Saturday, September 11, 2021

Webinar Series: Empire, International Law, and History

The Centre for International Legal Studies at the Jindal Global Law School and the Asian Society of International Law have announced a fall webinar series on “Empire, International Law, and History,” beginning September 30, 2021. Details and the program are here.

Webinar: What the History of Nature Conservation Law Tells Us About Ecological Futures: a Non-Euclidean Vision of the Anthropocene

On September 15, 2021, the Centre for Environmental Law at Macquarie University will host a webinar on "What the History of Nature Conservation Law Tells Us About Ecological Futures: a Non-Euclidean Vision of the Anthropocene" by Liz Fisher (Univ. of Oxford - Law). This is part of the Centre's Biodiversity Law and Governance webinar series: Law & Nature Dialogues. Details are here.

Conference: Taming the Many-Headed Monster? Secondary Sanctions in the International Legal Order

On December 2-3, 2021, the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute and the Utrecht Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe will host a conference on "Taming the Many-Headed Monster? Secondary Sanctions in the International Legal Order." The conference will be held in a hybrid setting both on campus and online. The program is here. Registration is here.

Conference: International Criminal Justice in an "Age of Misinformation"

On September 16-17, 2021, the University of Northumbria Law School, in association with the Society of Legal Scholars and the Journal of International Criminal Justice, will host an online conference on "International Criminal Justice in an 'Age of Misinformation.'" Details are here.

Call for Submissions: SIEL/Hart Prize in International Economic Law

The SIEL–Hart Prize is awarded every two years to an outstanding unpublished manuscript by an early career scholar in the field of International Economic Law and is sponsored by the Society of International Economic Law and Hart Publishing. The call is here. Entries are due by December 1, 2021.

Call for Submissions: Cambridge International Law Journal

The Cambridge International Law Journal invites submissions for its eleventh volume. Here's the call:

The Editorial Board of the Cambridge International Law Journal is pleased to invite submissions for Volume 11 (issues to be published in June and December 2022).

The Board welcomes long articles, short articles and case notes that engage with current themes in international law.

In tribute to Judge James Crawford, who served as the Journal’s inaugural Honorary Editor-in-Chief from 2011 until his appointment to the International Court of Justice, Issue 1 will include a special section that reflects upon the responsibility of States and other subjects of international law. Judge Crawford’s peerless contribution to the field is evident not only in the 2001 Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, but also his work as scholar, counsel, judge and arbitrator.

The Board is particularly interested in contributions on this theme, which will be published as part of the special section. Other contributions will be published as part of the general section of Issue 1.

All submissions are subject to double-blind peer review by the Journal's Editorial Board. In addition, long articles are sent to the Academic Review Board, which consists of distinguished international law scholars and practitioners. Submissions can be made at any time. Articles submitted by 24 October 2021 will be considered for Volume 11 Issue 1.

Lecture: Wood on "The Role of the International Law Commission in Shaping International Law"

On October 14, 2021, the Centre for European and International Legal Affairs at Queen Mary University of London will host its annual lecture in-person and online. It will be delivered by Michael Wood on "The Role of the International Law Commission in Shaping International Law." Details are here.

Conference: Partnered Operations and International Law (Update)

On September 24, 2021, Sapienza Università di Roma, in coooperation with the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict of the American Society of International Law and the Interest Group on Peace and Security of the European Society of Internatonal Law, will hold a conference on "Partnered Operations and International Law." Due to travel restrictions, the conference will now be fully virtual. Updated program and registration information are here.

Conference: Procès de masse face aux violences de masse? / Mass Trials for Mass Violence?

On October 4-5, 2021, Université libre de Bruxelles and McGill University will host a hybrid conference on "Procès de masse face aux violences de masse? / Mass Trials for Mass Violence?" The program is here.

New Issue: Global Constitutionalism

The latest issue of Global Constitutionalism (Vol. 10, no. 2, July 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Ngoc Son Bui, Global constitutionalism: Asia-Pacific perspectives
  • Cheryl Saunders, Constitution transformation
  • Yoon Jin Shin, Transnational constitutional engagement: A contextualization of global constitutionalism by the Constitutional Court of South Korea
  • Chien-Chih Lin, Global constitutionalism in Taiwan
  • Samuli Seppänen, Formalism and anti-formalism in the Chinese Communist Party’s governance project
  • Surabhi Chopra, The Constitution of the Philippines and transformative constitutionalism
  • Rehan Abeyratne, Global constitutionalism reconfigured through a regional lens
  • Anna Dziedzic, Foreign judges of the Pacific as agents of global constitutionalism
  • Anthony F Lang, Jr., Global constitutionalism: A practical universal

Friday, September 10, 2021

New Issue: World Trade Review

The latest issue of the World Trade Review (Vol. 20, no. 4, October 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Chad P. Bown & Petros C. Mavroidis, Is this the End?: The WTO Case Law of 2019
  • Dukgeun Ahn & David Orden, China ‒ Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers: One Policy, Multiple Parameters Imply Modest Discipline
  • Joseph Glauber & Simon Lester, China – Tariff Rate Quotas for Certain Agricultural Products. Against the Grain: Can the WTO Open Chinese Markets? A Contaminated Experiment
  • Edward J. Balistreri, Petros C. Mavroidis, & Thomas J. Prusa, What If? Tinkering with the Counterfactual: A Comment on US–Washing Machines (Article 22.6-US)
  • Eugene Beaulieu & Janet Whittaker, ‘Two Roads Diverged in [Soft]wood’ Targeted Dumping, Differential Pricing Methodology, and Zeroing: US – Canada Anti-Dumping in Softwood Lumber
  • Petros C. Mavroidis & Kamal Saggi, Making Sense of the Arbitrator's Ruling in DS 316, EC and Certain Member States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (Article 22.6-EC): A Jigsaw Puzzle with (at Least) a Couple Missing Pieces
  • Jennifer A. Hillman &, Kara M. Reynolds, Article 21.5 DSU Appellate Body Report United States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (Second Complaint): Spillovers from Defense R&D Add to the Tug-of-War between Panels and the WTO Appellate Body
  • Antonia Eliason & Matteo Fiorini, Australia – Anti-Dumping Measures on A4 Copy Paper: Opening a Door to More Anti-Dumping Investigations
  • Douglas Nelson & Laura Puccio, Nihil novi sub sole: The Need for Rethinking WTO and Green Subsidies in Light of United States – Renewable Energy
  • Kristy Buzard & Kathleen Claussen, Under Pressure: Intractable Trade Conflicts and Korea – Pneumatic Valves
  • Rachel Brewster & Carolyn Fischer, Fishy SPS Measures? The WTO's Korea – Radionuclides Dispute
  • Meredith A. Crowley & Federico Ortino, Establishing a New Role for Antidumping Policy: Protection of an Unestablished Industry (Morocco–Hot-Rolled Steel (Turkey))
  • Christine McDaniel & Edwin Vermulst, United States – Certain Methodologies and Their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China: Re-Litigating through the Backdoor?
  • Douglas Nelson, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? US – Countervailing Measures (China) (21.5)
  • Cristina Herghelegiu & Luca Rubini, ‘Where Have all the Distortions Gone?’ Appellate Body Report, Ukraine–Ammonium Nitrate
  • Separating the Political from the Economic: The Russia–Traffic in Transit Panel Report Pramila Crivelli, Mona Pinchis-Paulsen
  • Swati Dhingra & Timothy Meyer, Leveling the Playing Field: Industrial Policy and Export-Contingent Subsidies in India–Export Related Measures

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Steffek: International Organization as Technocratic Utopia

Jens Steffek
(Technical Univ. of Darmstadt) has published International Organization as Technocratic Utopia (Oxford Univ. Press 2021). Here's the abstract:

As climate change and a pandemic pose enormous challenges to humankind, the concept of expert governance gains new traction. This book revisits the idea that scientists, bureaucrats, and lawyers, rather than politicians or diplomats, should manage international relations. It shows that this technocratic approach has been a persistent theme in writings about international relations, both academic and policy-oriented, since the 19th century. The technocratic tradition of international thought unfolded in four phases, which were closely related to domestic processes of modernization and rationalization. The pioneering phase lasted from the Congress of Vienna to the First World War. In these years, philosophers, law scholars, and early social scientists began to combine internationalism and ideals of expert governance. Between the two world wars, a utopian period followed that was marked by visions of technocratic international organizations that would have overcome the principle of territoriality. In the third phase, from the 1940s to the 1960s, technocracy became the dominant paradigm of international institution-building. That paradigm began to disintegrate from the 1970s onwards, but important elements remain until the present day. The specific promise of technocratic internationalism is its ability to transform violent and unpredictable international politics into orderly and competent public administration. Such ideas also had political clout. This book shows how they left their mark on the League of Nations, the functional branches of the United Nations system and the European integration project.

New Issue: Journal of Conflict & Security Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Vol. 26, no. 2, Summer 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Marten Zwanenburg, Keeping Camouflage Out of the Classroom: The Safe Schools Declaration and the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use During Armed Conflict
  • Dieter Fleck, The Interplay Between ‘Peacetime’ Law and the Law of Armed Conflict: Consequences for Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
  • Christopher P. Evans, Going, Going, Gone? Assessing Iran's Possible Grounds for Withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
  • Nathan Derejko, A Forever War? Rethinking the Temporal Scope of Non-International Armed Conflict
  • Fikire Tinsae Birhane, Targeting of Children in Non-International Armed Conflicts
  • Solon Solomon, The Psychological Impact of Military Operations on Civilians and the UN Human Rights Committee Japalali Decision: Exploring Mental Anguish under a Vida Digna, Right to Life Prism
  • Neil McDonald & Anna McLeod, ‘Antisocial Behaviour, Unfriendly Relations’: Assessing the Contemporary Value of the Categories of Unfriendly Acts and Retorsion in International Law

Moyn: Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War

Samuel Moyn
(Yale Univ. - Law) has published Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2021). Here's the abstract:

In the years since 9/11, we have entered an age of endless war. With little debate or discussion, the United States carries out military operations around the globe. It hardly matters who’s president or whether liberals or conservatives operate the levers of power. The United States exercises dominion everywhere.

In Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, Samuel Moyn asks a troubling but urgent question: What if efforts to make war more ethical—to ban torture and limit civilian casualties—have only shored up the military enterprise and made it sturdier? To advance this case, Moyn looks back at a century and a half of passionate arguments about the ethics of using force. In the nineteenth century, the founders of the Red Cross struggled mightily to make war less lethal even as they acknowledged its inevitability. Leo Tolstoy prominently opposed their efforts, reasoning that war needed to be abolished, not reformed—and over the subsequent century, a popular movement to abolish war flourished on both sides of the Atlantic. Eventually, however, reformers shifted their attention from opposing the crime of war to opposing war crimes, with fateful consequences.

The ramifications of this shift became apparent in the post-9/11 era. By that time, the US military had embraced the agenda of humane war, driven both by the availability of precision weaponry and the need to protect its image. The battle shifted from the streets to the courtroom, where the tactics of the war on terror were litigated but its foundational assumptions went without serious challenge. These trends only accelerated during the Obama and Trump presidencies. Even as the two administrations spoke of American power and morality in radically different tones, they ushered in the second decade of the “forever” war.

Humane is the story of how America went off to fight and never came back, and how armed combat was transformed from an imperfect tool for resolving disputes into an integral component of the modern condition. As American wars have become more humane, they have also become endless. This provocative book argues that this development might not represent progress at all.

Sunday, September 5, 2021

New Issue: Humanity

The latest issue of Humanity (Vol. 12, no. 2, Summer 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Sharif Youssef, Refugees and the Rise of the Novel: Trespass, Necessity, and Humanitarian Casuistry in the Long Refugee Crisis
  • Karin Loevy, The Balfour Declaration’s Territorial Landscape: Between Protection and Self-Determination
  • Yakov Feygin, Dreaming of a “New Planning”: Development and the Internationalization of Economic Thought in Late Soviet Reformist Politics
  • Anna Grimaldi, European Media Coverage of Brazil’s New Human Rights: 1964–1985
  • Benjamin P. Davis, The Promises of Standing Rock: Three Approaches to Human Rights
  • Ben Golder, Critiquing Human Rights

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. 20, no. 2, 2021) is out. Contents include:
  • Freya Baetens & Régis Bismuth, Face à Face: Interview with Angelika Nussberger – Professor and Former Judge and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights
  • Rebecca Brown, Invoking International Environmental Norms Through Treaty Interpretation
  • Katayoun Hosseinnejad, Rethinking the Meaning of Ordinary Meaning in Light of the ICJ’s Jurisprudence
  • Andrés Sarmiento Lamus & Rodrigo González Quintero, The Practice of Appending Declarations at International Courts and Tribunals
  • Kacper Zajac, The Rights of the Accused under the Rome Statute and the US Bill of Rights: Has 20 Years of ICC Jurisprudence Brought Those Together?
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, Between the Law of the Sea and Sovereign Immunity: Reflections on the Jurisdiction of the Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal in the Enrica Lexie Incident Case
  • Fernando Lusa Bordin, Procedural Developments at the International Court of Justice