Blokker: Constituent Instruments - Creating a Genie that May Escape from the Bottle?

Niels Blokker (Leiden Univ. - Law) has posted Constituent Instruments - Creating a Genie that May Escape from the Bottle? (in The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations, Jacob Katz Cogan, Ian Hurd & Ian Johnstone eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper presents an analysis of constituent instruments of international organizations. Following an overview of the different names of these instruments, their content and the parties to such instruments, the main part discusses the legal characteristics of constituent instruments and their interpretation. Particular emphasis is put on the creation of a new legal person and constitutional development through 'practice of the organization'.

New Issue: Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme

The latest issue of the Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme (No. 99, July 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Jean Waline & Jean-Paul Costa, In memoriam – Le Doyen Gérard Cohen-Jonathan (1936-2014)
• Pierre Lambert, Éditorial
• David Szymczak, Le préjudice important… Un critère inquiétant ? - Retour sur les premières années d’application de la nouvelle condition de recevabilité par la Cour de Strasbourg
• Martial Jeugue Doungue, La garantie des droits de la femme par le Protocole de Maputo comme condition du développement durable en Afrique
• Elisabeth Lambert-Abdelgawad, L’exécution des arrêts de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme par le Comité des ministres (2013) : bilan et perspectives d’avenir
• Institut de droit européen des droits de l'homme (I.D.E.D.H.), Christophe Maubernard, Hélène Surrel, Laure Milano, Romain Tinière, & Katarzyna Blay-Grabarczyk, Les juridictions de l’Union européenne et les droits fondamentaux - Chronique de jurisprudence (2013)
• Xavier Delgrange & Mathias El Berhoumi, Pour vivre ensemble, vivons dévisagés : le voile intégral sous le regard des juges constitutionnels belge et français (obs/s. Cons. const. fr., n° 2010-613 DC, 7 octobre 2010; Cour const. b., n° 145/2012, 6 décembre 2012)
• Maïté De Rue, Les peines de perpétuité réelle sont contraires à la dignité humaine : la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme consacre un droit à l’espoir pour tous les condamnés (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., arrêt Vinter e.a. c. Royaume-Uni, 9 juillet 2013)
• Damien Scalia, L’application du principe de légalité des peines aux crimes (les plus) graves : l’orthodoxie retrouvée (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., arrêt Maktouf et Damjanović c. Bosnie-Herzégovine, 18 juillet 2013; Cour eur. dr. h., arrêt Del Río Prada c. Espagne, 21 octobre 2013)
• Julie Tavernier, La loi interprétative devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme - Une illustration des conséquences des arrêts pilotes dans l’ordre juridique italien (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., arrêt M.C. et autres c. Italie, 3 septembre 2013)
• Anne Danis-Fâtome, Le droit des couples à un « engagement public » (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., arrêt Vallianatos et autres c. Grèce, 7 novembre 2013)
• Walter Jean-Baptiste, « L’ex-épouse devint, un jour, belle-maman et acquit le droit de le rester » (obs/s. Cass. fr., arrêt n° 1389, 4 décembre 2013)

van den Herik: Peripheral Hegemony in the Quest to Ensure Security Council Accountability for its Individualized UN Sanctions Regimes

Larissa van den Herik (Leiden Univ. - Law) has posted Peripheral Hegemony in the Quest to Ensure Security Council Accountability for its Individualized UN Sanctions Regimes (Journal of Conflict and Security Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

A demand for strengthened Security Council accountability has been put forward quite vigorously in the context of the individualized UN sanctions regimes. Over the years, a great variety of actors have voiced their concerns or outright condemnation of the accountability deficit that exists for UN sanctions regimes which target individuals. This accountability gap was effectively created when the heavily critiqued Security Council policy to impose comprehensive sanctions transmuted into designs of targeted sanctions regimes in the 1990s. The traditional procedures and accountability mechanisms that controlled the comprehensive sanctions against states were overall political and diplomatic in nature and not considered fit for the new sanctions paradigm which had the individual rather than the state as its core focus. The shift to targeted sanctions thus required fresh thinking about and new approaches to Security Council accountability. External actors, including states, and particularly their courts and parliaments, but also regional courts and parliaments, UN human rights bodies and special rapporteurs, scholars and civil society took the lead in exposing the accountability deficit and through concerted efforts they created the impetus for change. The protagonist in this story is beyond any doubt the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with its legendary Kadi-case. In light of the above panorama, this article examines issues of Security Council accountability in relation to individualized UN sanctions regimes. It particularly assesses and appraises the role of external forces in bringing about change within the UN system, with a focus on the ECJ and its Kadi case.

New Issue: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht

The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 74, no. 2, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• EMRK - GG - Symposium aus Anlass des Erscheinens der 2. Auflage des Konkordanzkommentars
• Heike Krieger, Positive Verpflichtungen unter der EMRK: Unentbehrliches Element einer gemeineuropäischen Grundrechtsdogmatik, leeres Versprechen oder Grenze der Justiziabilität?
• Hans-Joachim Cremer, 'Caroline II - Zwischenschritt auf dem Weg zu einem Kooperationsverhältnis Straßburg - Karlsruhe?: Eine kurze Stellungnahme
• Abhandlungen
• Sarah Schadendorf, Die EU und die menschenrechtlichen Verträge ihrer Mitgliedstaaten: Divergierende Schutzniveaus am Beispiel der CEDAW
• Armin von Bogdandy & Michael Ioannidis, Merkmale, Instrumente und Probleme am Beispiel der Rechtsstaatlichkeit und des neuen Rechtsstaatlichkeitsaufsichtsverfahrens
• Raffaela Kunz, Schweiz - EU: Wohin führt der bilaterale Weg nach der Annahme der Volksinitiative "Gegen Masseneinwanderung"?
• Christian Marxsen, The Crimea crisis: An international law perspective

Lazar: Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War

Seth Lazar (Australian National Univ. - Philosophy) has posted Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War (Journal of Practical Ethics, Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 3-48, 2013). Here's the abstract:

This paper advances a novel account of part of what justifies killing in war, grounded in the duties we owe to our loved ones to protect them from the severe harms with which war threatens them. It discusses the foundations of associative duties, then identifies the sorts of relationships, and the specific duties that they ground, which can be relevant to the ethics of war. It explains how those associative duties can justify killing in theory — in particular how they can justify overriding the rights to life of some of those who must be killed to win a war. It then shows how these duties can be operationalised in practice: first, showing how soldiers who fight on behalf of their community can act on reasons that apply to the members of that community; second, showing that the argument from associative duties does not prove too much — in particular, that it does not license the intentional killing of noncombatants in war.

Noll: Weaponising Neurotechnology: International Humanitarian Law and the Loss of Language

Gregor Noll (Lund Univ. - Law) has posted Weaponising Neurotechnology: International Humanitarian Law and the Loss of Language (London Review of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Are operators of weapon systems which draw on neuroscience, or their commanders capable of applying IHL? Only at the price of a decision review system that would be so fundamental as to eradicate the temporal advantages neuroweapons create in the first place. To be meaningful, this review system would need to take the metaphysical foundations of neuroweapons into account.

New Issue: Indian Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Indian Journal of International Law (Vol. 53, no. 4, October-December 2013) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Tafsir M. Ndiaye, Non-Appearance before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
• Elizabeth H. Aguiling-Pangalangan, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Divorces: The Philippine Dilemma and Its Consequences on the Rights of Spouses and their Children
• Manoj Kumar Sinha, African Charter on Human and People's Rights and Protection of Human Rights
• Gaius E. Okwezuzu, An Appraisal of United Nations Efforts in International Environmental Protection
• Shorter Articles and Current Development
• Vageshwari Deswal, Global Commitment towards Protection of Women against Acid Violence
• Pooja Bakshi, Engaging with Security and State from a Gendered Lens in the South Asian Context: Indian State's Construction of Internal Security in 2010-2011 and State Responses to It

New Issue: Nordic Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 32, no. 1, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Manfred Nowak, The Right of Victims of Human Rights Violations to a Remedy: The Need for a World Court of Human Rights
• Jasper Krommendijk, Finnish Exceptionalism at Play? The Effectiveness of the Recommendations of UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies in Finland
• Margot E. Salomon & Colin Arnott, Better Development Decision-making: Applying International Human Rights Law to Neoclassical Economics

Burke: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Military Contingents

Róisín Sarah Burke (National Univ. of Ireland, Galway - Irish Centre for Human Rights) has published Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Military Contingents: Moving Beyond the Current Status Quo and Responsibility under International Law (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2014). Here's the abstract:

In Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Military Contingents: Moving Beyond the Current Status Quo and Responsibility under International Law Róisín Burke explores the legal, conceptual and practical difficulties of dealing with sexual offences committed by military contingent personnel deployed on UN peace operations. Some of the inadequacies of current legal frameworks for dealing with such abuses are examined. The book addresses the difficulties with applying international humanitarian law, human rights law and/or international criminal law in this context, and the broader issue of state/international organization responsibility. The book proposes policy options to increase accountability both for perpetrators and for troop contributing nations otherwise indifferent to the crimes of their national contingents.

Gerhold: Die Friedensbedrohung gemäß Art. 39 UN-Charta im Libyen-Konflikt 2011

Cristan Gerhold has published Die Friedensbedrohung gemäß Art. 39 UN-Charta im Libyen-Konflikt 2011 (Peter Lang 2014). Here's the abstract:

Am 17. März 2011 erließ der UN-Sicherheitsrat Resolution 1973. In dieser Resolution ermächtigte er die UN-Mitgliedsstaaten dazu, militärisch im Libyen-Konflikt zu intervenieren. Nach Artikel 39 UN-Charta ist Voraussetzung für eine derartige Ermächtigung, dass eine Friedensbedrohung vorliegt. Aufgrund der Souveränität der Staaten ist eine solche ursprünglich nur angenommen worden, wenn zwischenstaatliche Konflikte vorlagen. Inwieweit und unter welchen Voraussetzungen mittlerweile auch innerstaatliche Konflikte als Friedensbedrohung angesehen werden können und ob der Konflikt 2011 in Libyen diese Kriterien erfüllt, ist Gegenstand dieser Untersuchung.

New Issue: Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (Vol. 32, no. 2, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• A.M. Van Kalmthout, CPT, OPCAT and the Dutch Caribbean
• F. Seatzu & A. Ubeda De Torres, The Social Charter of the OAS: A Step Forward in the Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in the Americas?
• E. Howard, Protecting Freedom to Manifest One’s Religion or Belief: Strasbourg or Luxembourg?
• A. Cahill-Ripley, Foregrounding Socio-Economic Rights in Transitional Justice: Realising Justice for Violations of Economic and Social Rights

Milanovic: The Lost Origins of Lex Specialis: Rethinking the Relationship between Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

Marko Milanovic (Univ. of Nottingham - Law) has posted The Lost Origins of Lex Specialis: Rethinking the Relationship between Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (in Theoretical Boundaries of Armed Conflict and Human Rights, Jens David Ohlin ed., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

In this paper I try to outline the current state of the debate on the relationship or interaction between international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law/law of armed conflict (IHL). The topic is well-worn and I will not recapitulate the basics. I will rather try to set out as clearly as possible the extant points of controversy, their driving factors and the logical order in which they should be addressed in order to advance the debate further. After providing a broad overview of the debate, I will look at one of its key concepts – the lex specialis principle. I will show that, despite the Latin veneer of antiquity, scholars have generally started using lex specialis to describe the relationship between IHL and IHRL only after the ICJ’s 1996 Nuclear Weapons advisory opinion.

Rather than being some kind of unassailable orthodoxy, lex specialis is a principle whose effects and utility need to be critically re-examined. Indeed, we are dealing not with one, but with three distinct versions of the principle, which rest on different rationales and produce different consequences. In that regard, there have been enthusiasts and sceptics even since the issue of the relationship between IHL and IHRL has arisen, and that is a good and natural thing. I do not propose to somehow fully reconcile these two camps, although I would submit that the differences between them are not as stark as is sometimes thought. But the main prerequisite for the debate to move forward is that we speak a common language and have conceptual clarity, and advancing this clarity is precisely this paper's primary purpose.

New Issue: World Politics

The latest issue of World Politics (Vol. 66, no. 3, July 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Research Articles
• Brian Burgoon, Immigration, Integration, and Support for Redistribution in Europe
• Jennifer Fitzgerald, David Leblang & Jessica C. Teets, Defying the Law of Gravity: The Political Economy of International Migration
• Leonardo Baccini & Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, Why do States Commit to International Labor Standards? Interdependent Ratification of Core ILO Conventions, 1948–2009
• David A. Steinberg & Krishan Malhotra, The Effect of Authoritarian Regime Type on Exchange Rate Policy
• Review Article
• Anthony M. Messina, Securitizing Immigration in the Age of Terror

New Issue: Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme

The latest issue of the Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme (No. 98, April 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Paul Martens, La nouvelle controverse de Valladolid
• Françoise Tulkens, Pour les 60 ans de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme : bilan, questions critiques et défis
• Edouard Delruelle, Quel universalisme des droits de l’homme ?
• Nathalie Droin, État des lieux de la répression du négationnisme en France et en droit comparé
• Mihaela Ailincai, Le Conseil de l’Europe et la lutte contre l’impunité
• Luis-Miguel Gutierrez Ramirez, Les réparations « transformatrices » Une nouvelle approche des réparations dans la justice transitionnelle
• Alain Ondoua, L’internationalisation des Constitutions en Afrique subsaharienne francophone et la protection des droits fondamentaux
• Valérie Junod, Lancer l’alerte : quoi de neuf depuis Guja ? (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., Bucur et Toma c. Roumanie, 8 janvier 2013)
• Yves-Marie Doublet, L’interdiction de campagnes politiques publicitaires à la télévision et à la radio n’est pas contraire à l’article 10 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme (obs/s. Cour eur. dr. h., Gde Ch., Animal Defenders International c. Royaume-Uni, 22 avril 2013)
• Emanuelle Bribosia, Gabrielle Caceres, & Isabelle Rorive, Les signes religieux au cœur d’un bras de fer entre Genève et Paris : la saga Singh (obs/s. Comité dr. h. Nations Unies, Shingara Mann Singh c. France, 26 septembre 2013)
• Patrick de Fontbressin, À propos de l’affaire Dieudonné : le principe du respect de la dignité humaine, ciment de l’ordre public européen (obs/s. Cons. Etat (fr.), réf., Ministre de l'intérieur c. Société Les Productions de la Plume et M. Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, n° 374508, 9 janvier 2014)

New Issue: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 47, no. 3, May 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Vijay M. Padmanabhan, Separation Anxiety? Rethinking the Role of Morality in International Human Rights Lawmaking
• Elena Baylis, Function and Dysfunction in Post-Conflict Justice Networks and Communities
• Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Undocumented Migrants and the Failures of Universal Individualism
• Charles Chernor Jalloh, The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: A Defense Perspective

Chouliaras: Bridging the Gap between Criminological Theory and Penal Theory within the International Criminal Justice System

Athanasios Chouliaras (Panteion Univ. of Political and Social Sciences) has posted Bridging the Gap between Criminological Theory and Penal Theory within the International Criminal Justice System (European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, Vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 249–79, 2014). Here's the abstract:

The main objective of this article is to put forward a critical analysis of the emergent international criminal justice system, epitomized by the creation of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). Such an endeavour is warranted on the assertion that international criminal justice scholarship has entered into a ‘reflective’ phase, the hallmark of which lies in the re-evaluation of the institutions of international criminal law in the light of the distinctive traits of international criminality derived from the combination of the criminological theory of state crime and the rising theory of international crime in the domain of international criminal law. In this context, the article summarizes the basic points and the epistemological premises of the criminological theory of state crime, while seeks to delimit the subject matter by alluding to the concept of core international crimes arising from the normative system of the ICC. The core aim of such a combined approach is not to downplay the existing differences between the criminological concept of state crime and the penal concept of core international crimes, but to highlight common points in order to draw tentative conclusions and make some preliminary suggestions from a criminal policy perspective.

New Issue: Global Responsibility to Protect

The latest issue of Global Responsibility to Protect (Vol. 6, no. 2, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Humanitarian Action and the Responsibility to Protect
• Alex J. Bellamy & Hugo Slim, Introduction
• John Holmes, Responsibility to Protect
• Edmund Cairns, R2P and Humanitarian Action
• Alex Leveringhaus, Liberal Interventionism, Humanitarian Ethics, and the Responsibility to Protect
• Stephen Hopgood, The Last Rites for Humanitarian Intervention
• Urban Reichhold & Andrea Binder, The Metrics and Ethics of Protecting Civilians
• Urvashi Aneja, India, R2P and Humanitarian Assistance
• Michiel Hofman, The Evolution from Integrated Missions to ‘Peace Keepers on Steroids’

Forlati: The International Court of Justice: An Arbitral Tribunal or a Judicial Body?

Serena Forlati has published The International Court of Justice: An Arbitral Tribunal or a Judicial Body? (Springer 2014). Here's the abstract:

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, and epitomizes the very notion of international judicial institution. Yet, it decides inter-State disputes only with the parties’ consent. This makes it more similar to international arbitral tribunals than other international courts. However, the permanent nature of the Court, the predetermination of procedural rules by the Statute and the Rules of Court, the public character of proceedings, the opportunity for third States to intervene in a case under Articles 62 and 63 of the Statute and the Court's role as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations mark a structural difference between the ICJ and non-institutionalized international arbitral tribunals. This book analyses if and to what extent these features have influenced the approach of the ICJ (and of the PCIJ before it) to its own judicial function and have led it to depart from the principles established in international arbitration.

Kruiper: Recursos Naturales, Guerras y Sanciones Internacionales

Thomas Kruiper has published Recursos Naturales, Guerras y Sanciones Internacionales (Tirant lo Blanch 2014). Here's the abstract:

En torno a la eficacia de las sanciones selectivas en el Congo, Angola y Liberia. ¿Son eficaces las sanciones selectivas? ¿Cómo pueden contribuir a resolver conflictos relacionados con lo que ya se conoce como "Ia maldición de los recursos naturales"? Con el propósito de contestar a estas cuestiones, Thomas Kruiper, investigador en la Universidades de Valencia y Autónoma de Madrid, se asoma a tres países que han vivido sangrientas guerras civiles en los que las Naciones Unidas impuso varios tipos de sanciones: liberia, Angola y la República Democrática del Congo. Llevándonos por el camino evolucionario de los regímenes de sanciones de la ONU desde 1945, Kruiper analiza hasta qué punto las sanciones selectivas pueden ser o no la panacea frente a las sanciones tradicionales, y cual puede llegar a ser su eficacia a la hora de disminuir los flujos financieros que generan las guerras y de poner fin a éstas. Todo ello en una obra amplia, crítica, innovadora y rigurosa, que resultará de gran interés tanto para los profesionales de Derecho Internacional y Relaciones Internacionales en general, como para los estudiantes de conflictos Africanos, convirtiéndose en una valiosa fuente bibliográfica.

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

The journal Trade, Law and Development has issued a call for submissions for its Winter 2014 issue (Vol. 6, no. 2). Here's the call:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Winter ‘14

The Board of Editors of Trade, Law and Development [TL&D] is pleased to invite original, unpublished manuscripts for publication in the Winter ‘14 Issue of the Journal (Vol. 6, No. 2) in the form of Articles, Notes, Comments, and Book Reviews. Manuscripts received by September 17, 2014 pertaining to any area within the purview of international economic law will be reviewed for publication in the Winter ‘14 issue.

TL&D aims to generate and sustain a democratic debate on emerging issues in international economic law, with a special focus on the developing world. Towards these ends, we have published works by noted scholars such as Prof. Petros Mavroidis, Prof. Mitsuo Matsuhita, Prof. Raj Bhala, Prof. Joel Trachtman, Gabrielle Marceau, Simon Lester, Prof. Bryan Mercurio, Prof. E.U. Petersmann and Prof. M. Sornarajah among others. TL&D also has the distinction of being ranked the best journal in India across all fields of law for three consecutive years and the 10th best trade journal worldwide by Washington and Lee University, School of Law [The Washington & Lee Rankings are considered to be the most comprehensive in this regard].

For more information, please go through the submission guidelines available here or write to us at editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com.

LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 17 SEPTEMBER, 2014

____________________

TRADE, LAW AND DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

NH-65, JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN

INDIA

E-mail: editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com

Website: www.tradelawdevelopment.com

New Issue: Rivista di Diritto Internazionale

The latest issue of the Rivista di Diritto Internazionale (Vol. 97, no. 1, 2014) is out. Contents include:

• Articoli
• G.L. Tosato, La riforma costituzionale sull’equilibrio di bilancio alla luce della normativa dell’Unione: l’interazione fra i livelli europeo e interno
• S. Vezzani, Sul diniego delle immunità dalla giurisdizione di cognizione ed esecutiva a titolo di contromisura
• L. Zoppo, Considerazioni sul concorso tra le giurisdizioni internazionali: i modelli di conflitto e le modalità di coordinamento
• L. Salvadego, La normativa internazionale sulla protezione dei testimoni nel contrasto alla criminalità organizzata transnazionale
• Note e Commenti
• A. Liguori, « L’Orientale » di Napoli. — Sul meccanismo di co-respondent previsto nel progetto di accordo per l’adesione dell’Unione Europea alla Convenzione europea dei diritti umani
• S. Migliorini, Aspetti internazionalprivatistici della legge francese « mariage pour tous »
• Panorama
• A. Bufalini, Sul fondamento giuridico delle misure adottate dal Consiglio di sicurezza con la ris. 2118 (2013) sulla situazione in Siria
• S. Forlati, Ancora sull’autonomia degli obblighi procedurali discendenti dall’art. 2 della Convenzione europea: la pronuncia della Grande Camera nel caso Janowiec c. Polonia

Bohoslavsky & Černič: Making Sovereign Financing and Human Rights Work

Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) & Jernej Letnar Černič (Graduate School of Government and European Studies, Slovenia) have published Making Sovereign Financing and Human Rights Work (Hart Publishing 2014). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Poor public resource management and the global financial crisis curbing fundamental fiscal space, millions thrown into poverty, and authoritarian regimes running successful criminal campaigns with the help of financial institutions are all phenomena that raise fundamental questions around finance and human rights. They also highlight the urgent need for more systematic and robust legal and economic thinking about sovereign finance and human rights.

This edited collection aims to contribute to filling this gap by introducing novel legal theories and analyses of the links between sovereign debt and human rights from a variety of perspectives. These chapters include studies of financial complicity, UN sanctions, ethics, transitional justice, criminal law, insolvency proceedings, millennium development goals, global financial architecture, corporations, extraterritoriality, state of necessity, sovereign wealth and hedge funds, project financing, state responsibility, international financial institutions, the right to development, UN initiatives, litigation, as well as case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America. These chapters are then theorised by the editors in an introductory chapter.

In July 2012 the UN Human Rights Council finally issued its own guidelines on foreign debt and human rights, yet much remains to be done to promote better understanding of the legal and economic implications of the interface between finance and human rights. This book will contribute to that understanding as well as help practitioners in their everyday work. The authors include world-renowned lawyers and economists, experienced practitioners and officials from international organisations.

Conference: Society of International Economic Law Fourth Biennial Global Conference

Later this week, on July 10-12, 2014, the Society of International Economic Law will hold its Fourth Biennial Global Conference, in Bern, at the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern. The conference theme is: "Regulatory Challenges in International Economic Law: Convergence or Divergence?" The program is here.

Third Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law

Today through Wednesday, July 7-9, 2014, the Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law will host its third event, at the University of Melbourne. The Forum is convened by Dino Kritsiotis (Univ. of Nottingham - Law), Anne Orford (Univ. of Melbourne - Law), and J.H.H. Weiler (European Univ. Institute), and its program is here.

Culot: Les sanctions dans le droit de l'Organisation Mondiale du Commerce

Henri Culot (Université Catholique de Louvain - Law) has published Les sanctions dans le droit de l'Organisation Mondiale du Commerce (Larcier 2014). Here's the abstract:

Le droit de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce détermine la manière de régler les litiges qui surviennent lorsqu’un État membre reproche à un autre de violer ses obligations. Il établit, en substance, un mécanisme juridictionnel exclusif et obligatoire, par lequel tout État membre peut obtenir que le différend soit tranché par un groupe spécial et, en appel, par l’Organe d’appel. Si une violation est constatée et que l’État défendeur ne se met pas en conformité avec ses obligations, l’État plaignant peut être autorisé à suspendre certaines de ses obligations à l’égard du défendeur. Cette suspension d’obligations est généralement considérée comme la sanction du droit de l’OMC.

Ce livre étudie ce système de sanctions, qui s’avère particulièrement élaboré et effectif au regard des standards du droit international.

Après avoir présenté et critiqué les fondements généralement utilisés par les juristes et par les économistes pour expliquer ce système, l’ouvrage propose une explication complémentaire inspirée de la théorie de l’institution élaborée par certains auteurs français du début du XXe siècle. Les sanctions sont alors le signe du développement d’un pouvoir propre de l’OMC, qui impose sa volonté à ses États membres. Le libre-échange encadré par des règles apparaît comme une forme d’intérêt collectif, en contraste avec l’idée courante d’ouverture des marchés dans l’intérêt individuel des États. Cette perspective implique aussi que les sanctions du droit de l’OMC ne se comprennent plus comme un rééquilibrage des prestations réciproques des États à la suite de l’inexécution de ses obligations par l’un d’eux, mais comme une contrainte en vue de faire respecter les règles communes par chacun, en définitive au bénéfice des acteurs du commerce international.