Call for Papers: New Voices in International Human Rights Law

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on International Human Rights has issued a call for papers for the AALS 2009 Annual Meeting in San Diego. The call is for "New Voices in International Human Rights Law." Here are the details:

The International Human Rights Law Section will repeat its popular "New Voices" program at the 2009 Annual Meeting. This panel provides an important opportunity for faculty members and other scholars who have not previously had an opportunity to present a scholarly paper at an AALS annual meeting to share their work.

The program will be held on Wednesday January 7, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Paper Submission and Selection Procedure: Individuals who are interested in being considered for the "New Voices" panel should submit an abstract of no more than two pages describing their research or scholarship to the section chair-elect via e-mail at cochoa@indiana.edu by no later than September 15, 2008.

For further information please contact the Section Chair or Co-Chair:

Robert C. Blitt, Associate Professor of Law, University of Tennessee College of Law, 1505 W. Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996

Christiana Ochoa, Associate Professor of Law, Indiana University School of Law, 211 South Indiana Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405-7001

Pavković & Radan: On the Way to Statehood: Secession and Globalization

Aleksandar Pavković (Macquarie Univ. - Politics and International Relations) & Peter Radan (Macquarie Univ. - Law) have published On the Way to Statehood: Secession and Globalization (Ashgate 2008). Here's the abstract:

The present international order is characterized by the rapid globalization of economic activity, by systematic attempts to coordinate state responses to the outbreaks of violence and by unilateral military interventions against sovereign states either by the USA or by one of its regional allies. This collection explores the changes that the current international order has brought to the theory and practice of recognition of secessionist claims and to the conditions for secessionist mobilization.

The volume examines how independence movements achieve legitimacy amongst both their target populations and outside states, and how the forces of increasing economic globalization and political interdependence impact on secessionist mobilization. It addresses how the outside states recognize the independence of new states and whether the claims to independent statehood can be justified within normative theories of secession and international law. These issues are explored both through comparative analysis within legal, international relations and political science frameworks and through an examination of several recent attempts at secession.

New Issue: Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme

The latest issue of the Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme (Vol. 19, no. 75, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Elisabeth Lambert Abdelgawad, L'exécution des arrêts de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme (2007)
• Droit communautaire des droits fondamentaux - Chronique de la jurisprudence de la Cour de justice des Communautés européennes (2007)
• Jean-Francois Flauss, Les élections de juges à la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme
• Delphine Tharaud, Les discriminations positives ou la figure triangulaire de la proportionnalité

Struett: The Politics of Constructing the International Criminal Court: NGOs, Discourse, and Agency

Michael J. Struett (North Carolina State Univ. - Political Science) has published The Politics of Constructing the International Criminal Court: NGOs, Discourse, and Agency (Palgrave Macmillan 2008). Here's the abstract:

The book analyzes the political process that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It argues that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) played an important role in shaping key provisions in the Court’s statute and in achieving early ratification of the ICC Statute. NGOs were able to achieve this result through their use of principled, communicatively rational argument. Thus in addition to accounting for the particular outcome of the ICC negotiations, the book also makes a contribution to our theoretical understandings of the ways that NGO discourse can transform the process of policy formation in world politics.

New Issue: Rivista di Diritto Internazionale

The latest issue of the Rivista di Diritto Internazionale (Vol. 91, no. 1, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Paolo Picone, La distinzione tra norme internazionali di "jus cogens" e norme che producono obblighi "erga omnes"
• Paolo Fois, Il consenso ad obbligarsi nel Trattato sulla non-proliferazione nucleare
• Tito Ballarino, L'art. 6 del regolamento Roma II e il diritto "antitrust" comunitario: conflitto di leggi e principio territorialistico
• Natalino Ronzitti, Note e commenti - Il seggio europeo alle Nazioni Unite
• Gianluca Serra, Note e commenti - Il Tribunale speciale per il Libano: fondamento e competenza
• Mara Valenti, Note e commenti - Lo stato di necessità nei procedimenti arbitrali ICSID contro l'Argentina: due soluzioni contrapposte

Instrument of Ratification: International Convention Against Doping in Sport

I predicted - back in June - that U.S. ratification of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport was being timed to coincide with the Olympics. And, sure enough, on the eve of the Games, President Bush signed the U.S. instrument of ratification. Presumably, it was deposited (with the Director-General of UNESCO) shortly thereafter. In accordance with Article 37(2) of the Convention, the earliest date the United States will become a State Party is October 1st.

Nollkaemper: The Role of Domestic Courts in Treaty Enforcement: The Netherlands

André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Center for International Law) has posted the chapter on the Netherlands from the forthcoming volume The Role of Domestic Courts in Treaty Enforcement - A Comparative Study, edited by David Sloss and Derek Jinks. Previously posted chapters can be found here, here, and here.

New Issue: Melbourne Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Melbourne Journal of International Law (Vol. 9, no. 1, May 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Anna Dorevitch & Michelle Foster, Obstacles on the Road to Protection: Assessing the Treatment of Sex-Trafficking Victims under Australia’s Migration and Refugee Law
• Fergus Green, Fragmentation in Two Dimensions: The ICJ’s Flawed Approach to Non-State Actors and International Legal Personality
• Janet Halley, Rape in Berlin: Reconsidering the Criminalisation of Rape in the International Law of Armed Conflict
• Aleardo Zanghellini, To What Extent Does the ICCPR Support Procreation and Parenting by Lesbians and Gay Men

New Issue: Ocean Development & International Law

The latest issue of Ocean Development & International Law (Vol. 39, no. 3, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Elizabeth A. Kirk, Noncompliance and the Development of Regimes Addressing Marine Pollution from Land-Based Activities
• Tim Stephens, Fisheries-Led Development in the South Pacific: Charting a “Pacific Way” to a Sustainable Future
• Angela Del Vecchio Capotosti, In Maiore Stat Minus: A Note on the EEZ and the Zones of Ecological Protection in the Mediterranean Sea
• Katharina Bork, Johannes Karstensen, Martin Visbeck, & Andreas Zimmermann, The Legal Regulation of Floats and Gliders—In Quest of a New Regime?

Kolb: Introduction au droit des Nations Unies

Robert Kolb (Université de Neuchâtel - Law) has published Introduction au droit des Nations Unies (Helbing 2008). Here's the abstract:

Cet ouvrage aborde toutes les questions centrales du droit des Nations Unies. A mentionner en particulier: la signification de l’organisation internationale mondiale, le passage de la Société des Nations à l’Organisation des Nations Unies, les buts et principes de la Charte, les organes et leurs fonctions, les membres, le non-recours à la force, la sécurité collective et le règlement des différends, ainsi que les amendements à la charte. Les relations de la Suisse avec les Nations Unies sont traitées dans un article séparé.

Bhagwati: Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade

Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia Univ. - Economics and Law) has published Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade (Oxford Univ. Press 2008). Here's the abstract:

Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist who uniquely combines a reputation as the leading scholar of international trade with a substantial presence in public policy on the important issues of the day, shines here a critical light on Preferential Trade Agreements, revealing how the rapid spread of PTAs endangers the world trading system.

Numbering by now well over 300, and rapidly increasing, these preferential trade agreements, many taking the form of Free Trade Agreements, have re-created the unhappy situation of the 1930s, when world trade was undermined by discriminatory practices. Whereas this was the result of protectionism in those days, ironically it is a result of misdirected pursuit of free trade via PTAs today. The world trading system is at risk again, the author argues, and the danger is palpable.

Writing with his customary wit, panache and elegance, Bhagwati documents the growth of these PTAs, the reasons for their proliferation, and their deplorable consequences which include the near-destruction of the non-discrimination which was at the heart of the postwar trade architecture and its replacement by what he has called the spaghetti bowl of a maze of preferences. Bhagwati also documents how PTAs have undermined the prospects for multilateral freeing of trade, serving as stumbling blocks, instead of building blocks, for the objective of reaching multilateral free trade. In short, Bhagwati cogently demonstrates why PTAs are Termites in the Trading System.

Politi & Gioia: The International Criminal Court and National Jurisdictions

Mauro Politi (International Criminal Court) & Federica Gioia (International Criminal Court) have published The International Criminal Court and National Jurisdictions (Ashgate 2008). Contents include:

• Philippe Kirsch, Introductory remarks
• Ivo Maria Braguglia, Italy and the International Criminal Court
• Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Principe de complémentarité et droit international général
• William A. Schabas, Complementarity in practice: creative solutions or a trap for the Court?
• Giorgio Gaja, Issues of admissibility in case of self-referrals
• Phani Dascalopoulou-Livada, The principle of complementarity and Security Council referrals
• Edoardo Greppi, Inability to investigate and prosecute under Article 17
• Frederica Gioia, The complementary role of the International Criminal Court: are there any time-limits?
• Hans-Peter Kaul, The ICC and international criminal cooperation – key aspects and fundamental necessities
• Håkan Friman, Cooperation with the International Criminal Court: some thoughts on improvements under the current regime
• Annalisa Ciampi, State cooperation with the ICC and human rights
• Maria Chiara Malaguti, Can the Nuremberg legacy serve any purpose in understanding the modern concept of 'complementarity'
• Teresa Maria Moschetta, Cooperation between the European Union and the International Criminal Court: legal bases and opportunities for implementation
• Theodor Meron, Roberto Toscano, Fausto Pocar, Francesco Francioni, & Håkan Friman, The ICC Relationship with National Jurisdiction: What Future? - Roundtable
• Luigi Condorelli, Closing remarks

New Issue: Nordisk Tidsskrift for Menneskerettigheter

The latest issue of the Nordisk Tidsskrift for Menneskerettigheter (Vol. 26, no. 1, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Yaël Ronen, Human Rights and Territorial Claims: Transition from Unlawful Regimes in International Law
• Gro Nystuen & Kjetil Tronvoll, The Eritrean-Ethiopian Peace Agreement: Exploring the Limits of Law
• Peter Vedel Kessing, Overførsel af fanger under væbnet konflikt
• Thor Dahl Eriksen, Menneskelig sikkerhet og sentrale menneskerettighetsdebatter
• Jan Edward Garrett, The Doubtful Descent of Human Rights from Stoicism

New Issue: Revue Générale de Droit International Public

The latest issue of the Revue Générale de Droit International Public (Vol. 112, no. 2, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• Slim Laghmani, Droit international et diversité culturelle
• Habib Gherari, Règles de l'Organisation Mondiale du commerce et Accords commerciaux régionaux. Le bilatéralisme conquérant ou le nouveau visage du commerce international
• Vassilis P. Tzevelekos, Vers la reconnaissance d'un droit étatique à l'autoprotection? Entre le droit et la politique
• Catherine Le Bris, Le dégel en Arctique: briser la glace entre Etats dans l'intérêt de l'humanité
• Christine A. E. Bakker, Le principe de cmplémentarité et les "auto-saisines": un regard critique sur la pratique de la Cour Pénale Internationale

New Issue: Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht

The latest issue of the Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht (Vol. 17, no. 5, 2007) is out. Contents include:

• Christa Tobler & Jacques Beglinger, "Auf Säulen ruht ihr Dach . . ." (Rechtsvisualisierung)
• Stephan Buhofer, Die Strukturierung eines Rechts: Das Common Law und das römische Institutionensystem

ECHR: Court Indicates Interim Measures in Case Brought by Georgia

On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights, in accordance with Rule 39 of its Rules of Court, indicated interim measures at the request of the Republic of Georgia. Georgia had filed an application directed against Russia alleging "violations of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the Convention." Here's the Court's decision:

On 12 August 2008 the President of the Court, acting as President of Chamber, decided to apply Rule 39 of the Rules of Court (interim measures) considering that the current situation gives rise to a real and continuing risk of serious violations of the Convention. With a view to preventing such violations and pursuant to Rule 39, the President calls upon both the High Contracting Parties concerned to comply with their engagements under the Convention particularly in respect of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention.

In accordance with Rule 39 § 3, the President further requests both Governments concerned to inform the Court of the measures taken to ensure that the Convention is fully complied with.

ICJ: Request by Georgia for the Indication of Provisional Measures (Update)

Yesterday, the Republic of Georgia submitted a request to the International Court of Justice for the indication of provisional measures in connection with its application, filed on Tuesday, against the Russian Federation. Today, the Court announced that it will hold hearings on Georgia's request on September 8-10. Press release here.

Also today, Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the Court, sent the following communication to the parties to the proceedings, in accordance with Article 74, paragraph 4, of the Court's Rules:

On 12 August 2008 the Republic of Georgia submitted an Application to the Court instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation. On 14 August 2008, the Republic of Georgia submitted a request for indication of provisional measures referring to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court.

The convening of the Court for purposes of proceeding to a decision on a Request for the indication of provisional measures should be dealt with as a matter of urgency (Article 74, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court). At the same time, the date for the hearings should be fixed so as to afford Parties an opportunity of being represented at it (Article 74, paragraph 3, of the Rules of Court).

In the light of these considerations the hearings on the request made by the Republic of Georgia for the indication of provisional measures have now been fixed for 8-10 September 2008.

The Court will at this juncture have to decide whether or not it has prima facie jurisdiction in respect of the case brought by the Republic of Georgia and whether the conditions for the indication of provisional measures are met.

Having considered the gravity of the situation, the President, acting under Article 74, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court, urgently calls upon the Parties to act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may take on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.

In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 (opinion here; New York Law Journal story here). The panel affirmed the district court's decision dismissing claims against seven Saudi Arabian defendants. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants provided support to al Qaeda for the September 11th attacks. Judge Jacobs, writing for the panel (which included Judge Cabranes and District Court Judge Vitaliano, sitting by designation), summarized the holding, as follows:

We conclude that the [Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act] protects the appellees - most obviously, the Kingdom itself. First, we hold that the FSIA applies to individual officials of foreign governments in their official capacities, and therefore to the Four Princes. Second, we affirm the district court’s conclusion that the [Saudi High Commission for Relief to Bosnia and Herzegovina] is an “agency or instrumentality” of the Kingdom, to which the FSIA likewise applies. Further, we conclude that none of the FSIA’s exceptions applies. The plaintiffs’ claims do not come within the statutory exception for state-sponsored terrorist acts, 28 U.S.C. § 1605A (“Terrorism Exception”), because the Kingdom has not been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States. As to the exception for personal injury or death caused by a foreign sovereign’s tortious act, id. § 1605 (a)(5) (“Torts Exception”), we decline to characterize plaintiffs’ claims - expressly predicated on a state-sponsored terrorist act - as sounding in tort. Nor do the plaintiffs’ claims come within the statutory exception for a foreign sovereign’s commercial activity, id. § 1605(a)(2) (“Commercial Activities Exception”), because the defendants’ specific alleged conduct - supporting Muslim charities that promote and underwrite terrorism - is not conduct in trade, traffic or commerce. Accordingly, we agree with the district court that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the claims against the Kingdom, the Four Princes in their official capacities, and the SHC. We likewise affirm the district court’s dismissal of the claims against the Four Princes (in their personal capacities) and Mohamed for want of personal jurisdiction, and the denial of the plaintiffs’ motions for jurisdictional discovery.

Arnold & Quénivet: International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law

Roberta Arnold & Noëlle Quénivet have published International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law Towards a New Merger in International Law (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2008). Contents include:

• Noëlle Quénivet, The History of the Relationship Between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Marco Odello, Fundamental Standards of Humanity: A Common Language of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Agnieszka Jachec-Neale, End Justifies the Means? – Post 9/11 Contempt for Humane Treatment
• Conor McCarthy, Legal Conclusion or Interpretative Process? Lex Specialis and the Applicability of International Human Rights Standards
• Conor McCarthy, Legal Reasoning and the Applicability of International Human Rights Standards During Military Occupation
• Ralph Wilde, Triggering State Obligations Extraterritorially: The Spatial Test in Certain Human Rights Treaties
• Tom Ruys & Sten Verhoeven, DRC v. Uganda: The Applicability of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law in Occupied Territories
• Cátia Lopes & Noëlle Quénivet, Individuals as Subjects of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Concurrent Application of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law: A Victim Perspective
• Emiliano J. Buis, The Implementation of International Humanitarian Law by Human Rights Courts: The Example of the Inter-American Human Rights System
• Giovanni Carlo Bruno, “Collateral Damages” of Military Operations: Is Implementation of International Humanitarian Law Possible Using International Human Rights Law Tools?
• Gregor Schotten & Anke Biehler, The Role of the UN Security Council in Implementing International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Noëlle Quénivet, The Right to Life in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Anke Biehler, Protection of Women in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Vesselin Popovski, Protection of Children in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Kyriaki Topidi, Unaccompanied Minors and the Right to Family Reunification in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law: The Iraqi Experience
• Alice Edwards, Crossing Legal Borders: The Interface Between Refugee Law, Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law in the “International Protection” of Refugees
• Yutaka Arai-Takahashi, Fair Trial Guarantees in Occupied Territory – The Interplay between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Roberta Arnold, Terrorism in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Christian M. De Vos, Judging Justice: Laws of War, Human Rights, and the Military Commissions Act of 2006
• Michael N. Schmitt, Targeted Killings and International Law: Law Enforcement, Self-defense, and Armed Conflict
• Katarina Månsson, Implementing the Concept of Protection of Civilians in the Light of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law: The Case of MONUC
• Roberta Arnold, Conclusions

U.S.-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement

Today, the United States and Libya signed a comprehensive claims settlement agreement. According to the State Department press release:

The agreement is designed to provide rapid recovery of fair compensation for American nationals with terrorism-related claims against Libya. It will also address Libyan claims arising from previous U.S. military actions. The agreement is being pursued on a purely humanitarian basis and does not constitute an admission of fault by either party. Rather, pursuant to the agreement an international Humanitarian Settlement Fund will be established in Libya to collect the necessary resources for the claims on both sides. No U.S. appropriated funds will be contributed, and any contributions by private parties will be voluntary. Each side will be responsible for distributing the resources it receives to its own nationals and to ensure the dismissal of any related court actions.

On August 4th, the President signed the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, which established the U.S. domestic legal mechanisms that would be necessary for the successful implementation of the claims agreement signed today.

Ziadé: Problems of International Administrative Law

Nassib G. Ziadé (Deputy Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ) has published Problems of International Administrative Law: On the Occasion of the Twentieth Anniversary of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2008). Here's the abstract:

With the proliferation of administrative tribunals, there is an increasing need for a common system of rules for the governance of international civil services. In this book, the various contributors deal with specific issues in the area of international administrative law, such as the judicial review of administrative action and managerial discretion; the powers exercised by international administrative tribunals, including in disciplinary cases; and the proper functioning and operating procedures of such tribunals. These issues are considered from the points of view of members of administrative tribunals, of respondent institutions, and of counsel for applicants.

ICJ: Request by Georgia for the Indication of Provisional Measures

Today, the Republic of Georgia submitted a request to the International Court of Justice for the indication of provisional measures in connection with its application, filed on Tuesday, against the Russian Federation. (Press release here; request for the indication of provisional measures here.) The request was made by Georgia to preserve its "rights . . . under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [CERD] to protect its citizens against violent discriminatory acts by Russian armed forces, acting in concert with separatist militia and foreign mercenaries." Specifically, Georgia requests that the Court order the following:

(a) the Russian Federation shall give full effect to its obligations under [the] CERD;

(b) the Russian Federation shall immediately cease and desist from any and all conduct that could result, directly or indirectly, in any form of ethnic discrimination by its armed forces, or other organs, agents, and persons and entities exercising elements of governmental authority, or through separatist forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia under its direction and control, or in territories under the occupation or effective control of Russian forces;

(c) the Russian Federation shall in particular immediately cease and desist from discriminatory violations of the human rights of ethnic Georgians, including attacks against civilians and civilian objects, murder, forced displacement, denial of humanitarian assistance, extensive pillage and destruction of towns and villages, and any measures that would render permanent the denial of the rights to return of IDPs, in South Ossetia and adjoining regions of Georgia, and in Abkhazia and adjoining regions of Georgia, and any other territories under Russian occupation or effective control.

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 68, no. 1, 2008) is out. Contents include:

• August Reinisch, Sachverständigengutachten zur Frage des Bestehens und der Wirkung des völkerrechtlichen Rechtfertigungsgrundes “Staatsnotstand”
• Stephan Schill, Der völkerrechtliche Staatsnotstand in der Entscheidung des BVerfG zu Argentinischen Staatsanleihen – Anachronismus oder Avantgarde?
• Alexander Orakhelashvili, Natural Law and Customary Law
• Thilo Rensmann, Die Humanisierung des Völkerrechts durch das ius in bello – Von der Martens’schen Klausel zur “Responsibility to Protect”
• Antoine Buyse, Lost and Regained? Restitution as a Remedy for Human Rights Violations in the Context of International Law
• Stellungnahmen und Berichte
• Patricia Egli, Another Step in the Reform of the European Court of Human Rights: The Report of the Group of Wise Persons
• Frank Hoffmeister, Grundlagen und Vorgaben für den Schutz der Minderheiten im EU-Primärrecht
• Falminia Tacconi, Freedom of Health and Medical Care Services within the European Union. Recent Jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, with Particular Reference to Case C-372/04 Yvonne Watts, 16 May 2006
• Mia Swart, The Wouter Basson Prosecution: The Closest South Africa Came to Nuremberg?
• Martin Kment, Ausländisches Steuerrecht vor US-amerikanischen Gerichten – Hintergründe und Neues zur Anwendung der “revenue rule”
• Felix Arndt, Ausrechnen statt aushandeln: Rationalitätsgewinne durch ein formalisiertes Modell für die Bestimmung der Zusammensetzung des Europäischen Parlaments

Ross: Women's Human Rights: The International and Comparative Law Casebook

Susan Deller Ross (Georgetown Univ. - Law) has published Women's Human Rights: The International and Comparative Law Casebook (Univ. of Pennsylvania Press 2008). This is another volume in the series Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights. Here's the abstract:

According to Susan Deller Ross, many human rights advocates still do not see women's rights as human rights. Yet women in many countries suffer from laws, practices, customs, and cultural and religious norms that consign them to a deeply inferior status. Advocates might conceive of human rights as involving torture, extrajudicial killings, or cruel and degrading treatment—all clearly in violation of international human rights—and think those issues irrelevant to women. Yet is female genital mutilation, practiced on millions of young girls and even infants, not a gross violation of human rights? When a family decides to murder a daughter in the name of "honor," is that not an extrajudicial killing? When a husband rapes or savagely beats his wife, knowing the legal authorities will take no action on her behalf, is that not cruel and degrading treatment?

Women's Human Rights is the first human rights casebook to focus specifically on women's human rights. Rich with interdisciplinary material, the book advances the study of the deprivation and violence women suffer due to discriminatory laws, religions, and customs that deny them their most fundamental freedoms. It also provides present and future lawyers the legal tools for change, demonstrating how human rights treaties can be used to obtain new laws and court decisions that protect women against discrimination with respect to employment, land ownership, inheritance, subordination in marriage, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, polygamy, child marriage, and the denial of reproductive rights.

Ross examines international and regional human rights treaties in depth, including treaty language and the jurisprudence and general interpretive guidelines developed by human rights bodies. By studying how international human rights law has been and can be implemented at the domestic level through local courts and legislatures, readers will understand how to call upon these newly articulated human rights to help bring about legislation, court decisions, and executive action that protect women from human rights violations.

Sadat & Scharf: The Theory and Practice of International Criminal Law

Leila Nadya Sadat (Washington Univ., St. Louis - Law) & Michael P. Scharf (Case Western Reserve Univ. - Law) have published The Theory and Practice of International Criminal Law: Essays in Honor of M. Cherif Bassiouni (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2008). Contents include:

• Leila Nadya Sadat & Michael P. Scharf, Foreword: Taking Aim at the Sky
• Louise Arbour, El Hassan bin Talal, Glen Weissenberger, & Ved P. Nanda, Dedications
• Mark A. Drumbl, A Hard Look at the Soft Theory of International Criminal Law
• Anja Matwijkiw & Bronik Matwijkiw, A Modern Perspective on International Criminal Law: Accountability as a Meta-Right
• Bartram S. Brown, Depoliticizing Individual Criminal Responsibility
• Diane F. Orentlicher, Universal Jurisdiction: A Pragmatic Strategy in Pursuit of a Moralist’s Vision
• Christopher L. Blakesley, Acting Out Against Terrorism, Torture, and Other Atrocious Crimes: Contemplating Morality, Law, and History
• Christopher C. Joyner, Terrorizing the Terrorists: An Essay on the Permissibility of Torture
• Jordan J. Paust, Secret Detentions, Secret Renditions, and Forced Disappearances During the Bush Administration’s “War” on Terror
• Michael P. Scharf, Cherif Bassiouni and the 780 Commission: The Gateway to the Era of Accountability
• Brigitte Stern & Isabell Fouchard, Sexual Violence as Genocide: The Important Role Played by the Bassiouni Commission in the Recent Development of International Criminal Law
• Leila Nadya Sadat, The International Criminal Court and the Transformation of International Law
• Mahnoush H. Arsanjani & W. Michael Reisman, The International Criminal Court and the Congo: From Theory to Reality
• William A. Schabas, Crimes against Humanity: The State Plan or Policy Element
• Diane Marie Amann, “The Only Thing Left Is Justice”: Cherif Bassiouni, Saddam Hussein, and the Quest for Impartiality in International Criminal Law
• Anne Gallagher, Using International Human Rights Law to Better Protect Victims of Trafficking: The Prohibitions on Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labor, and Debt Bondage
• Yves Sandoz, Cherif Bassiouni, the ICRC, and International Humanitarian Law