Most Interesting 2022: De Lucia, Oude Elferink, & Nguyen: International Law and Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Reflections on Justice, Space, Knowledge and Power

The fourth in our series "Most Interesting 2022":

Vito De Lucia, Alex Oude Elferink & Lan Ngoc Nguyen, International Law and Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Reflections on Justice, Space, Knowledge and Power (Brill | Nijhoff 2022)

The edited volume revisits important issues linked to areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) from the novel perspective of justice, space, knowledge and power, giving a voice to alternative approaches in understanding the legal framework that regulates these areas. The book, bringing together leading scholars in the field, creates a bridge between the law of the sea, environmental law, human rights, dispute settlement, legal philosophy and critical legal theory. The edited volume is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to explore new layers of the regulation and management of ABNJ.

Catherine Blanchard
Assistant Professor of Public International Law
Utrecht University

Most Interesting 2022: Csernus: Is There Life After Death?: The Persuasive Value of Annulled Investment Awards

The third in our series "Most Interesting 2022":

Máté Csernus, Is There Life After Death?: The Persuasive Value of Annulled Investment Awards, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 393-412, 2022

International courts and tribunals spend a lot of time referencing, citing and discussing prior judgments and awards, even though there is no formal system of precedent in international dispute settlement. Máté Csernus adds to the burgeoning literature on this topic, discussing whether investment arbitration tribunals continue to refer to awards that have meanwhile been annulled or set aside. On the basis of a review of all citations of publicly available annulled awards, Csernus identifies three main reasons why tribunals continue to cite such awards even though they no longer legally 'exist'. Csernus demonstrates that an annulment or set aside does not necessarily deprive an award of its relevance, as it can continue to influence, accidentally or deliberately, the development of the law and the resolution of future disputes. Csernus' article is of great theoretical and practical value, as it forces us to rethink when and why we consider decisions as authoritative.

Johannes Hendrik Fahner
Associate, Allen & Overly LLP
Lecturer, University of Amsterdam

Most Interesting 2022: Papaconstantinou & Pedreschi: Alternative Dispute Settlement and the Jurisprudential Legacy of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body

The second in our series "Most Interesting 2022":

George A. Papaconstantinou & Luigi F. Pedreschi, Alternative Dispute Settlement and the Jurisprudential Legacy of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body, Journal of World Trade, Vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 261–282, 2022

This article is written in the backdrop of the Crown-Jewel of the WTO - the AB, being defunct and the resultant adoption of alternative dispute resolution mechanism by WTO Members under Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), for appeals. The impact the decisions so rendered would have on the jurisprudential legacy of the AB is stated to be both good and bad. In the case of PTAs, Authors argue, it would decide cases only if they are related to WTO obligations and agree to be amenable to both PTA and/or WTO adjudication. In the case of the MPIA, the availability of opportunity to adjudicate areas “where there is absence of settled case law” (like under GATS); and to bring in novelty in areas where conflict exists in the present jurisprudence (Article XIX of GATT and the Agreement on Safeguards etc) are considered to be creating good impact. Whereas, the adverse impact stems from possibilities of fragmentation of AB jurisprudence, which again could be in two ways. First, could be the possible departure from the established WTO corpus while interpreting and applying the WTO law to the WTO obligations; and second, loss of precedentiary value by non-adoption of awards by entire WTO Membership. The adverse impacts are diluted by pointing out that most of the contentious issues are already considered by the AB; and the mandatory notification to the DSB of intent to adopt arbitration and also the award, lowers risk. The ADR is welcomed as it re-establishes the opportunity to appeal, thereby contributing to security and predictability of the MTS and suggests it should not be jeopardised, subject to the only risk that their decisions shall not fail to strike the appropriate balance between the WTO obligations and the policy objectives of the Members. This article is worth reading as it identifies the areas of challenge and the opportunities that the adoption of the alternative system brings into international trade jurisprudence. The alternative is definitely recognised as a stopgap arrangement till the revival of the AB and thus this article adds up to the literature on the discourse among international scholarship, which suggest reform of DSU rules and procedures. It is enlivening to reconcile that it's not dooms-day yet and that the efforts of the MTS in establishing stability and predictability in affairs of international trade remains preserved by its Members.

Megha Mukundaswar
Advocate and Research Scholar

Most Interesting 2022: Yao, The Ideal River: How Control of Nature Shaped the International Order

Many thanks to all those who submitted their choices for most "interesting, important, or influential" article or book published in 2022. As a reminder, the call was open exclusively to junior scholars. Beginning today, I will post the submissions. Each post will include the article and/or book and a statement from the recommender explaining the reason why they believe the article/book is interesting, important, or influential. The full series will be available at the label "Most Interesting 2022." Here's the first post:

Joanne Yao, The Ideal River: How Control of Nature Shaped the International Order (Manchester Univ. Press 2022)

This book explores the geographical imaginaries of three rivers (the Rhine, Danube, and Congo) and how these very imaginaries shaped the constitutions, structure, and life of three early international organizations. It is a marvellous tale of how (and why) experts sought to tame nature and also says much about law’s relationship to the physical geography. I always really recommend and admire it because of how well written and engaging it is.

Gail Lythgoe
Lecturer in International Law
University of Manchester

Call for Submissions: Most Interesting/Important/Influential Articles/Books of 2022 (Junior Scholars) (Reminder)

As in 2020 and 2021, I am issuing a call for submissions directed to junior scholars only (advanced PhD students and junior academics/practitioners) asking for their views on the most "interesting, important, or influential" article or book published in 2022. I will post on this blog a selection from the submissions received. The deadline is Friday, December 9. Thanks in advance to all who participate. Some rules:

• One submission per person
• The submission may recommend both an article and a book, but not more than one article and not more than one book
• The article/book must pertain to international law, though it need not have been written by a lawyer
• The article/book must have been published in the year 2022
• Include the article/book title and an internet link to the publication
• The article/book may be in any language, but the submission recommending the article/book must be in English
• Include an explanation for your choice, but not more than two paragraphs per article/book
• Self-nominations will not be accepted
• Deadline: December 9, 2022, 5:00pm Eastern Time
• Not all submissions will be posted on the ILR blog
• By submitting, you consent to the posting of your submission on the ILR blog, subject to editing
• Successful submissions will be posted the week of December 12, 2022
• Include your name, current position, and current affiliation with your submission
• Submissions should be emailed to jacob.cogan@uc.edu with the subject line: "ILR 2022 Interesting Article/Book Submission"

Call for Submissions: Most Interesting/Important/Influential Articles/Books of 2022 (Junior Scholars)

As in 2020 and 2021, I am issuing a call for submissions directed to junior scholars only (advanced PhD students and junior academics/practitioners) asking for their views on the most "interesting, important, or influential" article or book published in 2022. I will post on this blog a selection from the submissions received. The deadline is Friday, December 9. Thanks in advance to all who participate. Some rules:

• One submission per person
• The submission may recommend both an article and a book, but not more than one article and not more than one book
• The article/book must pertain to international law, though it need not have been written by a lawyer
• The article/book must have been published in the year 2022
• Include the article/book title and an internet link to the publication
• The article/book may be in any language, but the submission recommending the article/book must be in English
• Include an explanation for your choice, but not more than two paragraphs per article/book
• Self-nominations will not be accepted
• Deadline: December 9, 2022, 5:00pm Eastern Time
• Not all submissions will be posted on the ILR blog
• By submitting, you consent to the posting of your submission on the ILR blog, subject to editing
• Successful submissions will be posted the week of December 12, 2022
• Include your name, current position, and current affiliation with your submission
• Submissions should be emailed to jacob.cogan@uc.edu with the subject line: "ILR 2022 Interesting Article/Book Submission"