Dromgoole: Underwater Cultural Heritage and International Law

Sarah Dromgoole (Univ. of Nottingham - Law) has published Underwater Cultural Heritage and International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001, which entered into force internationally in 2009, is designed to deal with threats to underwater cultural heritage arising as a result of advances in deep-water technology. However, the relationship between this new treaty and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is deeply controversial. This study of the international legal framework regulating human interference with underwater cultural heritage explores the development and present status of the framework and gives some consideration to how it may evolve in the future. The central themes are the issues that provided the UNESCO negotiators with their greatest challenges: the question of ownership rights in sunken vessels and cargoes; sovereign immunity and sunken warships; the application of salvage law; the ethics of commercial exploitation; and, most crucially, the question of jurisdictional competence to regulate activities beyond territorial sea limits.

Lode: The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC)

Birgit Lode (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) has posted an ASIL Insight on The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC).

Simeon: The UNHCR and the Supervision of International Refugee Law

James C. Simeon (York Univ. - School of Public Policy and Administration) has published The UNHCR and the Supervision of International Refugee Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2013). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and its 1967 Protocol, and many other important international instruments recognize the unique role the UNHCR plays in protecting refugees and supervising international refugee law. This in-depth analysis of the UNHCR's supervisory role in the international refugee protection regime examines the part played by key institutions, organizations and actors in the supervision of international refugee law. It provides suggestions and recommendations on how the UNHCR's supervisory role can be strengthened to ensure greater State Parties' compliance to their obligations under these international refugee rights treaties, and contributes to enhancing the international protection of refugees and to the promotion of a democratic global governance of the international refugee protection regime.

Mulgrew: Towards the Development of the International Penal System

Róisín Mulgrew (Univ. of Nottingham - Law) has published Towards the Development of the International Penal System (Cambridge Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

Based on extensive empirical research, this ground-breaking book describes and analyses existing systems for enforcing sentences of imprisonment imposed by international criminal courts and makes recommendations for the strategic and structural development of the international penal system. In particular, it advocates a resocialisation-focused international penal policy delivered using restorative justice modalities post-conviction and the creation of an accountable international prison system. Singly or combined, these developments will contribute to the institutionalisation of the international penal system and enhance the international nature of the sanction, the international control over the way international punishment is enforced and the equal treatment of international prisoners. These developments will also help to ensure that international punishment is principled and progressive and implemented in a humane and effective system.

Jain: Individual Responsibility for Mass Atrocity: In Search of a Concept of Perpetration

Neha Jain (Univ. of Minnesota - Law) has posted Individual Responsibility for Mass Atrocity: In Search of a Concept of Perpetration (American Journal of Comparative Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

International criminal law lacks a coherent account of individual responsibility. This failure is due to the inability of international tribunals to capture the distinctive nature of individual responsibility for crimes that are collective by their very nature. Specifically, they have misunderstood the nature of the collective action or framework that makes these crimes possible, and for which liability can be attributed to intellectual authors and leaders. In this paper, I draw on the insights of comparative law and methodology to propose a new doctrine of perpetration that reflects the role and function of high level participants in mass atrocity while simultaneously situating them within the political and social climate which renders these crimes possible. This new doctrine is developed through a novel approach which combines and restructures divergent theoretical perspectives on attribution of responsibility in the English and German domestic criminal law systems as major representatives of the common law and civil law systems. At the same time, it harnesses social science literature to identify and capture, in doctrinal terms, the unique circumstances in which mass atrocity occurs.

Brannigan: Beyond the Banality of Evil: Criminology and Genocide

Augustine Brannigan (Univ. of Calgary - Sociology) has published Beyond the Banality of Evil: Criminology and Genocide (Oxford Univ. Press 2013). Here's the abstract:

Positioning itself within significant developments in genocide studies arising from misgivings about two noteworthy observers, Arendt and Milgram, this book asks what lies 'beyond the banality of evil'? And suggests the answer lies within criminology.

Offering the author's reflections about how to interpret genocide as a crime, Beyond the Banality of Evil: Criminology and Genocide endeavours to understand how the theories of criminal motivation might shed light on these stunning events and make them comprehensible. While a great deal has been written about the shortcomings of the obedience paradigm and 'desk murderers' when discussing the Holocaust, little has been said of what results when investigations are taken beyond these limitations. Through examination and analysis of the literature surrounding genocide studies, Brannigan frames the events within a general theoretical approach to crime before applying his own revised model, specifically to Rwanda and drawn from field-work in 2004 and 2005. This provides a new and compelling account of the dynamics of the 1994 genocide and its distinctive attributes of speed, popularity, totality and emotional indifference.

With a focus on the disarticulation of personal culpability among ordinary perpetrators, Beyond the Banality of Evil questions the effectiveness of individual-level guilt imputation in these politically based, collectively orchestrated crimes, and raises doubts about the utility of criminal indictments that have evolved in the context of models of individual misconduct.

Chakraborty, Chaisse, & Kumar: EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges

Debashis Chakraborty (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade), Julien Chaisse (Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong - Law), & Animesh Kumar (Jawaharlal Nehru Univ.) have posted EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges. Here's the abstract:

India has a long history of economic linkages with the EU member states. In recent period, the volumes of Indo-EU trade both in case of merchandise products and services have considerably increased and a number of investment collaboration opportunities are emerging. Since 2007 the two sides are engaged in the negotiations on concluding a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), which is expected to augment the present level of economic exchange further. Once completed in coming months, the BTIA will be the biggest trade agreement involving India, surpassing its earlier RTA with the ASEAN countries. However, while EU and India can collaborate in several spheres, the potential conflict of interest may not be uncommon either. In particular, the provision of farm subsidies offered by the EU to local producers, imposition of anti-dumping measures on several Indian export categories in EU markets, barriers on movement of professionals, EU interest in inclusion of several WTO-Plus provisions in the agreement etc. are among the concern areas of India. By looking at the trade data and the negotiating dynamics, the present analysis attempts to understand the challenges and opportunities for India in the EU market. The paper concludes that India needs to focus on augmenting its competitiveness for benefiting from the integration exercise.

New Issue: Journal of Space Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Space Law (Vol. 38, no. 1, Spring/Summer 2012) is out. Contents include:

• Elena Carpanelli & Brendan Cohen, A Legal Assessment of the 1996 Declaration on Space Benefits on the Occasion of its Fifteenth Anniversary
• Philip De Man, Rights Over Areas vs Resources in Outer Space: What's The Use of Orbital Slots?
• J.H. Castro Villalobos, The Mexican Space Agency
• Fausto Pocar, An Introduction to the PCA's Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities

Gray: Remedies in International Dispute Settlement

Christine Gray (Univ. of Cambridge - Law) has posted Remedies in International Dispute Settlement. Here's the abstract:

There have been two major developments affecting international law on remedies in the last twenty years: the proliferation of tribunals and the International Law Commission’s Articles on State Responsibility. These developments make it timely to revisit the question I first examined in 1985, whether there is an international law of remedies. Does the diversity of tribunals mean that they have awarded different types of remedies or taken different approaches? How far have the guidelines in the ILC Articles brought uniformity? The paper examines these questions in the light of the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the WTO Appellate Body, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the UNCC, regional human rights courts and other tribunals.

Mahinga: Le Tribunal international du droit de la mer : Organisation, compétence et procédure

Jean–Grégoire Mahinga has published Le Tribunal international du droit de la mer : Organisation, compétence et procédure (Larcier 2013). Here's the abstract:

L’entrée en vigueur de la Convention des Nations-Unies sur le droit de la mer de 1982 a fait apparaître que le Tribunal international du droit de la mer institué par cette Convention pourrait faire double emploi avec la Cour internationale de justice. Dès lors, l’idée de prolifération des juridictions internationales avait fait jour et cette prolifération pouvait aboutir à un fractionnement du droit international. Or, l’étude du Tribunal international du droit de la mer permet de montrer qu’il n’en est rien. Cette juridiction spécialisée constitue un forum de règlement des différends internationaux original tant du point de ses procédures que de sa compétence. D’une part, les procédures en vigueur au sein du Tribunal se caractérisent par une extrême rapidité et, d’autre part, la compétence du Tribunal a pour conséquence que des entités autres les États peuvent agir devant cette nouvelle juridiction internationale. Au demeurant, l’analyse de la jurisprudence du Tribunal met en relief le fait que le Tribunal participe à la consolidation du droit international en même temps qu’il élargit le domaine d’application de ce dernier.

Carnegie: Instruments of Coercion: International Institutions and the Sites of Power in International Relations

Allison Carnegie (Univ. of Chicago - Political Science) has posted Instruments of Coercion: International Institutions and the Sites of Power in International Relations. Here's the abstract:

The international institutions literature suggests that institutions help states cooperate by allowing states to credibly commit to specific policies. This paper argues that these commitments increase the costs associated with some foreign policy options, causing members to substitute towards less costly policies. The analysis is focused on a particular institution, examining how WTO membership affects states' manipulation of trade policies for coercion. I argue that because WTO membership curtails states' use of trade policies for foreign policy leverage, donors employ others levers of influence instead. After presenting detailed case study evidence in support of the theory, I test the model's predictions systematically, demonstrating that once states join the WTO, their trade flows become less correlated with political events, while other policy instruments, such as foreign aid allocation and unilateral preference programs, become more responsive to foreign policy issues.

New Issue: International Legal Materials

The latest issue of International Legal Materials (Vol. 52, no. 1, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia) (I.C.J.), with introductory note by David P. Riesenberg
• The Prosecutor v. Gotovina et al. (ICTY), with introductory note by Julian Elderfield
• Appeals Chamber Decisions on the Legality of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Trials In Absentia (STL), with introductory note by Martin Wählisch
• Catan and Others v. Moldova and Russia (Eur. Ct. H.R.), with introductory note by Jan Arno Hessbruegge
• Nada v. Switzerland (Eur. Ct. H.R.), with introductory note by Miša Zgonec-Rožej
• Scoppola v. Italy (Eur. Ct. H.R.), with introductory note by Djurdja Lazic
• Gutierrez v. Nevada (S. Ct. Nevada), with introductory note by Ronald J. Bettauer
• Food Assistance Convention, with introductory note by Marsha Echols
• Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, with introductory note by Gian Luca Burci
• African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), with introductory note by Mike Asplet and Megan Bradley

Job Opening: PluriCourts - Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order (Researcher in International Criminal Law)

PluriCourts - Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order, at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, is seeking to hire, as a temporary position (six months), a researcher in international criminal law at the postdoctoral level. The advertisement is here.

Hobe, Schmidt-Tedd, & Schrogl: Cologne Commentary on Space Law (Volume 2)

Stephan Hobe, Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd, & Kai-Uwe Schrogl have published volume two of the Cologne Commentary on Space Law (Carl Heymanns Verlag 2013). Here's the abstract:

The Cologne Commentary on Space Law (CoCoSL) is a three-volume annotation on the norms of space law as contained in the Treaties of the United Nations and its General Assembly Resolutions. As a joint publication of the Institute of Air and Space Law of the University of Cologne and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the commentary brings together the scientific and academic proficiency of the Institute and the practical and technical capacity of DLR. It constitutes essential reading for all academics, practitioners and technicians working in the field of space law and beyond.

Volume II comments on four UN Treaties of international space law: the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Agreement. Experienced authors from various countries representing different legal traditions elaborated on these four agreements which were concluded after the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Many of the provisions and concepts of the Outer Space Treaty are further developed by the subsequent treaty law that is addressed in this book. The interpretation of the basic legal norms provided by Volume I, which comments on the Outer Space Treaty, thus constitutes a foundation for the commentary in Volume II.

Walling: All Necessary Measures: The United Nations and Humanitarian Intervention

Carrie Booth Walling (Albion College - Political Science) has published All Necessary Measures: The United Nations and Humanitarian Intervention (Univ. of Pennsylvania Press 2013). This is another volume in the series Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights. Here's the abstract:

What prompts the United Nations Security Council to intervene forcefully in some crises at high risk for genocide and ethnic cleansing but not others? In All Necessary Measures, Carrie Booth Walling identifies several systematic patterns in the stories that council members tell about conflicts and the policy solutions that result from them. Drawing on qualitative comparative case studies spanning two decades, including situations where the council has intervened to stop mass killing (Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Sierra Leone) as well as situations where it has not (Rwanda, Kosovo, and Sudan), Walling posits that the arguments council members make about the cause and character of conflict as well as the source of sovereign authority in target states have the potential to enable or constrain the use of military force in defense of human rights.

At a moment when constructivist scholars in international relations are pushing beyond empirical claims for the value of norms toward critical analysis of such norms, All Necessary Measures establishes discourse's real-world explanatory power. From her comparative chronology, Walling demonstrates that humanitarian intervention becomes possible when the majority of Security Council members come to a shared understanding of the conflict, perpetrators, and victims—and probable when the Council understands state sovereignty as complementary to human rights norms. By illuminating the relationship between national interests and the core values of Security Council members and how it influences decision-making, All Necessary Measures suggests when and where the Security Council is likely to intervene in the future.

New Issue: Arbitration International

The latest issue of Arbitration International (Vol. 29, no. 3, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• David W. Rivkin, The Impact of International Arbitration on the Rule of Law – The 2012 Clayton Utz/University of Sydney International Arbitration Lecture
• Dan Sarooshi, Provisional Measures and Investment Treaty Arbitration
• Caline Mouawad & Elizabeth Silbert, A Guide to Interim Measures in Investor-State Arbitration
• Andreas Kulick, Sneaking Through the Backdoor – Reflections on Public Interest in International Investment Arbitration
• Joerg Risse, Ten Drastic Proposals for Saving Time and Costs in Arbitral Proceedings
• Guido Carducci, The New EU Regulation 1215/2012 of 12 December 2012 on Jurisdiction and International Arbitration – With Notes on Parallel Arbitration, Court Proceedings and the EU Commission’s Proposal
• Massimo V. Benedettelli, To Bifurcate or Not to Bifurcate? That is the (Ambiguous) Question
• Jawad Ahmad, The Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration and State-to-State Disputes

Mibenge: Sex and International Tribunals: The Erasure of Gender from the War Narrative

Chiseche Salome Mibenge (Lehman College, City Univ. of New York - Political Science) has published Sex and International Tribunals: The Erasure of Gender from the War Narrative (Univ. of Pennsylvania Press 2013). This is another volume in the series Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights. Here's the abstract:

Before the twenty-first century, there was little legal precedent for the prosecution of sexual violence as a war crime. Now, international tribunals have the potential to help make sense of political violence against both men and women; they have the power to uphold victims' claims and to convict the leaders and choreographers of systematic atrocity. However, by privileging certain accounts of violence over others, tribunals more often confirm outmoded gender norms, consigning women to permanent rape victim status.

In Sex and International Tribunals, Chiseche Salome Mibenge identifies the cultural assumptions behind the legal profession's claims to impartiality and universality. Focusing on the postwar tribunals in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Mibenge mines the transcripts of local and supranational criminal trials and truth and reconciliation commissions in order to identify and closely examine legal definitions of forced marriage, sexual enslavement, and the conscription of children that overlook the gendered experiences of armed conflict beyond the mass rape of women and girls. In many cases, a single rape conviction constitutes sufficient proof that gender-based violence has been mainstreamed into the prosecution of war crimes. Drawing on anthropological research in African conflicts, and feminist theory, Mibenge challenges legal narratives that reinscribe essentialized notions of gender in the conduct and resolution of violent conflict and uncovers the suppressed testimonies of men and women who are unwilling or unable to recite the legal scripts that would elevate them to the status of victimhood recognized by an international and humanitarian audience.

At a moment when international intervention in conflicts is increasingly an option, Sex and International Tribunals points the way to a more nuanced and just response from courts.

New Issue: Journal of World Investment & Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Investment & Trade (Vol. 14, no. 4, 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Nicolette Butler, Possible Improvements to the Framework of International Investment Arbitration
• Kong Qingjiang, Bilateral Investment Rule-Making: BITs or FTAs with Investment Rules?
• S.M. Solaiman, Revisiting Securities Regulation in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis: Disclosure – Panacea or Pandora’s Box? S.M. Solaiman
• Ling Ling He, On Re-invigorating the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement Negotiation Process
• Anil Kumar Kanungo & Kreeti Mahajan, Japanese Foreign Direct investment in Indian Automobile Sector Evolution and Practices
• Gilles Muller, The EU’s “Global Europe” Strategy and the Liberalization of Trade in Legal Services: The Impact of the EU Free Trade Agreements in Asia

New Issue: Archiv des Völkerrechts

The latest issue of Archiv des Völkerrechts (Vol. 51, no. 2, June 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Abhandlungen
• Martin Zobl, Daniel Thürer, & Alexander Kern, Die Legitimation der G20
• Kirsten Schmalenbach, Der Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung durch UN-Friedensmissionen und die Rechtsfolgen bei Mandatsversagen
• Beiträge und Berichte
• Robert Böttner, Von Nürnberg über Rom nach Kampala: Das Verbrechen der Aggression vor dem IStGH

Espósito: Of Plumbers and Social Architects: Elements and Problems of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in Jurisdictional Immunities of States

Carlos Espósito (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Law) has posted Of Plumbers and Social Architects: Elements and Problems of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in Jurisdictional Immunities of States (Journal of International Dispute Settlement, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This analysis of the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Jurisdictional Immunities case is conducted in two parts. The first briefly presents the basic elements of the judgment of the Court in Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy: Greece intervening); the second part identifies and discusses some problems raised by the judgment. These include the legal character of the rule of state immunity, the limits of the positivist methodology to establish state practice as evidence of customary international law and its exceptions, and the troubles with a strictly procedural approach to consider a possible exception to immunity for serious violations of international law and international humanitarian law. The comment concludes with a brief general assessment of the judgment of the Court, its role and the future development of the law of state immunities by national courts.

Becker: Sustainable Fisheries and the Obligations of Flag and Coastal States: The Request by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission for an ITLOS Advisory Opinion

Michael A. Becker has posted an ASIL Insight on Sustainable Fisheries and the Obligations of Flag and Coastal States: The Request by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission for an ITLOS Advisory Opinion.

New Issue: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

The latest issue of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (Vol. 13, no. 3, September 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Yoshiki Yamagata, Jue Yang, & Joseph Galaskiewicz, A contingency theory of policy innovation: how different theories explain the ratification of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol
• Gurdial Singh Nijar, The Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: An analysis and implementation challenges
• Paul G. Harris, Alice S. Y. Chow, & Rasmus Karlsson, China and climate justice: moving beyond statism
• Qing Pei, Lanlan Liu, & David D. Zhang, Carbon emission right as a new property right: rescue CDM developers in China from 2012
• Itay Fischhendler & David Katz, The use of “security” jargon in sustainable development discourse: evidence from UN Commission on Sustainable Development
• Jürg Vollenweider, The effectiveness of international environmental agreements
• René Audet, Climate justice and bargaining coalitions: a discourse analysis
• Leo Wangler, Juan-Carlos Altamirano-Cabrera, & Hans-Peter Weikard, The political economy of international environmental agreements: a survey

Akandji-Kombé: L’homme dans la société internationale : Mélanges en hommage au Professeur Paul Tavernier

Jean-François Akandji-Kombé (l’Université Paris I - Law) has published L’homme dans la société internationale : Mélanges en hommage au Professeur Paul Tavernier (Bruylant 2013). The table of contents is here.

Tourme-Jouannet: What is a Fair International Society? International Law Between Development and Recognition

Emmanuelle Tourme-Jouannet (l’Université Paris I - Law) has published What is a Fair International Society? International Law Between Development and Recognition (Hart Publishing 2013). This is a translation of the original published in French. Here's the abstract:

Today's world is post-colonial and post-Cold War. These twin characteristics explain why international society is also riddled with the two major forms of injustice which Nancy Fraser identified as afflicting national societies. First, the economic and social disparities between states caused outcry in the 1950s when the first steps were taken towards decolonisation. These inequalities, to which a number of emerging states now contribute, are still glaring and still pose the problem of the gap between formal equality and true equality. Second, international society is increasingly confronted with culture- and identity-related claims, stretching the dividing line between equality and difference. The less-favoured states, those that feel stigmatised, but also native peoples, ethnic groups, minorities and women now aspire to both legal recognition of their equal dignity and the protection of their identities and cultures. Some even seek reparation for injustices arising from the past violation of their identities and the confiscation of their property or land.

In answer to these two forms of claim, the subjects of international society have come up with two types of remedy encapsulated in legal rules: the law of development and the law of recognition. These two sets of rights are neither wholly autonomous and individualised branches of law nor formalised sets of rules. They are imperfect and have their dark side. Yet they can be seen as the first milestones towards what might become a fairer international society; one that is both equitable (as an answer to socio-economic injustice) and decent (as an answer to cultural injustice).

This book explores this evolution in international society, setting it in historical perspective and examining its presuppositions and implications.

Call for Papers: ASIL Human Rights Interest Group Paper Workshop

The Human Rights Interest Group of the American Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its first paper workshop, to take place November 22, 2013, at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Here's the call:

Call for papers – Nov. 22 Human Rights Interest Group Paper Workshop

The ASIL Human Rights Interest Group is holding our first paper workshop on Friday, November 22, 2013, at UC Berkeley School of Law. The workshop will be a daylong event with an informal conference dinner in the evening.

If you have a work in progress that you would like to present, please send a short abstract to interest group co-chairs Robert Blitt (rblitt@utk.edu) and Saira Mohamed (smohamed@law.berkeley.edu) by Monday, September 9. Please also include a sentence about the stage you expect the paper will be in by November (e.g., reasonably complete draft, incomplete draft, etc.). Paper presenters will be asked to circulate their drafts to workshop attendees no later than November 8.

If you are interested in serving as a commentator for a paper, please send us an email by September 9. Commentators will be asked to prepare 5-8 minutes of comments on one of the papers.

Participants who are not ASIL members will be required to pay a $75 registration fee (includes workshop and meals).

We look forward to seeing many of you on November 22 at Berkeley Law.