Call for Submissions: International Law and Democracy Revisited – The EJIL 30th Anniversary Symposium

The European Journal of International Law has issued a call for submissions for its 30th Anniversary Symposium on the subject of "International Law and Democracy Revisited." Here's the call:

EJIL was founded in 1989, coinciding with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the attendant excitement encapsulated by that well-known optimistic/hubristic End of History phraseology, with predictions of liberal democracy to become regnant in the world and a New International Legal Order to replace the old First World-Second World-Third World distinctions.

Thirty years later the state of democracy, whether liberal or social or any other variant, seems to be far from sanguine.

Here is but a partial list of the challenges to democracy in the contemporary world:

• The advent of so-called ‘illiberal democracies’
• The crisis and breakdown of trust within established democracies
• The reality or otherwise of states with ‘formal democracy’ often reduced to little more than elections, more or less free
• The accountability and rule of law concerns, famously termed GAL concerns, which transnational governance regimes raise as indispensable features of democracy
• The persistent ‘democracy deficit’ or ‘political deficit’ of the European Union and similar Organizations
• The emergence of the global ‘data economy’ with mega platforms calling into question basic assumptions about territory and jurisdiction and calling into question the ability of democratic regimes to reign in such platforms increasingly questioned
• The impact of both financial markets and international monetary bodies on the internal margin of manoeuvre and democratic choices of economic management
• Democracy and global inequality: The relationship between counter-democratic ideologies, legal reforms and political processes at the domestic and global levels and social and economic processes such as the shrinking middle class and the lasting ramifications of the 2008 economic crisis.

The list of challenges could go on quite a bit. The international legal order itself has come under stress and the interaction, descriptively and prescriptively, of international law with the question of ‘democracy’ has become complex, even messy.

We are issuing here a Call for Papers. International lawyers from practice and academia as well as scholars from related disciplines are invited to send an abstract of 350-500 words setting out the prospective papers they would like to submit for inclusion in the symposium dealing with any theme that comes within the overarching topic of International Law and Democracy. We will accept proposals for research papers of 10-12K words as well as shorter Think Pieces of 5-7K words.

The deadline for the Abstracts is 15 January 2019. Draft papers of those abstracts selected by a committee composed of members of the Editorial Boards of EJIL will be expected by 15 June. We are considering a workshop in Madrid in early July to discuss the drafts. Final version of papers will be expected by 15 September.

Abstracts are to be sent to EJIL’s Managing Editor at anny.bremner {at} eui(.)eu by 15 January 2019.

Wang: China’s Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative

Heng Wang (Univ. of New South Wales - Law) has posted China’s Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative (Journal of International Economic Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s most significant strategic move for engagement with its partners following its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a new form of regional multilateralism, the BRI is a hub-and-spoke network with China as the hub. This paper analyses China’s approach to the BRI from a legal perspective, focusing on two questions: first, is there an identifiable approach that China adopts in the BRI context; and second, what is the essence that underlies this project? The article argues that China’s approach to the BRI has three primary qualities: it is (i) less-institutionally focused; (ii) non-treaty-based; and (iii) proactive rather than reactive. However, the stability of these characteristics across different contexts should not be exaggerated, since China chiefly employs a “middle-of-the-road” strategy in engaging with the BRI. Flexibility is arguably the essence of China’s approach, and reflects the government’s adaptive attitude. Such a path not only diverges from China’s engagement with the WTO, but also could constitute a kind of Chinese counter-model to deep trade agreements pursued by developed economies.

New Issue: Global Environmental Politics

The latest issue of Global Environmental Politics (Vol. 18, no. 4, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Alice Cohen & Emma S. Norman, Renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty: Transboundary Governance and Indigenous Rights
• Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue, Worlding the Study of Global Environmental Politics in the Anthropocene: Indigenous Voices from the Amazon
• Craig M. Kauffman & Pamela L. Martin, Constructing Rights of Nature Norms in the US, Ecuador, and New Zealand
• Tobias Ide & Adrien Detges, International Water Cooperation and Environmental Peacemaking
• Peter J. Jacques & Rafaella Lobo, The Shifting Context of Sustainability: Growth and the World Ocean Regime
• Ingrid Boas, Sanneke Kloppenburg, Judith van Leeuwen, & Machiel Lamers, Environmental Mobilities: An Alternative Lens to Global Environmental Governance

Celermajer: The Prevention of Torture: An Ecological Approach

Danielle Celermajer (Univ. of Sydney - Sociology and Social Policy) has published The Prevention of Torture: An Ecological Approach (Cambridge Univ. Press 2018). Here's the abstract:

There is an urgent need to analyze and assess how we prevent torture, against the background of a rigorous analysis of the factors that condition and sustain it. Drawing on rich empirical material from Sri Lanka and Nepal, The Prevention of Torture: An Ecological Approach interrogates the worlds that produce torture, in order to propose how to bring about systemic institutional and cultural change. Critics have decried human rights approaches' failure to attend to structural factors, but this book seeks to go beyond a 'stance of criticism' to take up the positive project of reimagining human rights theory and practice. It discusses key debates in human rights and political theory, as well as the challenges that advocates face in translating situational analyses into real world interventions. Danielle Celermajer develops a new, ecological framework for mapping the worlds that produce torture, and thereby develops prevention strategies.

New Volume: Israel Yearbook on Human Rights

The latest volume of the Israel Yearbook on Human Rights (Vol. 48, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Arne Willy Dahl, Military Objectives by Nature
• Noam Neuman, A Precautionary Tale: the Theory and Practice of Precautions in Attack
• Jann K. Kleffner, Military Collaterals and Jus in Bello Proportionality
• Yukata Arai-Takahashi, Unprivileged (Unlawful) Belligerents Captured on a Battlefield and the Geneva Conventions
• Patrycja Grzebyk, The Status of Police in Armed Conflicts
• Menachem Mautner, Protection of Liberal Rights Amidst A “War of Cultures” (Kulturkampf) between Secular and Religious Groups
• Elie P. Mersel, Matan A. Guttman, & Alon Rodas, From State Comptroller to National Human Rights Institution - A Short but Necessary Path
• Haggai Erlich, A Ray of Hope – Woman’s Education in the Arab World
• Asa Kasher, Academic Ethics, State Regulation and Political Anarchism
• Yoram Dinstein, Refugees and the State of Israel
• Pnina Sharvit Baruch, UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) - An Analysis
• Jeff Lahav, Judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel Relating to Human Rights
• Yoram Dinstein, The Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 87, no. 3, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Christine Chinkin, The Third Hilding Eek Memorial Lecture - Violence against Women: International Human Rights Law, Criminal Law and Security
• Liliana E. Popa, The Holistic Interpretation of Treaties at the International Court of Justice
• Vladislava Stoyanova, The Disjunctive Structure of Positive Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

New Issue: Journal of World Intellectual Property

The latest issue of the Journal of World Intellectual Property (Vol. 21, nos. 5-6, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Naqeeb Ur Rehman & Fei Yu, Do formal and informal protection methods affect firms' productivity and financial performance?
• Kanchana Kariyawasam & Matthew Tsai, Access to genetic resources and benefit sharing: Implications of Nagoya Protocol on providers and users
• Chidi Oguamanam, Wandering footloose: Traditional knowledge and the “Public Domain” revisited
• Alice Yuen‐Ting Wong & Aurélie Mahalatchimy, Human stem cells patents—Emerging issues and challenges in Europe, United States, China, and Japan
• Michelle F. Rourke, When knowledge goes viral: Assessing the possibility of virus‐related traditional knowledge for access and benefit‐sharing
• Gunther Friedl & Christoph Ann, A cost‐based approach for calculating royalties for standard‐essential patents (SEPs)
• João Pedro Quintais, Untangling the hyperlinking web: In search of the online right of communication to the public
• Mohammad Ataul Karim, TRIPS compatibility of Bangladeshi legal regime on geographical indications and its ramifications: A comparative review
• Xinzhe Song, The role played by the regime of collective and certification marks in the protection of geographical indications—Comparative study of law and practice in France, the EU and China
• Özge Baruönü Latif, Melis Kaytaz Yiğit, & Özge Kirezli, A review of counterfeiting research on demand side: Analyzing prior progress and identifying future directions

New Issue: Transnational Environmental Law

The latest issue of Transnational Environmental Law (Vol. 7, no. 3, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial
• Thijs Etty, Veerle Heyvaert, Cinnamon Carlarne, Dan Farber, Bruce Huber, & Josephine van Zeben, Transnational Environmental Law in an Era of Radical Rethinking and Widespread Law Reform
• Articles
• Paola Villavicencio Calzadilla & Louis J. Kotzé, Living in Harmony with Nature? A Critical Appraisal of the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia
• Natasha Affolder, Looking for Law in Unusual Places: Cross-Border Diffusion of Environmental Norms
• Evan Hamman & Felicity Deane, The Control of Nutrient Run-Off from Agricultural Areas: Insights into Governance from Australia’s Sugarcane Industry and the Great Barrier Reef
• Anne Richardson Oakes, Judicial Resources and the Public Trust Doctrine: A Powerful Tool of Environmental Protection?
• Yaffa Epstein, Adversarial Legalism and Biodiversity Protection in the United States and the European Union
• Áine Ryall, Enforcing the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive in Ireland: Evolution of the Standard of Judicial Review

New Issue: Global Constitutionalism

The latest issue of Global Constitutionalism (Vol. 7, no. 3, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Agora: The Internationalists: How a radical plan to outlaw war remade the world
• Oliver Diggelmann, The Internationalists as grand narrative: Key elements and dilemmata
• Tarak Barkawi, From law to history: The politics of war and empire
• Andreas Follesdal, More than meets the eye – and less: Comments on The Internationalists
• Anna Geis, Outlawing war is not enough to promote international peace: The ambivalence of liberal interventionism
• Paolo Palchetti, Outlawry but with teeth: The problem of enforcing peace through international institutions
• Geir Ulfstein, The role of outcasting in the world order
• Oona A Hathaway & Scott J Shapiro, Response to critics
• Articles
• Kristina Stoeckl & Kseniya Medvedeva, Double bind at the UN: Western actors, Russia, and the traditionalist agenda
• Abraham Singer & Amit Ron, Models of shareholder democracy: A transnational approach

Casey-Maslen & Haines: Hague Law Interpreted: The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of Armed Conflict

Stuart Casey-Maslen (Univ. of Pretoria) & Steven Haines (Univ. of Greenwich) have published Hague Law Interpreted: The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of Armed Conflict (Hart Publishing 2018). Here's the abstract:

Given the centrality of Hague Law to the lawful prosecution of warfare, the relative paucity of dedicated works is surprising. The general formulation of Hague Law rules is largely uncontroversial, but this clarity stands in stark contrast to their interpretation and practical application. How precisely, for instance, the fundamental rules of distinction and proportionality in attack are to dictate and constrain the planning and practice of warfare continues to be highly uncertain. This important new publication fills the gap in the literature. Offering a comprehensive assessment of Hague Law, it explores questions of definitions and accountability and navigates the substantive rules and their application to different types of warfare.

New Issue: Climate Law

The latest issue of Climate Law (Vol. 8, nos. 3-4, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Climate Law as a New Discipline
• Ronald B. Mitchell, Climate Law: Accomplishments and Areas for Growth
• Benoit Mayer, The Critical Functions of Scholarship in Climate Law
• Michael Faure & Jing Liu, Urgently Needed: Climate Lawyers
• David M. Driesen, The Economic Dynamics of Climate Disruption and the Need for a Better Legal Theory
• Laura Mai, The Growing Recognition of Transnational Climate Governance Initiatives in the UN Climate Regime: Implications for Legal Scholarship
• Anna Huggins, The Evolution of Differential Treatment in International Climate Law: Innovation, Experimentation, and ‘Hot’ Law
• Natalie L. Dobson, Exploring the Crystallization of ‘Climate Change Jurisdiction’: A Role for Precaution?
• Cinnamon P. Carlarne & Mohamed S. Helal, A Conversation about Climate Change Law and the ‘International Community’
• Alexander Zahar, The Contested Core of Climate Law
• Benoit Mayer, The Place of Customary Norms in Climate Law: A Reply to Zahar
• Benjamin J. Richardson, Climate Change Law: Encounters with Aesthetics and Art
• Christopher Campbell-Duruflé & Sumudu Anopama Atapattu, The Inter-American Court’s Environment and Human Rights Advisory Opinion: Implications for International Climate Law
• Joshua Prentice, The Revision of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System Ahead of the Fourth Trading Period, 2021–2030

New Issue: Asian International Arbitration Journal

The latest issue of the Asian International Arbitration Journal (Vol. 14, no. 2, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Rachel Chiu Li Hsien, A World Without Borders; A New World Order: Navigating Cross-Border Insolvencies Through Arbitration
• Michael Neumeier, Class Arbitration in Australia: A Bright Future or a Pipe Dream?
• Sharad Bansal, The Dampening Effect of ‘Foreign’ Mandatory Laws
• Binsy Susan & Adarsh Ramakrishnan, How to Trump a ‘No Claims Certificate’ in Arbitration
• Saad Aljadean Badah, Capacity of Parties and Arbitration Agreement. Part I

New Issue: Revue Générale de Droit International Public

The latest issue of the Revue Générale de Droit International Public (Vol. 122, no. 3, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• L'intervention en Syrie
• François Alabrune, Le cadre juridique des actions militaires menées par la France en Syrie le 14 avril 2018
• Robert Charvin, A propos de la “question syrienne”. Une étape de la politique étasunienne du “Grand Moyen Orient”
• Julien Ancelin, La sécurité collective au révélateur de l’arme chimique : A propos de l’intervention des 13 et 14 avril 2018 de la coalition (Etats-Unis, Grande-Bretagne, France) contre le régime syrien
• Jeanne Valax, Le contrôle parlementaire des interventios militaires françaises en Syrie
• Nabil Hajjami, Le consentement à l’intervention étrangère. Esssai d’évaluation au regard de la pratique récente

Symposium: The Law of Nations and the United States Constitution

The latest issue of the Georgetown Law Journal (Vol. 106, no. 6, August 2018) contains a symposium on "The Law of Nations and the United States Constitution." Contents include:

• William S. Dodge, Customary International Law, Change, and the Constitution
• David M. Golove & Daniel J. Hulsebosch, The Law of Nations and the Constitution: An Early Modern Perspective
• John Harrison, The Constitution and the Law of Nations
• Thomas H. Lee, The Law of Nations and the Judicial Branch
• Michael D. Ramsey, The Constitution’s Text and Customary International Law
• Paul B. Stephan, Inferences of Judicial Lawmaking Power and the Law of Nations
• Ingrid Wuerth, The Future of the Federal Common Law of Foreign Relations
• Transcript: The Judicial Perspective Panel
• Anthony J. Bellia, Jr. & Bradford R. Clark, Why Federal Courts Apply the Law of Nations Even Though it is Not the Supreme Law of the Land

Ohlin: Election Interference: The Real Harm and the Only Solution

Jens David Ohlin (Cornell Univ. - Law) has posted Election Interference: The Real Harm and the Only Solution. Here's the abstract:

Although politicians and intelligence analysts have criticized Russian interference in the 2016 and 2018 elections, international lawyers seem to be at a loss for how to understand the particular harm posed by this interference. In addition to the hacking of email accounts and disclosure of private information, the most salient aspect of the interference was the use of social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to sow division and heighten nativist tendencies within the electorate. Strictly speaking, the goal of the 2016 interference was to delegitimize a potential Clinton presidency or to help elect Donald Trump as president. But far more important was the method used to accomplish these goals: the impersonation of American citizens during participation in the political process. This latter development points to the real harm of election interference, which has less to do with sovereignty and more to do with the collective right of self-determination. Foreign interference is a violation of the membership rules for political decision-making, i.e., the idea that only members of a polity should participate in elections—not only with regard to voting but also with regard to financial contributions and other forms of electoral participation. Outsiders are free to express their opinions but covertly representing themselves as insiders constitutes a violation of these political norms, which are constitutive of the notion of self-determination, just as much as covertly funneling foreign money to one candidate. The only solution to this form of election interference is transparency, i.e., to expose such interventions for what they are: attempts by foreigners to make political statements while pretending to be Americans. This article ends by cataloguing the mistakes of the Obama Administration in failing to expose this interference in real time—which is the only way to nullify its insidious impact. Ex post investigations, prosecutions, and counter-measures designed to deter future misbehavior are all insufficient to nullify the impact of electoral interference. However, recent efforts by the Justice Department and the FBI, including a new policy codified in the US Attorneys Manual, and contemporaneous indictments of Russians for interference in the 2018 election, suggest that some government actors finally understand that transparency is the only solution to election interference.

New Issue: Manchester Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Manchester Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 15, no. 2, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Luca Boggio, Investors and Sovereign Debt Restructurings: The Protection of Financial Property before International Courts and Arbitrators
• Bashar H. Malkawi, The Contents and Features of Dispute Settlement under the US – Jordan FTA: An Appraisal
• Ahmad Ghouri, What Next for International Investment Law and Policy? A Review of the UNCTAD Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation
• Aurelien Portuese & Julien Pillot, The Case for an Innovation Principle: A Comparative Law and Economics Analysis
• An Jingjing, International Law and Food Adulteration in China: Innovation of Remedy Mechanisms

New Issue: African Journal of International and Comparative Law

The latest issue of the African Journal of International and Comparative Law (Vol. 26, no. 4, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Simeon A. Igbinedion, Human Rights as a Basis for Recovering the Proceeds of Grand Corruption
• Constantinos Yiallourides, Calming the Waters in the West African Region: The Case of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
• Esther Gumboh, Rep v. Chimkango: The Application of Kafantayeni to Pre-resentencing Appeals Against the Mandatory Death Penalty in Malawi
• Bright Bazuaye & Alero I. Fenemigho, Universal Jurisdiction Fault Lines and the Immunity of State Officials: A Salutary Warning Before Perdition
• Uzuazo Etemire, A Fresh Perspective on the Human Right to Political Participation and Environmental Decision-Making in Nigeria
• Malebakeng Agnes Forere, Protecting Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights in the Music Industry in Southern Africa: A Need for Regulatory Convergence
• Tom Kabau & Angela Mutema, Implementation of International Obligations on Plant Breeders' Rights in Kenya: Pitfalls and Prospects
• Aisosa Jennifer Isokpan & Ebenezer Durojaye, The Child's Right to Basic Education in Nigeria: A Commentary on the Decision in SERAP v. Nigeria

Clark: Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics

Phil Clark (SOAS Univ. of London - Politics and International Studies) has published Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics (Cambridge Univ. Press 2018). Here's the abstract:

There are a number of controversies surrounding the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Africa. Critics have charged it with neo-colonial meddling in African affairs, accusing it of undermining national sovereignty and domestic attempts to resolve armed conflict. Here, based on 650 interviews over 11 years, Phil Clark critically assesses the politics of the ICC in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing particularly on the Court's multi-level impact on national politics and the lives of everyday citizens. He explores the ICC's effects on peace negotiations, national elections, domestic judicial reform, amnesty processes, combatant demobilisation and community-level accountability and reconciliation. In attempting to distance itself from African conflict zones geographically, philosophically and procedurally, Clark also reveals that the ICC has become more politicised and damaging to African polities, requiring a substantial rethink of the approaches and ideas that underpin the ICC's practice of distant justice.

Maull: The Rise and Decline of the Post-Cold War International Order

Hanns W. Maull (German Institute for International and Security Studies) has published The Rise and Decline of the Post-Cold War International Order (Oxford Univ. Press 2018). Contents include:

• Hanns W. Maull, Introduction: The International Order: A Framework for Analysis
• Bernard Hoekman, The International Trade Order: Performance and Challenges
• Joyeeta Gupta, Climate Change and the Future of International Order
• Iris Hunger, Coping with Public Health Emergencies of International Concern
• William Walker, The International Nuclear Order After the Cold War: Enduring Strengths, Recent Setbacks, Persistent Challenges
• Myriam Dunn Cavelty, Aligning State and Non-State Actors' Security Needs for Order in Cyberspace
• Wolfgang Richter, The European Peace and Security Order at Risk
• Volker Perthes & Hanns W. Maull, The Middle Eastern Regional Order
• Charles E. Morrison, East Asia's Evolving Regional Order and its Global Implications
• Chaesung Chun, Regional Order in East Asia
• Daniel Deudney, Hegemonic Disarray - American Internationalisms and World Disorder
• Marco Overhaus, The United States and Regional Security Orders in the Middle East, East Asia, and Europe
• Zhongying Pang, China and the Struggle Over the Future of International Order
• Daniel Krahl, The Paris Agreement - China's Kind of (International) Order?
• Hanns W. Maull, Conclusions: The Rise and Decline of the Liberal International Order

Workshop: International Law and Architecture

On November 14, 2018, the Centre for European and International Legal Affairs and the Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context at Queen Mary University of London will hold a workshop on "Conversations on International Law and Materiality: International Law and Architecture." Here's the idea:

The purpose of the workshop is to stimulate rich and vibrant engagement with questions of the materiality, material culture, and material implications of international law. The particular focus of this first workshop is on architecture and international law.

New Issue: International Affairs

The latest issue of International Affairs (Vol. 94, no. 6, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Maximilian Mayer, China's historical statecraft and the return of history
• Afshon Ostovar, Iran, its clients, and the future of the Middle East: the limits of religion
• Serena Simoni, Queens of narco-trafficking: breaking gender hierarchy in Colombia
• Dong Jung Kim, Realists as free traders: the struggle for power and the case against protectionism
• Martin Hearson & Wilson Prichard, China's challenge to international tax rules and the implications for global economic governance
• Thijs van de Graaf & Michael Bradshaw, Stranded wealth: rethinking the politics of oil in an age of abundance
• Nicole George, Liberal–local peacebuilding in Solomon Islands and Bougainville: advancing a gender-just peace?
• David Cadier, Continuity and change in France's policies towards Russia: a milieu goals explanation
• Tom Long, Latin America and the liberal international order: an agenda for research
• Thomas C. Mills, British foreign policy towards Latin America in the twenty-first century: assessing the ‘Canning Agenda’
• Robin Niblett, Rediscovering a sense of purpose: the challenge for western think-tanks
• Christian Reus-Smit, Deborah Welch Larson, Andrew Kydd, Lawrence Freedman, & Nicholas J. Wheeler, Trusting enemies: interpersonal relationships in international conflict

AJIL Unbound Symposium: B.S. Chimni's “Customary International Law: A Third World Perspective”

AJIL Unbound has posted a symposium on B.S. Chimni's article “Customary International Law: A Third World Perspective.” The symposium includes an introduction by Antony Anghie and James Gathii and contributions by Brian D. Lepard, J. Patrick Kelly, Jean d'Aspremont, Andreas Paulus and Matthias Lippold, Anthony Carty, and Vasuki Nesiah.

New Issue: Revue belge de droit international

The latest issue of the Revue belge de droit international (2017, no. 2) is out. Contents include:

• Dossier Spécial : Public Policy Meets Property Protection
• T. Ruys & D. Bruloot, Public Policy meets Property Protection — Foreword
• S. Marquardt, The role of the High Representative and the European External Action Service in EU sanctions policy
• C. Candelmo, Targeted Sanctions and Liability for Erroneous Listing — Lessons from EU Case-Law
• A. Hofer, Negotiating International Public Policy through the Adoption and Contestation of Sanctions
• L. van den Herik, Sidestepping the Security Council: The Use of Non-UN Sanctions for UN Purposes
• T. Ruys, Reflections on the ‘Global Magnitsky Act’ and the use of targeted sanctions in the fight against grand corruption
• V. Grandaubert, Executing on State Property in Criminal Proceedings
• B. Warwas, Do the Provisions of CETA on the Status of Arbitrators Increase the Legitimacy of the ICS?
• F. Hoffmeister, The EU contribution to the progressive development of institutional aspects in international investment law
• E. De Brabandere, Human Rights Counterclaims in Investment Treaty Arbitration
• Études
• K. Bannelier, Obligations de diligence dansle cyberespace : qui a peur de la cyber-diligence ?
• S.B. Traoré & A. Diallo, De la légalité de l’intervention militaire de janvier 2017 en Gambie

Negishi: The International Law Commission Celebrating Its 70th Anniversary: Dresser le bilan pour l’avenir ‘à venir’

Yota Negishi (Seinan Gakuin Univ. - Law) has posted an ESIL Reflection on The International Law Commission Celebrating Its 70th Anniversary: Dresser le bilan pour l’avenir ‘à venir’.

Conference: Les 20 ans du statut de Rome : bilan et perspectives de la Cour pénale internationale

On November 21-23, 2018, the Institut de Sciences Criminelles et de la Justice at the Université de Bordeaux will host a conference on "Les 20 ans du statut de Rome : bilan et perspectives de la Cour pénale internationale." The program is here.

New Issue: European Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law (Vol. 29, no. 3, August 2018) is out. This is a special issue on "Perpetrators and Victims of War." Contents include:

• Editorial
  • JHHW, Publish and Perish: A Plea to Deans, Faculty Chairpersons, University Authorities; In this Issue
• Articles
• Sofia Stolk, A sophisticated beast? On the construction of an ‘ideal’ perpetrator in the opening statements of international criminal trials
• Christine Schwöbel-Patel, The ‘Ideal Victim of International Criminal Law
• Line Gissel, A Different Kind of Court: Africa’s Support for the International Criminal Court, 1993-2003
• Alexandra Adams, The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and its Contribution to the Definition of Rape
• Symposium: International Law and the First World War - International Law and the End of War
• Randall Lesaffer, Aggression before Versailles
• Markus M. Payk, ‘What We Seek is the Reign of Law’: The Legalism of the Paris Peace Settlement after the Great War
• Roaming Charges
• Roaming Charges: The Crucifixion – Do It Yourself
• Symposium: The Crime of Aggression before the International Criminal Court
• Dapo Akande & Antonios Tzanakopoulos, The Crime of Aggression before the International Criminal Court: Introduction to the Symposium
• Frédéric Mégret, International Criminal Justice as a Peace Project
• Tom Dannenbaum, The Criminalization of Aggression and Soldiers’ Rights
• Tom Ruys, Criminalizing Aggression: How the Future of the Law on the Use of Force Rests in the Hands of the ICC
• Marieke de Hoon, The Crime of Aggression’s Show Trial Catch-22
• Dapo Akande & Antonios Tzanakopoulos, Treaty Law and ICC Jurisdiction Over the Crime of Aggression
• EJIL: Debate!
• Rosa Freedman, UNaccountable: A New Approach to Peacekeepers and Sexual Abuse
• Devika Hovell, UNaccountable: A Reply to Rosa Freedman
• Rosa Freedman, UNaccountable: A Rejoinder to Devika Hovell
• Review Essay
• Gleider Hernández, E Pluribus Unum? A Divisible College? Reflections on the International Legal Profession. Review of Anthea Roberts, Is International Law International?
• Book Reviews
• Louise Arimatsu, reviewing Dianne Otto (ed.), Queering International Law: Possibilities, Alliances, Complicities, Risks
• María-Teresa Gil-Bazo, reviewing Violeta Moreno-Lax, Accessing Asylum in Europe: Extraterritorial Border Controls and Refugee Rights under EU Law
• Velimir Živković reviewing Mavluda Sattorova, The Impact of Investment Treaty Law on Host States: Enabling Good Governance?
• Briefly Noted
• Jörg Fisch, reviewing Stefan Kadelbach, Thomas Kleinlein, and David Roth-Isigkeit (ed.). System, Order, and International Law. The Early History of International Legal Thought from Machiavelli to Hegel
• The Last Page
• The Quality of Mercy, Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

New Issue: European Journal of International Relations

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Relations (Vol. 24, no. 4, December 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Andrew Phillips, Contesting the Confucian peace: Civilization, barbarism and international hierarchy in East Asia
• Joe Turner, Internal colonisation: The intimate circulations of empire, race and liberal government
• Sophie Harman, Making the invisible visible in International Relations: Film, co-produced research and transnational feminism
• Felix Berenskötter, Deep theorizing in International Relations
• Bentley B. Allan, From subjects to objects: Knowledge in International Relations theory
• Nina Hall & Ngaire Woods, Theorizing the role of executive heads in international organizations
• Debbie Lisle, Failing worse? Science, security and the birth of a border technology
• Laleh Khalili, The infrastructural power of the military: The geoeconomic role of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Arabian Peninsula
• Andreas Bieler & Jamie Jordan, Commodification and ‘the commons’: The politics of privatising public water in Greece and Portugal during the Eurozone crisis

Hirsch: The Sociological Perspective on International Law

Moshe Hirsch (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law) has posted The Sociological Perspective on International Law (in International Legal Theory: Foundations and Frontiers, Jeffrey L. Dunoff & Mark A. Pollack eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Sociological analysis of international law begins from the premise that international legal rules and institutions are deeply embedded in the particular socio-cultural features of certain communities. Sociological factors and processes thus form an inseparable dimension of international law, and international law is both affected by and influences such factors and processes. Numerous international legal rules reflect and affect societal factors such as norms, socialization, identity, collective memories and social control. Existing sociological studies of international law essentially emphasize that socio-cultural factors are involved in two primary (and inter-related) dimensions of international law: behavior and knowledge. First, such factors influence the behavior of actors in the international legal system (e.g., via social norms). Second, sociological factors are involved in the production of collective knowledge shared by members of social groups (e.g., via collective memories regarding historical events) which also affect actors' legal behavior. Some eminent sociologists have relatively recently highlighted a third level of social behavior - the cognitive dimension. Cognitive sociology underscores that humans process information existing in our environment (e.g., filtering in/ out some items of information) also according to socio-cultural factors. Cognitive sociology literature generates significant insights regarding the link between socio-cognitive processes and international law; for example, with respect to the impact of culturally embedded categorizations on compliance with international treaties prohibiting racial or gender discrimination.

The draft chapter is structured as follows: Section II exposes the central assumptions of the sociological perspective and introduces the core theoretical approaches in sociological literature. Section III discusses the sociological dimension of international law, highlighting the role of socio-cultural factors in three primary dimensions of international law relating to behavior, knowledge, and cognition. Here we also shed light on the broad contours of earlier scholarship on the sociology of international law. To illustrate the contribution of sociological theories to international legal scholarship, this section also briefly examines the question of the desirable structural design for international legal regimes from the three major sociological theoretical perspectives. Section IV observes some significant recent changes in international investment law and sketches out some thoughts regarding sociological factors that may explain this legal change; underlining the role of strains between values prevailing in the international community and the investment arbitration community, social movements, and social control mechanisms. Section V recaps the main conclusions drawn from the preceding sections.

Gilbert: Natural Resources and Human Rights: An Appraisal

Jérémie Gilbert (Univ. of Roehampton - Law) has published Natural Resources and Human Rights: An Appraisal (Oxford Univ. Press 2018). Here's the abstract:

Natural resources and their effective management are necessary for securing the realisation of human rights. The management of natural resources is linked to broad issues of economic development, as well as to political stability, peace and security, but it is also intimately connected to the political, economic, social and cultural rights of individuals and communities relying on these resources. The management of natural resources often leads to ill-planned development, misappropriation of land, corruption, bad governance, misaligned budget priorities, lack of strong institutional reforms and weak policies coupled with a continued denial of the human rights of local communities.

This book argues that human rights law can play an important role in ensuring a more effective and sustainable management of natural resources, putting forward the idea of a human rights-based normative framework for natural resource management. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the different norms, procedures, and approaches developed under human rights law that are relevant to the management of natural resources. Advocating for a less market and corporate approach to the control, ownership, and management of natural resources, this book supports the development of holistic and coherent integration of human rights law in the overall international legal framework governing the management of natural resources.