New Issue: International Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the International Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 9, no. 2, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Matthew S Smith & Michael Ashley Stein, Connecting the Right of Collective Legal Capacity by Indigenous Peoples with the Right of Individual Legal Capacity by Persons with Disabilities
• Ademola Oluborode Jegede, Arguing the Right to a Safe Climate under the UN Human Rights System
• Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi, Non-refoulement Principle and Its Application to Refugees and Asylum Seekers Who Have Committed Offences in Africa
• Claire Lougarre, The Protection of Non-nationals’ Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in un Human Rights Treaties
• Natalia Anthony, Menstrual Taboos: religious Practices that Violate Women’s Human Rights
• Boris Paschke, Slavery de jure and de facto: The United Nations’ Definition of Slavery and Its Incomplete Dutch Translation in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Suriname

New Issue: Human Rights Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Review (Vol. 21, no. 4, December 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Ghashia Kiyani & Amanda Murdie, Unintended Restrictions: Women’s Rights INGOs and Women’s Civil Society Restrictions
• Owen Taylor, Sandrine Loubière, & Pascal Auquier, Homelessness, Housing First, and the Right to Housing—Confronting Right and Reality
• Katarina Schwarz & Andrea Nicholson, Collapsing the Boundaries Between De Jure and De Facto Slavery: The Foundations of Slavery Beyond the Transatlantic Frame
• Anthony Ebruphihor Etuvoata, Towards Improved Compliance with Human Rights Decisions in the African Human Rights System: Enhancing the Role of Civil Society
• Pablo Meix-Cereceda, Educational Values in Human Rights Treaties: UN, European, and African International Law

Zalnieriute: The Future of Data Retention Regimes and National Security in the EU after the Quadrature Du Net and Privacy International Judgments

Monika Zalnieriute (Macquarie Univ. - Law) has posted an ASIL Insight on The Future of Data Retention Regimes and National Security in the EU after the Quadrature Du Net and Privacy International Judgments.

Kucik & Puig: Extending Trade Law Precedent

Jeffrey Kucik (Univ. of Arizona - Political Science) & Sergio Puig (Univ. of Arizona - Law) have posted Extending Trade Law Precedent. Here's the abstract:

Precedent is celebrated as a fundamental feature of dense legal systems as it creates predictability, builds coherence, and enhances the authority of courts and tribunals. But, in international adjudication, precedent can also affect interstate cooperation and ultimately the legitimacy of international organizations. Wary of this, most international dispute settlement systems are designed so that rulings do not set obligatory precedent. In this Article, we describe the role of precedent in the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to explain how precedent can affect compliance with the decisions of international courts and tribunals (ICs). We make two main contributions. First, we show that there can be precedent without a formal stare decisis rule. In theory the AB has a rule against binding precedent. Based on empirical evidence, however, we show that the AB has in fact a strong norm of relying on prior decisions. Second, we show that over time, the widening of legal commitments can result from extending precedent to new situations and this has an impact on the ability or willingness of states to comply. Our findings have implications for the WTO and beyond. For the WTO, we note that efforts to better define the value of precedent is unlikely to resolve the general mistrust of the AB and therefore, we propose other solutions to control the drift resulting from precedent. Beyond the WTO, we note that international scholars should account for the inter-temporal dimension of legal commitments in analyzing and explaining compliance with international law.

UN: Seventy Years of the International Law Commission: Drawing a Balance for the Future

The United Nations has published Seventy Years of the International Law Commission: Drawing a Balance for the Future (Brill | Nijhoff 2020). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Seventy Years of the International Law Commission: Drawing a Balance for the Future brings together voices from academia and practice to celebrate and critically evaluate the work of the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) over the past seventy years. The edited volume draws on the events commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the Commission, which took place in New York and Geneva in May and July 2018. At a time when multilateral law-making has become increasingly challenging, the edited volume appraises the role of one the most important driving forces behind the codification of international law and discusses the ILC’s future contribution to the development of international law.

Call for Papers: Human Rights in Pandemic Times: Political Exceptionalism, Social Vulnerability & Restricted Freedoms

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "Human Rights in Pandemic Times: Political Exceptionalism, Social Vulnerability & Restricted Freedoms," to take place September 6-7, 2021, in Brussels. The submission deadline is December 15, 2020. The call is here (English; Français).

Conference: Britain, the League of Nations and the New International Order

On November 20-21, 2020, the University of Edinburgh, in association with the National Library of Scotland, will host a free online conference on "Britain, the League of Nations and the New International Order." Regisration information and the program are here.

Conference: From Critical Theory to Cosmopolitanism. A Tribute to David Held (1951-2019)

On November 12-13, 2020, the Paris Human Rights Center will host a virtual conference on "From Critical Theory to Cosmopolitanism. A Tribute to David Held (1951-2019)." Program and registration information are here.

Call for Submissions: Polish Yearbook of International Law

The Polish Yearbook of International Law has issued a call for submissions for its next volume (vol. 40, 2020). The deadline is January 31, 2021. Here's the call:

Call for papers

Polish Yearbook of International Law, vol. XL: 2020

In the late summer of 2021, we are planning to publish a jubilee volume (no. XL) of the Polish Yearbook of international Law. In this context, the Editorial Board of PYIL is seeking high-quality, unpublished articles relating to public and private international law as well as EU law.

A part of the forthcoming volume will be dedicated to the scientific legacy of Prof. Janusz Symonides, who sadly passed away in April 2020. Prof. Symonides was a well-known Polish jurist and diplomat, specializing in human rights, the Law of the Sea, protection of cultural heritage, and international relations. He was one of the representatives of Poland during the work on the Convention on the Law of the Sea, an expert on the human dimension of the OSCE, and a conciliator of the Montego Bay Convention. Prof. Symonides was also Director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs and Director of the then Division of Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance at UNESCO. PYIL is particularly interested in papers that discuss the ideas that preoccupied Prof. Symonides, analyze his scientific achievements, or deal with other issues relating to his academic and diplomatic work.

We also accept other texts that fall within the PYIL’s scope of interest. In this context we are particularly interested in articles that address current issues of public international law and EU law that relate to Central and Eastern Europe. Authors from the region are also strongly encouraged to submit their works.

Submissions should be between 7,000 and 9,000 words (including footnotes). All details about submission procedure and required formatting are available at the PYIL’s webpage in the document entitled “Publication Guidelines” (here).

Manuscripts can be submitted until 31 January 2021 via the PYIL’s submission system (here).

Authors can contact us via email at: pyil@inp.pan.pl.

Wiater: Internationale Individualkläger: Ein Vergleich des Zugangs zu Gericht im Wirtschaftsvölkerrecht

Patricia Wiater has published Internationale Individualkläger: Ein Vergleich des Zugangs zu Gericht im Wirtschaftsvölkerrecht (Mohr Siebeck 2020). Here's the abstract:

Patricia Wiater behandelt den Status nichtstaatlicher Akteure im Völker- und Europarecht anhand der prozessualen Autonomisierung natürlicher und juristischer Personen. Sie zieht das Wirtschaftsvölkerrecht als Referenzgebiet für eine umfassende rechtsvergleichende und historische Detailanalyse der Klagemacht internationaler Individualkläger heran. Neben der EU betrachtet sie afrikanische und amerikanische Systeme regionaler Wirtschaftsintegration und behandelt das standing von natürlichen und juristischen Personen im Seevölkerrecht und im internationalen Investitionsschutz. Eine Kernerkenntnis ihrer Studie besteht darin, dass Individualkläger in höchst heterogenem Maße mit Funktionen ausgestattet werden, die sich Staaten traditionell selbst vorbehalten hatten. Dagegen lässt sich eine weitgehende Kohärenz in der Spruchpraxis der betrachteten Gerichte ausfindig machen: Systemübergreifend werden Individualklagerechte über reine Rechtsschutzbelange hinaus auf eine Kontrolle staatlicher Legalität erstreckt. Die Autorin weist rechtstheoretische Wege auf, wie sich das derart entfaltete Rechtsprinzip einer »umfassenden Parteifähigkeit des Individualklägers« auch jenseits des Staatenkonsenses als tradierter Legitimationsbasis rechtfertigen lässt.

New Issue: International Theory

The latest issue of International Theory (Vol. 12, no. 3, November 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Naomi Head, Sentimental politics or structural injustice? The ambivalence of emotions for political responsibility
• Sasikumar S. Sundaram, Varieties of political rhetorical reasoning: norm types, scorekeepers, and political projects
• Daniel Schwartz, Discovery Rights and the Arctic
• Symposium: Protean Power: Exploring the Uncertain and Unexpected in World Politics
• Jacques E. C. Hymans, Introduction to the symposium. The concept of protean power: change we can believe in?
• Emanuel Adler, Control power as a special case of protean power: thoughts on Peter Katzenstein and Lucia Seybert's Protean Power: Exploring the Uncertain and Unexpected in World Politics
• George F. DeMartino & Ilene Grabel, Irreparable ignorance, protean power, and economics
• Stefano Guzzini, Protean power as a plea for an open social ontology, non-efficient causal explanations, and cautious political practice
• Benoît Pelopidas, Power, luck, and scholarly responsibility at the end of the world(s)
• Michael Zürn, Unknown effects of social innovations
• Peter J. Katzenstein, Protean power: a second look

New Issue: Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy

The latest issue of the Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy (Vol. 15, no. 2, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Vivienne Bath, China’s Role in the Development of International Investment Law—From Bystander to Participant
• Mao-wei Lo, The Evolution of Chinese International Investment Agreements and Their Potential Impacts on Human Rights Protections for the “Belt and Road Initiative” Countries
• Chenxi Wang, WTO Disputes’ Influence on China’s Central-Local Dynamics
• Bingwan Xiong & Paolo Davide Farah, Contextualism in WTO Case Law on Mineral Export Restrictions: Puzzles and Implications
• Pei-kan Yang, A Historical Review of the U.S. Strategy on SPS and TBT Issues in Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiation
• Xu Qian, Phoenix from the Ashes: CPTPP Meaning for Asia-Pacific (and Global) Investment
• Jia-Jhen (Zac) Liao, Strengthening Global Governance for Human Rights Through New-era FTAs: Beyond Trade-related Aspects?
• Ignatius Yordan Nugraha, Is Tangibility a Prerequisite? Digital Products as Goods

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 80, no. 3, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Comment
• Pedro A. Villarreal, Between the Global North and the Global South: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and Mexico’s Paradoxes
• Abhandlungen
• Johannes Socher, Farewell to the European Constitutional Tradition: The 2020 Russian Constitutional Amendments
• Till Markus, Zur Rechtsvergleichung im nationalen und internationalen Umweltrecht
• Christian Tomuschat, Carl Schmitt’s Diagnosis of the Situation of European Jurisprudence Reconsidered

Blokker: Saving Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War: The United Nations Security Council at 75

Niels M. Blokker (Leiden Univ. - Law) has published Saving Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War: The United Nations Security Council at 75 (Brill | Nijhoff 2020). Here's the abstract:

In its famous first words, the UN Charter expresses the determination of “the peoples of the United Nations […] to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”. In order to achieve this, a new world organization was established, with a key responsibility for the Security Council.

The aim of this book is to evaluate the functioning of the Security Council during its first 75 years, from an institutional legal perspective. It analyzes three issues that were not only hotly debated when the United Nations was founded, but have also been highly relevant for the Council’s functioning in practice and are likely to remain so in the future: the right of veto for the permanent members, the rule of law, and the size of the Council (the need for enlargement).

New Issue: African Journal of International and Comparative Law

The latest issue of the African Journal of International and Comparative Law (Vol. 28, no. 4, November 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Stephen Kwaku Asare, Ghana's New Region Creation Doctrine: The Jurisprudence of No Jurisdiction and the Faux Economics of Balkanisation
• Goemeone E. J. Mogomotsi & Patricia K. Mogomotsi, Recognition of the Indigeneity of the Basarwa in Botswana: Panacea against their Marginalisation and Realisation of Land Rights?
• Kareem Olatoye & Abubakri Yekini, Sifax v. Migfo and Limitation Laws in Nigeria: Triumph of Pragmatism over Formalism?
• Nitish Monebhurrun, Diligentia quam in suis as a Technique for a Contextual Application of the Full Protection and Security Standard: Considering the Level of Development of Host States in International Investment Law
• Marius Pieterse, Devolution, Urban Autonomy and Local Governance in the Cities of the SADC
• Chukwuka I. Achu, Federalism and Money: An Examination of the Taxation Powers in the Federal Systems of Nigeria and Canada
• Constance Gikonyo, Criminal Forfeiture under Kenya's Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act: Nature and Challenges
• Dominic Npoanlari Dagbanja, The Public Interest Safeguards in Arbitration in Ghana

Van Harten: The Trouble with Foreign Investor Protection

Gus Van Harten (York Univ. - Osgoode Hall Law School) has published The Trouble with Foreign Investor Protection (Oxford Univ. Press 2020). Here's the abstract:

Governments are rightly discussing reform of investment treaties, and of the incredibly powerful system of 'investor-state dispute settlement' (ISDS) upon which they rest. At their core, ISDS treaties are flawed because they very firmly institute wealth-based inequality under international law. In this book, Van Harten explores these claims in the light of the history of early ISDS treaties showing their ties to decolonization and, at times, extreme violence and authoritarianism. Focusing on early ISDS lawsuits and rulings, it is revealed how a small group of lawyers and arbitrators worked to create the legal foundations for massive growth of ISDS since 2000. ISDS-based protections are examined in detail to demonstrate how they give exceptional advantages to the wealthy. Various examples are also offered of how the protections have been used to reconfigure state decision-making and shift sovereign minds in favour of foreign investors. Lastly, the ongoing efforts of governments to reform ISDS are surveyed, with a call to go further or, best of all, to withdraw from the treaties.

Kleinlein: The Versailles Peace Treaty Before the Permanent Court of International Justice: Tracing the Legalism of the Paris Settlement

Thomas Kleinlein (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena - Law) has posted The Versailles Peace Treaty Before the Permanent Court of International Justice: Tracing the Legalism of the Paris Settlement (German Yearbook of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The concept of international law underlying the Versailles Peace Treaty is marked by a complex and ambivalent combination of references to just peace and the use of the legal form. This article analyses the concept of law and the use of legal techniques and institu-tions in the Paris settlement, and connects it to various contemporaneous strands of ‘legal-ism’ and to the transformation from (classical) nineteenth-century to (modern) twentieth-century international law. In a second step, the article turns to how the ambivalent legalism in the Versailles Peace Treaty impacted on the respective case law of the Permanent Court and how this case law connects to ‘modern’ approaches to international law. While, in sub-stance, the cases involving the Versailles Peace Treaty raised issues of both post-war settle-ment and international organisation, in doctrinal terms, the Court tentatively developed a concept of international law that squares with modern approaches. This can be demonstrated by examination of the case law, which contributed to the law of international organisations, redefined sovereignty, and developed the humanitarian dimension of international law.

Webinar: The Roadmap to the ASEAN-EU FTA in the Post-Pandemic Era

On December 3-4, 2020, the Singapore Management University School of Law will hold a webinar on "The Roadmap to the ASEAN-EU FTA in the Post-Pandemic Era." Program and registration information are here.

Conference: The European Convention on Human Rights at 70: Achievements, Challenges and Interactions with Legal Order

On November 4, 2020, the KU Leuven Institute for European Law, the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies and the KU Leuven Centre for Public Law, with the support of the European Society of International Law and the Association of Human Rights Institutes, will hold a web conference on "The European Convention on Human Rights at 70: Achievements, Challenges and Interactions with Legal Orders." The program is here.

Workshop: The EU & its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements

On November 5, 2020, an online workshop on "The EU & its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements" will take place. The program is here.

New Volume: Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

The latest volume of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (Vol. 22, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• 70th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions
• Agnieszka Szpak, Evolution of the International Humanitarian Law Provisions on Sieges
• Harmen van der Wilt, Towards a Better Understanding of the Concept of ‘Indiscriminate Attack’—How International Criminal Law Can Be of Assistance
• Marten Zwanenburg, Double Trouble: The ‘Cumulative Approach’ and the ‘Support-Based Approach’ in the Relationship Between Non-State Armed Groups
• Joshua Joseph Niyo, The Rebel with the Magnifying Glass: Armed Non-State Actors, the Right to Life and the Requirement to Investigate in Armed Conflict
• Jann K. Kleffner, A Bird’s-Eye View on Compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict 70 Years After the Adoption of the Geneva Conventions
• Ioana Cismas & Ezequiel Heffes, Not the Usual Suspects: Religious Leaders as Influencers of International Humanitarian Law Compliance
• Other Articles
• Aniel de Beer & Martha Bradley, Appellate Deference Versus the De Novo Analysis of Evidence: The Decision of the Appeals Chamber in Prosecutor v Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo
• Kilian Roithmaier, Taylor Woodcock, & Eve Dima, Year in Review 2019

Aust & Kleinlein: Introduction: Bridges Under Construction and Shifting Boundaries

Helmut Aust (Freie Universität Berlin - Law) & Thomas Kleinlein (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena - Law) have posted Introduction: Bridges Under Construction and Shifting Boundaries (in Encounters between Foreign Relations Law and Public International Law - Bridges and Boundaries, Helmut Philipp Aust & Thomas Kleinlein eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Like an interface, foreign relations law addresses multiple and diverse questions about how the ‘domestic’ relates to the ‘international’ sphere. This introductory chapter unfolds the idea of bridges and boundaries between foreign relations law and public international law and develops the guiding questions of the volume. It also reflects on missed encounters between the two fields and introduces the core concepts and the approach of the book. Finally, it exposes the overall structure of the book and summarizes the contents of individual chapters.