Talmon: The South China Sea Arbitration: Jurisdiction, Admissibility, Procedure

Stefan Talmon (Univ. of Bonn - Law) has published The South China Sea Arbitration: Jurisdiction, Admissibility, Procedure (Brill | Nijhoff 2022). Here's the abstract:

This book examines the South China Sea Arbitration between the Philippines and China, widely hailed as a landmark case in the law of the sea. Stefan Talmon argues that while the Tribunal assembled international lawyers of the highest repute and unrivalled experience, the case was nevertheless decided wrongly. He examines every step of the proceedings and critically engages with both the Philippines’ submissions and the Tribunal’s rulings. He finds that the Tribunal was lacking jurisdiction to decide the case, that some of the Philippines’ claims were also inadmissible, and that the Tribunal’s awards were tainted with procedural errors.

Inaugural Issue: Transnational Criminal Law Review

The inaugural issue of the Transnational Criminal Law Review (Vol. 1, no. 1, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Neil Boister, Extradition Law in Pacific Island Countries
• Joanna Harrington, Expanding the Role for the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a World of Conditional Extradition
• Paul Arnell, The Universality of Human Rights in UK Extradition Law
• Notes and Comments
• Rodrigo de Abreu Fudoli, Transfer of Sentenced Persons in Brazil
• Sophie Harrison, The Difficulties of Extradition From New Zealand to China: Minister of Justice v Kyung Yup Kim

Mygatt-Tauber: Medellín v. Texas: International Justice, Federalism, and the Execution of José Medellín

Alan Mygatt-Tauber has published Medellín v. Texas: International Justice, Federalism, and the Execution of José Medellín (Univ. Press of Kansas 2022). Here's the abstract:

In 1993, José Medellín, an eighteen-year-old Mexican national who lived most of his life in the United States, was arrested for his participation in the gang rape and murder of two girls in Houston, Texas. Despite telling police that he was born in Mexico, he was never informed of his rights to contact the Mexican Consulate, a right guaranteed to him by Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Mexican government filed suit against the United States in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled that the United States had violated the rights of both Mexico and Medellín, along with fifty-one other Mexican nationals in other cases. The ICJ instructed the United States to provide “review and reconsideration” of the convictions and sentences of the fifty-two Mexican nationals.

Armed with this new decision, Medellín sought a writ of habeas corpus, which was denied by the lower courts. He petitioned for a writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted, twice. While President George W. Bush sided with the ICJ, the State of Texas, under Solicitor General Ted Cruz, argued against the president. Despite a nearly universal belief among court watchers and legal scholars that Texas would lose, the Court in a 6–3 decision ruled in favor of Texas and against Medellín in June 2008. Medellín was executed just two months later.

In this volume Alan Mygatt-Tauber tells the story of Medellín v. Texas, showing how the Court’s 2008 ruling grappled with the complex question of how a united republic that respects the dual sovereignty of its constituent parts struggles to comply with its international obligations. But this is also a story of international human rights and the anomalous position of the United States regarding the death penalty compared to other nations. In the closing chapters, the author explores the aftermath of the execution, including the continued effort of Mexico to seek justice for its nationals.

Mygatt-Tauber offers a detailed examination of the case at every stage of proceedings—trial, appeal, at the International Court of Justice, and in both trips to the Supreme Court. He provides never-before-revealed information about the thinking of the Bush White House in the decision to comply with the ICJ’s judgment and to withdraw from the Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention that granted the ICJ jurisdiction.

Call for Submissions and Young Practitioners and Scholars Essay Competition: European Investment Law and Arbitration Review

The European Investment Law and Arbitration Review has issued a call for submissions for its 2023 issue. The call is here. EILAR also invites submissions for its Young Practitioners and Scholars Essay Competition. Details regarding the essay competition are here.

Conference: The 'Natural' in International Law

On September 8-9, 2022, the Asia School of Business, the Amsterdam Center for International Law, and the Graduate Institute Global Governance Centre will hold a workshop on “The ‘Natural’ in International Law,” at the University of Amsterdam. The program is here. Registration is here.

Conference: Governing Humanitarianism: The Past, Present and Future of Global Equity and Social Justice

On September 11-13, 2022, a conference on "Governing Humanitarianism: The Past, Present and Future of Global Equity and Social Justice" will take place in Hanover. The program is here.

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 37, no. 3, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Pradeep A. Singh, The Invocation of the ‘Two-Year Rule’ at the International Seabed Authority: Legal Consequences and Implications
• Pieter Bekker, Clive Schofield, & Robert van de Poll, Transparency and Predictability in the Maritime Delimitation Process: Reverse-engineering the Somalia-Kenya Adjudicated Boundary
• Setyo Widagdo & Syahriza Alkohir Anggoro, Combating Ocean Debris: Marine Plastic Pollution and Waste Regulation in Indonesia
• Luciana Fernandes Coelho, Marine Scientific Research and Small Island Developing States in the Twenty-First Century: Appraising the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Ríán Derrig, Inspecting Ships Autonomously under Port State Jurisdiction: Towards Sustainability and Biodiversity in the EU

Sobenes, Íñigo, & Ferrara: Hablemos de Derecho Internacional

Edgardo Sobenes, Laura Íñigo, & Pablo Ferrara have published Hablemos de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 1, 2022). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Esta obra fomenta la diseminación del derecho internacional en español y contribuye a la consolidación de la educación jurídica con contenido de primera calidad a través de una serie de colaboraciones que analizan diversos aspectos históricos y contemporáneos del derecho internacional público, la correlación entre el derecho internacional y su interpretación en América Latina, el futuro de las Naciones Unidas, el surgimiento del derecho ambiental internacional, así como la justicia y los procesos internacionales, incluyendo aquellos ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia y la Corte Penal Internacional. También incluye cuestiones relativas a los derechos humanos y el derecho internacional humanitario como la reparación de las víctimas de crímenes internacionales, el derecho de los pueblos indígenas, las discusiones jurídicas en torno a la COVID-19, el derecho del mar y la llamada blue economy.

La obra contiene colaboraciones de Philippe Couvreur, Antonio Remiro Brotons, Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, Juan Antonio Travieso, Mónica Feria-Tinta, María del Ángel Iglesias Vázquez, Iñigo de Miguel Beriain, Mario Santisteban Galarza, Juan Nascimbene, Asier Garrido Muñoz, Anne Coulon, Jorge Morales Pedraza, Juan Ramón Martínez Vargas, Carlos Gil Gandía, Laura Íñigo Álvarez, Ángel V. Horna y Pablo Ferrara.

Uraz: Classifying Genocide in International Law: The Substantiality Requirement

Onur Uraz (Univ. of Hacettepe - Law) has published Classifying Genocide in International Law: The Substantiality Requirement (Routledge 2022). Here's the abstract:

This book offers an in-depth examination into genocide law by focusing on one of the lesser examined, yet practically significant, issues: the ‘substantiality requirement’. This refers to the requirement in international law that intended destruction should be directed towards a ‘substantial’ part of a protected group in order for an atrocity to qualify as genocide. This comprehensive and detailed study draws connections between different judicial approaches to ‘substantiality’ and the varying theoretical presumptions about the constitutive concepts of the crime. This prima facia doctrinal problem is used as a springboard to scrutinise the broader theoretical problems underlying the legal conceptualisation of genocide.

The book systematically explores how the individualistic and collectivistic conceptions of the crime have been able to co-exist in case law and how the different approaches to assessing substantiality have played a backdoor role between these two conceptions. The work demonstrates that these two philosophical standpoints are far from effectively representing the reality of the protected groups and fully explaining the harm inherent to group destruction. The book revisits the recent philosophical and sociological studies on the crime and, considering ideas from the emerging ‘relational approaches to genocide’, offers a third way to understand the existing legal representation of the crime and, consequently, the idea of ‘substantiality’. It demonstrates the practical significance of its theoretical debates and applies its novel perspective through a case study on South Sudan.

Call for Papers: CyCon 2023

The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence has issued a call for papers for the legal track of the 15th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon), to be held May 30-June 2, 2023 in Tallinn. CyCon is a multidisciplinary conference, combining academic research with high-level policy and strategy perspectives on cyber defence and security. The deadline is October 15, 2022. The call is here.

New Volume: Netherlands Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 51, 2020) is out. Contents include:

• Global Solidarity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities
• Maarten den Heijer & Harmen van der Wilt, Global Solidarity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities
• Volker Roeben & Mark Amakoromo, Responsibility, Solidarity and Their Connections in International Law: Towards a Coherent Framework
• Lonneke Peperkamp, Differentiating in the Distribution of Responsibilities: A Philosophical Analysis
• Francesca Romanin Jacur, Solidarity and Differentiation: Moral and Legal Obligations of States in Addressing Global Challenges - The Case of Climate Change
• Richard Barnes, Global Solidarity, Differentiated Responsibilities and the Law of the Sea
• Tara Davenport, Differentiated Rights and Responsibilities in Activities in the Area – From Wealth Redistribution to Marine Environmental Protection
• Ingo Venzke & Geraldo Vidigal, Are Unilateral Trade Measures in the Climate Crisis the End of Differentiated Responsibilities? The Case of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• Owen McIntyre, Embedding ‘Solidarity’ in International Water Law: Framing ‘Equity’ in Transboundary Water Governance
• Chenguang Wang & Yi Zhang, Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities as a Guiding Principle in International Health Law in Times of Pandemics
• Yvonne Donders, The Flexibility Device in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Elizabeth Mavropoulou & Lilian Tsourdi, Solidarity as Normative Rationale for Differential Treatment: Common but Differentiated Responsibilities from International Environmental to EU Asylum Law?
• Terry D. Gill, Reconciling the Irreconcilable: Some Thoughts on Belligerent Equality in Non-international Armed Conflicts

Conference: Socialisms and International Law in the Contemporary World

On September 15-16, 2022, the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, supported by the Romanian Research Council, will host a conference on "Socialisms and International Law in the Contemporary World," in Bucharest. The program is here.

McIntyre: Procedural Values in the Intervention Procedure at the International Court of Justice

Juliette McIntyre (Univ. of South Australia - Law) has posted Procedural Values in the Intervention Procedure at the International Court of Justice (Ukrainian Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper undertakes a re-examination of the Court’s practice in intervention. It contends that the common or popular tendency to ascribe the values of harmonization and efficiency to intervention creates a mirage, which disguises other values that are influential. Efficiency was not a particular motivation for the drafters of the Court’s procedure, and the Court’s jurisprudence gives little weight to efficiency values. The situation is more complex in respect of harmonization. The drafters of the Court’s Statute explicitly acknowledged the potential for intervention to hasten harmonious development of the law, and intervention can be perceived as a panacea for fragmentation. Yet rarely, if ever, has a perceived need for (or the potential normative benefits of) harmonization of the law driven the Court’s approach to intervention. Rather, this paper identifies the values of transparency, party autonomy, confidentiality, representation, and participation at work. It explores how these underlying values drive the Court’s procedural decision-making in respect of intervention, although such value-driven decision-making is at times disguised behind reference to the notion of the ‘sound administration of justice’.

Calvert: The Politics of Investment Treaties in Latin America

Julia Calvert (Univ. of Edinburgh) has published The Politics of Investment Treaties in Latin America (Oxford Univ. Press 2022). Here's the abstract:

International investment law is at a crossroads. Civil society groups, prominent think tanks, and international organisations are calling for widespread reform. At the centre of controversy are international investment agreements (IIAs) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Over 1,000 legal claims have been brought by foreign investors under IIAs since the mid-1990s, resulting in multi-million dollar fines imposed against governments for policies related to the environment, natural resource governance, and access to basic services among other areas of public concern. Governments targeted by investor claims are pursuing a variety of reforms that range from the incremental to paradigm-shifting. These different responses raise important questions about the politics of infringement and reform: Why do governments infringe on IIAs despite the costs of doing so? Why do some governments heavily targeted by investor claims pursue more substantive reforms than others? This book provides a timely examination of infringement and reform in Latin America, where governments felt the sting of investor claims sooner and with greater frequency than in other regions. It focuses on Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador, countries that responded very differently to waves of investor claims. Based on interviews with government officials, and international lawyers as well as an extensive analysis of legal transcripts, detailed case study chapters examine the conditions that prompted investor claims and the factors that inform country's reform agendas. In doing so, the book illustrates the conditions under which IIAs constrain state behaviour and how different belief systems produce different responses to external pressures for treaty compliance.

Guymon: Digest of United States Practice in International Law, 2021

CarrieLyn D. Guymon (Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State) has published Digest of United States Practice in International Law, 2021. Congratulations to CarrieLyn on completing eleven years as Digest editor!

Dienelt: Armed Conflicts and the Environment: Complementing the Laws of Armed Conflict with Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law

Anne Dienelt (Universität Hamburg - Law) has published Armed Conflicts and the Environment: Complementing the Laws of Armed Conflict with Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law (Springer 2022). Here's the abstract:

The book rethinks the means of harmonization of prima facie norm conflicts in light of the multitude of international agreements across regimes. The methodology deployed in this book, which is referred to as complementation or complementary application, represents a novel approach by focusing on commonly shared objectives and a unifying ordre public transnational across fields of public international law that allow for a harmonization beyond traditional treaty interpretation. Fields of public international law, mainly the laws of armed conflict, international environmental law, and human rights law, apply simultaneously to questions regarding the environment and war. Such a coexistence challenges the unity of the international legal order, and it also challenges the means of harmonization across fields of public international law. However, eventually, the co-existence of several fields of public international law can result in a refinement of international law and enhanced legal protection. Diversification can also contribute to clarification or normative intensification in areas of parallel application of various fields and multilayered legal protection, demonstrating a counter-option to fragmentation.

Conference: 51th Annual Conference of the Canadian Council on International Law

The Canadian Council on International Law will hold its 51th Annual Conference on October 27-28, 2022, in Ottawa. The theme is: "Solidarity and Enlightened Self-Interest in International Law: Relic or Aspiration?" The program is here. Registration is here.