Chander & Sun: Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State

Anupam Chander (Georgetown Univ. - Law) & Haochen Sun (Univ. of Hong Kong - Law) has published Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). This volume is available open access. The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Who, if anyone, should regulate the internet? Governments around the world have answered this question robustly: they will. Data sovereignty-the exercise of control over the internet-is the ambition of world leaders as a natural extension of traditional sovereignty and as a bulwark against the reach of foreign power. The question posed to governments now is not who should regulate the internet, but how should it be done.

Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State focuses on the question of territorial control over data flows and attempts by national and regional governments to place limits on the free movement of data across a global internet. Drawing on theories in political economy, international law, human rights, and data protection, this volume offers new theoretical perspectives and thought-provoking ideas about the nature and scope of data sovereignty. It examines the extent to which new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation, pose challenges to data sovereignty and how those challenges might be addressed. In chapters that are both descriptively comprehensive and analytically rich, the book explains the national, regional, and international legal frameworks for regulating the digital economy.

Storey: The Refugee Definition in International Law

Hugo Storey has published The Refugee Definition in International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

In international law, the refugee definition enshrined in Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol is central. Yet, seven decades on, the meaning of its key terms are widely seen as unclear. The Refugee Definition in International Law asks whether we must continue to accept this or whether a systematic legal analysis can shed new light on this important term. The volume addresses several framework questions concerning approaches to definition, interpretation, ordering, and the interrelationship between the definition's different elements. Each element is then analysed in turn, applying Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties rules in systematic fashion. Each chapter evaluates the main disputes that have arisen and seeks to distil basic propositions that are widely agreed, as well as certain suggested propositions for resolving ongoing debates. In the final chapter, the basic propositions are assembled to demonstrate that in fact there is now more clarity about the definition than many think and that considerable progress has been made toward achieving a working definition.

Risvas: Discrimination in Investment Treaty Arbitration

Michail Risvas (Univ. of Southampton - Law) has published Discrimination in Investment Treaty Arbitration (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

Discrimination in International Investment Arbitration provides an original and comprehensive treatment of the non-discrimination standards at the heart of many investment treaty cases. Drawing insights from US law, EU law, and international human rights courts, Risvas supplies key insights into arbitration tribunals' decisions on the interpretation and application of a wide scope of standards, including Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Treatment; National Treatment (NT); non-impairment clauses prohibiting arbitrary and/or discriminatory measures; Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET); and non-discrimination in the context of the Expropriation standard. Advancing normative suggestions for the application of non-discrimination standards, Risvas proposes a template for practitioners, policymakers, and adjudicators involved in investment treaty negotiations. The book is also a valuable resource for legal scholars, as it clarifies inconsistent arbitral practice and distils the key traits of discrimination claims.

Branca: Responsibility regimes for international peace operations

Eleonora Branca (Università degli Studi Roma Tre - Law) has published Responsibility regimes for international peace operations (Editoriale scientifica 2023). Here's the abstract:

The occurrence of harmful conducts in peace operations to the detriment of the local population, which in some cases amounted to serious violations of international law, have generated a growing demand for justice by aggrieved individuals. This has led to our main research question, which looks at the legal consequences under international law of harmful conduct carried out by States and international organisations in peace operations. The study submits that the variety of actors and the complex legal interplays between them calls into question a plurality of responsibility. The term ‘responsibility regimes’ is used here to refer to three concepts generally associated with the legal notion of responsibility, namely international responsibility, accountability, and liability. The research will address the three responsibility regimes in turn, and will unfold around two main issues: i) the allocation of responsibility and ii) the remedies available under the three responsibility regimes.

International responsibility can be defined as the legal relationship that arises from the breach of an international obligation, attributable to a State or to an international organisation, in the absence of circumstances precluding wrongfulness.

The concept of accountability has a twofold meaning: on the one hand, it is understood as the duty of an entity to give account of the exercise of its powers vis à vis others, as it is the case of monitoring and reporting activities of international organizations; one the other hand, accountability implyies the possibility for other actors to hold to account an entity for the exercise of its powers against certain standards, as in the case of compliance mechanisms. In peace operations, reference can be made to the UNMIK Ombudsperson, UN HRAP, EULEX HRRP or the UN Trust Fund for Victims of SEA, to cite a few.

Liability is characterised by the obligation to pay compensation for the damage caused, regardless of whether the conduct causing the harm is internationally wrongful. In peace operations, the liability regime characterises the functioning of claims systems established by States and international organizations to settle third-party claims.

This thorough examination shows how the three responsibility regimes come into question, highlight their strengths and weaknesses in responding to the individual quest for justice vis à vis wrongful acts carried out by States and international organizations in peace operations. The hypothesis is made that the responsibility gap can be progressively closed by enhancing the functioning of each responsibility regime, whereby they would mutually complement and reinforce each other to provide a credible answer to victims of wrongful act carried out by States and international organizations in peace operations.

McGregor: Detention and its Alternatives under International Law

Lorna McGregor (Univ. of Essex - Law) has published Detention and its Alternatives under International Law (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

In theory, international law provides a clear framework for ensuring the rarity of detention by either characterising a detention practice as inherently arbitrary or treating it as a measure of last resort. However, some critics have argued that international law prioritises procedural safeguards, leaving the international law on the legitimacy, necessity, and proportionality of detention and its alternatives underdeveloped.

Detention and its Alternatives under International Law analyses the current state of the international law on detention and its alternatives within national law and policy. It addresses armed conflict, counterterrorism, criminal justice, mental health, migration, public health, and social care. The book discusses a number of topics such as: shortcomings in how international law addresses structural inequality and discrimination; the level of scrutiny applied to the evidence supporting decisions to detain; and the availability and proportionality of alternatives to detention and their compatibility with human rights.

All chapters analyse how new and emerging technologies affect decisions to detain, as well as the nature of alternatives to detention. Without conflating different forms of detention, the book proposes key means of making detention a true measure of last resort.

New Issue: Rivista di Diritto Internazionale

The latest issue of the Rivista di Diritto Internazionale (Vol. 106, no. 4, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Articoli
• Antonio Carratta, La riforma del processo civile nella prospettiva del diritto processuale civile internazionale
• Chiara Venturini, Complicità omissiva tra stati per violazione di obblighi positivi
• Eugenio Carli, Legittimazione di stati diversi da uno stato leso ad agire in giudizio per violazione di obblighi solidali
• Note e Commenti
• Matteo Sarzo, Pretese miste e ricorsi interni inefficaci nella sentenza della corte internazionale di giustizia relativa ad alcuni beni iraniani
• Tullio Scovazzi, Un passo avanti in un contesto complesso

Bantekas & Seatzu: The UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Commentary

Ilias Bantekas (Hamad bin Khalifa Univ. - Law) & Francesco Seatzu (Univ. of Cagliari - Law) have published The UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Commentary (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This historic document constituted a transformative 'plan for action for people, planet and prosperity' with regards to the sustainable development efforts of all countries.

The Sustainable Development Goals serves as an expert compendium, the most authoritative ready-reference tool for anyone interested in the SDGs. Each chapter comprises a detailed target-by-target analysis of one of the SDGs, including a methodical analysis of the preparatory proceedings that shaped each goal in its present form, an exhaustive examination of their content, and a critical assessment from an international law perspective.

This commentary provides readers with the most up-to-date information on normative and legal questions arising from the incorporation of the SDGs into the international economic, social, and environmental legal frameworks, and on their implementation status.

Petsche: The Concept of Investment in ICSID Arbitration

Markus Petsche (Central European Univ. - Legal Studies) has published The Concept of Investment in ICSID Arbitration (Oxford Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

This book explores the meaning of 'investment' within the context of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration. It provides a comprehensive and detailed examination of the various legal issues arising in connection with the jurisdictional requirement of the existence of an investment. It explores, first of all, the fundamental question of whether the term 'investment' in Art. 25 ICSID Convention has - despite not being defined - some objective or independent meaning. Second, it addresses the substance of that meaning, showing that three main approaches (the prevailing Salini test, the permissibility test, and the commercial-transaction test) co-exist in arbitral practice. Third, it analyses the definitions of 'investment' found in investment treaties including the traditional definitional model, typical requirements, and recent developments in practice. Fourth, it provides an overview of definitions contained in domestic investment laws, highlighting commonalities with, and differences from, definitions found in investment treaties. Finally, it examines the investment status of several specific categories of assets and operations.

The Concept of Investment in ICSID Arbitration offers not only a detailed analysis of the relevant case law, legislation, and scholarship, but also a critical assessment of existing practices and trends, as well as normative recommendations. It also explores issues that are neglected in the existing literature, such as the question of the nature of investment, recent trends in treaty drafting and arbitral case law, and definitions of 'investment' contained in investment laws.

New Issue: The World Economy

The latest issue of The World Economy (Vol. 46, no. 12, December 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Global Policy Review
• David Kleimann, Niclas Poitiers, André Sapir, Simone Tagliapietra, Nicolas Véron, Reinhilde Veugelers, & Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Green tech race? The US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU Net Zero Industry Act
• André Brotto Reigado, Simon J. Evenett, & Fernando Martin, Towards meaningful transparency at the WTO: Reinforcing the trade policy review mechanism
• Prema-chandra Athukorala & Hal Hill, Trade policy in a ‘double-landlocked’ transition economy: Kyrgyzstan
• Shihao Zhou & Qu Feng, Trade policy review of Singapore
• Kaleb Abreha & Raymond Robertson, Heterogeneous trade agreements and adverse implications of restrictive rules of origin: Evidence from apparel trade
• Beniamino Quintieri & Giovanni Stamato, Are preferential agreements beneficial to EU trade? New evidence from the EU–South Korea treaty
• Kazunobu Hayakawa, Naoto Jinji, Nuttawut Laksanapanyakul, Toshiyuki Matsuura, & Taiyo Yoshimi, Quantifying the costs of utilising regional trade agreements
• Yulin Hou, Deep trade agreements and trade costs
• Zhaobin Fan, Sajid Anwar, & Ying Zhou, Deep trade agreements, production position distance and bilateral global value chain participation
• Amelie Guillin, Isabelle Rabaud, & Chahir Zaki, Does the depth of trade agreements matter for trade in services?

New Issue: Business and Human Rights Journal

The latest issue of the Business and Human Rights Journal (Vol. 8, no. 3, October 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Aysel Küçüksu & Güneş Ünüvar, Vulnerability Theory as a Paradigm Shift in International Investment Law: Reimagining the Role of the State
• Stephanie Triefus, The UNGPs and ISDS: Should Businesses Assess the Human Rights Impacts of Investor–State Arbitration?
• Joel Slawotsky, Leveraging Human Rights Due Diligence in Corporate-State Procurement: The Exemplar of the Pfizer-Israeli COVID-19 Vaccination Program
• Aleydis Nissen, Gender-Transformative Remedies for Women Human Rights Defenders
• Karin Buhmann, Confronting Challenges to Substantive Remedy for Victims: Opportunities for OECD National Contact Points under a Due Diligence Regime Involving Civil Liability
• Developments in the Field
• Marian G. Ingrams, The 2023 Update of the OECD Guidelines sets Stronger Standards for Companies but Weak Expectations for Governments – High and Lowlights from the New Text
• Benn F. Hogan & Joanna Reyes, Downstream Human Rights Due Diligence: Informing Debate Through Insights from Business Practice
• Claire Rankin, Defending the Rights of Local Communities against Box-Ticking Exercises: An Analysis of Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
• Natalie Bugalski & David Pred, Lessons from the ANZ-Phnom Penh Sugar Case for the OECD National Contact Point System of Corporate Accountability
• Daniel Kinderman, Klaus Stieglitz, & Laure Almairac, Corporate Social Irresponsibility, an Elastic Wall, and a Fragile State: Sign of Hope’s Unfinished Quest to Mitigate Human Rights Violations in South Sudan
• Patricia Wiater, Chaos in the Sporting World over Russia’s War of Aggression: Political Neutrality in Light of Human Rights Protection

New Volume: Asian Yearbook of International Economic Law

The latest volume of the Asian Yearbook of International Economic Law (Vol. 2023) is out. Contents include:

• International Economic Order
• Marc Bungenberg & Philipp Reinhold, Difficult Times in Investment Relations Between China and Germany: The Cases of Siltronic/GlobalWafers and COSCO/HHLA
• Leon Trakman, China’s Dilemma in Renewing Its Belt and Road Initiative
• Carsten Hefeker, Conflicts over Industrial and Trade Policy: Europe Between China and the United States
• Shailja Singh, Future Unready: Does the WTO Need to Bolster Its Security Exceptions?
• Said Saidakhrarovich Gulyamov & Otabek Sadievich Narziev, Uzbekistan Investment Law and Policy: Challenges and Opportunities
• Pushkar Anand, Environmental Regulation and International Investment Law in South Asia
• Regional Trade Agreements
• Intan Murnira Ramli, Tomy Waskitho, & Michelle Chandra Kasih, The Interplay of IPEF Between RCEP and CPTPP: An ASEAN Viewpoint
• Andika Ab Wahab, Inclusive and Responsible Business Conduct in ASEAN: Belt and Road Projects as a Model
• Sufian Jusoh, The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Intellectual Property Chapter and Research in Biotechnology
• International Dispute Resolution
• Yeqiong Wang & Fuyong Chen, Balancing Substantive Fairness and Procedural Efficiency: An Analysis of the ISDS Appeal Mechanism Under the Rules of Beijing International Arbitration Center
• Diana Bayzakova & Adrian Mak, Tashkent International Arbitration Centre at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan: Taking Stock on Its Fourth Anniversary

Cowell: The Law, Politics and Theory of Treaty Withdrawal

Frederick Cowell (Birkbeck College - Law) has published The Law, Politics and Theory of Treaty Withdrawal (Hart Publishing 2023). Here the abstract:

Many commentators have observed a wider sense of crisis in international law as governments of different ideological stripes withdraw or threaten to withdraw from international organisations and treaties. There are different political forces behind all of these cases, but they all use the same basic device in international law – a treaty withdrawal clause. This book focuses on withdrawal clauses within multilateral treaties, providing a detailed overview of their operation, drawing on a range of case studies including Brexit, nuclear weapons treaties and investment arbitration agreements. The obligations a withdrawal clause places on a withdrawing state help regulate the withdrawal process, providing a notional form of stability. Using insights from international relations theory and legal theory, this book unpacks how and why the law of withdrawal operates and what its limitations are.

Besson: Consenting to International Law

Samantha Besson (Collège de France) has published Consenting to International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2023). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The obligations stemming from international law are still predominantly considered, despite important normative and descriptive critiques, as being 'based' on (State) consent. To that extent, international law differs from domestic law where consent to the law has long been considered irrelevant to law-making, whether as a criterion of validity or as a ground of legitimacy. In addition to a renewed historical and philosophical interest in (State) consent to international law, including from a democratic theory perspective, the issue has also recently regained in importance in practice. Various specialists of international law and the philosophy of international law have been invited to explore the different questions this raises in what is the first edited volume on consent to international law in English language. The collection addresses three groups of issues: the notions and roles of consent in contemporary international law; its objects and types; and its subjects and institutions.

Zabyelina: Between Immunity and Impunity: External Accountability of Political Elites for Transnational Crime

Yuliya Zabyelina (Univ. of Alabama - Criminology and Criminal Justice) has published Between Immunity and Impunity: External Accountability of Political Elites for Transnational Crime (Cambridge Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

How do top-level public officials take advantage of immunity from foreign jurisdiction afforded to them by international law? How does the immunity entitlement allow them to thwart investigations and trial proceedings in foreign courts? What responses exist to prevent and punish such conduct? In Between Immunity and Impunity, Yuliya Zabyelina unravels the intricate layers of impunity of political elites complicit in transnational crimes. By examining cases of trafficking in persons and drugs, corruption, and money laundering that implicate heads of state and of government, ministers, diplomats, and international civil servants, she shows that, despite the potential of international law immunity to impede or delay justice, there are prominent instruments of external accountability. Accessible and compelling, this book provides novel insights for readers interested in the close-knit bond between power, illicit wealth, and impunity.

Nußberger: Interstate Assistance to the Use of Force

Benjamin K. Nußberger has published Interstate Assistance to the Use of Force (Nomos 2023). Here's the abstract:

Unterstützung ist eine entscheidende Komponente zwischenstaatlicher Gewaltanwendung. Das Buch konturiert die völkerrechtliche Regulierung zwischenstaatlicher Unterstützungsleistungen zu internationaler Gewaltanwendung. Es zeichnet die einschlägige Praxis der Staaten in Resolutionen der Vereinten Nationen, in zwischenstaatlichen Verträgen und in mehr als 25 kriegerischen Konflikten – vom Korea-Krieg bis zum aktuellen Ukraine-Krieg – nach, ordnet sie historisch in die Entwicklung des Friedenssicherungsrechts ein, und setzt sie ins Verhältnis mit allgemeinen völkerrechtlichen Regelungen zur Beihilfe. Zugleich beleuchtet das Buch Unschärfen der bestehenden Regulierung und schafft so die Grundlagen für mehr Transparenz und expliziten Diskurs.

Whenever States use force in their international relations, interstate assistance is a vital component. The book clarifies the regulation of interstate assistance to a use of force under international law. It comprehensively reviews the relevant practice of States in United Nations resolutions, in international treaties and in more than 25 armed conflicts - from the Korean War to the current Ukraine war. It situates the regulation within the historic development of the ius contra bellum and contextualizes it with general rules of international law on complicity. Thereby, the book also sheds light on ambiguities of the regulation, thus providing the basis for more transparency and explicit discourse among both practitioners and scholars.

Call for Papers: L'histoire du droit de la mer, la mer dans l'histoire du droit

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "L'histoire du droit de la mer, la mer dans l'histoire du droit," to take place May 30-June 2, 2024, at the Université de Toulon. The call is here.

Stahn: The International Criminal Court in Its Third Decade: Reflecting on Law and Practices

Carsten Stahn (Leiden Univ. - Law; Queen’s Univ. Belfast - Law) has published The International Criminal Court in Its Third Decade: Reflecting on Law and Practices (Brill | Nijhoff 2023). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

This volume examines lessons learned in over two decades of ICC practice. It discusses macro issues, such as universality, selectivity, new technologies, complementarity, victims and challenges in the life cycle of cases, as well as ways to re-think the ICC regime in light of the Independent Expert Review, aggression against Ukraine, and novel global challenges.

Abely: The Russia Sanctions: The Economic Response to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Christine Abely (New England Law) has published The Russia Sanctions: The Economic Response to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (Cambridge Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

In The Russia Sanctions, Christine Abely examines the international trade measures and sanctions deployed against Russia in response to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Abely situates contemporary sanctions within their larger historical and economic backgrounds and provides a uniquely accessible analysis of the historic export controls and import restrictions enacted since 2022. She argues that these sanctions have affected, and will continue to affect, global trading patterns, financial integration, and foreign policy in novel ways. In particular, she examines the effects of sanctions on energy, food, fertilizer, the financial system, and the global use of the US dollar, including trends of de-dollarization. Coverage includes sanctions against oligarchs, the freezing and seizure of assets, and steps taken to make sanctions more effective by promoting financial transparency worldwide.

Maljean-Dubois & Peel: Climate Change and the Testing of International Law / Le droit international au défi des changements climatiques

Sandrine Maljean-Dubois (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) & Jacqueline Peel (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) have published Climate Change and the Testing of International Law / Le droit international au défi des changements climatiques (Brill | Nijhoff 2023). Here's the abstract:

Climate change poses threats of great seriousness and urgency for humanity and the planet. As an issue that cuts across all domains of human activity, creates scientific uncertainties, and leads to wide-ranging socio-economic and environmental impacts, it also challenges conventional rules, sources, structures, institutions and approaches in international law. This volume contains the work of the 2022 Centre for Studies and Research on this important and timely topic of climate change and the testing of international law. Using the challenge of climate change as an experimental laboratory for international legal innovation, the contributions in this volume seek to measure the capacity of international law across a broad range of fields — from peace and security law, to investment law, trade, human rights and many other areas — to adapt and evolve, and as a catalyst for designing the international law of the future. It traces a progressive “climatization” of international law occurring under the transformative influence of the climate problem, highlighting both international law’s potential for creative responses, as well as areas where its rules and structures are not fit-for-purpose and require more radical overhaul to better match the scale and urgency of the challenge of addressing climate change.

Les changements climatiques font peser des menaces particulièrement graves et urgentes sur l’humanité et la planète. Objets d’incertitudes scientifiques, touchant tous les domaines de l’activité humaine et porteurs de conséquences socio-économiques et environnementales de grande ampleur, les changements climatiques affectent en profondeur les principes, sources, mécanismes et institutions du droit international. Ce volume contient les travaux du Centre d’étude et de recherche en 2022 qui ont porté sur un sujet à la fois important et d’une grande actualité : la mise à l’épreuve du droit international par les changements climatiques. En voyant dans le défi posé par les changements climatiques un laboratoire expérimental, les contributions réunies dans ce volume s’attachent à mesurer la capacité du droit international dans un large éventail de domaines (du droit de la paix et de la sécurité internationales, au droit des investissements ou du commerce, aux droits de l’homme et à bien d’autres encore) à s’adapter et à évoluer, et à servir de catalyseur pour fabriquer le droit international du futur. L’ouvrage témoigne de la « climatisation » progressive du droit international pour faire face au problème climatique. Il souligne de ce point de vue à la fois la flexibilité et les forces créatrices du droit international, mais aussi l’inadaption de certains de ses mécanismes et règles, qui requièrent des changements plus radicaux pour être à la hauteur de l’ampleur et de l’urgence du défi majeur que représente aujourd’hui la lutte contre les changements climatiques.

Negm: An Introduction to the African Union Environmental Treaties

Namira Negm (Director, African Migration Observatory; formerly, Legal Counsel, African Union) has published An Introduction to the African Union Environmental Treaties (Brill | Nijhoff 2023). Here's the abstract:

An Introduction to the African Union Environmental Treaties sheds light on the African Union legal regime related to environmental issues and provides expert analysis of how the African Union has transitioned from the former management of natural resources approach to strategies of preservation and protection. This book explores different areas of the environment, from livestock to plants, fertilizers, minerals and marine environment. Ambassador Namira Negm convincingly demonstrates the extent to which environmental issues are of critical importance to the African Union. Together with insightful commentary, the book provides full treaty texts and is an indispensable resource for all those interested in the African Union and environmental legal regimes.

New Issue: Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Institutions

The latest issue of Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Institutions (Vol. 29, no. 4, October-December 2023) is out. Contents include:

• John W. Holmes Memorial Lecture
• Bintou Keita, A Counter-Case to Fallacies and “-isms”: The Conundrum of Protecting Civilians in a Complex Environment and an Accelerated Transition
• Articles
• Louise Olsson, Patty Chang & Angela Muvumba Sellström, Examining E10 Strategies and Decisions: Sweden and Women, Peace and Security in the UN Security Council
• John Karlsrud & Allard Duursma, Norm Fixation: The Role of Implementation Practices in the Development of the Protection of Civilians Norm
• Vesselin Popovski, The Right to International Solidarity
• Younes Ahouga, The International Organization for Migration as a Counterweight to States? The 2030 Agenda, the GCM, and the Strategic Vision of IOM
• Rafael Mesquita, The Road Most Traveled By: Three Hypotheses about Influential Norms at the United Nations General Assembly Identified by Main Path Analysis
• Melanie van Driel, Frank Biermann, Rakhyun E. Kim & Marjanneke J. Vijge, The UN Regional Commissions as Orchestrators for the Sustainable Development Goals

New Issue: Global Responsibility to Protect

The latest issue of Global Responsibility to Protect (Vol. 16, no. 1, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Adrian Gallagher, Blake Lawrinson, Gillian McKay, & Richard Illingworth, The Responsibility to Protect: a Bibliography

New Issue: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

The latest issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (Vol. 26, no. 3, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Ziying Liang, The PRC’s New Approach to Deterring Pangolin Crime and the Concept of Criminal Incidental Civil Public Interest Litigation
• Meganne Natali, A Loophole in Article VII of CITES: A Case Against Annex I Species Breeding
• Simeneh Admasu, Paul Scholte & Lakew Berhanu, The State of Protected Areas and Conservation of Ethiopia’s Iconic Large Mammals: Implications for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 92, no. 4, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Sarah Thin, Guardians of Legality? The International Judicial Function in an Era of Community Interest
• Solon Solomon & Ya’akov M. Bayer, Is All Mental Harm Equal? The Importance of Discussing Civilian War Trauma from a Socio-Economic Legal Framework’s Perspective
• Cian Moran, “Congratulations, you are Being Liberated. Please do not Resist”: Russia’s Wars and the Protection of Nationals under International Law
• Simon McKenzie, Sovereign Immunity of Uncrewed Surveillance Vehicles and the Limits of Enforcement Jurisdiction
• Medy Dervovic & Katharina Heinrich, Law-Science Nexus in International Law-Making: Perspectives from Arctic Fisheries Governance

Zemach: The International Norm Against Unjust Enrichment and State Enrichment Through the Harmful Conduct of Private Parties

Ariel Zemach (Ono Academic College - Law) has posted The International Norm Against Unjust Enrichment and State Enrichment Through the Harmful Conduct of Private Parties (University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Vol. 45, No. 1, 2023). Here's the abstract:

States are often enriched by the flow to their coffers of wealth accrued to private actors through internationally harmful conduct such as overfishing, acts causing transboundary air or marine pollution, cyber attacks, and international corruption. A portion of the wealth acquired by private actors through such conduct is often passed on to the state through its tax system. This article argues that this form of income to the state triggers the application of the international norm against unjust enrichment. Under the international law of unjust enrichment, such income could give rise to a duty of restitution owed by the enriched state to any state harmed by the conduct of the private actors.

This article argues that the purposes of the norm against unjust enrichment – promoting individual justice between parties and removing incentives for wrongful conduct – require its application in international law to the indirect enrichment of a state as a result of internationally harmful conduct by its taxpayers. Such application of the international norm against unjust enrichment is particularly important because of (a) evidentiary difficulties in the international arena, which significantly erode the efficacy of the remedial regime that is based on the rules concerning the responsibility of states for internationally wrongful conduct; (b) the unavailability in international law of a cause of action against private actors engaging in internationally harmful conduct; and (c) the limited capacity of a state harmed by the conduct to recover from such actors under its domestic legal system. The article suggests that the purview of the international norm against unjust enrichment extends to situations of an indirect link between the loss of the claimant state and the gain of the enriched state, provided that such link is sufficiently close.

New Issue: GlobaLex

The latest issue of GlobaLex (November/December 2023) includes:

• Jootaek Lee, Researching the Human Right to Water with an Annotated Bibliography

New Volume: Baltic Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Baltic Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 21, 2022) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial Note
• Ineta Ziemele, The Baltic States and Russia’s War against Ukraine   
• Special Theme: The Baltic States and Russia’s War against Ukraine
• Vilenas Vadapalas, Use of Force and Circumstances Excluding Responsibility in International Law
• Andrew Drzemczewski & Rick Lawson, Exclusion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe and the ECHR: an Overview
• Janis Grasis, Old Wine in New Bottles: Latvia 1940 Compared with Crimea 2014
• Lyra Jakulevičienė, Temporary Protection of Ukrainians and Baltic Refugees in the Context of Aggression: Approaches, Challenges, Solutions   
• Meit Grossmann, The Forest Brothers in the Soviet-Occupied Baltic States
• General Articles
• Ulf Linderfalk, Justification or Discovery? – A New Way to a Fuller Understanding of the Law on Treaty Interpretation
• Sevanna Poghosyan, The Soviet View on Democracy in International Law

Pacheco Restrepo: Regime Interaction in International Forest Law: The Role of Secondary Law of Forest-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Yilly Vanessa Pacheco Restrepo (Univ. of Göttingen - Institute of International and European Law) has published Regime Interaction in International Forest Law: The Role of Secondary Law of Forest-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (Brill | Nijhoff 2023). Here's the abstract:

Despite covering almost a third of the globe, forests do not enjoy the protection of a singular global legal convention. Instead, International Forest Law is a complex ecosystem in its own right. This book sets out to examine this complexity by analyzing forest-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and how the decisions of the various corresponding Conferences of the Parties (COPs) may promote regime interaction in this field of law. Through an in-depth analysis of more than 60 decisions and resolutions of such COPs, Yilly Pacheco discusses how secondary law-making activity in forest-related MEAs may be strengthened and used to fill the gaps in International Forest Law.

Bartelson: Becoming International

Jens Bartelson (Lund Univ. - Political Science) has published Becoming International (Cambridge Univ. Press 2023). Here's the abstract:

When and how did the modern world become an international one? Jens Bartelson, a leading scholar of the history of international thought, provides new answers to this question by analyzing how relations between polities have been conceptualized across different historical contexts from the sixteenth century to the present day. A global intellectual history of the international system, this book challenges the widespread assumption that this system emerged as a result of a transition from empires to states, instead proposing that the international realm is but a continuation of imperial relations by other means. Showing how the international system spread through the creative appropriation of European concepts of nation and state by non-Europeans, Bartelson argues that this system has taken on a life of its own, to the point of becoming an empire in its own right.

New Issue: Arbitration International

The latest issue of Arbitration International (Vol. 39, no. 3, September 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Emmanuel Gaillard, Seven dirty tricks to disrupt an arbitration and the responses of international arbitration law
• Mees Brenninkmeijer, Jurisdictional overlap between domestic courts and investment arbitration: an occasion for judicial dialogue
• Andrew Ling, Neither express nor implied: rethinking governing law of the arbitration agreement
• Raphael Ren, Shareholder reflective loss: a bogeyman in investment treaty arbitration?
• Recent Development
• Hany Ashtal, Blockades and international investment treaties

New Issue: Journal of Conflict & Security Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Vol. 28, no. 3, Winter 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Dieter Fleck, Irreversibility in nuclear arms control and disarmament law?
• Frédéric Mégret, Why Prosecuting Aggression in Ukraine as a Crime Against Humanity Might Make Sense
• Sarina Landefeld, The Changing Significance of Nationality for the Protection of Civilians in the Hands of a Party to an International Armed Conflict
• Stefan Robert McClean, From Theory to Reality: A Definition for the Termination of Non-International Armed Conflicts
• Barry de Vries, Recent Developments in the National Implementation of Biological Weapons Convention: What Happened Since Resolution 1540?
• Anna Hood, Roadblocks to Disarmament in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty System

New Issue: Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law

The latest issue of the Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law (Vol. 11, no. 2, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Won-Mog Choi, Indo-Pacific Strategy: Korea and the World

New Issue: Cooperation and Conflict

The latest issue of Cooperation and Conflict (Vol. 58, no. 4, December 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Natalia Chaban, Svitlana Zhabotynska, & Michèle Knodt, What makes strategic narrative efficient: Ukraine on Russian e-news platforms
• Rasmus Pedersen, Small states shelter diplomacy: Balancing costs of entrapment and abandonment in the alliance dilemma
• Emil Sondaj Hansen, Post-colonial gaslighting and Greenlandic independence: When ontological insecurity sustains hierarchy
• Lior Lehrs, Interlocking peace processes: Between competing and complementing peacemaking efforts in interlocking conflicts
• Ueli Staeger, Resource mobilization in security partnerships: Explaining cooperation and coercion in the EU’s partnership with the African Union
• Sören Stapel, Diana Panke, & Fredrik Söderbaum, Regional international organizations in Africa as recipients of foreign aid: Why are some more attractive to donors than others?
• Amal Bourhrous & Dylan O’Driscoll, Everyday peace in the Ninewa Plains, Iraq: Culture, rituals, and community interactions

New Issue: European Convention on Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the European Convention on Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 4, no. 4, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: The Evidentiary System of the European Court of Human Rights in Critical Perspective
• Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, The Evidentiary System of the European Court of Human Rights in Critical Perspective
• Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, Beyond Reasonable Doubt at its Worst – But Also at its Potential Best: Dissecting Ireland v the United Kingdom’s No-Torture Finding
• Kristin Henrard, The European Court of Human Rights and the ‘Special’ Distribution of the Burden of Proof in Racial Discrimination Cases: The Search for Fairness Continues
• Joseph Finnerty, When is a State’s ‘Hidden Agenda’ Proven? The Role of the Merabishvili’s Three-Legged Evidentiary Test in the Article 18 Strasbourg Case Law
• Grażyna Baranowska, Exposing Covert Border Enforcement: Why Failing to Shift the Burden of Proof in Pushback Cases is Wrong

New Issue: International Criminal Law Review

The latest issue of the International Criminal Law Review (Vol. 23, nos. 5-6, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Lights and Shadows of the Ongwen Case at the International Criminal Court, Part 1
• Juan-Pablo Perez-Leon-Acevedo & Fabio Ferraz de Almeida, Lights and Shadows of the Ongwen Case at the International Criminal Court: An Overview
• Windell Nortje & Noëlle Quénivet, Fertile or Futile Grounds for Excluding Criminal Responsibility? A Critical Analysis of the Ongwen Judgment in Relation to the Claim of Coercive Environment
• Kathleen M. Maloney, Melanie O’Brien & Valerie Oosterveld, Forced Marriage as the Crime Against Humanity of ‘Other Inhumane Acts’ in the International Criminal Court’s Ongwen Case
• Linda Mushoriwa, The Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen: An Examination of the Role of Traditional Justice Mechanisms in International Criminal Justice
• Demetra Fr. Sorvatzioti, Proportionality and Moral Blameworthiness in Ongwen’s icc Sentencing Decision
• Silvina Sánchez Mera, Fighters, Not Victims: On Victimhood Recognition and Gender Representations in the Enslavement Charges in the Ongwen Case
• Raghavi Viswanath & Fangyi Li, Constructing a Sensory Alternative to the Ongwen Judgment

New Issue: Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy

The latest issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy (Vol. 8, no. 2, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Addressing Traditional and Emerging Threats to Commercial Shipping in Southeast Asia
• Robert Beckman, Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Southeast Asia: A Critical Evaluation with a Focus on the Singapore Strait
• Natalie Klein, Responding to Maritime Terrorism in Southeast Asia: What Are the Alternatives to the 2005 SUA Protocol?
• Yann-huei Song, The U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative: Participation and Concerns of the ASEAN Member States
• Ishii Yurika, Attacks on Commercial Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships at Sea
• Dita Liliansa, Threats to Commercial Shipping during International Armed Conflicts: Lessons for Southeast Asia from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
• Trung Nguyen, The Challenges of Dark Ships to the Safety and Security of Commercial Shipping and the Way Forward
• Vu Hai Dang & Su Wai Mon, Improving Maritime Cybersecurity in Southeast Asia: Suggestions for Further Action by ASEAN

New Volume: European Investment Law and Arbitration Review

The latest volume of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review (Vol. 8, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Belen Olmos Giupponi, Enforcing Sustainability Assessing the Effectiveness of the EU’s Trade and Investment Policy in Promoting and Implementing Sustainable Development Provisions
• Marcin J. Menkes, Monetary Transfer Provisions and the Rule of Law from the International Investment Law Perspective 36 Boris Praštalo, On Corruption in International Arbitration Exploring the Topic through the Lens of the mol v. Croatia Saga
• Ahan Gadkari, Status of Contracts with Rebel Groups during a Civil War
• Essay Competition
• Daniel Pap, Dispelling Myths – The European Court of Human Rights as a Viable Alternative to Investor-State Dispute Settlement in the European Union (Winner of the Essay Competition 2023)
• Gülnur Ceylan, Observations on Taxation-Based Claims in International Investment Arbitration: Does the Power to Tax Involve the Power to Extinguish? (2nd Prize Winner of the Essay Competition 2023)
• Case-Notes
• Hugo Varenne & Núria Casas Cano, Latest Twist in the Komstroy Saga The Definition of “Investment” under the ect as Interpreted by the Paris Court of Appeal in Its Second Annulment Decision
• Trajan Shipley, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Opinion 1/20 and the Fate of the ect Modernisation Process
• Dilber Devitre & Prabhjot K. Singh, Yukos Capital Limited v The Russian Federation The Swiss Federal Supreme Court Upholds Interim and Final Award in the Yukos Saga
• Daniel Quintero Botero, Westmoreland v Canada A Precedent against the Transferability of Treaty Claims
• Matthew Peter Daminato, Whose Bond Is It Anyway? Interrogating the Tribunal Majority’s Application of Article 25(1) of the ICSID Convention in Adamakopoulos v Cyprus
• Alexander Dünkelsbühler, The ICJ’s Judgment in Certain Iranian Assets Consequences for Investment Disputes Arising Out of Economic Sanctions

New Issue: The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals

The latest issue of The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals (Vol. 22, no. 3, 2023) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium: Beyond State Consent to International Jurisdiction – From Courts to Law
• Freya Baetens, Foreword
• Irene Miano, Inherent Jurisdiction in the Practice of the International Court of Justice: A Tool to Trespass on or to Protect States’ Consent?
• Veronica Botticelli, “Between a (Procedural) Rock and a (Substantive) Hard Place”? Exploring Strategies and Current Trends of States’ Acceptance and Compliance with Human Rights Treaty Obligations
• Articles
• Rahul Mohanty, Situating “Deformalization” within the International Court of Justice: Understanding Institutionalised Informality
• Paul Gragl & Christian Breitler, The Past, Present, and Future of European Inter-State Disputes: A Modest Proposal for Reconciling Inter-State Cases in the Context of EU Accession to the ECHR
• Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, Keep Me in the Loop: Feedback Exchange between the European Court of Human Rights and States

Kleinlein: Change of Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens)

Thomas Kleinlein (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Law) has posted an ESIL Reflection on Change of Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens).

Cantú Rivera: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Commentary

Humberto Cantú Rivera (Universidad de Monterrey - Law) has published The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Commentary (Brill | Nijhoff 2023). Here's the abstract:

The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly marked a groundbreaking moment in the field of international law. Not only would it start to move away from its original conception as an exclusively State-centered domain: it would also mark the progressive transformation of international into a law for humankind. This instrument started a codification and institution-building process that would slowly evolve into a complex framework of treaties, bodies and procedures revolving around the protection of the human being against the actions – or omissions – of the State. This commentary provides a specific analysis and reflection of how each one of the rights enshrined therein have evolved over time.