Dören: Business and Human Rights in den USA und in Deutschland: Ein Vergleich der völkerrechtswissenschaftlichen Diskurse

Richard Dören (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) has published Business and Human Rights in den USA und in Deutschland: Ein Vergleich der völkerrechtswissenschaftlichen Diskurse (Nomos 2024). The book is available open access. Here's the abstract:

Auf Grundlage einer Analyse der wichtigsten Völkerrechtszeitschriften und -lehrbücher vergleicht das Werk die völkerrechtswissenschaftlichen Business-and-Human-Rights-Diskurse in den USA und in Deutschland. Der Vergleich zeigt: Viele Teilaspekte der Thematik werden in den Untersuchungsländern unterschiedlich adressiert, etwa die Frage nach der Völkerrechtssubjektivität und -bindung von Unternehmen oder der menschenrechtlichen Schutzpflicht des Staates. Die ermittelten Vergleichsergebnisse werden umfassend kontextualisiert, u.a. im Lichte der völkerrechtswissenschaftlichen Traditionen beider Länder. Übergeordneter Rahmen der Untersuchung ist der Vergleich nationaler Zugänge zum Völkerrecht (comparative international law).

Based on an analysis of the most important international law journals and textbooks, the book compares the discourses on business and human rights in the US and Germany. The comparison shows that many aspects of the topic – such as the question whether corporations do have international legal obligations – are addressed differently in the two countries. The differences identified are contextualized, inter alia, in light of the American and German international law traditions. The overarching framework of the study is the comparison of national approaches to international law (comparative international law).

New Issue: Virginia Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Virginia Journal of International Law (Vol. 64, no. 2, Winter 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Pierre-Hugues Verdier, Transnational Enforcement Leadership and the World Police Paradox
• Nikos Skoutaris, Accommodating Secession within the EU Constitutional Order of States
• SAILS Essay Collection
• Kathleen Claussen, Foreword
• Harlan Grant Cohen, A Short History of the Early History of American Student-Edited International Law Journals
• Jorge Contesse, International Law Scholarship in Latin America
• Niccolo Ridi & Thomas Schultz, Tracing the Footprints of International Law Ideas: A Scientometric Analysis

Call for Papers: Global Transformations: The International System at a Crossroads? (Young Researchers)

The Young UN Research Working Group of the United Nations Association of Germany has issued a call for papers for a research colloquium on "Global Transformations: The International System at a Crossroads?," to take place October 25-27, 2024, in Lüneburg. The call is directed to young researchers. Details are here.

New Issue: Netherlands International Law Review

The latest issue of the Netherlands International Law Review (Vol. 71, no. 1, May 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Externalisation of Migration and Border Controls and Accountability Challenges in International Law
• Salvatore Fabio Nicolosi, Externalisation of Migration Controls: A Taxonomy of Practices and Their Implications in International and European Law
• Violeta Moreno-Lax, Meta-Borders and the Rule of Law: From Externalisation to ‘Responsibilisation’ in Systems of Contactless Control
• Annick Pijnenburg, Externalisation of Migration Control: Impunity or Accountability for Human Rights Violations?
• Francesca Tammone, Challenging Externalization by Means of Article 4 ECHR: Towards New Avenues of Litigation for Victims of Human Trafficking?
• Emilie McDonnell, Challenging Externalisation Through the Lens of the Human Right to Leave
• Yota Negishi, Constructive Refoulement as Disguised Voluntary Return: The Internalised Externalisation of Migrants
• Mona Aviat, Externalising Refoulement Through New Technologies: The Case of Frontex’s Specific Situational Pictures under the Lens of EU Non-Contractual Liability
• Tineke Strik & Ruben Robbesom, Compliance or Complicity? An Analysis of the EU-Tunisia Deal in the Context of the Externalisation of Migration Control

Call for Papers: The Case of the S.S. Lotus: The First 100 Years

A call for papers has been issued for the first of a series of workshops on "The Case of the S.S. Lotus: The First 100 Years," to be held in the hybrid format, in Lund and online, on January 9-10, 2025. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Peace, Justice and Europe in the Age of Geopolitics (PhD Workshop)

The T.M.C. Asser Institute’s Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) and Leiden University have issued a call for papers for a PhD workshop on "Peace, Justice and Europe in the Age of Geopolitics," to take place November 14-15, 2024, in The Hague. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Higher Education Integration

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Higher Education Integration," to take place January 27-28, 2025, at the University of Yaoundé II. The call is here.

Klopschinski & McGuire: Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Rights and Arbitration

Simon Klopschinski (rospatt Intellectual Property Lawyers) & Mary-Rose McGuire (Univ. of Osnabrück - European Legal Studies Institute) have published Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Rights and Arbitration (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024). Here's the abstract:

The Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Rights and Arbitration explores the complementary relationship between state court adjudication and arbitral proceedings in the context of intellectual property rights. Presenting contemporary research and insight into the scholarly debates on the topic, it provides a comprehensive overview of arbitrating intellectual property disputes on an international scale.

Bringing together an array of distinguished academics and professionals from across the globe, the central theme of this Research Handbook is the relationship between intellectual property and arbitration in general. Individual chapters consider such questions as the arbitrability of intellectual property disputes, suitable arbitration bodies, and the protection of trade secrets in arbitral proceedings. Specific fields of intellectual property arbitration such as licensing, copyright and domain name disputes are deftly considered alongside investor-state dispute settlement, whilst national perspectives on intellectual property arbitration are also surveyed.

Ahlborn: Regulating Business and Human Rights through Soft and Hard Law: Lessons from International Nuclear Law

Christiane Ahlborn (Trinity College Dublin - Law) has published Regulating Business and Human Rights through Soft and Hard Law: Lessons from International Nuclear Law (Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 57, no. 2, March 2024). Here's the abstract:

For half a century, States and international organizations have made efforts to regulate the conduct of transnational business entities through international standards. However, all attempts to adopt binding international rules on business and human rights (BHR) have failed so far, mainly due to the diverging interests of States from the Global North and the Global South. Instead, States and other relevant stakeholders, such as international organizations, transnational corporations, and civil society, have adopted non-binding soft law instruments to curb corporate human rights abuses. Still, the continuous and often flagrant human rights violations by corporations speak against the effectiveness of these soft law instruments. In 2014, only three years after the adoption of the widely commended United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Human Rights Council passed a resolution to start the negotiations of a legally binding instrument (LBI) on BHR. While some see the LBI negotiations as a historic opportunity, States continue to disagree on the need for the international harmonization of standards, with major players like the United States and the European Union being highly skeptical of adopting a BHR treaty. By drawing lessons from international nuclear law, this Article argues that BHR should be regulated through a mix of soft and hard law instruments. It seeks to contribute to the scholarship on BHR that has sought inspiration from other fields of international law that regulate corporate activities, such as anti-corruption law, environmental law, and the law of the sea. The regulatory regime in the nuclear field is well-established and consists of an increasingly dense web of soft law and hard law instruments covering corporate conduct in the nuclear sector. This Article first examines past failed attempts to adopt binding international standards on BHR and gives an overview of the applicable BHR soft law instruments (II). Based on insights gained from international nuclear law, the Article then discusses the upsides and downsides of soft law in regulating corporate conduct (III). The Article concludes by addressing the trend toward taking more BHR hard law measures at the national level. Building on international nuclear law, the Article makes a case for the international harmonization of legally binding standards, which would benefit States from the Global South and Global North (IV).

Call for Papers: Space Exploration, Space Exploitation: Opposite directions or parallel tracks? Searching for answers at a turning point in space law (Young Scholars)

The School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Athens Public international law Center, jointly with the European Space Agency and the European Centre for Space Law, have issued a call for papers for a young scholars conference on Space Law, to take place September 9, 2024, in Athens. The topic is: "Space Exploration, Space Exploitation: Opposite directions or parallel tracks? Searching for answers at a turning point in space law." Submissions are open exclusively to students, from undergraduate to postgraduate/doctoral level. The call is here.

Call for Papers: Society of International Economic Law Ninth Biennial Conference

A call for papers has been issued for the Society of International Economic Law's ninth biennial conference, which will take place July 9-11, 2025, in Taipei, in collaboration with the National Taiwan University. The theme is: "Navigating New Horizons: International Economic Law in a Changing World." The call is here.