Saturday, January 16, 2021

Scott & VanderZwaag: Research Handbook on Polar Law

Karen N. Scott
(Univ. of Canterbury - Law) & David L. VanderZwaag (Dalhousie Univ. - Law) have published Research Handbook on Polar Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2020). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

This timely Research Handbook explores the concept of polar law as a coherent body of law and as a set of rules and principles that applies to both the Arctic and Antarctic. It captures the evolution of polar law and policy, identifying future directions for research in this emerging and growing field.

Expert international contributors analyse the concept of polar law across a range of areas including human rights, bioprospecting, tourism, environmental protection and fisheries management. They examine how Antarctic and Arctic regional regimes contribute to polar law, scrutinizing international treaties, agreements and arrangements. With a focus on the evolution of polar law in the context of the Anthropocene, chapters cover key issues related to the poles, such as climate change, minerals exploration and boundary disputes. Demonstrating the benefits of polar as opposed to bipolar law, this Research Handbook provides a critical assessment of contemporary challenges to the field.

New Issue: International Peacekeeping

The latest issue of International Peacekeeping (Vol. 28, no. 1, 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Louise Wiuff Moe, The Dark Side of Institutional Collaboration: How Peacekeeping-counterterrorism Convergences Weaken the Protection of Civilians in Mali
  • Fernando Rodrigues Goulart, Blue Helmets, Armed Groups, and Peace at Stake: Does Combat Motivation Matter for Robust Peacekeeping to Succeed?
  • Philipp Lottholz, The Roles and Practices of Civil Society Actors in Police Reform in Kyrgyzstan: Activism, Expertise, Knowledge Production
  • Arif Saba & Shahram Akbarzadeh, The ICC and R2P: Complementary or Contradictory?
  • Jessica Moody, Reaching for the Impossible?: Coordinating DDR and Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Côte d’Ivoire
  • Nicole Jenne & Fiorella Ulloa Bisshopp, Female Peacekeepers: UNSC Resolution 1325 and the Persistence of Gender Stereotypes in the Chilean Armed Forces

New Podcast Episodes: "Hablemos de Derecho Internacional" on the Prohibition and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will enter into force on January 22, 2021, and the legal podcast "Hablemos de Derecho Internacional" has posted two episodes (in Spanish) with Ambassador Jorge Morales Pedreza to mark the occasion: one on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the other on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferationof Nuclear Weapons. These and other episodes are freely available wherever you get your podcasts.

Conference: The ICC's Contribution to the Development and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law

February 11-12, 2021, the Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law and the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Law will host an online conference on "The ICC's Contribution to the Development and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law." The program is here and registration is here.

New Issue: American Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the American Journal of International Law (Vol. 115, no. 1, January 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Editorial Comments
    • Curtis A. Bradley, Conflicting Approaches to the U.S. Common Law of Foreign Official Immunity
    • Laurence R. Helfer, Rethinking Derogations from Human Rights Treaties
  • Article
    • Zachary Mollengarden & Noam Zamir, The Monetary Gold Principle: Back to Basics
  • Current Developments
    • Lauri Mälksoo, International Law and the 2020 Amendments to the Russian Constitution
  • International Decisions
    • Weihuan Zhou & Delei Peng, Australia—Anti-Dumping Measures on A4 Copy Paper
    • Brian McGarry, Republic of Slovenia v. Republic of Croatia
    • Beatrice A. Walton, Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya
  • Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
    • Kristen Eichensehr, Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
  • Recent Books on International Law
    • Henry J. Richardson, The Limits of Human Rights Limits
    • B.S. Chimni, reviewing Modernizing the UN Human Rights System, by Bertrand G. Ramcharan
    • Beth Van Schaack, reviewing The Military Commander's Necessity: The Law of Armed Conflict and Its Limits, by Sigrid Redse Johansen
    • Neha Jain, reviewing The Art of Law in the International Community, by Mary Ellen O'Connell
    • Ido Kilovaty, reviewing Cyber Operations and International Law, by François Delerue

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Nouwen, James, & Srinivasan: Making and Breaking Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Beyond

Sarah M. H. Nouwen
(European Univ. Institute), Laura M. James (Oxford Analytica), & Sharath Srinivasan (Univ. of Cambridge - Politics and International Studies) have published Making and Breaking Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Beyond (Oxford Univ. Press 2020). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 ended over two decades of civil war and led to South Sudan's independence. Peacemaking that brought about the agreement and then sought to sustain it involved, alongside the Sudanese, an array of regional and western states as well as international organisations. This was a landmark effort to create and sustain peace in a war-torn region. Yet in the years that followed, multiple conflicts continued or reignited, both in Sudan and in South Sudan. Peacemaking attempts multiplied. Authored by both practitioners and scholars, this volume grapples with the question of which, and whose, ideas of peace and of peacemaking were pursued in the Sudans and how they fared. Bringing together economic, legal, anthropological and political science perspectives on over a decade of peacemaking attempts in the two countries, it provides insights for peacemaking efforts to come, in the Sudans and elsewhere.

New Issue: Journal of Private International Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Private International Law (Vol. 16, no. 3, 2020) is out. Contents include:
  • Marcus Teo, Public law adjudication, international uniformity and the foreign act of state doctrine
  • Guillaume Laganière, Local polluters, foreign land and climate change: the myth of the local action rule in Canada
  • Saloni Khanderia, Practice does not make perfect: Rethinking the doctrine of “the proper law of the contract” – A case for the Indian courts
  • Konstantinos D. Voulgarakis, Reflections on the scope of “EU res judicata” in the context of Regulation 1215/2012
  • Kah-Wai Tan, All that glisters is not gold? Deconstructing Rubin v Eurofinance SA and its impact on the recognition and enforcement of foreign insolvency judgments at common law
  • Bashayer Alghanim, The enforcement of foreign judgments in Kuwait
  • Pontian N. Okoli, The fragmentation of (mutual) trust in Commonwealth Africa – a foreign judgments perspective
  • Andrew Moran & Anthony Kennedy, When considering whether to recognise and enforce a foreign money judgment, why should the domestic court accord the foreign court international jurisdiction on the basis that the judgment debtor was domiciled there? An analysis of the approach taken by courts in the Republic of South Africa
  • Richard Frimpong Oppong, The dawn of the free and fair movement of foreign judgments in Africa?

Stolk & Vos: International Law's Collected Stories

Sofia Stolk
(T.M.C. Asser Instituut) & Renske Vos (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) have published International Law's Collected Stories (Palgrave 2021). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
This edited volume presents a collection of stories that experiment with different ways of looking at international law. By using different literary lenses -namely, storytelling, the novel, the drama, the collage, the self-portrait, and the museum- the authors shed light on elements of international law that usually remain unseen or unheard and expose the limits of what international law can do. We inquire into who the storytellers of international law are, the stages on which they tell their stories, and who are absent in these tales. We present it as a collection: a set of different essays that more or less deal with the same subject matter. Alternatively, we would like to call it a potpourri of stories, since the diversity of topics and approaches is eclectic and unconventional. By placing multiple perspectives alongside each other we aim to compare and contrast, to allow for second thoughts, and to rediscover. In doing so, we engage with the ambiguities of international law’s characters and spaces, and with the worldviews they reflect and worlds they create.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

New Issue: Review of International Organizations

The latest issue of the Review of International Organizations (Vol. 16, no. 1, January 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Special Issue: Informal governance in world politics
    • Oliver Westerwinter, Kenneth W. Abbott, & Thomas Biersteker, Informal governance in world politics
    • Erasmus Kersting & Christopher Kilby, Do domestic politics shape U.S. influence in the World Bank?
    • Bernhard Reinsberg & Oliver Westerwinter, The global governance of international development: Documenting the rise of multi-stakeholder partnerships and identifying underlying theoretical explanations
    • Melissa Carlson & Barbara Koremenos, Cooperation Failure or Secret Collusion? Absolute Monarchs and Informal Cooperation
    • Oliver Westerwinter, Transnational public-private governance initiatives in world politics: Introducing a new dataset
    • Lisa L. Martin, Formality, typologies, and institutional design
  • Symposium: Taxation, Revenue, and Fiscal Capacity
    • Florian M. Hollenbach, Christine S. Lipsmeyer, & Guy D. Whitten, Introduction
    • Florian M. Hollenbach, Elite interests and public spending: Evidence from Prussian cities
    • Pablo Beramendi & Melissa Rogers, Disparate geography and the origins of tax capacity
    • Laura Seelkopf, Moritz Bubek, Edgars Eihmanis, Joseph Ganderson, Julian Limberg, Youssef Mnaili, Paula Zuluaga & Philipp Genschel, The rise of modern taxation: A new comprehensive dataset of tax introductions worldwide

New Volume: Netherlands Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 50, 2019) is out. Contents include:
  • Yearbooks in International Law: History, Function and Future
    • Otto Spijkers, Wouter G. Werner & Ramses A. Wessel, The Phenomenon of Yearbooks in International Law: An Introduction
    • Matilda Arvidsson, The ‘Turn to History’ and the Year of the Yearbook of International Law
    • John D. Haskell, A Case in the Politics of Form: Yearbooks of International Law
    • Sara Kendall, Archiving Legality: The Imperial Emergence of the International Law Yearbook
    • Jan Klabbers, On Yearbooks
    • Fatsah Ouguergouz, African Yearbook of International Law: A Quarter-Century of Contribution to the Development and Dissemination of International Law
    • Donald R. Rothwell, Australian Year Book of International Law
    • John H. Currie, The Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international: Founding, Function, Future
    • Ying-jeou Ma, Chun-i Chen & Pasha L. Hsieh, Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs: Contributing to the Grotian Moment in Asia
    • Pavel Šturma, Czech Yearbook of Public and Private International Law on the Occasion of Its 10th Anniversary: Achievements and Perspectives
    • Zeray Yihdego, Melaku Desta & Martha Belete, Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law: Towards Diversifying and Democratizing Voices in the Making and Development of International Law
    • Tuomas Tiittala, Finnish Yearbook of International Law—Past, Present, and Future
    • Mathias Forteau, Annuaire Français de Droit International
    • Andreas von Arnauld & Daley J. Birkett, German Yearbook of International Law: Origins, Development, Prospects
    • Marcel Szabó, The Past, Present and Future of the Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law—An Evolving Story
    • Arie Afriansyah & Hadi Rahmat Purnama, Indonesia and the Absence of a Yearbook on International Law
    • Riccardo Pavoni, Italian Yearbook of International Law: Genesis, Development and Prospects
    • Keiichiro Niikura & Koichi Morikawa, The Development and Future of the Japanese Yearbook of International Law: From Japanese Perspectives to International Academic Forums
    • Manuel Becerra-Ramirez, Mexican Yearbook of International Law: A Concept for Researching, Disseminating, and Teaching International Law
    • Otto Spijkers & Dimitri Van Den Meerssche, ‘There Was an Idealism that This Information is Useful’—The Origins and Evolution of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law
    • Ata R. Hindi, The Palestine Yearbook of International Law: A Medium for a Principled International Law on Palestine and the Palestinian People
    • Lukasz Gruszczynski & Karolina Wierczyńska, Polish Yearbook of International Law: A History of Constant Change and Adaptation
    • Eugenia López-Jacoiste & María José Cervell Hortal, Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional: History, Functions and Future

Call for Papers: Language Walls and International Law

The Brazilian Journal of International Law, the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, the Maastricht University, the Universitarian Center of Brasilia, and the Brazilian Branch of the International Law Association have issued a call for papers for a workshop on "Language Walls and International Law," to take place October 29, 2021. The deadline is February 2, 2021. The main purpose of the workshop is to shed light on different problems arising from linguistic barriers in academia and/or in the practice of international law. The call is here.

New Issue: Pécs Journal of International and European Law

The latest issue of the Pécs Journal of International and European Law (Vol. 2020, no. 2) is out. Contents include:
  • Bence Kis Kelemen, Right to Self-Defense to Recover Occupied Territory? A Glance at the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
  • Nives Mazur-Kumrić & Ivan Zeko-Pivač, The EU as a Global Trendsetter in the Fight Against Climate Change: Is a Climate-Neutral Europe by 2050 Feasible?
  • Sandra Fabijanić Gagro, The Implementation of the Responsibility to Protect when the Protection of Children in Armed Conflicts within the UN System is Concerned – Who is Responsible?
  • Petra Ágnes Kanyuk, Magic is not in it Staying the Same, but in the Changes–Legal Harmonisation of Substantive Criminal Law in the European Union and its Appearance in Hungarian Criminal Law
  • Tomáš Strémy & Lilla Ozoráková, The New Act Amending the Criminal Legislation in Slovakia and the Possible Impact of the New Crime of Abuse of Law on the Independence of the Judiciary
  • Upal Aditya Oikya, Atrocities against Religious Minorities of Bangladesh: Can we Address it as Genocide?
  • Ágoston Mohay, The Responsibility of International Organisations and their Member States: an Overview of Outstanding Questions of Interpretation

Hoffmann: The Crime of Genocide in its (Nearly) Infinite Domestic Variety

Tamás Hoffmann (Corvinus Univ. of Budapest; Hungarian Academy of Sciences) has posted The Crime of Genocide in its (Nearly) Infinite Domestic Variety (in The Concept of Genocide in International Criminal Law - Developments after Lemkin, Marco Odello & Piotr Łubiński eds., 2020). Here's the abstract:

Genocide is the "crime of crimes", whose legal definition remained unchanged on the international plane since the adoption of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Hitherto it has been assumed that with some minor modifications domestic definitions of the crime of genocide mirror the internationally accepted definition. However, after conducting for the first time a comprehensive review of the domestic criminal laws of 196 countries (all 193 UN Member States and the Holy See, Kosovo, and Palestine) and the Special Administrative Region of Macao, this article found that the differences are actually much more significant than hitherto assumed, since 100 countries and the Special Administrative Region of Macao have opted to change – through their national implementations – at least some aspects of the internationally-recognized definition of genocide, often significantly expanding or limiting the scope of application of the crime.

This chapter classifies these changes, proposes some potential explanations why so many countries opted to stray from the international definition and draws some preliminary conclusions of their potential ramifications.

Workshop: Does Digitalisation Create A New Type of International Law?

On January 18, 2021, a workshop will be held online on "Does Digitalisation Create A New Type of International Law?" Registration and program information are here.

New Issue: Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme

The latest issue of the Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme (No. 125, 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • D. Spielmann, In memoriam - Jean Vandeveld (1932-2020)
  • B. Stirn, L’indépendance du juge dans le cadre européen : évolutions et interrogations partagées
  • L. Bianku, La Convention européenne des droits de l’homme et la pandémie de Covid-19
  • F. Sudre, Le droit à la protection de la santé, droit diffus dans la jurisprudence de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme
  • P. Ducoulombier, Coup d’arrêt à l’extension de la juridiction extraterritoriale des États parties à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme
  • P. Vandernacht, Le drone en appui à la surveillance policière, quel cadre juridique et quels enjeux pour la protection des droits fondamentaux ?
  • G. Galustian, Le Protocole n° 16 mobilisé par la Cour constitutionnelle arménienne ou la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme au coeur d’une affaire politique
  • D. Roets, Conditions de détention en France : double ricochet de l’arrêt J.M.B. et autres c. France
  • O. Tambou, L’invalidation du Privacy Shield : peut-on sortir des turbulences dans les flux transatlantiques des données à caractère personnel ?
  • E. Lemmens & R. Demeuse, Entre devoir de réserve et liberté d’expression, un équilibre précaire pour les enseignants
  • I. Andoulsi, « Continuité de la justice et respect des droits humains en temps de pandémie » - Compte rendu du colloque organisé le 23 octobre 2020 par le barreau de Bruxelles

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

New Issue: Manchester Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Manchester Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 17, no. 3, 2020) is out. Contents include:
  • Asif H Qureshi, Editorial: Communication Flows in International Economic Law: Response to WTO AB Member Zhao Hong
  • Van Anh Le & Mark Hyland, Compulsory Licensing for Patented Medicines: A Comparative Legal Analysis of India, Brazil and Thailand
  • Talat Kaya, Multilateral Investment Court: Is It a New Breath for the Settlement of International Investment Disputes or a Stillborn Project?
  • Maciej Zenkiewicz, Compensable vs. Non-compensable States’ Measures: Blurred Picture under Investment Law
  • Ondrej Svoboda & Jan Kunstyr, The Curious Case of the Czech Model Bilateral Investment Treaty
  • Shinya Ito, Re-evaluating a Conflict between WTO Law and the Right to Food: The Case of Public Food Stockholding

Voeten: Ideology and International Institutions

Erik Voeten
(Georgetown Univ. - School of Foreign Service) has published Ideology and International Institutions (Princeton Univ. Press 2021). Here's the abstract:

Today’s liberal international institutional order is being challenged by the rising power of illiberal states and by domestic political changes inside liberal states. Against this backdrop, Ideology and International Institutions offers a broader understanding of international institutions by arguing that the politics of multilateralism has always been based on ideology and ideological divisions. Erik Voeten develops new theories and measures to make sense of past and current challenges to multilateral institutions.

Voeten presents a straightforward theoretical framework that analyzes multilateral institutions as attempts by states to shift the policies of others toward their preferred ideological positions. He then measures how states have positioned themselves in global ideological conflicts during the past seventy-five years. Empirical chapters illustrate how ideological struggles shape the design of international institutions, membership in international institutions, and the critical role of multilateral institutions in militarized conflicts. Voeten also examines populism’s rise and other ideological threats to the liberal international order.

Ideology and International Institutions explores the essential ways in which ideological contestation has influenced world politics.

New Issue: International Affairs

The latest issue of International Affairs (Vol. 97, no. 1, January 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Articles
    • Tobias Ide, Carl Bruch, Alexander Carius, Ken Conca, Geoffrey D Dabelko, Richard Matthew, & Erika Weinthal,The past and future(s) of environmental peacebuilding
    • Keina Yoshida & Lina M Céspedes-Báez, The nature of Women, Peace and Security: a Colombian perspective
    • Christina Ankenbrand, Zabrina Welter, & Nina Engwicht, Formalization as a tool for environmental peacebuilding? Artisanal and small-scale mining in Liberia and Sierra Leone
    • Irene Vélez-Torres & Diego Lugo-Vivas, Slow violence and corporate greening in the war on drugs in Colombia
    • McKenzie F Johnson, Fighting for black stone: extractive conflict, institutional change and peacebuilding in Sierra Leone
    • Tobias Ide, Lisa R Palmer, & Jon Barnett, Environmental peacebuilding from below: customary approaches in Timor-Leste
    • Mirza Sadaqat Huda, An ecological response to ethno-nationalistic populism: grassroots environmental peacebuilding in south Asia
    • Aysegül Kibaroglu & Ramazan Caner Sayan, Water and ‘imperfect peace’ in the Euphrates–Tigris river basin
    • Jeannie Sowers & Erika Weinthal, Humanitarian challenges and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Yemen war
    • Héctor Morales-Muñoz, Katharina Löhr, Michelle Bonatti, Luca Eufemia, & Stefan Sieber, Assessing impacts of environmental peacebuilding in Caquetá, Colombia: a multistakeholder perspective
    • Ousseyni Kalilou, Climate change and conflict in the Sahel: the acacia gum tree as a tool for environmental peacebuilding
  • Review Essay
    • Michael Cox, E. H. Carr, Chatham House and Nationalism

Monday, January 11, 2021

Conference: 115th ASIL Annual Meeting

On March 24-26, 2021, the American Society of International Law will hold its 115th Annual Meeting online. The theme is: "Reconceiving International Law: Creativity in Times of Crisis." Registration is now open. Here's the idea:

In these extraordinary times, dramatic shifts in global health, the global economy, and geopolitical power structures are forcing human beings to adapt and evolve. These shifts require us to revisit the operation of the legal, political, and conceptual structures of our international order, and to examine the possibility — and perhaps necessity — of creating new norms, tools, and paradigms.

Today's health, economic, and racial justice crises are having a profound impact on the rule of law, human security, and the environment; human rights and gender equality; international business and trade; and virtually all other aspects of society. These effects are being exacerbated by the differing approaches that governments, international organizations, and private actors have taken toward international problem-solving. Although some may hope for a return to "normalcy" in all these areas, the current moment offers both the challenge and the opportunity to reconsider and potentially to reshape international law and international institutions.

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law will provide a forum to think critically and creatively about all fields of international law. Sessions will present a broad range of perspectives on innovative ways to address emerging issues, to improve global governance, and to tackle international problems. More than ever, it is a time to come together as international law scholars and practitioners, and to challenge ourselves to imagine a new way forward.

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Okunev: Political Geography

Igor Okunev
(MGIMO Univ. - Institute for International Studies) has published Political Geography (Peter Lang 2021). Here's the abstract:
This textbook on political geography is devoted to a discipline concerned with the spatial dimensions of politics. This course is an introduction to the study of political science, international relations and area studies, providing a systemic approach to the spatial dimension of political processes at all levels. It covers their basic elements, including states, supranational unions, geopolitical systems, regions, borders, capitals, dependent, and internationally administered territories. Political geography develops fundamental theoretical approaches that give insight into the peculiarities of foreign and domestic policies. The ability to use spatial analysis techniques allows determining patterns and regularities of political phenomena both at the global and the regional and local levels.

New Issue: International Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 25, no. 1, 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Special Issue: The right to privacy in the digital age: different perspectives around the globe
    • Kristian P. Humble, International law, surveillance and the protection of privacy
    • Özgür Heval Çɪnar, The current case law of the European Court of Human Rights on privacy: challenges in the digital age
    • Aysem Diker Vanberg, Informational privacy post GDPR – end of the road or the start of a long journey?
    • Smitha Krishna Prasad & Sharngan Aravindakshan, Playing catch up – privacy regimes in South Asia
    • Alex B. Makulilo, The long arm of GDPR in Africa: reflection on data privacy law reform and practice in Mauritius
    • Carlos Affonso Souza, Caio César de Oliveira, Christian Perrone & Giovana Carneiro, From privacy to data protection: the road ahead for the Inter-American System of human rights

El Podcast Jurídico "Hablemos de Derecho Internacional"

El Podcast Jurídico Hablemos de Derecho Internacional, es un podcast jurídico en español donde se abordan temas de derecho internacional, y de relevancia mundial, en compañía de expertos. El formato es conversacional, va dirigido a la audiencia hispanohablante, y el objetivo es que en cada episodio los oyentes puedan aprender, a través de las palabras de nuestros invitados, sobre el complejo mundo del derecho internacional. Desde el mes de julio 2020 el Podcast ha agregado una serie de episodios que favorecen la diseminación jurídica. Entre los cuales destacan: