Conference: 16th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (Update)

The 16th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law, which was to take place on September 10-12, 2020, in Stockholm, will now take place on September 9-11, 2021, in Stockholm.

Scott: Climate Change, Disasters, and the Refugee Convention

Matthew Scott (Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law) has published Climate Change, Disasters, and the Refugee Convention (Cambridge Univ. Press 2020). Here's the abstract:

Climate Change, Disasters and the Refugee Convention is concerned with refugee status determination (RSD) in the context of disasters and climate change. It demonstrates that the legal predicament of people who seek refugee status in this connection has been inconsistently addressed by judicial bodies in leading refugee law jurisdictions, and identifies epistemological as well as doctrinal impediments to a clear and principled application of international refugee law. Arguing that RSD cannot safely be performed without a clear understanding of the relationship between natural hazards and human agency, the book draws insights from disaster anthropology and political ecology that see discrimination as a contributory cause of people's differential exposure and vulnerability to disaster-related harm. This theoretical framework, combined with insights derived from the review of existing doctrinal and judicial approaches, prompts a critical revision of the dominant human rights-based approach to the refugee definition.

Knur: Individuelle Rechtspositionen gegenüber internationalen Organisationen und Institutionen

Franziska Knur has published Individuelle Rechtspositionen gegenüber internationalen Organisationen und Institutionen (Duncker & Humblot 2020). Here's the abstract:

Trotz wachsender Zuständigkeiten internationaler Organisationen und Institutionen mit unmittelbaren Auswirkungen auf den Einzelnen sind individualisierte Rechtsschutz- oder Beschwerdeverfahren noch immer rar. Vor dem Hintergrund der sich wandelnden Rechtsstellung des Einzelnen »jenseits des Staates« und der Verankerung individueller Rechte im Völkerrecht ist jedoch davon auszugehen, dass auch zwischen internationalen Organisationen und den von ihrem Handeln betroffenen Menschen eine eigenständige Rechtsbeziehung entsteht, die eine Form der Rechenschaftspflicht erfordert. Anhand von fünf Referenzgebieten stellt die Arbeit exemplarisch die Quellen und Inhalte individueller Rechtspositionen gegenüber internationalen Organisationen und Institutionen dar. Das ausgewertete Material – darunter insbesondere die Rechtsprechung internationaler Dienstgerichte, des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs und Dokumente zum UN-Peacekeeping – belegt die zunehmende Bedeutung dieser Rechtsbeziehung und der resultierenden Rechenschaftspflicht internationaler Organisationen gegenüber dem Einzelnen.

Sripati: Constitution-Making under UN Auspices: Fostering Dependency in Sovereign Lands

Vijayashri Sripati has published Constitution-Making under UN Auspices: Fostering Dependency in Sovereign Lands (Oxford Univ. Press 2020). Here's the abstract:

This book raises very interesting and important questions about the legitimacy of the contemporary use of United Nations Constitutional Assistance (UNCA) (1989-2018) which birthed in 1949, as trusteeship and was, for this reason, rejected in 1960. Conceptual confusions have turned scholars' and policymakers' attention away from the Western liberal constitution that UNCA internationalizes. The Constitution's salience makes UNCA the most significant post-1989 development—-one that promotes the 'rule of law,' provides the basis for UN/ international territorial administration, and shapes all other developments. During colonialism, foreign states and international organizations starting from the League of Nations, followed by the United Nations, internationalized the Constitution in response to the colonies' supposed incapacities, and ostensibly to promote free markets, rule of law, good governance and civilized standards concerning women, with a view to 'civilize' them, and thereby morph them into sovereign states. Post 1960, UNCA has worked essentially to secure debt-relief for poor debtor sovereign states. But it does so, ostensibly to promote the same ends with a view to 'modernize' them, thus 'strengthening' their supposedly weakened sovereignty, which means, sovereign states experience political domination and control just as they did when they were colonies. This book concludes that UNCA which continues as trusteeship, makes a new addition to the 'standards of civilization': transparent, inclusive and participatory constitution-making. UNCA violates developing states' right to self-determination. This book provides a new constitutional dimension of trusteeship, one that creates and perpetuates global inequality.

deGuzman: Shocking the Conscience of Humanity: Gravity and the Legitimacy of International Criminal Law

Margaret M. deGuzman (Temple Univ. - Law) has published Shocking the Conscience of Humanity: Gravity and the Legitimacy of International Criminal Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2020). Here's the abstract:

The most commonly cited justification for international criminal law is that it addresses crimes of such gravity that they "shock the conscience of humanity." From decisions about how to define crimes and when to exercise jurisdiction, to limitations on defences and sentencing determinations, gravity rhetoric permeates the discourse of international criminal law. Yet the concept of gravity has thus far remained highly undertheorized.

This book uncovers the consequences for the regime's legitimacy of its heavy reliance on the poorly understood idea of gravity. Margaret M. deGuzman argues that gravity's ambiguity may at times enable a thin consensus to emerge around decisions, such as the creation of an institution or the definition of a crime, but that, increasingly, it undermines efforts to build a strong and resilient global justice community. The book suggests ways to reconceptualize gravity in line with global values and goals to better support the long-term legitimacy of international criminal law.

New Volume: New Zealand Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 16, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Articles and Commentaries
• Ashley Chandler, Investor-State Dispute Settlement in the CPTPP: Perspectives from Australia, Japan and New Zealand
• José-Miguel Bello y Villarino, Will the Anti-corruption Chapter in the TPP11 Work?: Assessing the Role of Trade Law in the Fight Against Corruption Through International Law
• Umair Ghori, The Confluence of International Trade and Investment: Exploring the Nexus between Export Controls and Indirect Expropriation
• Tracey Epps & Danae Wheeler, Subsidies and “New Industrial Policy”: Are International Trade Rules Fit for the 21st Century?
• Imogen Little, Out with the Old Approach: A Call to Take Socio-Economic Rights Seriously in Refugee Status Determination
• James C. Fisher, A Critical Re-analysis of Whaling in the Antarctic: Formalism, Realism, and How Not to Do International Law
• Gino Naldi & Konstantinos Magliveras, Jurisdictional Aspects of Dispute Settlement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Some Recent Developments
• Jared Papps, State Immunity and the Application of Customary International Law in New Zealand: The Young v Attorney-General Litigation
• Roger S. Clark, The Human Rights Committee, the Right to Life and Nuclear Weapons: The Committee’s General Comment No 36 on Article 6 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• The South Pacific
• Tony Angelo, Pacific Islands Forum 2018

New Issue: Journal du Droit International

The latest issue of the Journal du Droit International ("Clunet") (Vol. 147, no. 1, Janvier-Février-Mars 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Doctrine
• Jean Michel Jacquet, Des contrats d’État aux contrats d’investissement: continuité et discontinuités
• Johanna Guillaumé, L’office du notaire en droit international privé
• Guillaume Kessler, Le droit international privé à l’épreuve du renouveau de la filiation
• Variétés
• Vincent Tomkiewicz, L’affaire Russie – Mesures concernant le trafic en transit: un Groupe spécial à l’épreuve de l’article XXI du GATT de 1994
• Ludovic Chan Tung, Les États-Unis et l’accord de Paris de 2015 sur les changements climatiques

New Issue: Journal of International Peacekeeping

The latest issue of the Journal of International Peacekeeping (Vol. 22, nos. 1-4, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Rwanda Revisited: Genocide, Civil War, and the Transformation of International Law
• Romeo Dallaire, Foreword–Rwanda Revisited: Genocide, Civil War, and the Transformation of International Law
• Phillip Drew, Jeremy Farrall, Rob McLaughlin & Bruce Oswald, Introduction
• Colin Keating, Rwanda: The Political Failure of the UN Security Council
• Andrew Wallis, Rwanda’s Forgotten Years: Reconsidering the Role and Crimes of Akazu 1973–1993
• Jean Bou, Underpowered and Mostly Unwanted: A Short History of UNAMIR
• J.J. Frewen, Rwanda Revisited: UNAMIR II: Australian Reflections on the Mission and the Mandate
• Bruce ‘Ossie’ Oswald, UNAMIR: A Deployed Legal Officer’s Retrospective
• Phillip Drew & Brent Beardsley, Do Not Intervene: UNAMIR’s Rules of Engagement from the Inside
• Tamsin Phillipa Paige, Wilfully Blind: The Security Council’s Response to Genocide in Rwanda
• Melanie O’Brien, Defining Genocide
• Phillip Drew, Rwanda, the Holocaust, and the Predictable Path to Genocide
• Linda Melvern, Moral Equivalence: The Story of Genocide Denial in Rwanda
• David J. Simon, Rwanda and the Rohingya: Learning the Wrong Lessons?
• Adam Jones, Gendering Rwanda Genocide and Post-Genocide
• Emily Crawford, The ICTR and Its Contribution to the Revivification of International Criminal Law
• M.A. Drumbl, Post-Genocide Justice in Rwanda
• Jane Boulden, Rwanda: Lessons Observed. Lessons Learned?

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 54, no. 2, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• James Bacchus & Simon Lester, The Rule of Precedent and the Role of the Appellate Body
• Simon B.C. Lacey, Reality Check: The lack of consensus on new trade rules to govern the digital economy
• Joachim Åhman, Exploring Border Areas Between the Law of State Responsibility and WTO Law
• Pratyush Nath Upreti, Trade Mark Restrictions under the TRIPS Agreement: The WTO Panel Findings on Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Legislation
• Uros Zdravkovic, Ex officio Claimant: A Challenging Proposal for Reforming the WTO
• Luis Carlos Ramírez Martínez, WTO Legal Reform: The Need for Revisiting the Treatment Accorded to China as a Non-Market Economy in Trade Remedies
• Sebastian Beckerle, Executive Powers within the International Trading System – A Comparative Analysis of EU, Swiss, U.S. and Canadian Frameworks

Gornig: Der Ukraine-Konflikt aus völkerrechtlicher Sicht

Carolin Gornig has published Der Ukraine-Konflikt aus völkerrechtlicher Sicht (Duncker & Humblot 2020). Here's the abstract:

Die Ukraine-Krise bewegt seit vielen Jahren die Weltpolitik und der Konflikt ist stets Inhalt neuer Nachrichten. Die vorliegende Untersuchung bewertet den Ukraine-Konflikt umfassend. Die häufig vernachlässigte ukrainische Geschichte wird geschildert, um so die gespaltene Haltung der ukrainischen Bürger besser nachvollziehen zu können. Der Fokus der Arbeit richtet sich aber auf die Sezessionsbestrebungen der Krim, der Regionen Donezk und Luhansk sowie den Anschluss der Halbinsel Krim an die Russländische Föderation. Ferner werden die Anwendbarkeit des humanitären Völkerrechts sowie die internationalen Reaktionen im Kontext der Wirtschaftssanktionen erörtert.

Workshop: Human Rights & Climate Change - from Conceptual to Practical Perspectives

On April 30-May 1, the University of Essex's School of Law and Human Rights Centre will host an online workshop on "Human Rights & Climate Change - from Conceptual to Practical Perspectives." Registration information and the program are here.

Zemach: The Emerging Right of West Bank Palestinians to Israeli Citizenship

Ariel Zemach (Ono Academic College - Law) has posted The Emerging Right of West Bank Palestinians to Israeli Citizenship (University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article explores a path in international law for recognizing the right of the Palestinian population of the West Bank to Israeli citizenship, based on the annexationist policies of Israel in the West Bank. The scope of the obligation of states to confer citizenship on individuals is determined by international human rights law (“IHRL”). The article shows that a plausible reading of the IHRL treaty obligations of Israel suggests that it has a duty to grant citizenship to individuals born in its territory, who would otherwise be stateless, and that most West Bank Palestinians are currently considered stateless. Therefore, if a given area of the West Bank is considered to have become part of Israel, most Palestinians subsequently born in such territory are plausibly entitled to receive Israeli citizenship as a matter of treaty law. There also seems to be a broad, emerging right under customary international law of the residents of a territory acquired by a state to receive the citizenship of that state, regardless of whether or not they would otherwise be considered stateless. The West Bank is a territory under Israeli occupation, and annexation by an occupier of any part of the occupied territory violates international law. The article argues, however, that the illegal annexation by Israel of an occupied territory would make that territory a part of Israel for the limited purpose of the right to citizenship, as an exception to the principle that illegal annexation is null and void. Hence, the existing and emerging IHRL obligations of Israel to grant citizenship to residents of territory acquired by Israel extend to Palestinians residing in areas of the West Bank illegally annexed by Israel. The article argues further that, for the purpose of applying the norms of IHRL that concern the right to citizenship, the definition of annexation extends beyond formal annexation and encompasses de facto annexation as well. Annexation of occupied territory results from the occupier’s display of sovereignty in that territory, among others, by settling its own population in the occupied territory. In view of the current spread of Israeli settlements across the West Bank, unless Israel removes, within a reasonable time period, many of these settlements, the entire territory of the West Bank may be considered to have been annexed, and the entire Palestinian population of the West Bank would have a strong claim to Israeli citizenship under an emerging norm of international law.

Ponta: Human Rights Law in the Time of the Coronavirus

Adina Ponta has posted an ASIL Insight on Human Rights Law in the Time of the Coronavirus.

New Issue: African Human Rights Law Journal

The latest issue of the African Human Rights Law Journal (Vol. 19, no. 2, 2019). Contents include:

• Linet Sithole & Cowen Dziva, Eliminating harmful practices against women in Zimbabwe: implementing article 5 of the African Women’s Protocol
• Romola Adeola, The impact of the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa
• Uti Ojah Egbai & Jonathan O. Chimakonam, Protecting the rights of victims in transitional justice: an interrogation of amnesty
• Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, ‘He beat me, and the state did nothing about it’: an African perspective on the due diligence standard and state responsibility for domestic violence in international law
• Emmanuel Kamonyo Sibomana, Desia Colgan & Nicola GunnClark, The right of palliative care for the most vulnerable in Africa is everyone’s responsibility
• Valerie Muguoh Chiatoh, Recognition of minority groups as a prerequisite for the protection of human rights: the case of Anglophone Cameroon
• Paul O. Ogendi, Pharmaceutical trade policies and access to medicines in Kenya
• Catrine Christiansen, Steffen Jensen & Tobias Kelly, A predisposed view: state violence, human rights organisations and the invisibility of the poor in Nairobi
• Hoolo ‘Nyane, Abolition of criminal defamation and retention of scandalum magnatum in Lesotho
• Augustine Arimoro, Public-private partnership and the right to property in Nigeria
• Aliyu Ibrahim, Decongestion of Nigerian prisons : an examination of the role of the Nigerian police in the application of the holding-charge procedure in relation to pre-trial detainees
• Emma Alimohammadi & Gustav Muller, The illegal eviction of undocumented foreigners from South Africa
• Emma Charlene Lubaale & Simangele Daisy Mavundla, Decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use in South Africa
• Tashwill Esterhuizen, Decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts and the Botswana Constitution: Letsweletse Motshidiemang v The Attorney-General (LEGABIBO as amicus curiae)

Conference: Cambridge International Law Journal 2020 Conference (Update)

The Cambridge International Law Journal's 2020 Conference will go ahead as a free online event. The conference will take place as a series of webinars from April 30 to May 2. The theme is: "International Law and Global Risks: Current Challenges in Theory and Practice." All events will take place as Zoom webinars. Participation is free of charge, however advance registration is required for each webinar. Registration links can be found on the Cambridge International Law Journal website. Registered participants will receive a webinar link and password by email prior to the webinar. Places are limited.