New Issue: Journal of Conflict Resolution

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution (Vol. 59, no. 3, April 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Esther Hauk & Hannes Mueller, Cultural Leaders and the Clash of Civilizations
• Victor Asal, Paul Gill, R. Karl Rethemeyer, & John Horgan, Killing Range: Explaining Lethality Variance within a Terrorist Organization
• Jacqueline H. R. DeMeritt, Delegating Death: Military Intervention and Government Killing
• Bridget L. Coggins, Does State Failure Cause Terrorism? An Empirical Analysis (1999–2008)
• T. Camber Warren & Kevin K. Troy, Explaining Violent Intra-Ethnic Conflict: Group Fragmentation in the Shadow of State Power
• Andrew W. Bausch, The Geography of Ethnocentrism
• David A. Jaeger, Esteban F. Klor, Sami H. Miaari, & M. Daniele Paserman, Can Militants Use Violence to Win Public Support? Evidence from the Second Intifada

Vianès: Entre Guerre et Paix : Les administrations internationales Post-Belligérantes

Emmanuel Vianès has published Entre Guerre et Paix : Les administrations internationales Post-Belligérantes (Helbing & Lichtenhahn 2015). Here's the abstract:

Il est question dans cette étude d’identifier la notion d’administration internationale post-belligérante, hautement spécifique au sein des administrations de territoire en relations internationales, au côté des opérations de paix. Dans des situations exceptionnelles, lors de périodes transitoires, qui oscillent entre la guerre et la paix, une Autorité internationale est instaurée pour remédier à des différends territoriaux et/ou à des problèmes de gouvernance. Cette réflexion s’inscrit dans la naissance de la science administrative internationale, démarche initiée dès la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale. Aujourd’hui, cette analyse est particulièrement actuelle alors que les enjeux en matière de souveraineté, de gouvernance et de jus post bellum (droit d’après conflit) sont confrontés aux principes révélés par le droit souple issu des institutions internationales au coeur de la société internationale.

Diakité: La justice pénale internationale en Afrique

Kémoko Diakité has published La justice pénale internationale en Afrique : Aspects juridiques, défis et perspectives (L'Harmattan 2015). Here's the abstract:

Cet ouvrage met surtout en exergue le contexte de création ainsi que les aspects juridiques et judiciaires des juridictions pénales internationales en Afrique, notamment le Tribunal pénal International pour le Rwanda (TPIR) le Tribunal spécial pour la Sierra Leone (TSSL), la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) et les Chambres africaines extraordinaires au sein des juridictions sénégalaises pour juger Hissène Habré (CAEHH). Il montre également les défis ainsi que les perspectives de la Justice pénale internationale en Afrique.

New Issue: Climate Law

The latest issue of Climate Law (Vol. 4, nos. 3-4, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Christoph Schwarte & Will Frank, The International Law Association’s Legal Principles on Climate Change and Climate Liability Under Public International Law
• Alexander Zahar, Mediated versus Cumulative Environmental Damage and the International Law Association’s Legal Principles on Climate Change
• Christoph Schwarte & Will Frank, Reply to Zahar
• Seita Romppanen, Legitimacy and eu Biofuel Governance: In Search of Greater Coherence
• Benoît Mayer, Whose ‘Loss and Damage’? Promoting the Agency of Beneficiary States
• Ismo Pölönen, The Finnish Climate Change Act: Architecture, Functions, and Challenges
• Meinhard Doelle; Steven Evans & Tony George Puthucherril, The Role of the unfccc Regime in Ensuring Effective Adaptation in Developing Countries: Lessons from Bangladesh

New Issue: Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 15, no. 1, March 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Wendy O’Brien, Can International Human Rights Law Accommodate Bodily Diversity?
• Anna Grear & Burns H. Weston, The Betrayal of Human Rights and the Urgency of Universal Corporate Accountability: Reflections on a Post-Kiobel Lawscape
• Piers Gooding, Navigating the ‘Flashing Amber Lights’ of the Right to Legal Capacity in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Responding to Major Concerns
• Vilija Velyvyte, The Right to Strike in the European Union after Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights: Identifying Conflict and Achieving Coherence
• Steven Greer, Is the Prohibition against Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Really ‘Absolute’ in International Human Rights Law?
• Eva Brems & Laurens Lavrysen, ‘Don’t Use a Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut’: Less Restrictive Means in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights
• Mark Gibney, The Downing of MH17: Russian Responsibility?

Jayakumar, Koh, & Beckman: The South China Sea Disputes and Law of the Sea

S. Jayakumar (National Univ. of Singapore - Law), Tommy Koh (National Univ. of Singapore - Law), & Robert Beckman (National Univ. of Singapore - Law) have published The South China Sea Disputes and Law of the Sea (Edward Elgar Publishing 2014). Contents include:

• Bernard H Oxman, Offshore Features Subject to Claims of Sovereignty
• Clive Schofield, Defining the ‘Boundary’ between Land and Sea: Territorial Sea Baselines in the South China Sea
• Clive R Symmons, Maritime Zones from Islands and Rocks
• Tullio Treves, Maritime Delimitation and Offshore Features
• Ted L McDorman, Rights and Jurisdiction over Resources in the South China Sea: UNCLOS and the ‘Nine-Dash Line’
• Alex Oude Elferink, Do the Coastal States in the South China Sea Have a Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles?
• David Anderson & Youri van Logchem, Rights and Obligations in Areas of Overlapping Maritime Claims
• Robert Beckman, UNCLOS Part XV and the South China Sea

Mavroidis & Wolfe: From Sunshine to a Common Agent. The Evolving Understanding of Transparency in the WTO

Petros C. Mavroidis (Columbia Univ. - Law) & Robert Wolfe (Queen's Univ., Canada - Policy Studies) have posted From Sunshine to a Common Agent. The Evolving Understanding of Transparency in the WTO. Here's the abstract:

Transparency obligations have undergone substantial transformations since the inception of the GATT in 1947. The paper begins by tracing the evolution of transparency principles during the WTO era. From an obligation to publish general laws affecting trade, the system now includes peer review by governments (monitoring and surveillance), and efforts to inform the public. The system is remarkable for what has been accomplished, but much remains to be done. Originally designed for a handful of developed countries, the system now provides an expanded knowledge base that benefits states, economic actors and citizens with inadequate resources to acquire information on their own. Fulfilling this emerging objective will require a stronger role for the WTO Secretariat as a "common agent" for Members. Transparency in the WTO is based on an assumption that agency matters. The evolution of the system reflects an increasingly expansive view of whose agency counts for trade policy, and therefore of what kinds of information should be available, in what form, and what use ought to be made of it. Our expectation is that the continued evolution in the multilateral understanding of agency in trade policy will be reflected in growing sophistication of WTO transparency practices.

New Issue: European Journal of International Relations

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Relations (Vol. 21, no. 1, March 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Nicolas Guilhot, Portrait of the realist as a historian: On anti-whiggism in the history of international relations
• Cynthia Weber, Why is there no Queer International Theory?
• Alejandro M. Peña, Governing differentiation: On standardisation as political steering
• Cemal Burak Tansel, Deafening silence? Marxism, international historical sociology and the spectre of Eurocentrism
• Mark Langan, Budget support and Africa–European Union relations: Free market reform and neo-colonialism?
• Linus Hagström, The ‘abnormal’ state: Identity, norm/exception and Japan
• Diogo Pinheiro, Jeffrey M. Chwieroth, & Alexander Hicks, Do international non-governmental organizations inhibit globalization? The case of capital account liberalization in developing countries
• J. Samuel Barkin, Racing all over the place: A dispersion model of international regulatory competition
• J.C. Sharman, War, selection, and micro-states: Economic and sociological perspectives on the international system
• Tine Hanrieder, The path-dependent design of international organizations: Federalism in the World Health Organization

New Issue: Journal of International Criminal Justice

The latest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 12, no. 5, December 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: The Interaction Between Refugee Law and International Criminal Justice
• Introduction
• Fannie Lafontaine, Joseph Rikhof, & Laurel Baig, Introduction
• Topical Issues
• Violeta Moreno-Lax, Systematising Systemic Integration: ‘War Refugees’, Regime Relations, and a Proposal for a Cumulative Approach to International Commitments
• David James Cantor, The Laws of War and the Protection of ‘War Refugees’: Reflections on the Debate and its Future Directions
• Valerie Oosterveld, Gender at the Intersection of International Refugee Law and International Criminal Law
• Magali Maystre, The Interaction between International Refugee Law and International Criminal Law with respect to Child Soldiers
• Aiste Dumbryte, Assessing Ability and Willingness of States: What Can the ICC Learn from International Refugee Law?
• Idil Atak & James C. Simeon, Human Trafficking: Mapping the Legal Boundaries of International Refugee Law and Criminal Justice
• Symposium: Exclusion and Post-Exclusion from Refugee Status
• Mathias Holvoet, Harmonizing Exclusion under the Refugee Convention by Reference to the Evidentiary Standards of International Criminal Law
• Ned Djordjevic, Exclusion under Article 1F(b) of the Refugee Convention: The Uncertain Concept of Internationally Serious Common Crimes
• Sarah Singer, Terrorism and Article 1F(c) of the Refugee Convention: Exclusion from Refugee Status in the United Kingdom
• Geoff Gilbert & Anna Magdalena Rüsch, Jurisdictional Competence Through Protection: To What Extent Can States Prosecute the Prior Crimes of Those to Whom They Have Extended Refuge?
• Maarten P. Bolhuis, Louis P. Middelkoop, & Joris van Wijk, Refugee Exclusion and Extradition in the Netherlands: Rwanda as Precedent?
• Emma Irving, Protecting Witnesses at the International Criminal Court from Refoulement
• National Issues
• Claire Henderson, Australia’s Treatment of Asylum Seekers: From Human Rights Violations to Crimes Against Humanity
• Kate Jastram, Left Out of Exclusion: International Criminal Law and the ‘Persecutor Bar’ in US Refugee Law
• Satvinder S. Juss, The Notion of Complicity in UK Refugee Law
• Livio Zilli, Ezokola v. Canada: The Correct Place of International Criminal Law in International Refugee Law-making

New Issue: International Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 19, no. 2, 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Legal and Ethical Implications of Drone Warfare
• Michael J. Boyle, The legal and ethical implications of drone warfare
• Stephanie Carvin, Getting drones wrong
• Craig Martin, A means-methods paradox and the legality of drone strikes in armed conflict
• Daniel R. Brunstetter & Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi, Clashing over drones: the legal and normative gap between the United States and the human rights community
• David Whetham, Drones to protect
• Caroline Kennedy & James I. Rogers, Virtuous drones?

Jones: Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century

Kent Jones (Babson College - Economics) has published Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century: An Institutional Approach (Oxford Univ. Press 2015). Here's the abstract:

The institutional shortcomings of the World Trade Organization (WTO) became apparent during the Doha Round of Trade negotiations that began in 2001 and which aimed to improve the success of developing countries' trading by lowering trade barriers and adjusting other trade rules. This <"development agenda>" meant different things to rich and poor countries. In addition, many of the circumstances that supported success in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations of 1947 were no longer present after the WTO was founded in 1995.

In Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century, Kent Jones examines the difficulties of the WTO in completing multilateral trade negotiations and possible ways to restore its ability to do so. The problem lies in the institutional structure it inherited from the GATT, which was designed for a more limited scope of trade negotiations among a relatively small number of wealthier, industrialized countries. Jones presents an institutional model of the GATT/WTO system, which describes why such an organization exists and how it is supposed to accomplish its goals.

Institutional reforms will be necessary to restore the WTO's ability to complete global trade agreements, including a more flexible application of the consensus rule, a common understanding among all members about the limits of domestic policy space that is subject to negotiation, and clearer rules on reciprocity obligations. The popularity of bilateral and regional trade agreements, which have emerged as the alternative to WTO agreements, presents a threat to the WTO's relevance in trade negotiations, but also an opportunity to <"multilateralize>" new and deeper trade integration in future WTO agreements. Aid for trade may also play an instrumental role in bringing more developing countries into WTO disciplines. Above all, WTO members must develop new ways to find common ground in order to negotiate for mutual gains from trade.

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

The journal Trade, Law and Development has issued a call for submissions for its Winter 2015 issue (Vol. 7, no. 2). Here's the call:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Winter '15

The Board of Editors of Trade, Law and Development [TL&D] is pleased to invite original, unpublished manuscripts for publication in the Winter ‘15 Issue of the Journal (Vol. 7, No. 2). The manuscripts may be in the form of Articles, Notes, Comments, and Book Reviews. All manuscripts received by September 15, 2015, pertaining to any area within the purview of international economic law, will be reviewed by the editorial board for publication in the Winter ‘15 issue. TL&D aims to generate and sustain a democratic debate on emerging issues in international economic law, with a special focus on the developing world. Towards these ends, we have published works by noted scholars such as Prof. Petros Mavroidis, Prof. Mitsuo Matsuhita, Prof. Raj Bhala, Prof. Joel Trachtman, Gabrielle Marceau, Simon Lester, Prof. Bryan Mercurio, Prof. E.U. Petersmann and Prof. M. Sornarajah among others. TL&D also has the distinction of being ranked the best journal in India across all fields of law for three consecutive years and the 10th best trade journal worldwide by Washington and Lee University, School of Law [The Washington & Lee Rankings are considered to be the most comprehensive in this regard]. For more information, please go through the submission guidelines available at www.tradelawdevelopment.com or write to us at editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com.

LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 15 SEPTEMBER, 2015

____________________

TRADE, LAW AND DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

NH-65, JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN

INDIA

E-mail: editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com

Website: www.tradelawdevelopment.com

Desierto: Public Policy in International Economic Law: The ICESCR in Trade, Finance, and Investment

Diane Desierto (Univ. of Hawaii - Law) has published Public Policy in International Economic Law: The ICESCR in Trade, Finance, and Investment (Oxford Univ. Press 2015). Here's the abstract:

States reject inequality when they choose to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), but to date the ICESCR has not yet figured prominently in the policy calculus behind States' international economic decisions. This book responds to the modern challenge of operationalizing the ICESCR, particularly in the context of States' decisions within international trade, finance, and investment. Differentiating between public policy mechanisms and institutional functional mandates in the international trade, finance, and investment systems, this book shows legal and policy gateways for States to feasibly translate their fundamental duties to respect, protect, and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights into their trade, finance, and investment commitments, agreements, and contracts.

It approaches the problem of harmonizing social protection objectives under the ICESCR with a State's international economic treaty obligations, from the designing and interpreting international treaty texts, up to the institutional monitoring and empirical analysis of ICESCR compliance. In examining public policy options, the book takes into account around five decades of States' implementation of social protection commitments under the ICESCR; its normative evolution through the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Committee's expanded fact-finding and adjudicative competences under the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR; as well as the critical, dialectical, and deliberative roles of diverse functional interpretive communities within international trade, finance, and investment law. Ultimately, the book shoes how States' ICESCR commitments operate as the normative foundation of their trade, finance, and investment decisions.

Call for Proposals: CCIL 44th Annual Conference

The Canadian Council of International Law has issued a call for proposals for its 44th Annual Conference, to take place November 5-7, 2015, in Ottawa. The theme is "International Law: Coherence or Chaos?" Here's the call:

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Canadian Council on International Law

44th Annual Conference

International Law: Coherence or Chaos?

Ottawa, Canada

November 5-7, 2015

I. Theme

The needs of an increasingly interconnected and functionally diversified society have radically transformed the international legal order. Early 20th-century accounts conceived of the international system as a hierarchical pyramid structure comprising relatively few norms, in which states, perceived as opaque and unitary actors (‘billiard balls'), interacted in a largely unconstrained manner. Contemporary international law, by contrast, resembles a dense web of overlapping and detailed prescriptions in subject areas as diverse as environmental protection, human rights and international trade. In light of such transformations, political and legal theorists have introduced the concept of the network as a competing structural paradigm of the legal order; they describe international law as a network of government officials, legislators and judges; as a deterritorialized ‘system of rule’ that has transformed the state; or as a flexible, horizontal structure of production of legitimacy spread throughout world space. And yet, while the network model accounts for the diversification of legal regimes and the multiplication of actors in the international legal process, many central building blocks of the traditional international legal system, such as the rules on diplomatic protection or state responsibility, have remained remarkably stable…. A central, and increasingly difficult task of the jurist consists in allocating authority in a system composed of both elements of hierarchical unity and multiple network structures in diverse issue areas.

Bruno Simma & Dirk Pulkowski, “Of Planets and the Universe: Self-Contained Regimes in International Law” (2006) 17 Eur. J. Int'l L. 483.

International law operates today in a network of subject- and region-specific agreements and forums, with differing levels of efficacy and enforceability. Undoubtedly, specialized fields, such as the law of the sea, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international trade law, and international investment law, have developed into fully-functioning regimes. However, these self-contained regimes operate within the broader context of public international law. Amidst a proliferation of treaties, customary international law, and soft law norms, what are the applicable rules of international law? How can the rules be interpreted in a manner that ensures coherence within and between regimes? Some commentators maintain that specialization results in insulation and potential conflicts between regimes. Conversely, others argue that specialization leads to increased efficiency and protection of the rule of law.

What is the role of international courts and tribunals? Are they the guardians of coherence and maintaining the rule of law in the face of the rapidly increasing number of treaties and cases? Is coherence of international norms across regimes necessary or to be desired? Within regimes, how much fragmentation or coherence is tolerable? Or does it matter? Are international courts and tribunals different in this respect from domestic courts and tribunals? Contradictions abound in contemporary international law jurisprudence. On the one hand, the growing body of decisions in some regimes demonstrates increased coherence. Conversely, the lack of appellate review mechanisms and the non-binding nature of decisions in many regimes may lead to conflicts and chaos.

Is the complex, international legal system today becoming more coherent and cohesive or heading toward fragmentation and chaos? The 44th Annual Conference of the Canadian Council on International Law will examine these important issues and more!

II. Submission and Selection of Proposals

We encourage all international law scholars, practitioners, and graduate students to submit proposals for panels or papers. Proposals must be received no later than March 20, 2015. All proposals should be submitted to manager@ccil-ccdi.ca.

Panel proposals should be organized around a theme and should include a brief description of the theme. They should contain a list of the proposed participants with their anticipated contributions (topics or titles), indicating whether the participants have expressed a willingness to participate in the conference should the proposal be accepted. Short biographies of the proposed chair and speakers should be included. Proposals should be a maximum of 500 words and biographies a maximum of 200 words.

Paper proposals should include a working title of the paper and an abstract (400 words maximum) describing the paper’s main thesis, methods, and contribution. Applicants should also include a short biography (200 words maximum).

Any time-sensitive questions should be addressed to the conference co-chairs at clark.tori@gmail.com and debra.steger@uottawa.ca. We anticipate communicating acceptance decisions by May 4, 2015. Authors of accepted proposals will prepare a draft paper on their proposed topic, and submit the draft paper to manager@ccil-ccdi.ca by no later than November 1, 2015.

III. Panel and Paper Proposals Welcome in All Fields of International Law

Panel and paper proposals on topics consistent with the conference theme are welcome in all areas of international law, including:

• Public international law
• Dispute resolution
• International courts and tribunals
• International organizations
• International criminal law
• International environmental law
• International humanitarian law
• International intellectual property law
• International investment law
• International legal theory
• International migration law
• International law and technology
• International refugee law
• International security law
• International trade law
• Law of the sea
• Nonproliferation, arms control and disarmament law

The Conference will take place at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada in Ottawa, Canada from November 5 - 7, 2015.

Please understand that budget constraints prevent us from providing travel or other financial assistance to conference participants.

Debra Steger & Victoria Clark

Conference Co-chairs 2015

New Issue: Ethics & International Affairs

The latest issue of Ethics & International Affairs (Vol. 29, no. 1, Spring 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Essay
• Shefa Siegel, Ebola, Liberia, and the “Cult of Bankable Projects”
• Symposium: Toward a Drone Accountability Regime
• Allen Buchanan & Robert O. Keohane, Toward a Drone Accountability Regime
• Neta C. Crawford, Accountability for Targeted Drone Strikes Against Terrorists?
• Janina Dill, The Informal Regulation of Drones and the Formal Legal Regulation of War
• David Whetham, Targeted Killing: Accountability and Oversight via a Drone Accountability Regime
• Allen Buchanan & Robert O. Keohane, Toward a Drone Accountability Regime: A Rejoinder
• Features
• Richard Beardsworth, From Moral to Political Responsibility in a Globalized Age
• John Williams, Distant Intimacy: Space, Drones, and Just War

Conference: Corruption in International Arbitration: Evidence and Remedies

On April 8, 2015, the Institute for Transnational Arbitration of the Center for American and International Law and the American Society of International Law will host their annual joint conference in Washington, DC. The theme is: "Corruption in International Arbitration: Evidence and Remedies." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The conference will focus on issues of corruption in international arbitration, both investor-state and commercial, from the perspective of counsel and arbitrators. Leading practitioners and arbitrators will assess challenges, consequences and effects of allegations or proof of corruption in the underlying arbitration claim. Specifically, the panelists will discuss issues of evidence, including burden and standard of proof and arbitrators’ duty to investigate and assist domestic proceedings. Panelists will also focus on the remedies that should be considered when corruption has been found to have taken place, including duties to report, dismissal or staying of a claim, and how claims of corruption may affect and limit the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

New Issue: Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law

The latest issue of the Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law (Vol. 3, no. 3, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Third Annual Conference: Stepping away from the State: Universality and Cosmopolitanism in International and Comparative Law
• Address
• Kenneth Keith, Stepping Away from the State
• International Organisations and Courts
• Elisabetta Morlino, Cosmopolitan Democracy or Administrative Rights? International Organisations as Public Contractors
• Michelle T Grando, An International Law of Privileges
• Jed Odermatt, The Court of Justice of the European Union: International or Domestic Court?
• Merryl Lawry-White, Universality and Cosmopolitanism: Some Insights from the World of Moral Damage
• Comparative and Cosmopolitan Perspectives
• Jason Rudall, A Cartography of Cosmopolitanism: Particularising the Universal
• Caterina Sganga, Cracking the Citadel Walls: A Functional Approach to Cosmopolitan Property Models Within and Beyond National Property Regimes
• Siyi Huang, The Cosmopolitan Goal (Ideal?) of Comparative Law: Reassessing the Cornell Common Core Project
• International Investment Law
• Manish Aggarwal & Simon Maynard, Investment Treaty Arbitration Post Abaclat: Towards a Taxonomy of ‘Mass’ Claims
• Prabhash Ranjan, Using the Public Law Concept of Proportionality to Balance Investment Protection with Regulation in International Investment Law: A Critical Reappraisal
• Individual Rights under Domestic and International Law
• Nino Guruli, ‘A Justifiable Self-Preference’? Judicial Deference in Post-9/11 Control Order and Enemy Combatant Detention Jurisprudence
• Graziella Romeo, Measuring Cosmopolitanism in Europe: Standards of Judicial Scrutiny over the Recognition of Rights to Non-Citizens
• Jason Mazzone, The Rise and Fall of Human Rights: A Sceptical Account of Multilevel Governance
• Closing Remarks
• John Bell, Researching Globalisation: Lessons From Judicial Citation

Trebilcock: Advanced Introduction to International Trade Law

Michael J. Trebilcock (Univ. of Toronto - Law) has published Advanced Introduction to International Trade Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2015). Here's the abstract:

This book presents an accessible yet nuanced introduction to the basic structure and principles of international trade law. It explores the development of the international trade law regime, principally GATT and WTO law, and through clear and concise discussion of the many developments that have arisen, gives a streamlined overview of this notoriously complex area of legal study.

New Volume: Spanish Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Spanish Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 18, 2013-2014) is out. Contents include:

• General Articles
• Jean-Sylvestre Bergé & Geneviève Helleringer, Operating International Law in a Global Context: The Concept of Circulation
• Gloria Fernández Arribas, International Responsibility of the European Union for the Activities of Its Military Operations
• Antonio Fernández Tomas, Parliamentary Control of “Other International Agreements” in the New Spanish Treaties and Other International Agreements Act (TOIAA)
• Francesco Agnello, A New ‘Gender’ Approach Definition in International Law: The Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence
• Anna Marie Brennan, Holding Members of Transnational Terrorist Groups Accountable Under Article 25 of the Rome Statute: Effectiveness, Legitimacy and Impact
• Elisa Tino, The Variable Geometry in the Experience of Regional Organizations in Developing Countries
• Belén Olmos Giupponi, EU Return Policy and International Human Rights Law: Keeping the Balance Between Border Security and Human Dignity
• Rosario Ojinaga Ruiz, Spain Before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: The M/V “Louisa” Case (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v. Kingdom of Spain)
• Agora: Universal Jurisdiction in Spain
• Montserrat Abad Castelos, The End of Universal Jurisdiction in Spain?
• Javier Chinchón Álvarez, The Reform(s) of Universal Jurisdiction in Spain: For Whom the Bells Tolls?
• María Dolores Bollo Arocena, The Reform of the Universal Jurisdiction in Spain
• Carmen Pérez González, Some Comments on Article 24(4)(M) of Spain’s Organic Law of the Judiciary: Universal Jurisdiction over Trafficking in Human Beings Offences?
• Concepción Escobar Hernández, Universal Jurisdiction in Spain: Substantial Change of Model or Implied Repeal?

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 84, no. 1, 2015) is out. Contents include:

• James A. Green & Christopher P.M. Waters, Military Targeting in the Context of Self-Defence Actions
• Aldo Zammit Borda, The Notion of ‘Persuasive Value’ of External Precedent in International Criminal Law
• Ntina Tzouvala, The Holy See and Children’s Rights: International Human Rights Law and Its Ghosts
• Juan Carlos Ochoa Sanchez, The Roles and Powers of the oecd National Contact Points Regarding Complaints on an Alleged Breach of the oecd Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by a Transnational Corporation

Sampford & Thakur: Institutional Supports for the International Rule of Law

Charles Sampford (Griffith Univ.) & Ramesh Thakur (Australian National Univ.) have published Institutional Supports for the International Rule of Law (Routledge 2014). Contents include:

• Charles Sampford & Ramesh Thakur, Introduction
• Ramesh Thakur, International Criminal Justice: At the vortex of power, norms and a sifting global order
• William Maley, Norms as Frames for Institutions: The Pact of Paris, Nuremberg, and the International Rule of Law
• Jean-Marc Coicaud, Rethinking international Rule of Law: International Rule of Law as International Legitimacy
• Michael Kirby, Special Rapporteurs and the Development of the International Rule of Law
• Rahmat Mohamad, International Criminal Court in the Development of International Rule of Law: A reflection of Asian/African views
• Vesselin Popovski, The Building of the International Rule of Law through the Work of the International Criminal Courts
• John Sanderson, National Militaries and the Development of the International Rule of Law
• Sam Daws, The Prospects for UN Security Council Reform: Implications for the international rule of law
• Edwin Bikundo, Disputes over Exemplary Justice: The situation in the Republic of Kenya before the International Criminal Court
• Charles Sampford, No Longer a Moot Point: International NGO Tribunals
• Angus Francis, Refugee Machinery and the Development of the International Rule of Law

Caron: The United Nations Compensation Commission: Understanding an Institution and the Three Phases of its Work

David D. Caron (King's College London – Law) has posted The United Nations Compensation Commission: Understanding an Institution and the Three Phases of its Work (in War Reparation and the UN Compensation Commission: Designing Compensation After Conflict, T. Feighery, C. Gibson & T. Rajah eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The United Nations Compensation Commission ("UNCC") is by almost any standard one of the most significant international institutions addressing a disaster of massive proportions, the 1991 Gulf War. Almost 2.7 million claims from 80-plus countries were submitted to the UNCC. By 2007, all of the claims had been reviewed, over USDS2 billion had been awarded, and more than three-quarters of that total amount had actually been paid to the victims of that conflict. Yet, these accomplishments are often not known even in academic circles, and relatively little academic assessment of this institution has taken place. This chapter provides a historical and structural frame for understanding this important institution.

Eger, Oeter, & Voigt: Economic Analysis of International Law

Thomas Eger, Stefan Oeter & Stefan Voigt have published Economic Analysis of International Law: Contributions to the XIIIth Travemünde Symposium on the Economic Analysis of Law (March 29-31, 2012) (Mohr Siebeck 2014). Contents include:

• Stefan Oeter, The Legitimacy of Customary International Law
• Georg von Wangenheim, Comment on Stefan Oeter
• Discussion on Stefan Oeter summarized by José Caiado
• Stefan Voigt, The Economics of Informal International Law - An Empirical Assessment
• Peter Lewisch, Comment on Stefan Voigt
• Discussion on Stefan Voigt summarized by Christopher Kimmerle
• Haksoo Ko, Law and Technology of Data Privacy: A Case for International Harmonization
• Michael Fehling, Comment on Haksoo Ko
• Discussion on Haskoo Ko summarized by José Caiado
• Thilo Marauhn, Private Military Contractors - Mercenaries Outside the Scope of Law?
• Discussion on Thilo Marauhn summarized by Jerg Gutmann
• Christopher R. Drahozal, Some Observations on the Economics of Comity
• Dieter Schmidtchen, Comment on Christopher R. Drahozal
• Discussion on Christopher R. Drahozal summarized by Jan Engelmann
• Birgit Feldtmann, Fighting Maritime Piracy - On Possible Actions and Consequences
• Max Gössler, Comment on Birgit Feldtmann
• Discussion on Birgit Feldtmann summarized by Viola Prifti
• Florian Jeßberger & Julia Geneuss, A Success? Reflections on the First Ten Years of the International Criminal Court
• Eyal Benvenisti, Comment on Florian Jeßberger/Julia Geneuss
• Discussion on Florian Jeßberger/Julia Geneuss summarized by Joseb Gudiashvili
• Christian Kirchner, The European Constitutional Impossibility Theorem
• Thomas Eger, Comment on Christian Kirchner
• Discussion on Christian Kirchner summarized by Elif Erdemoglu
• Christian Häberli, Foreign Direct Investment in Agriculture: Land Grab or Food Security Improvement?
• Laarni Escresa, Comment on Christian Häberli
• Discussion on Christian Häberli summarized by Johannes Schwarze

New Issue: Archiv des Völkerrechts

The latest issue of Archiv des Völkerrechts (Vol. 52, no. 3, September 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Abhandlungen
• Thomas Cottier, Philipp Aerni, Baris Karapinar, Sofya Matteotti, Joëlle de Sépibus, & Anirudh Shingal, The Principle of Common Concern and Climate Change
• Claas Friedrich Germelmann, Moderne Rechtssetzungsformen im Umweltvölkerrecht – Entwicklung und Perspektiven sekundärrechtlicher Regelungsmechanismen
• Helmut Philipp Aust, Spionage im Zeitalter von Big Data – Globale Überwachung und der Schutz der Privatsphäre im Völkerrecht
• Armin Steinbach, Das Tragen religiöser Symbole unter der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention

Ellis: Stateless Law: From Legitimacy to Validity

Jaye Ellis (McGill Univ. - Law) has posted Stateless Law: From Legitimacy to Validity. Here's the abstract:

A central concern of many critics of the growing phenomenon of stateless law has turned on its democratic nature. Clearly, law in transnational space, whether promulgated by states or not, bears an uncertain relationship to the structures and processes for democratic legitimation of political authority as developed within the constitutional state; therefore, its status as valid law may be called into question. In this paper, I argue that transnational law, including stateless law, can be seen as grounded in democratic principles. However, when law moves into transnational space, democratic legitimation of law takes on a different form than in the constitutional state.