New Issue: International Journal of Transitional Justice

The latest issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 16, no. 1, March 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial
• Anjli Parrin, Graeme Simpson, Ali Altiok, & Njoki Wamai, Youth and Transitional Justice
• Articles
• Patrick Anderson, Christina Aushana, & Caroline Collins, ‘When We are in Crisis’: Youth-Centered Transitional Justice, Police Violence, and Political Imaginaries
• Waleed Alhariri & ThiYazen Al-Alawi, Youth, Transitional Justice and Art: Documenting War on the Streets of Sana’a, Yemen
• Lyn J -V Kouadio, Zouglou Visions of Transitional Justice
• Hillary Hiner, Manuela Badilla, Ana López, Alejandra Zúñiga-Fajuri, & Fuad Hatibovic, Patriarchy is a Judge: Young Feminists and LGBTQ+ Activists Performing Transitional Justice in Chile
• Arpita Mitra, Developing Transitional Justice for Youth: An Assessment of Youth Reintegration Programmes in Colombia
• Godfrey Maringira, Sandile Ndelu, Simbarashe Gukurume, & Malose Langa, ‘We Are Not Our Parents’ – beyond Political Transition: Historical Failings, Present Angst and Future Yearnings of South African Youth
• Nadia Jmal & Virginie Ladisch, A Voices-Centered Approach to Transitional Justice: Youth-led Activism and Artistic Initiatives Open Spaces for Broad Community Engagement
• Christian Cirhigiri, Youth on the Frontlines: Preventing Human Rights Abuses in Violent Contexts, A Case Study of LUCHA in the DR of Congo
• Notes from the Field
• Fahira Hasić, Art as a Generational and Geographical Transversal Tool in the Hands of Youth: Srebrenica Is Dutch History

d'Aspremont: Two Attitudes towards Textuality in International Law: The Battle for Dualism

Jean d'Aspremont (Univ. of Manchester - Law; Sciences Po - Law) has posted Two Attitudes towards Textuality in International Law: The Battle for Dualism (Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article sketches out two distinct attitudes towards textuality in international law, namely international hermeneutics and international poetics. It argues that these two attitudes towards textuality espouse very different types of dualism of thought. The difference bears major implications on how international lawyers approach international legal texts. In exposing these two attitudes towards textuality and the distinct types of dualism they reveal, this article makes a plea for a greater embrace of international poetics by international lawyers, and thus for a complete remoulding of international lawyers’ dualist patterns of thought. It also questions the hermeneutic understanding of interpretation in international legal thought and practice.

Conference: Persistent and Emerging Challenges in International Fisheries Law

On June 23-25, 2022, the University of the Faroe Islands and the Law of the Sea Institute of Iceland, with the assistance of UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea, will hold a conference on "Persistent and Emerging Challenges in International Fisheries Law" at the University of the Faroe Islands. The program is here.

Workshop: Australia-China Joint Workshop on Biodiversity Law and Governance

On June 20-21, 2022, the Centre for Environmental Law, Macquarie University, alongside the Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, will hold online the Australia-China Joint Workshop on Biodiversity Law and Governance. The program is here. Registration is here.

Volcy: Le droit international de la coopération à l'épreuve des pandémies

Louino Volcy has published Le droit international de la coopération à l'épreuve des pandémies (L'Harmattan 2022). Here's the abstract:

Cet ouvrage traite de l'action des organisations internationales face aux pandémies en général et à la COVID-19 en particulier. Les sujets dérivés du droit international public agissent contre ces défis sanitaires mondiaux dans un cadre doublement adapté. Cet ajustement s'illustre par l'adoption de nouvelles méthodes de travail et le déploiement des actions normatives et opérationnelles appropriées. La riposte des institutions internationales face aux crises multidimensionnelles provoquées par les pandémies se caractérise, tant sur le plan normatif que matériel, par la coopération et la coordination de leurs activités.

Reinsberg, Stubbs, & Kentikelenis: Unimplementable by design? Understanding (non-)compliance with International Monetary Fund policy conditionality

Bernhard Reinsberg (Univ. of Glasgow), Thomas Stubbs (Royal Holloway—Univ. of London), & Alexander Kentikelenis (Bocconi Univ.) have Unimplementable by design? Understanding (non-)compliance with International Monetary Fund policy conditionality (Governance, Vol. 35, no. 3, July 2022, pp. 689-715). Here's the abstract:

Why do governments fail to implement policy commitments in contractual agreements with international organizations? While scholars have scrutinized domestic factors as obstacles to compliance, we argue that reform programs may be unimplementable by design. We study this hypothesis in the context of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs, in which borrowing countries must commit to far-reaching economic policy reforms for access to credit. We collect detailed compliance data on individual policy conditions to assess the determinants of compliance failures of IMF programs from 1980 to 2009. Controlling for a host of borrower-specific variables, features of the loan, unexpected shocks during implementation, donor influence, and bureaucratic interest, we find that the number of conditions is a robust predictor of implementation failure. Our theoretical explanation for these findings is that over-ambitious program designs are the result of intra-organizational bargaining within the IMF bureaucracy. While an area department within the IMF drafts the initial reform program, functional departments use their amendment power to include policy conditions that they care about, without due consideration of local circumstances, which leads to over-ambitious programs. These findings have important implications for theories of compliance as well as for policymaking in international organizations.

Balarabe: Africa and the Domestic Implementation of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols: Problems and Solutions

Kasim Balarabe (Jindal Global Law School) has published Africa and the Domestic Implementation of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols: Problems and Solutions (Journal of African Law, Vol. 66, no. 2, June 2022, pp. 175-199). Here's the abstract:

The Geneva Conventions have achieved universal ratification, and Additional Protocols I and II are binding on all African states except Eritrea and Somalia; however, their observance in African conflicts is flawed and inconsistent. From deliberate attacks on civilian populations to abduction and hostage-taking, humanitarian rules are openly flouted. Through an extensive assessment of the domestic measures required to implement the Geneva Conventions and Protocols in Africa, this article identifies the current level of implementation, existing gaps and possible non-legal factors that impact respect for the instruments in African conflicts. Violations are often associated with historical, political, religious and social factors that tainted the instruments’ lofty provisions and bequeathed a legacy that challenges the obligation to respect. Additionally, continuous political and religious struggles and the search for identity and relevance have displaced the ideals of the instruments’ humanitarian provisions. Reversing this trend requires an approach that appeals to and engages the continent beyond the traditional argument of obligation to respect.

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 55, no. 2, March 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Julien Chaisse & Debashis Chakraborty, Tariffs and Threats in US Trade Policy: Debunking the Myth of "Global Reset"
• Anupam Chander & Haochen Sun, Sovereignty 2.0
• Zhiyuan Guo, Cross-Examination of Witnesses in Chinese Criminal Courts: Theoretical Debates, Practical Barriers, and Potential Solutions
• Jeremy A. Rabkin & Craig S. Lerner, Criminal Justice Is Local: Why States Disregard Universal Jurisdiction for Human Rights Abuses
• Aaron D. Simowitz & Linda J. Silberman, Nonparty Jurisdiction

New Issue: Swiss Review of International and European Law

The latest issue of the Swiss Review of International and European Law (Vol. 32, no. 2, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Florian Eichel, Jörg Künzli & Alexander R. Markus, Aktuelle Aspekte der Staatenimmunität
• Andreas R. Ziegler, State Immunity – Trends and Problems Encountered in Recent Swiss Practice
• Markus Müller-Chen, International-zivilprozessualer Überblick über die Staatenimmunität im Erkenntnis- und Vollstreckungsverfahren
• Marco Stacher, Zum Erfordernis des Binnenbezugs beim Staatenarrest, insbesondere beim Titelarrest i.S.v. Art. 271 Ziff. 6 SchKG bei ausländischen Schiedssprüchen

New Issue: Europa Ethnica

The latest issue of Europa Ethnica (Vol. 79, nos. 1/2, 2022). Contents include:

• Schwerpunkt: 50 Jahre Zweites Südtiroler Autonomiestatut – 30 Jahre Streitbeilegung Österreich – Italien – Eine Bestandsaufnahme und ein Blick in die Zukunft
• Rolf Steininger, Südtirol: Zweimal fünfzig Jahre
• Günther Pallaver, Das nominale Autonomiestatut
• Oskar Peterlini, Quotensysteme im Vergleich
• Roberto Toniatti, The Next Target: Amending the Amending Procedure
• Peter Hilpold, Die Streitbeilegungserklärung 1992 – 30 Jahre danach
• Stefania Baroncelli, How Fluid is the Special Statute of Autonomy of Trentino Alto Adige/South Tyrol?
• Monica Rosini, Statute of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and “major favour clause”: more or less autonomy?
• Gabriel N. Toggenburg, Das Verhältnis der EU zur Autonomie: Konfrontation, Kohabitation oder Kooperation?
• Hermann Atz, Die Südtirol-Autonomie und ihre Folgen für das Verhältnis der autochthonen Volksgruppen im Spiegel der Umfrageforschung
• Elsbeth Wallnöfer, Heimat – Labor – Südtirol
• Roland Benedikter, Glokale“ Sozialwissenschaft und Zukunftsbildung: Zwei Elemente für die Zukunft von Südtirols Autonomie

Martin: The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance

Jamie Martin (Georgetown Univ. - History) has published The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance (Harvard Univ. Press 2022). Here's the abstract:

International economic institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank exert incredible influence over the domestic policies of many states. These institutions date from the end of World War II and amassed power during the neoliberal era of the late twentieth century. But as Jamie Martin shows, if we want to understand their deeper origins and the ideas and dynamics that shaped their controversial powers, we must turn back to the explosive political struggles that attended the birth of global economic governance in the early twentieth century.

The Meddlers tells the story of the first international institutions to govern the world economy, including the League of Nations and Bank for International Settlements, created after World War I. These institutions endowed civil servants, bankers, and colonial authorities from Europe and the United States with extraordinary powers: to enforce austerity, coordinate the policies of independent central banks, oversee development programs, and regulate commodity prices. In a highly unequal world, they faced a new political challenge: was it possible to reach into sovereign states and empires to intervene in domestic economic policies without generating a backlash?

Martin follows the intense political conflicts provoked by the earliest international efforts to govern capitalism—from Weimar Germany to the Balkans, Nationalist China to colonial Malaya, and the Chilean desert to Wall Street. The Meddlers shows how the fraught problems of sovereignty and democracy posed by institutions like the IMF are not unique to late twentieth-century globalization, but instead first emerged during an earlier period of imperial competition, world war, and economic crisis.

Stoyanova & Smet: Migrants' Rights, Populism and Legal Resilience in Europe

Vladislava Stoyanova (Lunds Universitet) & Stijn Smet (Hasselt Universiteit) have published Migrants' Rights, Populism and Legal Resilience in Europe (Cambridge Univ. Press 2022). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Bringing together scholars of migration and constitutional law, this volume analyses the problematic relationship between the rise of populism, restrictions of migrants' rights and democratic decay in Europe. By offering both constructive and critical accounts, it creates a nuanced debate on the possibilities for and limitations of legal resilience against populist erosion of migrants' rights. Crucially, it does not merely diagnose the causes of restrictions of migrants' rights, but also proposes how the law might be used as a solution. In this volume, the law is considered as both a source of resilience and part of the problem at three distinct levels: the legal-theoretical, the European, and the national level. It is a major contribution to the literature on migrants' rights, offering a nuanced account of how legal resilience might be used to safeguard migrants' rights against further erosion in populist times. This book is available as Open Access.

New Issue: Review of International Organizations

The latest issue of the Review of International Organizations (Vol. 17, no. 3, July 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Ben Cormier & Mark S. Manger, Power, ideas, and World Bank conditionality
• Faisal Z. Ahmed, From grievances to civil war: The impact of geopolitics
• Céline Carrère, Marcelo Olarreaga, & Damian Raess, Labor clauses in trade agreements: Hidden protectionism?
• Maria J. Debre, Clubs of autocrats: Regional organizations and authoritarian survival
• Zenobia T. Chan & Sophie Meunier, Behind the screen: Understanding national support for a foreign investment screening mechanism in the European Union
• Steven Liao & Daniel McDowell, Closing time: Reputational constraints on capital account policy in emerging markets
• Jacque Gao, Investment with insecure property rights: Capital outflow openness under dictatorship
• Charles B. Roger & Sam S. Rowan, Analyzing international organizations: How the concepts we use affect the answers we get
• Christopher Kilby & Carolyn McWhirter, The World Bank COVID-19 response: Politics as usual?

New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law

The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs recently added the following materials to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: a Mini-Series on International Environmental Law in English by Edith Brown Weiss and a lecture by Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo on "Guide to Provisional Application of Treaties,” available in English, French and Spanish.

The Audiovisual Library of International Law is also available as a podcast on SoundCloud and can also be accessed through the relevant preinstalled applications on Apple or Google devices, or through the podcast application of your preference by searching “Audiovisual Library of International Law.”

Workshop: Redgwell on "What role for general principles in the international legal order?"

On June 22, 2022, the Athens PIL Discussion Group will host an online discussion with Catherine Redgwell (Univ. of Oxford - Law) on "What role for general principles in the international legal order?" Details are here.

Canefe: Crimes Against Humanity: The Limits of Universal Jurisdiction in the Global South

Nergis Canefe (York Univ. - Politics) has published Crimes Against Humanity: The Limits of Universal Jurisdiction in the Global South (Univ. of Wales Press 2021). Here's the abstract:

This volume considers how, based on the examination of cases pertaining to transitional justice settings that resort to local interpretations of crimes against humanity jurisprudence, fragmentation of international law and circumscribed applications of universal jurisdiction are necessary aspects of the grand enterprise to overcome the impasse of the tainted legacy of international criminal law in the Global South. If we are to proceed with adjudication of the most egregious and heinous crimes involving state criminality without facing the charge of neo-colonialist plotting, then we must reckon with localised and domesticated interpretations of international criminal law, rather than pursuing strict forms of legislative dictation of international criminal law.

Manulak: Change in Global Environmental Politics: Temporal Focal Points and the Reform of International Institutions

Michael W. Manulak (Carleton Univ.) has published Change in Global Environmental Politics: Temporal Focal Points and the Reform of International Institutions (Cambridge Univ. Press 2022). Here's the abstract:

As wildfires rage, pollution thickens, and species disappear, the world confronts environmental crisis with a set of global institutions in urgent need of reform. Yet, these institutions have proved frustratingly resistant to change. Introducing the concept of Temporal Focal Points, Manulak shows how change occurs in world politics. By re-envisioning the role of timing and temporality in social relations, his analysis presents a new approach to understanding transformative phases in international cooperation. We may now be entering such a phase, he argues, and global actors must be ready to realize the opportunities presented. Charting the often colorful and intensely political history of change in global environmental politics, this book sheds new light on the actors and institutions that shape humanity's response to planetary decline. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students of international relations, international organization and environmental politics and history.

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 104, no. 919, April 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Ronald Alcala, Cultural evolution: Protecting “digital cultural property” in armed conflict
• Katayoun Hosseinnejad & Pouria Askary, The obligation to exercise “leniency” in penal and disciplinary measures against prisoners of war in light of the ICRC updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention
• Ana Beduschi, Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence for humanitarian action: Opportunities and risks
• Russell Buchan & Nicholas Tsagourias, Hacking international organizations: The role of privileges, immunities, good faith and the principle of State sovereignty
• María Camila Correa Flórez, Andrés Felipe Martín Parada, & Juan Francisco Soto Hoyos, Punishment and pardon: The use of international humanitarian law by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia
• Aaron Fellmeth & Emily Crawford, “Reason to know” in the international law of command responsibility
• Massimo Marelli, The SolarWinds hack: Lessons for international humanitarian organizations
• Anne Peters & Jérôme de Hemptinne, Animals in war: At the vanishing point of international humanitarian law
• Elizabeth Salmón & Juan-Pablo Pérez-León-Acevedo, Reparation for victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law: New developments
• Raphaël van Steenberghe, The impacts of human rights law on the regulation of armed conflict: A coherency-based approach to dealing with both the “interpretation” and “application” processes
• Ning Wang, Markus Christen, Matthew Hunt, & Nikola Biller-Andorno, Supporting value sensitivity in the humanitarian use of drones through an ethics assessment framework
• Priscilla Denisse Coria Palomino, A new understanding of disability in international humanitarian law: Reinterpretation of Article 30 of Geneva Convention III
• Harriet Macey, “Safe zones”: A protective alternative to flight or a tool of refugee containment? Clarifying the international legal framework governing access to refugee protection against the backdrop of “safe zones” in conflict-affected contexts

Conference: BIICL WTO Conference 2022

On July 15, 2022, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law will host online its 2022 WTO Conference. The topic is: "Climate Change: Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) Approaches and the WTO." The program is here.

Kucik, Peritz, & Puig: Legalization and Compliance: How Judicial Activity Undercuts the Global Trade Regime

Jeffrey Kucik (Univ. of Arizona), Lauren Peritz (Univ. of California, Davis), & Sergio Puig (Univ. of Arizona) have posted Legalization and Compliance: How Judicial Activity Undercuts the Global Trade Regime (British Journal of Political Science, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The crisis facing the World Trade Organization illustrates the trade-off between legalization and compliance in international legal systems. Dispute bodies can sometimes “overreach” in their rulings, leading to resistance from member states. This article looks at one form of legal overreach: the extension of legal precedent. We argue that extending previous decisions can reduce the flexibility that states include deliberately in their agreements. We utilize original data on individual applications of precedent in the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body decisions from 1995 to 2015 and on policy responses to those decisions. We find strong evidence that extending precedent reduces on-time compliance. It also leads to longer delays before members comply. The results speak to the life cycles of international organizations, as well as questions of design and cooperation.

Conference: 29th Annual ANZSIL Conference

On June 30-July 2, 2022, the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law will hold its 29th Annual Conference in Canberra and online. The theme is: "International Law and Global Inter-connectedness." Program and registration are here.

Webinar: Davies on "Legality, Life, and the Normativity of Nature"

On June 16, 2022, the Centre for Environmental Law at Macquarie University will host a webinar on "Legality, Life, and the Normativity of Nature" by Margaret Davies (Flinders Univ. - Law). This is part of the Centre's Biodiversity Law and Governance webinar series: Law & Nature Dialogues. Details are here. Recordings of this and all past Law and Nature Dialogues can be viewed on the Macquarie CEL YouTube account.

Kuhlmann: Resetting the Rules on Trade and Gender? A Comparative Assessment of Gender Approaches in Regional Trade Agreements in the Context of a Possible Gender Protocol Under the African Continental Free Trade Area

Katrin Kuhlmann (Georgetown Univ. - Law) has posted Resetting the Rules on Trade and Gender? A Comparative Assessment of Gender Approaches in Regional Trade Agreements in the Context of a Possible Gender Protocol Under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Here's the abstract:

At long last, gender and trade are together on the international agenda, with significant implications for women entrepreneurs and traders around the world. Alongside the landmark 2017 Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Empowerment, regional trade agreements (RTAs) have taken the lead on more tangible gender commitments. One such RTA is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in which gender appears as an express priority alongside sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development. Yet, this is only a starting point. A gender-focused protocol has been proposed under the AfCFTA framework, representing a significant opportunity to reassess RTA provisions on gender and consider more tailored approaches that could benefit women on the African continent and around the world.

This chapter will present a comparative assessment of approaches for evaluating and categorizing gender and trade approaches in RTAs. These include focus on gender responsiveness and incorporation of international and domestic legal design innovations and options for “inclusive law and regulation” (with particular examples from African regional and domestic law) in order to use RTAs to address concrete challenges facing women. In particular, the chapter focuses on how RTA rules could more actively support women’s work, reduce procedural hurdles facing women in the market, enhance access to finance and digital inclusion, and promote food security. The chapter shines light on how gender provisions could be shaped, reframed, and better implemented in practice, with implications for the AfCFTA and future RTAs beyond Africa as well.

Seixas-Nunes: The Legality and Accountability of Autonomous Weapon Systems: A Humanitarian Law Perspective

Afonso Seixas-Nunes (St. Louis Univ. - Law) has published The Legality and Accountability of Autonomous Weapon Systems: A Humanitarian Law Perspective (Cambridge Univ. Press 2022). Here's the abstract:

By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the legality of the use of autonomous weapons systems under international law. It examines different arguments presented by States, roboticists and scholars to demonstrate the challenges such systems will create for the laws of war. This study examines how technology of warfare seeks to increase the dissociation of risk and communication between weapons and their human operators. Furthermore, it explains how algorithms might give rise to 'errors' on the battlefield that cannot be directly attributed to human operators. Against this backdrop, Dr Seixas-Nunes examines three distinct legal frameworks: the distinction between the legality of weapons and the laws of targeting; different mechanisms of individual accountability and the importance of recovering the category of 'dolus eventualis' for programmers and technicians and, finally, State responsibility for violations of the laws of war caused by weapons' software errors.

Glas & Laurence: Changing Norms in Practice: Noninterference in the UN and ASEAN

Aarie Glas (Northern Illinois Univ.) & Marion Laurence (Royal Military College of Canada) have published Changing Norms in Practice: Noninterference in the UN and ASEAN (Journal of Global Security Studies, Vol. 7, no. 2, June 2022). Here's the abstract:

Noninterference is a foundational governance norm for international and regional organizations. In the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the norm has long undergirded the practice of interstate governance in fundamental ways. However, the noninterference norm has been understood and enacted in disparate ways between these organizations and over time within them. While theories of norm diffusion and contestation have long examined the variable understanding of norms within different contexts, we argue that they are inadequate to analyze cases—like those we examine in this article—where divergent practices do not spring from a conscious desire to contest a norm's relevance, meaning, or requirements. To understand dynamics of norm change, we argue that the growing literature on international practices should be placed in dialogue with both traditional accounts of norm diffusion and existing scholarship on norm contestation. We build on these literatures to offer a novel and productive framework to explore shifting beliefs about the competent enactment of norms within disparate communities over time. Empirically, we center attention on the recent United Nations (UN) peace operation in Côte d'Ivoire and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) response to the ongoing Rohingya crisis. In each case, we show that divergent interpretations of the noninterference norm are embedded in seemingly mundane practices that have the potential to transform that norm over the long term. We draw on detailed empirical evidence to illustrate the changing practice of the noninterference norm in each case, relying on seventy-six interviews with officials from both organizations.