Goldmann: The Entanglement of Sovereignty and Property in International Law: From German Southwest Africa to the Great Land Grab?

Matthias Goldmann (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt - Law) has posted The Entanglement of Sovereignty and Property in International Law: From German Southwest Africa to the Great Land Grab? Here's the abstract:

This article argues that an intricate entanglement existed between sovereignty and property in German Southwest Africa. Germany’s control over Southwest Africa depended considerably on European settlements, which received logistical, financial, and military support by Germany. The result was a symbiotic relationship between the government and private economic actors, a form of state capitalism under which private settlements contributed to the establishment of territorial control, a prerequisite of sovereign power. Contractual relationships suggesting formally equal relationships, and during and after the genocide, a mix of arguments drawing on tort law and an idea of formal legality, provided crucial justification for the assumption of territorial control. This description contradicts standard accounts of sovereignty, which tend to turn a blind eye on private property. The article discusses the implications of these findings for today’s international law, including for state responsibility for transnational corporations and the so-called Great Land Grab, the acquisition of vast lands in Africa by foreign public and private agents.

New Issue: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

The latest issue of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (Vol. 18, no. 6, December 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Walid Oueslati, Do deep and comprehensive regional trade agreements help in reducing air pollution?
• Ria Dunkley, Susan Baker, Natasha Constant, & Angelina Sanderson-Bellamy, Enabling the IPBES conceptual framework to work across knowledge boundaries
• Cristian Lorenzo, Julián Kelly, Guillermo Martínez Pastur, Fernando Estenssoro Saavedra, & María Vanessa Lencinas, How are Argentina and Chile facing shared biodiversity loss?
• Louis J. Kotzé & Duncan French, A critique of the Global Pact for the environment: a stillborn initiative or the foundation for Lex Anthropocenae?
• Mohsen Nagheeby & Jeroen Warne, The geopolitical overlay of the hydropolitics of the Harirud River Basin
• Nengye Liu, The European Union and the establishment of marine protected areas in Antarctica

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 33, no. 4, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Robin Churchill, Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2017
• Gaute Voigt-Hanssen, Current ‘Light’ and ‘Heavy’ Options for Benefit-sharing in the Context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Dikdik Mohamad Sodik, The Outermost Small Islands of the Indonesian Archipelago: A Legal Analysis
• Lili Song & Morsen Mosses, Revisiting Ocean Boundary Disputes in the South Pacific in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration: A Legal Perspective
• Hadyu Ikram, Sulu-Sulawesi Seas Patrol: Lessons from the Malacca Straits Patrol and Other Similar Cooperative Frameworks

Conference: La déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme 70 ans après : Les fondements des droits de l'homme au défi des nouvelles technologies

On December 13-14, 2018, the Centre de recherche sur les droits de l’homme et le droit humanitaire will hold a conference on "La déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme 70 ans après : Les fondements des droits de l'homme au défi des nouvelles technologies." The program is here. Here's the idea:

Le 70^èmeanniversaire de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme (DUDH), adoptée par l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies le 10 décembre 1948, invite à interroger l’actualité de ce texte fondateur de la protection internationale des droits de l’homme. Parmi les évolutions qu’a connues la société internationale depuis 1948, le progrès de la connaissance en matière scientifique constitue assurément l’un des défis les plus manifestes pour la mise en œuvre des droits proclamés en 1948. Si certaines questions peuvent être résolues par une transposition mutatis mutandisdes solutions acquises en matière de protection des droits de l’homme à de nouvelles problématiques, une telle technique de transposition de solutions anciennes à des problèmes nouveaux ne peut recevoir une application générale, de nombreux développements en matière de progrès scientifique n’ayant pu, à l’évidence, être anticipés par les rédacteurs de la DUDH.

L’objet de ce colloque est de mettre en perspective les fondementsde la déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme– les principes de liberté, d’égalité et de dignité de la personne humaine – avec le développement des nouvelles technologies(cette expression étant entendue largement comme incluant à la fois les nouvelles technologies de communication et d’information et les biotechnologies). Cette approche, préférée à une articulation « droit par droit » ou « nouvelle technologie par nouvelle technologie », présente un caractère inédit et promet de contribuer utilement à la théorie du droit international des droits de l’homme. Le sujet retenu appelant une approche transversale et pluridisciplinaire, le colloque réunira des spécialistes de très haut niveau – universitaires et praticiens – d’horizons divers : juristes, sociologues, médecins, journalistes et informaticiens.

Le colloque s’articulera autour de trois axes. Premièrement, les nouvelles technologies interrogent la définition même de l’être humain, en tant qu’être libre et digne. Les modifications apportées au corps humain grâce à la science – notamment dans un usage tendant à améliorer les capacités humaines tel que prôné par le transhumanisme – le développement de l’intelligence artificielle ou encore l’émergence d’une identité « numérique », rendent désormais insuffisante une définition purement « naturelle » de l’être humain, appelée à être complétée par une définition normative de ce dernier, à laquelle le droit international des droits de l’homme ne peut que contribuer, son champ d’application en étant tributaire. En outre, les bornes de la liberté, de l’autonomie de volonté de l’individu, se voient bouleversées par l’émergence des nouvelles technologies. En effet, la liberté de choix de l’individu se trouve à la fois sublimée par les nouvelles technologies – accès accru à l’information, augmentation des possibilités de choix en matière de procréation par exemple – mais aussi entravée par celles-ci, notamment en matière de liberté de pensée et d’opinion, les nouvelles technologie de la communication et de l’information contribuant notamment à forger les opinions. La liberté, dans sa dimension protection de la vie privée (préservation d’une sphère d’autonomie personnelle) se voit également profondément affectée par le phénomène de la surveillance de masse.

Deuxièmement, les nouvelles technologies ont un impact sur la signification et la réalisation des principes d’égalité et de fraternité, au cœur de la DUDH. D’une part, l’accès aux nouvelles technologies est un enjeu d’une actualité et d’une importance incontestables, tant en termes d’égalité au niveau individuel que dans les relations internationales. Autrement dit, l’égalité réelle entre les être humains, au sein d’une société nationale mais également au niveau international, passe donc aujourd’hui par un égal accès au progrès scientifique, nécessitant des mesures positives des Etats et une coopération internationale renforcée en la matière. D’autre part, la contribution (positive ou négative) des nouvelles technologies à la réalisation du principe d’égalité et à l’émancipation économique et sociale de l’individu mérite une attention particulière. Cette question doit être appréhendée à la fois dans une perspective générale – en interrogeant les effets de l’eugénisme, du clonage ou encore du transhumanisme sur le principe d’égalité – et suivant différentes perspectives sectorielles, telles que le genre – les nouvelles technologies de la communication et de l’information peuvent être un vecteur de libération de la parole des femmes – ou le travail, domaine dans lequel les nouvelles technologies se présentent aussi bien comme un instrument de progrès social que comme un outil d’asservissement.

Troisièmement, la question de la responsabilité ne saurait être éludée, la sanction de la violation des droits de l’homme étant l’ultime étape du processus de concrétisation des droits. A cet égard, les nouvelles technologies présentent un intérêt tout particulier en matière d’établissement des faits préalable à l’engagement de la responsabilité. Mais les nouvelles technologies sont également un instrument de déresponsabilisation des décideurs publics, voire un moyen de soustraire certains choix au processus démocratique (justice prédictive, économie, etc.), suscitant dès lors le risque de ne plus pouvoir imputer à un sujet de droit certaines violations des droits de l’homme.

Le colloque promet donc de faire un bilan sur l’actualité des fondements des droits de l’homme à la lumière du développement des nouvelles technologies. Il pourrait également être le point de départ de réflexions plus pérennes sur les défis que pose le progrès scientifique à la protection des droits de l’homme, en se prolongeant sur la création de groupes de travail en coopération avec d’autres institutions.

Galand: UN Security Council Referrals to the International Criminal Court: Legal Nature, Effects and Limits

Alexandre Skander Galand ("The Individualisation of War" Project) has published UN Security Council Referrals to the International Criminal Court: Legal Nature, Effects and Limits (Brill | Nijhoff 2018). Here's the abstract:

This book offers a unique critical analysis of the legal nature, effects and limits of UN Security Council referrals to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Alexandre Skander Galand provides, for the first time, a full picture of two competing understandings of the nature of the Security Council referrals to the ICC, and their respective normative interplay with legal barriers to the exercise of universal prescriptive and adjudicative jurisdiction. The book shows that the application of the Rome Statute through a Security Council referral is inherently limited by the UN Charter as well as the Rome Statute, and can conflict with other branches of international law, including international human rights law, the law on immunities and the law of treaties. Hence, it spells out a conception of the nature and effects of Security Council referrals that responds to these limits and, in turn, informs the reader on the nature of the ICC itself.

New Issue: Revista romana de drept international

The latest issue of Revista romana de drept international (No. 19, January-June 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Articole
• Aniruddha Rajput, Insolvența transfrontalieră și Dreptul internațional public

Conference: 113th ASIL Annual Meeting

On March 27-30, 2019, the American Society of International Law will hold its 113th Annual Meeting, in Washington, DC. The theme is: "International Law as an Instrument." Early bird registration is open. Here's the idea:

Actors on the international stage use a variety of tools to address their concerns, from climate change to economic development; from humanitarian crises to cross-border disputes; from commercial regulation to global trade. Governments and international organizations employ diplomacy and coercion, corporations use negotiation and persuasion, and non-governmental organizations engage in fact-finding and advocacy. And all of these actors affect and are affected by international law and use the international legal system to effectuate change and solve problems.

The 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) will focus on the distinctive ways international law serves as an instrument that national and international actors invoke and deploy, and by which they are constrained. How does international law shape the perceptions of the interests and problems of diverse global actors and help frame solutions? Is international legal language a useful medium for the development and dissemination of globalized norms? Under what conditions is international law most effective? Are international institutions effective instruments for addressing complex global challenges?

At the 2019 Annual Meeting, ASIL invites international lawyers from all sectors of the profession, policymakers, and experts from other fields to reflect on the different ways in which international law plays a role in identifying and resolving global problems.

Call for Submissions: The Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law

The Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law has issued a call for submissions for its fourth volume. Here's the call:

The Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law (EtYIL), which is motivated by the need to ‘rebalancing the narrative of international law’, was launched in 2015. The first volume, EtYIL 2016) was successfully published in 2017; building upon the successes of the first volume the second volume of EtYIL 2017 came out in 2018 covering topics ranging from African continental free trade area, foreign direct investment law, and contributions to UN peacekeeping from the global south. We are now finalising the third (2018) volume which will come out in early 2019, covering a range of cutting-edge international law issues of regional and global significance. We are pleased to invite interested scholars to consider submitting long or short articles, current development pieces, case reports and book reviews for consideration for the fourth (2019) volume of the Yearbook (submission guidelines and other details available here). Submission deadline for this volume is 30 November 2019. We would like to hear your potential ideas and topics at ethiopianyearbook@gmail.com.

Call for Papers: ANZSIL 27th Annual Conference

The Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its 27th Annual Conference, to take place July 4-6, 2019, in Canberra. The theme is "International Law Futures: The Intersection of Law with Knowledge, Information and Expertise." The call is here.

New Issue: Questions of International Law

The latest issue of Questions of International Law / Questioni di Diritto Internazionale (no. 55, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Awaiting the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Chagos Archipelago (Part I)
• Introduced by Thomas Burri, Lucas Carlos Lima, Loris Marotti and Irini Papanicolopulu
• David Snoxell, An ICJ Advisory Opinion, basis for a negotiated settlement on the issues concerning the future of the Chagos Islanders and of the British Indian Ocean Territory
• Zeno Crespi Reghizzi, La juridiction consultative à l’épreuve du principe consensuel: l’affaire des Effets juridiques de la séparation de l’archipel des Chagos de Maurice en 1965

New Issue: African Journal of International Criminal Justice

The latest issue of the African Journal of International Criminal Justice (2017, nos. 1-2) is out. Contents include:

• Kerstin Bree Carlson, Joint Criminal Enterprise before the Chambres Africaines Extraordinaires: Hissène Habré’s Direct and Indirect Criminal Liability
• Youssoupha Diallo, Thème: L’Interaction normative entre les Chambres Africaines Extraordinaires (CAE) et le Système Juridique National Sénégalais
• Etienne Kentsa, Le jugement de Hissène Habré: Une justice réparatrice exemplaire?

New Issue: Revista Iberoamericana de Derecho Internacional y de la Integración

The latest issue of the Revista Iberoamericana de Derecho Internacional y de la Integración (no. 9, November 2018) is out. The table of contents is here.

New Volume: Irish Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Irish Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 11-12, 2016-17) is out. Contents include:

• Colin Harvey, Leaving the Union: Brexit and Complex Constitutionalism in Northern Ireland
• Anne Smith & Leo Green, The Processes of the 'Unfinished Businesses' of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement: An All-Island Charter of Rights and the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights
• Imelda Maher, Crossing the Irish Land Border after Brexit: The Common Travel Area and the Challenge of Trade
• CRG Murray, Aoife O'Donoghue & Ben TC Warwick, The Implications of the Good Friday Agreement for UK Human Rights Reform
• Steven Hill & David Lemétayer, NATO–EU Relations: An International Law Perspective

Shafiee: Technopolitics of a Concessionary Contract: How International Law Was Transformed by Its Encounter with Anglo-Iranian Oil

Katayoun Shafiee (Univ. of Warwick - History) has posted Technopolitics of a Concessionary Contract: How International Law Was Transformed by Its Encounter with Anglo-Iranian Oil (International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 50, no. 4, November 2018). Here's the abstract:

The Iranian government's decision to nationalize its British-controlled oil industry in 1951 was a landmark case in international law. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Iranian government clashed over whether international authorities had the right to arbitrate for them in disputes over the terms of the oil concession. Scholarship in Middle East studies has overlooked the role of concession terms in shaping political disputes in the 20th century. Rather than seeing legal studies of the oil industry on one side and power struggles and resources on the other, this article examines international court proceedings at The Hague to argue that Anglo-Iranian oil transformed international law. Novel mechanisms of economic and legal governance, set up to deal with an expanded community of nation-states, worked as techniques of political power that equipped the oil corporation with the power to associate Iran's oil with foreign control while generating new forms of law and contract that undermined resource nationalism.

New Issue: Virginia Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Virginia Journal of International Law (Vol. 58, no. 1, Fall 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Stephen Cody & Alexa Koenig, Procedural Justice in Transnational Contexts
• Yvonne Tew, Stealth Theocracy
• Charles Pendleton Trumbull IV, Analogies in Detentions: Distorting the Balance Between Military Necessity and Humanity
• Timothy Webster, Discursive Justice: Interpreting World War II Litigation in Japan

Call for Papers: Comparative Procedure in State-to-State Disputes

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies at Leiden University has issued a call for papers for a conference on "Comparative Procedure in State-to-State Disputes," to be held May 28-29, 2019, in The Hague. The call is here.

New Issue: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (Vol. 21, nos. 2-3, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Olga Koubrak, A Future for a Forgotten Predator: An Assessment of International Legal Frameworks for Protection and Recovery of the Caribbean Sawfishes
• Juanita Gómez & Nathalie van Vliet, Regulations on the Use of Fish and Wild Meat Segregate the Intrinsically Un-Dissociable for Subsistence Livelihoods in Colombia
• Bram Janssens & Arie Trouwborst, Rhinoceros Conservation and International Law: The Role of Wildlife Treaties in Averting Megaherbivore Extinction
• Laura Muir & Natalie Klein, From IPOA Sharks to Sharks MoU Under the Convention on Migratory Species: Progress or Clutter in International Environmental Law?

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 87, no. 4, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Gerard Kelly, Assessing the Climate Governance Contribution and Future of the Clean Development Mechanism
• Alexis Galán, The Shifting Boundaries of Legitimacy in International Law
• Graham Melling, Conceiving International Law’s Normative Order beyond the ‘Residual Negative Principle’
• Kinfe Micheal Yilma, The ‘Right to Privacy in the Digital Age’: Boundaries of the ‘New’ UN Discourse

New Issue: Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law

The latest issue of the Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (Vol. 27, no. 3, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Plastics Regulation
• Karen Raubenheimer, Alistair McIlgorm, & Nilüfer Oral, Towards an improved international framework to govern the life cycle of plastics
• Elizabeth A. Kirk & Naporn Popattanachai, Marine plastics: Fragmentation, effectiveness and legitimacy in international lawmaking
• Giulia Carlini & Konstantin Kleine, Advancing the international regulation of plastic pollution beyond the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution on marine litter and microplastics
• Linda Finska & Julie Gjørtz Howden, Troubled waters – Where is the bridge? Confronting marine plastic pollution from international watercourses
• Esther Kentin & Heidi Kaarto, An EU ban on microplastics in cosmetic products and the right to regulate
• Thomas J. de Römph & Geert Van Calster, REACH in a circular economy: The obstacles for plastics recyclers and regulators
• Regular Articles
• Louis J. Kotzé & Wendy Muzangaza, Constitutional international environmental law for the Anthropocene?
• Alexander Zahar, Implementation of the polluter pays principle in China
• Arie Trouwborst, Wolves not welcome? Zoning for large carnivore conservation and management under the Bern Convention and EU Habitats Directive
• Abdullah Al Arif, Exploring the legal status and key features of ecosystem‐based fisheries management in international fisheries law
• Lisa Benjamin, Adelle Thomas, & Rueanna Haynes, An ‘Islands’ COP’? Loss and damage at COP23
• Case Note
• Nicolas de Sadeleer, Preliminary ruling on the compatibility of taxation of superstores with the right to freedom of establishment and State aid law: Case C‐233/16, ANGED

Conference: 70 ans de la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide

On December 3-4, 2018, a conference will be held on "70 ans de la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide," in Aix-en-Provence. The program is here.

Lamp: How Should We Think about the Winners and Losers from Globalization? Three Narratives and their Implications for the Redesign of International Economic Agreements

Nicolas Lamp (Queen's Univ., Canada - Law) has posted How Should We Think about the Winners and Losers from Globalization? Three Narratives and their Implications for the Redesign of International Economic Agreements. Here's the abstract:

In the wake of Trump’s election to the US presidency, the “losers” from globalization have received unprecedented attention. While few would contest that manufacturing workers in developed countries have lost out over the past decades, the remedies proposed by President Trump have been met with a mixture of concern and ridicule by the trade establishment. And yet, it seems clear that, at least in the United States, politicians and trade officials are no longer able to convince voters that international economic agreements will “lift all boats”. Instead, those engaged in debates about trade policy will need to be open about the fact that international economic agreements create both winners and losers. The paper identifies three narratives about who those winners and losers are. The paper argues that the contestation between these three narratives is not one that can be resolved through empirical analysis, but that the narratives instead contain irreducible normative elements. The paper further explores the implications of these narratives for the redesign of international economic agreements.

New Issue: Diritti umani e diritto internazionale

The latest issue of Diritti umani e diritto internazionale (Vol. 12, no. 3, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Studi
• Current Challenges for the Protection of Refugees in Europe
• Marcello Di Filippo, Current Challenges for the Protection of Refugees in Europe: An Introduction
• Daniela Vitiello, The Dublin System and Beyond: Which Way Out of the Stalemate?
• Simone Marinai, Extraterritorial Processing of Asylum Claims: Is It a Viable Option?
• Efthymios Papastavridis, Recent Non-Entrée Policies in the Central Mediterranean and Their Legality: A New Form of Refoulement?
• Miguel A. Acosta Sánchez, The Notions of ‘Safe Country’ v. Prima Facie Presumptions of Entitlement to International Protection: The Spanish Practice
• Universality of Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism
• Yvonne Donders, Towards a Right to Cultural Identity? Yes, Indeed!
• Federico Lenzerini, Freewheeling and Provocative: Why Using Pre-established Criteria for Settling Culturally-based Human Rights Disputes Is Impracticable
• L’applicazione ratione temporis dei trattati sui diritti umani
• Chiara Ragni, L’applicazione ratione temporis dei trattati sui diritti dell’uomo nella giurisprudenza della Corte internazionale di giustizia
• Giuseppe Pascale, I ‘confini’ temporali del sistema africano di tutela dei diritti umani
• Interventi
• Claudio Di Turi, Libertà di associazione sindacale del personale militare e Carta sociale europea nella recente giurisprudenza della Corte costituzionale
• Marco Fasciglione, Another Step on the Road? Remarks on the Zero Draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights
• Gianpaolo Maria Ruotolo, Il ‘caso Lula’ e il diritto internazionale
• Osservatorio
• Giuliana Quattrocchi, Applicabilità extraterritoriale della Convenzione americana dei diritti umani e prevenzione del danno ambientale transfrontaliero
• Cecilia De Marziis, Diritto di accesso a un giudice e giurisdizione civile universale dinanzi alla Corte europea dei diritti umani Cristina Renghini, La sentenza G.I.E.M e il confronto tra la Corte europea dei diritti umani e le corti nazionali
• Brigida Varesano, Il diritto al ne bis in idem ed il doppio binario sanzionatorio: alcune riflessioni a margine della sentenza Garlsson Real Estate

Bashir: Islamic International Law: Historical Foundations and Al-Shaybani’s Siyar

Khaled Ramadan Bashir (Univ. of Aberdeen) has published Islamic International Law: Historical Foundations and Al-Shaybani’s Siyar (Edward Elgar Publishing 2018). Here's the abstract:

In this work, Khaled Ramadan Bashir presents and discusses the precise nature of Mohammad Al-Shaybnai’s contribution to Siyar (Islamic International Law). He compares his work to other great contributions on international law made by renowned scholars including Augustine, Gratian, Aquinas, Vitoria and Grotius. Bashir affirms the view that Al-Shaybnai made a major contribution to the field of International law, which was unparalleled until Grotius wrote The Law of War and Peace. To date, Al-Shaybnai’s Siyar is still a cornerstone of the Islamic perspective of international law.

New Issue: Human Rights Quarterly

The latest issue of the Human Rights Quarterly (Vol. 40, no. 4, November 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Joseph R. Slaughter, Hijacking Human Rights: Neoliberalism, the New Historiography, and the End of the Third World
• Aoife Duffy, Bearing Witness to Atrocity Crimes: Photography and International Law
• Aoife Nolan, Privatization and Economic and Social Rights
• Shreya Atrey, Women’s Human Rights: From Progress to Transformation, An Intersectional Response to Martha Nussbaum From Progress to Transformation
• Eva Ottendoerfer, Translating Victims’ "Right to Reparations" into Practice: A Framework for Assessing the Implementation of Reparations Programs from a Bottom-Up Perspective
• Kathleen M. Fallon, Anna-Liisa Aunio, & Jessica Kim, Decoupling International Agreements from Domestic Policy: The State and Soft Repression
• Paul O'Connell, On the Human Rights Question
• Luc Reydams, Politics or Pragmatism? The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Burying of the Investigation into the Assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana

Dijkstal: Victim Rights and the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s Decision on the Jurisdiction of the Court over the Crime of Deportation Against the Rohingya People

Haydee Dijkstal has posted an ASIL Insight on Victim Rights and the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s Decision on the Jurisdiction of the Court over the Crime of Deportation Against the Rohingya People.

New Issue: Criminal Law Forum

The latest issue of Criminal Law Forum (Vol. 29, no. 4, December 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Human Rights Compliance and Corporate Criminal Liability
• Kai Ambos & Carsten Momsen, Introduction: Human Rights Compliance and Corporate Criminal Liability
• Kai Ambos, International Economic Criminal Law
• Carsten Momsen & Mathis Schwarze, The Changing Face of Corporate Liability – New Hard Law and the Increasing Influence of Soft Law
• Mark Pieth, Corporate Compliance and Human Rights
• Miriam Saage-Maaß, The Merowe Dam Project – When Does the Coin Flip from Legal Business Activity to Criminal Behavior? Reflections on the Concept of Guarantor’s Liablity in the Context of Transnational Business Activities
• Tom Firestone & Kerry Contini, The Global Magnitsky Act

Conference: Teaching International Law

On January 23-24, 2019, the Universität Innsbruck will host a conference on "Teaching International Law." The program is here.

Call for Papers: Art and International Courts

The Art and International Justice Initiative and iCourts at the University of Copenhagen have issued a call for papers for a workshop on "Art and International Courts," to be held in Copenhagen on April 25-26, 2019. The call is here.

Call for Papers: The Paths of Change in International Law

A call for papers has been issued for a workshop on "The Paths of Change in International Law," part of the European Research Council-funded PATHS project. Here's the call:

Call for Papers: The Paths of Change in International Law
Workshop, 6 and 7 June 2019
Geneva, Switzerland

Convenors:

Nico Krisch, Professor, International Law, Graduate Institute
Ezgi Yildiz, Postdoctoral Researcher, Global Governance Centre, Graduate Institute

This workshop is a part of the European Research Council funded PATHS project, where we investigate the ways in which international law changes informally (through reinterpretation or shifts in custom).

International law is traditionally seen to erect high hurdles for change – typically unanimity or a uniformity of practice of states – and this high threshold has provoked much criticism for hindering the pursuit of justice, the provision of public goods, and the democratic revision of political choices. Yet in different areas, such as international criminal law or the law of international organizations, international law has in recent times undergone more rapid change than the traditional picture would allow, and often in informal ways that do not fit classical categories. However, this greater dynamism has found little sustained attention in scholarship so far. The PATHS project seeks to fill this gap and understand when and how international law changes, how this change is registered among participants in legal discourses and how the pathways of change differ across issue areas and sites of international legal practice.

In the workshop, we seek to bring together leading and rising scholars from different disciplines – law, international relations, and political sociology – to explore these issues in a small and interactive format. We are particularly interested in sharpening the contrasts between different theoretical and methodological approaches, and invite participants to develop distinctive arguments rather than ecumenical accounts.

We invite submissions that tackle the following questions:

• What are the factors behind change (and stasis) in international law?
• How does political change translate into legal change in the international realm?
• What role do powerful and less powerful states, international institutions, and courts play?
• When is international legal change rapid, when incremental?
• Who can block change in international law?

Submission procedure:

We invite interested scholars to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by 10 January 2019 at paths@graduateinstitute.ch.

Proposals will be selected based on their quality, originality and engagement with the workshop themes. Accepted submissions will be notified by 10 February 2019.

We expect to receive a draft of your papers by 30 May 2019. We do not expect fully developed papers, but rather short, crisp pieces of 10 to 15 pages that speak directly to some of these questions on the basis of your theoretical and empirical expertise.

Practical information:

The workshop will be held at the Graduate Institute of International and Development in Geneva, Switzerland. We will cover your travel expenses (economy airfare) and accommodation in Geneva.