New Volume: Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

The latest volume of the Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Vol. 8, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Part 1 Governance and Accountability
• Nuwani Nirmani Rathugama, Paving the Way for a South Asian Human Rights Mechanism: Lessons Learnt from Regional Human Rights Mechanism with Special Reference to India and Sri Lanka
• Thomas Phillips, The Contradictions of the UK Human Rights Act
• Ben Stanford, Who Watches the Watchmen? Independent Observers, Constitutional Principles and Democratic Accountability
• Harison Citrawan & Sabrina Nadilla, Law, Affective Bureaucracy, and the Registration of Public Satisfaction in Indonesia
• Part 2 Justice and Accountability
• Khanlar Gadjiev & Maria Filatova, General Measures in the Process of Enforcement of International Courts’ Judgments: Between Subsidiarity and Binding Nature
• Ignatius Yordan Nugraha, Deferring to Consensus and Procedural Rationality: Assessing the European Court of Human Rights’ Approach to Majoritarian Will
• M Jashim Ali Chowdhury & Jubaer Ahmed, Globalization of American Interpretation Debate: Originalists, Living Constitutionalists, and the Drifters
• Ashfaquzzaman Chowdhury, ‘Pay First’ to Unlock the Appeal? A Controversial Appeal Provision in the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 of Bangladesh
• Part 3 Economic and Social Justice
• Mohammad Towhidul Islam & Nurun Nahar Urmi, Realizing the Right to Property under the Constitution of Bangladesh: Myths and Realities
• Aktieva Tri Tjitrawati, Mochamad Kevin Romadhona, Oemar Moechthar, & Sri Endah Kinasih, The Palu Disaster and Indonesia’s Obligation to Ensure the Right of Adequate Housing and Land Rights: Mission Accomplished?
• Mohammad Abu Taher, Siti Zaharah Jamaluddin, & Tahsin Khan, Protection of Children on the Internet within the Legal Landscape of Bangladesh: An Appraisal
• Part 4 Violence and Accountability
• Zia Akhtar, Rohingyan Muslims, Monism and Expanding the Responsibility to Protect Mechanism
• Lakmali Bhagya Manamperi, Prospects of Environmental Liability before the International Criminal Court: A Case Study on the International Armed Conflict between Russia and Ukraine
• Darul Mahdi, The Problematic Inclusion of a Motive Element in the Indonesian Definition of Terrorism
• Natia Kalandarishvili-Mueller, Reporting from War Zones: How Does International Humanitarian Law Protect Journalists?

Call for Papers: Imperialism, Sovereignty and the making of International Law; 20 years on

The Laureate Program in Global Corporations and International Law has issued a call for papers for a conference on "Imperialism, Sovereignty and the making of International Law; 20 years on," to be held August 7-8, 2025, in Melbourne and online. The call is here.

Urs: The Elusiveness of “Interdependent Obligations” and the Invocation of Responsibility for Their Breach

Priya Urs (Univ. of Oxford) has posted The Elusiveness of “Interdependent Obligations” and the Invocation of Responsibility for Their Breach (British Yearbook of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Since the adoption in 2001 of the International Law Commission’s ‘Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts’, attention has been increasingly drawn to the enforcement by states individually of multilateral obligations. The Commission, for its part, addressed the invocation of responsibility for breaches of such obligations by distinguishing between the respective entitlements of ‘an injured State’, under article 42, and ‘a State other than injured State’, under article 48. In line with this distinction, the existing debate has focused largely on clarifying the entitlement of ‘a State other than an injured State’ to invoke responsibility for breaches of obligations owed erga omnes partes or erga omnes, in accordance with article 48. In contrast, little or no attention is paid in the discussion to ‘interdependent obligations’, which, while deemed to constitute a subset of obligations erga omnes partes, were deliberately placed by the Commission in article 42(b)(ii) as multilateral obligations whose breach was said to injure ‘all the other States to which the obligation is owed’. This article lends necessary clarity to this ‘curious category’ of obligations with a view to the distinction between article 42(b)(ii) and article 48, both of which address breaches of multilateral obligations, but which set out different routes to the invocation of responsibility.

Berkes: The obligation to cooperate to protect against serious breaches of the European and American Conventions on Human Rights

Antal Berkes (Univ. of Liverpool - Law) has posted The obligation to cooperate to protect against serious breaches of the European and American Conventions on Human Rights (International Community Law Review, forthcoming)). Here's the abstract:

This paper discusses the obligation of States to cooperate as a duty that stems from two different areas of international law. First, States are obliged to cooperate under the law of State responsibility, the aim of cooperation within this framework being to bring to an end serious breaches of peremptory norms. The second area is international human rights law and, in particular, the European (ECHR) and the American Conventions on Human Rights (ACHR), as these instruments have been interpreted by the respective regional human rights courts to encompass a procedural obligation for States to cooperate with a view to protect human rights. The paper asks whether the obligation to cooperate, as constructed by the two regional human rights courts, has any overlap with the obligation to cooperate under the law of State responsibility, and, if yes, whether it can and does cross-fertilise the interpretation of the latter. The analysis of the relevant case law provides two affirmative answers. First, there is common space between the obligations to cooperate under the law of State responsibility, the ECHR, and the ACHR. Second, analysis also identifies certain features in the relevant human rights case law that enrich the obligation to cooperate under the law of State responsibility. These features are the effectiveness in the protection of the most fundamental norms and interpretation of the duty to cooperate through systemic integration. Systemic integration is necessary to concretise the conduct States are expected to develop as the obligation to cooperate refers to a rather open list of relevant rules of international law applicable to that State.

Longobardo & Violi: Access to justice for atrocities in the comparison of land-mark cases on state immunity in Brazil and Italy

Marco Longobardo (Univ. of Westminster - Law) & Federica Violi (Erasmus Univ. of Rotterdam - Law) have posted Access to justice for atrocities in the comparison of land-mark cases on state immunity in Brazil and Italy (Internaitonal Journal of Human Rights, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This article investigates differences and similarities in the approach of Italian and Brazilian domestic courts to the topic of access to justice for atrocities and the role of state immunity, taking particular note of the limited and select dialogue between the two judiciaries and reflecting on the potential for further developments of the customary international law rule on state immunity. To do so, the article first outlines the rule on state immunity and offers an overview of the articulated Italian case law on why state immunity cannot bar access to justice for atrocities, considering the judicial developments occurred after 2004. The paper moves on to describe the recent 2021 decision of the Brazilian Supremo Tribunal Federal, in which the Brazil judiciary seemingly joined the Italian trend against state immunity when atrocities are committed. The two different judicial trends are then compared and analysed, with a discussion on the limited explicit reference to Italian decisions by the Supremo Tribunal Federal. The article concludes the research by describing the likely impact of these judicial trends on future developments on the relationship between access to justice for atrocities and state immunity.

Call for Expressions of Interest: (De-/re-)constructions of International Law over Time and Space

The ESIL Interest Group on the History of International Law has issued a call for expressions of interest for an agora panel proposal on "(De-/re-)constructions of International Law over Time and Space" for the 2025 European Society of International Law Annual Conference. The call is here.

Abel, Beham, Dederer, & Herrmann: Völkerrechtliche Perspektiven auf die internationale Streitbeilegung

Patrick Abel (Universität Passau), Markus Beham (Universität Passau), Hans-Georg Dederer (Universität Passau), & Christoph Herrmann (Universität Passau) have published Völkerrechtliche Perspektiven auf die internationale Streitbeilegung: Beiträge zum 45. Österreichischen Völkerrechtstag 2022 in Passau (Peter Lang 2024). The table of contents is here.

O'Hara & Paige: Queer Encounters with International Law: Lives, Communities, Subjectivities / Queer Engagements with International Law: Times, Spaces, Imaginings

Tamsin Phillipa Paige (Deakin Univ. - Law) & Claerwen O'Hara (La Trobe Univ. - Law) have published Queer Encounters with International Law: Lives, Communities, Subjectivities (Routledge 2024) and Claerwen O'Hara (La Trobe Univ. - Law) & Tamsin Phillipa Paige (Deakin Univ. - Law) have published Queer Engagements with International Law: Times, Spaces, Imaginings (Routledge 2024). Here's the abstract:

These sibling edited books apply insights from queer theory to a range of new issues and topics in international law. Queer Encounters explores new issues relating to gender, sexuality and LGBTIQ communities in international law, such as recent contestation over the definition of 'gender' in international criminal and human rights law and the possibility of building an international queer abolitionist movement. In contrast, Queer Engagements moves beyond queer theory's site of origin by applying queer theory to a range of new topics international law not directly related to gender and sexuality, including international environmental law, international space law, international heritage law and travaux préparatoires. These collections will be invaluable to scholars of international law and international relations with an interest in critical approaches in these areas.

Berkes, Collins, & Deplano: Reassessing the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations: From Theory to Practice

Antal Berkes (Univ. of Liverpool - Law), Richard Collins (Queen's Univ. Belfast - Law) & Rossana Deplano (Univ. of Leicester - Law) have published Reassessing the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations: From Theory to Practice (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024). Here's the abstract:

This book critically examines the reception and application of the 2011 Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (ARIO), assessing their effectiveness and limitations. Adopting a panoptic approach, it explores the theory underlying the concept of responsibility for internationally wrongful acts in ARIO through both doctrinal analysis and practical case studies.

The editors have brought together a diverse group of legal experts to analyse various fields in the law of responsibility for international organizations (IOs), including questions of attribution, shared responsibility, the implementation of responsibility and the progressive development of ARIO rules. The book argues that, despite its rare application, the ARIO are a useful resource for ascertaining the responsibility of IOs in the form of judicial, non-judicial, internal or external control mechanisms. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that the ARIO constitute an authoritative legal source, capable of guiding IOs in reforming their internal law.

New Issue: Chinese Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Chinese Journal of International Law (Vol. 23, no. 3, September 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Marten Zwanenburg, The Use of OSINT for Military Operations Abroad under International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law
• Yue Zhang & Yuqi Zhou, Reviewing the Necessity Test in a PHEIC: “Least Intrusiveness” or “Reasonable Necessity”
• Comments
• Yury Rovnov, Judicialization of Global Climate Governance: In Defence of the Paris Agreement
• Güneş Ünüvar & Xueji Su, International Legal Governance of Space Resources and the Role of National Frameworks: The Case of China
• Current Developments
• Ignacio de la Rasilla, The Rise in the Participation of Asia Pacific States in the Proceedings of the International Court of Justice (2010-2023)
• Barbara Stępień, Navigating New Waters: IMO’s Efforts to Regulate Autonomous Shipping

New Issue: La Comunità Internazionale

The latest issue of La Comunità Internazionale (Vol. 79, no. 3, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Articoli e Saggi
• Francesca Romanin Jacur, L’evoluzione del diritto internazionale dell’ambiente tra prassi successiva e interpretazione giudiziale degli accordi
• Andrea Mensi, The Identification of International Non-Binding Agreements Through the Lens of Subjective and Objective Indicators: Fiction or Reality?
• Luca Martelli, I “paradisi ambientali”: prima che economico, un fenomeno giuridico di diritto internazionale
• Mario Pasquale Amoroso, Convergence and Divergence Between International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Neutrality in Inter-State Military Assistance: Lessons from Recent State Practice in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
• Rosa Stella de Fazio, Alcune considerazioni sul Trattato a tutela della biosostenibilità marina
• Osservatorio Diritti Umani
• Antonio Alì, Encryption Backdoors on Trial: The Telegram Case Before the European Court of Human Rights
• Grazia Eleonara Vita, Cambiamento climatico e diritti umani. Note alla sentenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani Verein KlimaSeniorinnen e altri c. Svizzera
• Osservatorio Europeo
• Fabiola Massa, La tutela brevettuale del farmaco nell’ordinamento multilivello tra passato e futuro

New Issue: Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 27, no. 3, September 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Mira Burri & Kholofelo Kugler, Regulatory autonomy in digital trade agreements
• Alan O Sykes, The utility of appellate review at the WTO and its optimal structure
• Giulia Claudia Leonelli & Francesco Clora, Retooling the regulation of net-zero subsidies: lessons from the US Inflation Reduction Act
• Jie (Jeanne) Huang, The rise of data property rights in China: how does it compare with the EU data act and what does it mean for digital trade with China?
• Jaemin Lee, The automatic termination clause in the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement—brinkmanship for future negotiation or a time bomb for self-destruction?
• Yawen Zheng, Rethinking the ‘Full Reparation’ standard in energy investment arbitration: how to take climate change into account
• Noam Noked & Jingyi Wang, Chinese companies in tax havens
• Anu Bradford, Adam Chilton, & Katerina Linos, Dynamic diffusion
• Marios Tokas, The concept of the level playing field in International Economic Law

New Issue: Ocean Development & International Law

The latest issue of Ocean Development & International Law (Vol. 55, no. 3, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Hui Wu, International Law Challenges for Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection in the South China Sea
• Andrey Todorov, Potential Contributions of IMO Area-Based Shipping Management and Port State Jurisdiction to the Regulation of Ship-Borne Tourism in Antarctica
• Rob McLaughlin, Different Pacta or Different Servanda? Grey-Zone Lawfare and Law of the Sea-Based Passage and Operational Rights
• Alexandre Pereira da Silva, The Case of the Martin Vaz Rocks and Other Brazilian Offshore Archipelagos: A Further Step Toward the “Territorialization” of the South Atlantic
• Mutaz M. Qafisheh, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Boundary Delimitation: The Claims of the State of Palestine under UNCLOS
• Suk Kyoon Kim, Challenges to the Capacity-Building of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in East Asia: What Is at Stake?

Mack & Cogan: In Between and Across: Legal History Without Boundaries

Kenneth W. Mack (Harvard Univ. - Law) & Jacob Katz Cogan (Univ. of Cincinnati - Law) have published In Between and Across: Legal History Without Boundaries (Oxford Univ. Press 2024). Contents include:

• Kenneth W. Mack & Jacob Katz Cogan, Introduction: Rewriting the Boundaries of Legal History
• Part I: The Political Economy of Time
• Matthew Axtell, Views from Rathole Mountain: A Lawscape Journey through Old Virginia
• Donna Dennis, The Rise of Retail Stockholder Litigation and the Creation of the Plaintiff's Bar in American Business Law, 1930-1950
• Felicia Kornbluh, Private Law, Public Welfare, Marital Ideals, and The Gender Binary . . . or, What I Learned at the Socio-Legal Revolution
• Maribel Morey, Power of the Purse: How “the Philanthropic North” Has Helped Determine Which Individuals, Groups, and Ideas in the Black Freedom Struggle Will Thrive Nationally
• Sarah Seo, “Kindred to Treason”: Conspiracy Laws in the United States
• Part II: Law, Space, and Place in History
• Catherine L. Evans, The Case as Episode: Murder and Migration in Colonial Australia
• Maeve Glass, The Chain and the Rope: Illuminating Constitutional Traditions
• Mitra Sharafi, South Asians at the Inns of Court: Empire, Expulsion, and Redemption circa 1900
• Part III: Rethinking Method: Law and Everything Else
• Jessica K. Lowe, “Our Experiences Make Us Who We Are”: Lessons from Thomas Ruffin and Dirk Hartog
• Farah Peterson, Debtor Constitutionalism
• Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus, Roosters and Resistance
• Laura Weinrib, Law, History, and the Interwar ACLU's Jewish Lawyers