Workshops: Hohmann, Klabbers, Von Walter

Jessie Hohmann (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) will give a talk today at the Sydney Law School Lunchtime Seminar Series on "Conceptual Issues in the International Human Right to Housing."

Jan Klabbers (Univ. of Helsinki - Law) will give a talk today at the New York University School of Law Institute for International Law and Justice International Legal Theory Colloquium on "Controlling International Bureaucracies."

André Von Walter (Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, France) will give a talk today at the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment International Investment Law and Policy Speaker Series on "The investor's legitimate expectations - inquiries into the legal nature of an increasingly popular concept."

Stoitchkova: Towards Corporate Liability in International Criminal Law

Desislava Stoitchkova has published Towards Corporate Liability in International Criminal Law (Intersentia 2010). Here's the abstract:

The need for more stringent regulation of multinational corporations (MNCs) is discernible in the adverse human rights impact of business activities in conflict-prone regions of the world. Domestic jurisdictions appear reluctant to vigorously pursue mandatory enforcement of human rights standards vis-à-vis the private sector for violations committed abroad. The international system, in turn, has not yet put in place any effective compliance mechanism beyond regulatory supervision. The difficulties of prosecution by home and host states, and the propensity of MNCs to exploit the principles of separate legal personality and limited liability pose certain challenges.

Seeking to address the problem of corporate involvement in grave human rights abuse, i.e. genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, this study explores the desirability and feasibility of subjecting business enterprises to regulation through international criminal law. It draws upon holistic methods for uncovering organisational fault, suggesting the necessity to align the culpability of legal persons with the peculiarities of institutional form and dynamics. The study discusses the instrumentality of existing Rome Statute provisions with regard to both corporations and corporate agents, and puts forward a sui generis model for constructing the criminal liability of MNCs.

Kolb: An Introduction to the Law of the United Nations

Robert Kolb (Univ. of Geneva - Law) has published An Introduction to the Law of the United Nations (Hart Publishing 2010). Here's the abstract:

This work aims to fill a gap in the existing legal literature by presenting a compact, concise but nevertheless panoramic view of the law of the United Nations. Today the organisation is at the centre of all multilateral international relations and impossible to avoid. And of course the UN Charter is a foundational document without which modern international law cannot be properly understood.

In spite of its importance, this pre-eminent world political organisation is poorly understood by the general public, and the extent and variety of its activities is not widely appreciated. Even lawyers generally possess insufficient knowledge of the way its legal institutions operate. Assessments of the organisation and judgements about its achievements are consequently frequently distorted.

This work is aimed especially at remedying these deficiencies in public and legal understanding, but also at presenting the organisation as a coherent system of values and integrated action. Thus the book presents an overarching view of the significance of the UN organisation in general, the history of its origins in the League of Nations, the aims and principles of the Charter, governmental agencies, members of the Organisation, the non-use of violence and collective security, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the question of amendments to the Charter.

New Issue: Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht

The latest issue of the Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales und europäisches Recht (Vol. 19, no. 3, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Schwerpunktheft SVIR-Jahrestagung 2008 Referate der SVIR-Veranstaltung «Die verschiedenen Wirkungsebenendes Völkerrechts» vom 14. November 2008 in Zürich
• Oliver Diggelmann, Targeted sanctions und Menschenrechte
• Matthias Oesch, UNO-Sanktionen und ihre Umsetzung im schweizerischen Recht
• Kerstin Odendahl, Die Beteiligung der EU an UN-Missionen im Kosovo: UNMIK, EUPT Kosovo und EULEX KOSOVO
• Mark Livschitz, Compliance: Präventive Massnahmen zur Korruptionsbekämpfung im privaten Sektor (gemäss Übereinkommen der UNO gegen Korruption)

Binder et al.: Völkerrecht im innerstaatlichen Bereich

Christina Binder, Claudia Fuchs, Matthias Goldmann, Thomas Kleinlein, & Konrad Lachmayer have published Völkerrecht im innerstaatlichen Bereich: Treffen des Arbeitskreises junger Völkerrechtswissenschaftler/-innen in Wien 2008 (Nomos 2010). Here's the abstract:

Die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen staatlichem Recht und Völkerrecht sind in der jüngsten Zeit in den Fokus der wissenschaftlichen Aufmerksamkeit gerückt. Völkerrecht ist längst keine Angelegenheit nur der Regierungen und Parlamente mehr, sondern betrifft die tägliche Arbeit vieler staatlicher Behörden und Gerichte. Selbst Individuen sind davon mitunter empfindlich betroffen, wie die Liste der Terrorverdächtigen des Al Qaida und Taliban-Sanktionsausschusses eindrücklich vor Augen geführt hat. Die Tätigkeit staatlicher Stellen wirkt überdies auf das Völkerrecht zurück, etwa indem nationale Rechtsprechung seine Auslegung bestimmt oder zur Bildung von Gewohnheitsrecht beiträgt. Unter dem Generalthema „Völkerrecht im innerstaatlichen Bereich“ werden, gebündelt zu den Themenkreisen „Nationale Gerichtsbarkeit“, „Menschenrechte“ und „Demokratie“, gleichermaßen aktuelle wie grundlegende Einzelfragen des Zusammenspiels der Völkerrechtsordnung, der Gemeinschaftsrechtsordnung sowie innerstaatlicher Rechtsordnungen in wissenschaftlich fundierter Weise dargestellt und aufgearbeitet.

Grando: Evidence, Proof, and Fact-Finding in WTO Dispute Settlement

Michelle T. Grando (Univ. of Toronto - Law) has published Evidence, Proof, and Fact-Finding in WTO Dispute Settlement (Oxford Univ. Press 2010). Here's the abstract:

This book examines the process through which a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel formulates its conclusions with respect to the facts of a case, i.e. the process of fact-finding or process of proof. The Dispute Settlement Understanding provides general guidance but few direct answers to specific questions regarding the process of fact-finding, which has placed upon panels and the Appellate Body the responsibility to provide answers to those questions as they have arisen in the cases. This book reviews the extensive jurisprudence developed in the 14 years of operation of the WTO dispute settlement system with a view to (a) determining whether panels and the Appellate Body have set out optimal rules to govern the process of fact-finding and, to the extent that that is not the case, (b) to make suggestions for improvement.

This book analyses questions such as (i) which party bears the responsibility of ultimately convincing the panel of the truth of a fact (burden of proof); (ii) what quantum of proof is necessary to convince the panel (standard of proof); (iii) the role of the panel, disputing parties, and non-disputing parties (e.g. experts, international organizations, private parties) in the development of the evidentiary record on which the panel bases its decision; (iv) the consequences of a party's failure to cooperate in the process of fact-finding; (v) how the parties can access the information which is necessary to prove their allegations; and (vi) the treatment of confidential business and governmental information. In assessing and making suggestions to improve the answers provided by panels to these questions, the book draws on the approaches followed in the two major legal systems of the world, the common law and the civil law, and to the extent possible the approaches adopted by other international courts and tribunals.

New Issue: Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (Vol. 28, no. 1, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Sylvie Da Lomba, Immigration Status and Basic Social Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Irregular Migrants’ Right to Health Care in France, the UK and Canada
• Philip Leach, Costas Paraskeva, & Gordana Uzelac, Human Rights Fact-Finding. The European Court of Human Rights at a Crossroads
• Michael O'Flaherty, The Dublin Statement on the Process of Strengthening of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System

Workshops: Goodwin-Gill, Kretzmer, McCorquodale

Guy Goodwin-Gill (Univ. of Oxford - Law) will give a talk today at the UCL Faculty of Laws and International Law Association (British Branch) International Law Seminar on "Treaty Interpretation and English Law: Some Progress to Date and Some Challenges to Come."

David Kretzmer (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law) will give a talk today at the New York University School of Law Institute for International Law and Justice International Legal Theory Colloquium on "The UN Human Rights Committee and International Human Rights Monitoring."

Robert McCorquodale (British Institute of International and Comparative Law) will give a talk today at the Queen's University Belfast School of Law on "Transnational Corporations and Human Rights."

Greenawalt: The Pluralism of International Criminal Law

Alexander K.A. Greenawalt (Pace Univ. - Law) has posted The Pluralism of International Criminal Law. Here's the abstract:

This Article presents the first systematic attempt to develop a pluralistic account of substantive international criminal law (“ICL”). Challenging the dominant assumption among theorists and practitioners, it argues that the search for consistency and uniformity in ICL is misguided, that the law applicable to international crimes should not be the same in all cases, and that those guilty of like crimes should not always receive like sentences. In lieu of a one-size-fits-all criminal law, this Article proposes a four-tiered model of ICL that takes seriously the national laws of the state or states that, under normal circumstances, would be expected to assert jurisdiction over a case.

After briefly surveying historical complexities concerning the definition and scope of ICL, the Article focuses on standard justifications for the existence of ICL. It looks in particular to justifications rooted in international relations, gravity considerations, and enforcement concerns. While each theory provides powerful reasons for seeking uniformity with respect to some components of ICL, neither in isolation nor in combination does these rationales demand uniformity with respect to the entire content of ICL. In particular, these standard theories have difficulty explaining why ICL should seek to monopolize those aspects of criminal responsibility that speak more to the general nature of criminality than to any specific goal of ICL. A review of general rule-of-law values - including the values of consistency, legality, administration, normative development, and avoiding jurisdictional chaos - yields similar results, affirming that contingent domestic law has a vital role to play in ICL prosecutions.

The Article next undertakes a case study of the Erdemovic case, in which the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (“ICTY”) announced a new rule of ICL rejecting duress as a complete defense to murder. A close reading of the tribunals reasoning reveals that the ICTY would have done better to apply applicable Bosnian law considering the Court’s inability to articulate why the special context or purpose of ICL requires a specific result, the normative shortcomings of both the majority and dissent’s positions, and the availability of a suitable approach under applicable domestic law. The Article then expands upon this analysis to elaborate a four-tiered model of substantive ICL comprising: (1) truly universal principles of ICL, (2) tribunal-specific rules, (3) rules constraining the acceptable range of domestic discretion, and (4) default rules. While this model has powerful normative force, it also provides a coherent, and superior framework for understanding the actual content of ICL in its current state of development.

Richtsteig: Wiener Übereinkommen über diplomatische und konsularische Beziehungen (2. Auflage)

Michael Richtsteig has published the second edition of Wiener Übereinkommen über diplomatische und konsularische Beziehungen: Entstehungsgeschichte, Kommentierung, Praxis (Nomos 2010). Here's the abstract:

Als erster Kommentar zum Diplomatenrecht (WÜD) und zum Recht der konsularischen Beziehungen (WÜK) knüpft auch die zweite Auflage an die Bedürfnisse der Praxis des Auswärtigen Amtes an. Die komplett überarbeitete Neuauflage berücksichtigt

• alle praxisrelevanten Fragen rund um den auswärtigen Dienst,
• die in diesem Bereich erschienene völkerrechtliche Literatur und
• fügt jeweils neue Abschnitte zur „Praxis anderer Staaten“ hinzu.

Dies ermöglicht es dem Leser, die inzwischen eingeübte Praxis des Auswärtigen Amtes zu vergleichen und kritisch zu hinterfragen. Damit schließt die Neuauflage eine Lücke auch auf dem Gebiet des Völkerrechts.

Die Kommentierung stellt die Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet des Diplomatenrechts und des Rechts der konsularischen Beziehungen auf dem aktuellsten Stand vor.

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 25, no. 1, 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Martin Tsamenyi, Mary Ann Palma, Ben Milligan, & Kwame Mfodwo, The European Council Regulation on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: An International Fisheries Law Perspective
• Sarah Dromgoole, Revisiting the Relationship between Marine Scientific Research and the Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Kyriaki Noussia, On International Arbitrations for the Settlement of Boundary Maritime Delimitation Disputes and Disputes from Joint Development Agreements for the Exploitation of Offshore Natural Resources

New Issue: International Community Law Review

The latest issue of the International Community Law Review (Vol. 12, no. 1, February 2010) is out. Contents include:

• Prabhakar Singh, The Scandal of Enlightenment and the Birth of Disciplines: Is International Law a Science?
• Asher Alkoby, Three Images of “Global Community”: Theorizing Law and Community in a Multicultural World
• Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral, The Unsolved Riddle of International Constitutionalism
• A.O. Enabulele, Reflections on the ECOWAS Community Court Protocol and the Constitutions of Member States

Conference: Japan Chapter of the Asian Society of International Law

The Japan Chapter of the Asian Society of International Law will hold its first annual conference on April 18, 2010, at Komazawa University, Tokyo. The program is available here.

Ríos Rodríguez: L'expert en droit international

Jacobo Ríos Rodríguez has published L'expert en droit international (Pedone 2010). Here's the abstract:

Si la fonction d'expertise est devenue habituelle dans les relations internationales, le statut de l'expert qui l'exerce et les méthodes qu'elle emploie ne sont pas souvent évoqués. Distincts, mais aux côtés des diplomates et du personnel permanent des Etats et des organisations internationales, les experts, consultants ou techniciens donnent leur avis à ces derniers, qui les nomment pour accomplir cette mission. L'utilisation d'experts internationaux dépasse les différences des contextes spécifiques dans lesquels elle intervient, et peut être analysée sous un certain nombre de caractéristiques communes : l'avis du technicien, agent international, peut être déterminant pour le contenu des décisions prises postérieurement par les sujets de droit international, en ce qui concerne notamment l'élaboration et l'application des normes. Cela pose des problèmes particuliers à propos des aspects tels que le contrôle de l'expert et la manière dont il doit exercer son rôle, qui reste distinct de celui de la prise de décisions.

Pour les résoudre, les principes essentiels régissant le recours à l'expert en droit international et les méthodes d'insertion de son avis dans des décisions et instruments normatifs doivent être saisis. La compétence consultative du technicien concerne ainsi le fondement des normes qui lui sont applicables dans sa relation avec l'autorité commanditaire de l'expertise, depuis son entrée en fonctions jusqu'au moment de rendre son avis dans un rapport ou tout autre support. A partir de ce moment, cet avis devient externe, est c'est l'utilisation qui est faite par les sujets de droit international qui est susceptible de lui octroyer un caractère fondamental comme une étape dans la formation et l'application du droit.

Kamto: L'agression en droit international

Maurice Kamto (l'Université de Yaoundé II - Law) has published L'agression en droit international (Pedone 2010). Here's the abstract:

Une idée reçue suggère que l'agression armée ne fut pas considérée contraire aux règles de droit international, jusqu'à ce que le recours à la force soit proscrit dans l'ordre international. La réalité paraît beaucoup nuancée, car il semble que même à une époque reculée où une certaine forme de guerre qualifiée de « guerre juste » était admise, les monarques et les Etats, du moins ceux qui se considéraient « civilisés », reconnaissaient que les guerres d'agression constituaient une violation du droit des nations. Dans l'ordre international contemporain, l'agression apparaît comme le crime le plus grave qui puisse être commis dans les relations entre Etats : non seulement il porte atteinte à l'existence-même de l'Etat victime et, ce faisant, aux principes essentiels du droit international, mais encore il est généralement à l'origine des autres crimes considérés comme les plus graves par la communauté internationale, en particulier le crime de guerre et le crime contre l'humanité. En ce sens, l'agression peut être considérée comme la mère de la plupart des crimes internationaux résultant de la violence de l'Etat. Jusqu'à une époque relativement récente, l'agression comme acte de l'Etat ne faisait pas encore l'objet d'une définition établie en droit international. La communauté internationale s'attellera à l'élaboration d'une telle définition à partir de 1967 et y parviendra sept ans plus tard lorsque l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies adopta en 1974 une définition de l'agression plus ou moins controversée, en tout cas accueillie fraîchement par certains pays développés. La mauvaise conscience des massacres répétés perpétrés au cours du XXe siècle a inspiré au monde la volonté de combattre le mal à la racine en doublant la responsabilité de l'Etat en cas d'agression de celle des responsables de l'Etat qui l'ont orchestrée. Ces personnes ne peuvent plus se dissimuler derrière le bouclier trop commode d'une personne morale sans visage, dépourvue de sentiment et donc insensibles à la douleur des victimes comme aux sanctions qui peuvent leur être infligées. Mais si, malgré tout, une définition de l'agression en tant qu'acte de l'Etat est désormais acquise, ressurgit le problème de la définition de l'agression en tant que crime de l'individu que les statuts des Tribunaux de Nuremberg et de Tokyo avaient essayé de régler. Le présent ouvrage s'efforce de faire une présentation autant que faire se peut exhaustive de la matière, aussi bien en ce qui concerne l'agression en tant qu'acte de l'Etat que comme crime de l'individu, l'étude de ces deux aspects de la question étant complétée par une analyse des problèmes soulevés par l'application du droit international dans un contexte d'agression.

Workshop: von Bogdandy, Hirsch & Broude

Armin von Bogdandy (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law), Moshe Hirsch (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law), & Tomer Broude (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem - Law) will give a talk today at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law International Law Forum on "Constitutionalism in International Law."

Call for Submissions: German Yearbook of International Law

The German Yearbook of International Law has issued a call for submissions for its forthcoming volume 53 (2010). Here's the call:

German Yearbook of International Law - Call for Papers

The German Yearbook of International Law is Germany’s oldest yearbook in the field of public international law. The GYIL is published annually by the Walter Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel and contains contributions on topics addressing international law, including neighboring fields such as international criminal law, international humanitarian law, international economic law, and the international law of the sea. We aim to provide a forum for scholars in international law – both inside and outside Germany – to publish new research on and analysis of current issues in international law. The Yearbook features a ‘Forum’ for which a prominent scholar of international law is invited to write a stand-alone article and a ‘Focus’ section for which a group of experts are invited to write articles examining various aspects of a topic set in advance by the editors. Recent Focus sections have examined regional human rights mechanisms (2009), poverty as a challenge to international law (2008) and German approaches to international law (2007). The 2010 Focus section will examine climate change.

In a departure from past editions, the “General Articles” section of Vol. 53 (2010) of the GYIL will be open to submissions from the entire academic community, which will be independently peer-reviewed by a community of renowned experts. All work submitted will be scrutinized based on its intellectual quality and its significance in advancing academic discourse. The Editors have thus decided to issue this general call for papers to invite interested parties to submit a paper for consideration for inclusion in the forthcoming edition.

Instructions

Persons interested in publishing in the GYIL should submit a manuscript conforming with the house-style of the GYIL (which is available on request) dealing with any topic of interest in the field of public international law to the editors by 1 September 2010. Potential authors are also requested to include a brief biographical statement, including information regarding current academic affiliations and general research interests. All inquiries and materials should be addressed to the assistant editors of the GYIL via e-mail: yearbook@internat-recht.uni-kiel.de.

Solomon: The Justiciability of International Disputes: The Advisory Opinion on Israel's Security Fence - A Case Study

Solon Solomon has published The Justiciability of International Disputes: The Advisory Opinion on Israel's Security Fence - A Case Study (Wolf Legal Publishers 2009). Here's the abstract:

While justiciability lato sensu factors are exterior to the international matter before the Court and do not affect irreversibly its non justiciable character which can be affirmed once these factors cease to exist, this is not the case with justiciability stricto sensu. There, the reasons of the matter’s non justiciability are embedded in it and cannot be separated from it, unless a change in the very essence of the issue occurs. In order to practically demonstrate the aforementioned remark, the advisory opinion on Israel’s security fence (hence the Opinion), will be used as an example. The treatise will argue that apart from non justiciability lato sensu issues, which could on their own lead to the non adjudication of the case such as the alleged bias of Judge Elaraby, the political motives behind the request, its high technical character as well as the lack of evidence, the Court should decline to render an opinion mainly due to reasons of non justiciability stricto sensu, attached to the very nature of the issue. In particular, these reasons can be found in the issue’s bilateral, contentious character and in the fence’s utter connection with the issue of the Israeli settlements.

SFDI: Droit international et relations internationales - Divergences et convergences, Journée d'études de Paris

The Société française pour le droit international has published Droit international et relations internationales - Divergences et convergences, Journée d'études de Paris (Pedone 2010). The table of contents is available here.

Wolfrum & Kojima: Solidarity: A Structural Principle of International Law

Rüdiger Wolfrum (Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) & Chie Kojima (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) have published Solidarity: A Structural Principle of International Law (Springer 2010). Contents include:

• Armin von Bogdandy, Opening Address
• Karel Wellens, Revisiting Solidarity as a (Re-)Emerging Constitutional Principle: Some Further Reflections
• Philipp Dann, Solidarity and the Law of Development Cooperation
• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Responsibility to Protect: Reflecting Solidarity?
• Dinah Shelton, Intergenerational Equity
• Tania Bolaños, Military Intervention without Security Council’s Authorisation as a Consequence of the “Responsibility to Protect”
• Hanspeter Neuhold, Common Security: The Litmus Test of International Solidarity
• Rüdiger Wolfrum, Concluding Remarks

Saxer: Die internationale Steuerung der Selbstbestimmung und der Staatsentstehung

Urs Saxer has published Die internationale Steuerung der Selbstbestimmung und der Staatsentstehung (Springer 2010). Here's the abstract:

Das Buch beschäftigt sich mit den Vorgängen der Entstehung neuer Staaten sowie den häufigen Konflikten um Autonomie und Selbstbestimmung seit dem Ende des Kalten Kriegs. Im Zentrum stehen die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der involvierten Akteure und deren völkerrechtlichen Determinanten. Ausgehend von der Grundthese, dass solche Vorgänge international im Rahmen eines in der Regel von Weltsicherheitsrat bestimmten Krisen- und Konfliktmanagements gesteuert werden, untersucht die Arbeit in eingehender Auseinandersetzung mit der Praxis der Staaten, von Regionalorganisationen und des Sicherheitsrats die Steuerung im Bereich des Selbstbestimmungsrechts, der Menschen- und Minderheitenrechte, der Staatenanerkennung, der Aufnahme in internationale Organisationen sowie bei der Regelung der Staatennachfolge.

New Issue: Journal of International Maritime Law

The latest issue of the Journal of International Maritime Law (Vol. 15, no. 5, 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Richard Williams, Letters of indemnity
• Liu Nengye & Frank Maes, The European Union's role in the prevention of vessel-source pollution and its internal influence
• Robert Gay, The Achilleas in the House of Lords — an update
• Zhen Jing, Subrogation in marine insurance laws and practice in China

Conference: International Investment and ADR: Preventing and Managing Investment Treaty Conflict (Reminder)

As noted previously, the Washington and Lee University School of Law and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development are sponsoring a Joint Symposium on "International Investment and ADR: Preventing and Managing Investment Treaty Conflict," March 29, 2010, in Lexington. Conference schedule and registration information can be found here. Here's the idea:

The Washington and Lee and UNCTAD Joint Symposium on Investment and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) will bring together academics, governments, practitioners, investors, representatives from international organizations and non-governmental entities from around the world to discuss International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

The Joint Symposium will be a unique opportunity to generate ideas and explore good practices for preventing, managing and resolving investment treaty conflict in order to facilitate investment and create sustainable dispute resolution systems. The Joint Symposium will consider a broad range of ADR-related issues ranging from dispute prevention, to avoiding dispute escalation, to considering alternatives to investment treaty arbitration, to thinking systematically about designing effective dispute resolution systems. We hope that the Joint Conference will provide an opportunity to engage in networking, brainstorming and collaboration on investment dispute resolution and ADR and generate a set of good practices for the efficient prevention and management of investment treaty conflict.

The Joint Symposium will involve a keynote address and various panels considering issues related to international investment and ADR. Professor W. Michael Reisman, the Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law at Yale University's School of Law and an international arbitrator in his own right, will deliver the keynote address to place the conference in the requisite historical context and set the tone for future dialogue. Three panels will then explore different themes, such as stakeholders' current experiences with the resolution of investment treaty conflicts, the achievements and pitfalls of the current system, methods for preventing and minimizing the escalation of investment disputes, and the identification of creative strategies for managing investment conflict in both the short and long term.

Workshops: Alvarez, Olson

José Alvarez (New York Univ. - Law) will give a talk today at the NYU Investment Law Forum on "Revisiting the Necessity Defense in the Argentina Cases."

Jane Olson (Human Rights Watch) will give a talk today at the University of Michigan Law School International Law Workshop on "The Healing Power of International Justice."

New Issue: Journal of Conflict & Security Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Vol. 14, no. 3, Winter 2009) is out. Contents include:

• Rotem Giladi, Out of Context: ‘Undercover’ Operations and IHL Advocacy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Paul Eden & Matthew Happold, Symposium: The Relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law
• Iain Scobbie, Principle or Pragmatics? The Relationship between Human Rights Law and the Law of Armed Conflict
• Marko Milanovic, A Norm Conflict Perspective on the Relationship between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law
• Bill Bowring, Fragmentation, Lex Specialis and the Tensions in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
• Charles Garraway, ‘To Kill or Not to Kill?’—Dilemmas on the Use of Force
• Robert Cryer, The Interplay of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: The Approach of the ICTY