeseen, effects on diverse fields of international law. The Symposium's panel concerning international business will consider how political instability, security conflicts, and changing borders may affect private investment rights, particularly with respect to natural resource production. Panelists will discuss how concerns about conflict and instability affect the opportunity for foreign private investors to conduct business and engage in trade in many areas of the world—such as Crimea, Iraq, and Palestine. In addition, the panel on international intervention will examine the legal issues presented by states’ and multistate organizations’ intervention in other states and attempt to answer questions such as when is it lawful to provide assistance to a certain state, or groups within a state, and when should self-determination and sovereignty be weighed against the imminent need to ameliorate instability within and between states. The Symposium's final panel of the afternoon will focus on cybersecurity and efforts currently underway in the United Nations and elsewhere to build consensus on international norms for state behavior in cyber space. Companion efforts in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the ASEAN Regional Forum to develop regional cyber confidence measures also will be a focus of the panel.