New Volume: Ocean Yearbook

The latest volume of the Ocean Yearbook (Vol. 36) is out. Contents include:

• Helmut Tuerk & Gerhard Hafner, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982: Reflections after 40 Years
• Marjo K. Vierros & Harriet Harden-Davies, Is There a Role for Rights of Nature in the Blue Economy Debate?
• Julia Poertner, Narratives of Nature and Culture: Elisabeth Mann Borgese’s Political and Literary Work
• Unwana Udo, Tahnee Prior, & Sara L. Seck, Human Rights at the Ocean-Climate Nexus: Opening Doors for the Participation of Indigenous Peoples, Children and Youth, and Gender Diversity
• Violeta Zetzangari Fernández-Díaz, Roman Canul Turriza, Angel Kuc Castilla, Gabriela J. Arreguín-Rodríguez, & Karla Gabriela Mejía-Piña, Impact of Sea Level Rise and Flooding in Two Key Mexican Coastal Cities
• Leah M. Robertson, Mining the Deep: Can the Law “Get It Right” with Balancing the Environment and Resource Extraction through Environmental Impact Assessments?
• Valentin J. Schatz, ‘Crawling Jurisdiction’: Revisiting the Scope and Significance of the Definition of Sedentary Species
• Evan J. Andrews, Ratana Chuenpagdee, Nathan D. Stanley, Barbara Neis, Paul Foley, Rylan J. Command, & Lillian Saul, Thirty Years from the Brink: Governing through Principles for Newfoundland and Labrador’s Small-Scale Fisheries since the Groundfish Moratoria and Prospects for the Future
• Ratana Chuenpagdee & Vesna Kerezi, Small-Scale Fisheries Sustainability: Progress and Challenges
• Robin Churchill, Fisheries Management in European Union and United Kingdom Waters after Brexit: A Change for the Better?
• Azmath Jaleel & Hance D. Smith, The Maldives Tuna Fishery: An Example of Best Practice
• Benedict McAteer, Liam Fullbrook, Wen-Hong Liu, Jodie Reed, Nina Rivers, Natașa Vaidianu, Aron Westholm, Hilde Toonen, Jan van Tatenhove, Jane Clarke, Joseph Onwona Ansong, Brice Trouillet, Catarina Frazão Santos, Sondra Eger, Talya ten Brink, Eric Wade, & Wesley Flannery, Marine Spatial Planning in Regional Ocean Areas: Trends and Lessons Learned
• Ekaterina Antsygina, The Interplay between Delineation and Delimitation in the Arctic Ocean
• Frédéric Lasserre & Alexandra Cyr, Geopolitics and Shipping Development in the Arctic
• Olav Schram Stokke, Arctic Geopolitics, Climate Change, and Resilient Fisheries Management
• Pierre Thévenin, Requiem for a Sector? Russia’s Updated Arctic Submission to the CLCS and Its Effect on Russian Doctrinal Debate about the Arctic Legal Regime
• Slater Payne & Porter Hoagland, A Twilight Zone Episode: Historical Expansion of the Soviet Union’s Fishing Fleet and the Exploitation of Mesopelagic Fisheries in the Southern Ocean
• Ishtiaque Ahmed, The Origin and Evolution of the Shipbreaking Regime in India: A Critical Perspective
• Felicity G. Attard & Richard L. Kilpatrick Jr,.Maritime Stowaways: Public and Private Legal Implications
• Iva Parlov, The 2007 Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks: The Implications for the Law of the Sea

Tasioulas & Verdirame: Philosophy of International Law

John Tasioulas (Univ. of Oxford - Philosophy) & Guglielmo Verdirame (Twenty Essex; King's College London - Law) have published Philosophy of International Law (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2022).

Roundtable: International Law and War: Ways of Seeing

On May 30, 2022, King's College London will host an online roundtable on "International Law and War: Ways of Seeing." Details are here.

SFDI: Les finances des organisations internationales

The Société française pour le Droit International has published Les finances des organisations internationales (Pedone 2022).

Weiß & Zimmermann: Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law: Challenges Ahead

Norman Weiß (Univ. of Potsdam - Law) & Andreas Zimmermann (Univ. of Potsdam - Law) have published Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law: Challenges Ahead (Edward Elgar Publishing 2022). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Where contemporary developments have significantly altered the implementation methods of, and relationship between, human rights law and international humanitarian law, this timely book looks at the future challenges of protecting human rights during and after armed conflicts. Leading scholars use critical case studies to shed light on new approaches used by international courts and experts to balance these two bodies of law.

Divided into four thematic parts, chapters explore the protection of specific groups and actors during conflicts, including organised armed groups, armed non-state actors, and refugees, as well as using divergent methodological approaches to analyse the extra-territorial application of human rights treaties. Shifting to post-conflict, the book further examines the tools and practices involved in building lasting peace and sustainable post-conflict order while avoiding future resurrection of armed conflict. It concludes by considering whether the traditional interpretation of international law is still apt for the twenty-first century.

New Volume: German Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the German Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 63, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Obituary
• Andreas von Arnauld, In Memoriam Jost Delbrück (1935–2020)
• In Remembrance
• Knut Ipsen, From Apprenticeship to Scholarship
• Karl-Ulrich Meyn, Kiel – Göttingen – Kiel
• Eibe Riedel, In Memoriam Jost Delbrück
• Klaus Dicke, Jost Delbrück’s Office Desk
• Stephan Hobe, Memories of my Teacher Jost Delbrück
• Anne Peters, The Gentle Globaliser
• Christian Tietje, Jost Delbrück: Some Personal Remarks
• Doris König, How I Remember Jost Delbrück
• Michael Koch, Jost Delbrück – a Grateful Tribute
• Rüdiger Wolfrum, Some Highlights from my 11 Years at the Institute for International Law with Jost Delbrück
• Ursula Heinz, Memories of Jost Delbrück
• Daniel Thürer, About Jost Delbrück
• Alfred C. Aman, Jr., Jost Delbrück: A Reflection
• Roger B. Dworkin, Jost Delbrück: My Friend
• FORUM – Lost at Sea? Rescue Operations in the Mediterranean Between International and National Legal Regulation
• Nele Matz-Lück, Ports of Refuge for Private Rescue Vessels
• Lorenzo Schiano Di Pepe, Search and Rescue in the Central Mediterranean Sea: A Legal Analysis of the Recent Italian Practice
• FOCUS – Minorities, Autonomies, and Referenda
• Andreas von Arnauld, Introduction
• Andreas von Arnauld, From Feudal Law to Minority Rights: The Legal Metamorphosis of the Schleswig-Holstein Question
• Michael Jonas, Drawing Borders and Protecting Minorities in a Post-Imperial World: Legal Conflicts and the League of Nations’ Minority Protection Regime
• Gleider Hernández & Tom Sparks, Categorising Self-Determination: Four Forms
• Tove H. Malloy, Concepts of Non-Territorial Autonomy: Agreements, or Arrangements?
• Jure Vidmar, Catalonia and the Law of Statehood
• Paul Behrens, ‘The Saltire in the Sporran’: Scotland Between Devolution and Independence
• Stefan Oeter, Kurds Between Quests for Statehood, Struggle for Autonomy and Denied Minority Rights
• Walther Schücking Lecture
• Eibe Riedel, Standards as Sources
• General Articles
• Hannah Birkenkötter & Berkan Kaya, The International Court of Justice in an Age of Inter-Legality: A Survey of its Case Law in the New Millennium
• Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, Prevention of Atrocity Crimes: Legal Obligations of States and Due Diligence
• Agnes Chong, State Responsibility for Climate Change Damage and the Evolving Regime of Human Rights
• Francesca Ippolito, Struggling with Climate Change: Environmental Rights as Children’s Rights and the Potential of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child
• Isabel M. Kaiser, The king is dead, long live the …: Evaluating Alternatives to the WTO Appellate Body Within and Outside the WTO Regime
• Erlend M. Leonhardsen, Pride and Perseverance: Strategic Use of Rebus Sic Stantibus in Russian Foreign Policy 1870–1950
• Michel Rouleau-Dick, A Blueprint for Survival: Low-Lying Island States, Climate Change, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• Christian Tomuschat, The Changing Faces of the UN Security Council
• German Practice
• Henning Büttner & Nathalie Joyce Zavazava, German Corporate and Government Officials’ Involvement in Arms Trade with Countries of the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen: A Link in the Supply Chain Leading to Criminal Liability for Alleged War Crimes?
• Jule Giegling, Operation IRINI – The Boarding and Search of the MV Roseline A
• Max Jürgens, Enforcement of Security Council Resolutions: The Judgment of the Administrative Court of Berlin in the City Hostel Case
• Moritz von Rochow, Tunneling the Baltic – An Appendix of Sovereignty?
• Felix Würkert, (Re-)gaining Citizenship via Constitutional Law, European Human Rights and Transitional Justice: The Federal Constitutional Court on Article 116 (2) BL
• Maximilian Zuber & Paul Klahre, Germany’s Tenure in the UN Security Council 2019–2020: Between Upholding and Extending the Rules-based International Order

Eilstrup-Sangiovanni & Sharman: Vigilantes beyond Borders: NGOs as Enforcers of International Law

Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni (Univ. of Cambridge - International Relations) & J.C. Sharman (Univ. of Cambridge - International Relations) have publshed Vigilantes beyond Borders: NGOs as Enforcers of International Law (Princeton Univ. Press 2022). Here's the abstract:

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have generally served as advocates and service providers, leaving enforcement to states. Now, NGOs are increasingly acting as private police, prosecutors, and intelligence agencies in enforcing international law. NGOs today can be found investigating and gathering evidence; suing and prosecuting governments, companies, and individuals; and even catching lawbreakers red-handed. Examining this trend, Vigilantes beyond Borders considers why some transnational groups have opted to become enforcers of international law regarding such issues as human rights, the environment, and corruption, while others have not.

Three factors explain the rise of vigilante enforcement: demand, supply, and competition. Governments commit to more international laws, but do a poor job of policing them, leaving a gap and creating demand. Legal and technological changes make it easier for nonstate actors to supply enforcement, as in the instances of NGOs that have standing to use domestic and international courts, or smaller NGOs that employ satellite imagery, big data analysis, and forensic computing. As the growing number of NGOs vie for limited funding and media attention, smaller, more marginal, groups often adopt radical strategies like enforcement.

Looking at the workings of major organizations, including Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and Transparency International, as well as smaller players, such as Global Witness, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and Bellingcat, Vigilantes beyond Borders explores the causes and consequences of a novel, provocative approach to global governance.

SFDI: Migrations et droit international

The Société française pour le Droit International has published Migrations et droit international (Pedone 2022). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Réunissant les contributions d’universitaires français et étrangers, ainsi que de professionnels, cet ouvrage issu du Colloque SFDI/RefWar 2021 interroge tant les régimes conventionnels existants que les enjeux actuels et à venir du droit international des migrations, et célèbre également les 70 ans de la Convention de Genève de 1951 à travers l’étude de ses principales stipulations et de l’évolution de leur interprétation au fil des années.

Avi-Yonah: Sunt Pacta Servanda? The Problem of Tax Treaty Overrides

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Univ. of Michigan - Law) has posted Sunt Pacta Servanda? The Problem of Tax Treaty Overrides. Here's the abstract:

Under Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, pacta sunt servanda is defined as: “[e]very treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith”. Article 27 of this Convention (“Internal law and observance of treaties”) provides that “[a] party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.” However, even though the US recognises the VCLT as binding customary international law (CIL), it has long persisted in overriding tax treaties by domestic legislation, because the US Supreme Court has held that under the US Constitution a later statute can override an earlier treaty. This US position has been roundly condemned , for example, by the OECD. But in recent years, more countries have decided that they can in fact override tax treaties, including countries that generally treat international law as superior to domestic law (for example, Germany) as well as countries that do not (for example,Australia). This development raises doubts as to whether the VCLT position can still be considered as CIL. In the meantime, ironically, since 2001 the US has found itself unable to override tax treaties explicitly because of a combination of partisan polarisation and its unique parliamentary procedures.

New Issue: International Organization

The latest issue of International Organization (Vol. 76, no. 2, Spring 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Ignacio Jurado, Sandra León, & Stefanie Walter, Brexit Dilemmas: Shaping Postwithdrawal Relations with a Leaving State
• Colin Chia, Social Positioning and International Order Contestation in Early Modern Southeast Asia
• Christopher W. Blair, Guy Grossman, & Jeremy M. Weinstein, Forced Displacement and Asylum Policy in the Developing World
• Rachel Myrick & Jeremy M. Weinstein, Making Sense of Human Rights Diplomacy: Evidence from a US Campaign to Free Political Prisoners
• Review Essay
• Dara Kay Cohen & Sabrina M. Karim, Does More Equality for Women Mean Less War? Rethinking Sex and Gender Inequality and Political Violence
• Research Notes
• Dustin Tingley & Michael Tomz, The Effects of Naming and Shaming on Public Support for Compliance with International Agreements: An Experimental Analysis of the Paris Agreement
• Jordan H. McAllister & Keith E. Schnakenberg, Designing the Optimal International Climate Agreement with Variability in Commitments
• Nicholas L. Miller, Learning to Predict Proliferation

New Issue: International Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 26, no. 5, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Cameran Ashraf, Exploring the impacts of artificial intelligence on freedom of religion or belief online
• E. Kay M. Tisdall & P. Cuevas-Parra, Beyond the familiar challenges for children and young people’s participation rights: the potential of activism
• Sophie Chao, Gastrocolonialism: the intersections of race, food, and development in West Papua
• Lyra Jakulevičienė & Laurynas Biekša, Trends in the qualification of asylum claims related to gender-based violence under international and European Law
• Frédéric Krumbein, Two Chinese tales of human rights– Mainland China’s and Taiwan’s external human rights strategies
• Jae-Eun Noh, Review of human rights-based approaches to development: Empirical evidence from developing countries
• Julie Mazzei & Todd H. Nelson, The extraordinary rendition network: illiberal security complexes and global governance
• Mark Priestley & Agustín Huete-García, Developing disability equality indicators: national and transnational technologies of governance

Brunner: Internationale Untersuchungskommissionen: Eine völkerrechtliche Studie zu Verfahrensrecht und Verfahrenspraxis des Fact-Finding

Manuel Brunner has published Internationale Untersuchungskommissionen: Eine völkerrechtliche Studie zu Verfahrensrecht und Verfahrenspraxis des Fact-Finding (Duncker & Humblot 2022). Here's the abstract:

Gegenstand der Arbeit sind internationale Untersuchungskommissionen. Seit den 1990er Jahren haben die Vereinten Nationen vermehrt solche Kommissionen eingesetzt, um in Situationen Tatsachen zu ermitteln und rechtliche Bewertungen anzustellen, in denen Verletzungen der Menschenrechte und des humanitären Völkerrechts zu besorgen waren. Das Konzept der internationalen Untersuchungskommission ist allerdings viel älter. Ein völkerrechtlicher Rahmen wurde solchen Kommissionen im Bereich der zwischenstaatlichen Streitbeilegung erstmals auf der ersten Friedenskonferenz in Den Haag im Jahr 1899 gegeben. Allen Ausprägungen internationaler Untersuchungskommissionen ist es gemein, dass sie Tatsachen in objektiver, unabhängiger und unparteiischer Weise ermitteln sollen. In der Arbeit werden daher vor allem das anwendbare Verfahrensrecht und die Verfahrenspraxis internationaler Untersuchungskommissionen betrachtet und analysiert. In die Betrachtung und die Analyse werden dabei einerseits Kommissionen einbezogen, die auf der Grundlage einer zwischenstaatlichen Vereinbarung errichtet wurden, andererseits Kommissionen im Kontext Internationaler Organisationen, namentlich des Völkerbundes und der Vereinten Nationen.

Ruiz Fabri & Stoppioni: International Investment Law: An Analysis of the Major Decisions

Hélène Ruiz Fabri (Max Plank Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law) & Edoardo Stoppioni (Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law) have published International Investment Law: An Analysis of the Major Decisions (Hart Publishing 2022). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Written by leading experts in the field, this collection offers a critical and comparative analysis of the existing case law on international investment law. The book makes a topical contribution to the existing literature, showing most notably that: (1) international investment law has a longer history than that generally considered and that this history is fundamental to understanding its development; (2) international investment law is crafted today by a large number of actors. These include not only investment arbitrators, but also a variety of international and national courts and tribunals; and (3) the literature and case law in languages other than English and from different legal cultures is essential to grasp the essence of the development of the topic. This book brings together more than 40 experts from different countries and legal traditions and combines conceptual analysis and archival investigation of landmark case law to provide the reader with a fresh and innovative understanding of the breadth of international investment law.

New Issue: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (Vol. 24, nos. 3-4, 2021) is out. Contents include:

• Rob Slotow, Andrew Blackmore, Michelle Henley, Karen Trendler & Marion Garaï, Could Culling of Elephants Be Considered Inhumane and Illegal in South African Law?
• Aleksey Anisimov, Elżbieta Zębek & Olga Popova, Wetlands in Poland and Russia: The Legal Framework for Their Protection and Use
• Nathanial Gronewold, Comparative Conservation Strategy Efficacy for Grus japonensis and Grus americana: A Post-Policy Implementation Assessment
• Hai Thanh Luong, Fumbling Out the Effective Pathways to Apply the Wildlife and Forest Analytic Toolkit in the Mekong Region: Looking at Data and Analysis Perspectives
• Samantha de Vries, The Necessity of Cooperation in Criminal Wildlife Matters: A Case Study of The Challenges Faced and Cooperative Mechanisms Available to Canadian Wildlife Officials
• Israel R. Blackie, Ex Gratia Payments for Loss of Human Life Due to Wild Animal Attacks in Botswana: Implications for Practice and Policies
• Saba Kassa, Claudia Baez-Camargo, Jacopo Costa & Robert Lugolobi, Determinants and Drivers of Wildlife Trafficking: A Qualitative Analysis in Uganda
• Remi Chandran, Shankar Prakash Alagesan & Walter T. de Vries, CITES enforcement information sharing—if you don’t know where you’ve come from … you don’t know where you’re going
• Goemeone E. J. Mogomotsi & Patricia K. Mogomotsi, Law of Armed Conflict in Non-International Hostilities: The Militarisation of Wildlife Conservation in Africa

New Issue: European Journal of International Relations

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Relations (Vol. 28, no. 2, June 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Andy Hanlun Li, From alien land to inalienable parts of China: how Qing imperial possessions became the Chinese Frontiers
• Linus Hagström & Niklas Bremberg, Aikido and world politics: a practice theory for transcending the security dilemma
• George Kyris, State recognition and dynamic sovereignty
• Tobias Theiler, International functionalism and democracy
• Kyle Rapp, Justifying force: international law, foreign policy decision-making, and the use of force
• Jessica Di Salvatore, Sara M. T. Polo, & Andrea Ruggeri, Do UN peace operations lead to more terrorism? Repertoires of rebel violence and third-party interventions
• Arthur Stein, Committed sponsors: external support overtness and civilian targeting in civil wars
• Giovanni Agostinis & Carlos Closa, Democracies’ support for illiberal regimes through sovereignty-protective regional institutions: the case of UNASUR’s electoral accompaniment missions
• Ryan Grauer & Dominic Tierney, The democratic embargo: regime type and proxy war
• Hyo Won Lee & Sijeong Lim, Making sense of citizen desire for IO democracy: an analysis of public opinion across 44 countries
• Thomas M. Dolan, Ultimatums, bargaining, and the duty to preserve alternatives to war

New Issue: Global Trade and Customs Journal

The latest issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal (Vol. 17, no. 5, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Hong Xue, Management of Intellectual Property Risks in Digital Trade
• Sang Man Kim, Some Critical Issues on Constructed Normal Value Under the Anti-Dumping Agreement
• Jin Woo Kim, Suspension of Anti-dumping Measures in the EU: A New Trend or Not?
• Salal Mahmud, Anjeela Khurram, & Shahzad Khurram, Identifying Attributes of a Favourable FTA: A Back Room Boy’s Perspective

AJIL Unbound Symposium: Ukraine and the International Order

AJIL Unbound has posted a symposium on "Ukraine and the International Order." The symposium includes an introduction by Elena Chachko and Katerina Linos and contributions by Tom Ginsburg, Elena Chachko and J. Benton Heath, David Kaye, Kristen E. Eichensehr, Jaya Ramji-Nogales, and Adil Ahmad Haque.

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 103, no. 918, December 2021) is out. The theme is: "The Sahel." Contents include:

• Adama Dieng, The Sahel: Challenges and opportunities
• Women of the Sahel: Portraits of women living through violence and conflict in the Sahel
• Interview with Yero Baldeh and Amel Hamza: Director of the Transition States Coordination Office of the African Development Bank (Y. B.), and Acting Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department and Manager, Gender and Women Empowerment Division of the African Development Bank (A. H.)
• Interview with Bakary Sambe: Regional Director of the Timbuktu Institute
• Interview with Lazare W. Zoungrana: Secretary-general of the Burkinabe Red Cross Society
• Interview with Dr Gilles Yabi: Founder and president of WATHI
• To respect and ensure respect for IHL: Interview with representatives of the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
• Romaric Ferraro, Challenges to implementation of humanitarian access norms in the Sahel
• Maman Aminou A. Koundy, Reparations for victims of terrorist acts in Sahel conflicts: The case of Niger
• Sanwé Médard Kienou, The applicability of international humanitarian law to acts of violence perpetrated by unidentified armed individuals in the Sahel: The case of Burkina Faso
• Steve Tiwa Fomekong, Why communities hosting internally displaced persons in the Sahel need stronger and more effective legal protection
• Sâ Benjamin Traoré & Tiérowé Germain Dabiré, The right to water for internally displaced persons in the Sahel region
• Interview with His Excellency Mr Abdou Abarry: Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations
• Peter Läderach, Julian Ramirez-Villegas, Steven D. Prager, Diego Osorio, Alexandra Krendelsberger, Robert B. Zougmoré, Bruno Charbonneau, Han van Dijk, Ignacio Madurga-Lopez, & Grazia Pacillo, The importance of food systems in a climate crisis for peace and security in the Sahel
• Cristiano d'Orsi & Gino J. Naldi, Climate-induced displacement in the Sahel: A question of classification
• Charlotte Mohr, The President on Trial: Prosecuting Hissène Habré Edited by Sharon Weill, Kim Thuy Seelinger and Kerstin Bree Carlson *
• Sharon Weill, Kim Thuy Seelinger, & Kerstin Bree Carlson, Theorizing empirical court research: The test case of the trial of Hissène Habré

New Issue: Cooperation and Conflict

The latest issue of Cooperation and Conflict (Vol. 57, no. 2, June 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Gëzim Visoka, Statehood and recognition in world politics: Towards a critical research agenda
• Bahar Rumelili & Ann E. Towns, Driving liberal change? Global performance indices as a system of normative stratification in liberal international order
• Emma Elfversson & Desirée Nilsson, The pursuit of inclusion: Conditions for civil society inclusion in peace processes in communal conflicts in Kenya
• Roger Mac Ginty, Temporality and contextualisation in Peace and Conflict Studies: The forgotten value of war memoirs and personal diaries
• J Marshall Beier, “This changes things”: Children, targeting, and the making of precision
• Anton Peez & Lisbeth Zimmermann, Contestation and norm change in whale and elephant conservation: Non-use or sustainable use?

Webster: Japan's Transnational War Reparations Litigation: An Empirical Analysis

Timothy Webster (Western New England Univ. - Law) has posted Japan's Transnational War Reparations Litigation: An Empirical Analysis (Harvard International Law Journal, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Negotiating war reparations is traditionally the province of the political branches, yet in recent decades, domestic courts have presided over hundreds of compensation lawsuits stemming from World War II. In the West, governments responded to these lawsuits, in many instances, with elaborate compensation mechanisms. In East Asia, by contrast, civil litigation continues apace. This article analyzes eighty-three lawsuits filed in Japan, the epicenter of Asia’s World War II reparations movement. While many scholars criticize the passivity of Japanese courts on war-related issues, this Article detects a meaningful role for Japanese courts in the reparations process: awarding compensation, verifying facts, and allocating legal liability. This Article also articulates a classification scheme to understand the various types of lawsuits brought under this movement. By examining all relevant cases, not just the ones that attract significant media attention, this Article delimits the breadth and depth of the war reparations movement. It also posits a more active role for the Japanese judiciary in the war reparations debate than scholars have heretofore observed. In consistently awarding compensation to victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese judges not only pay a key role in providing compensation, they also have taken a stance that clearly countervails policy prerogatives of Japan’s ruling conservative party.