Peters: Humanisme, constitutionnalisme, universalisme : Etude de droit international et comparé

Anne Peters (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht) has published Humanisme, constitutionnalisme, universalisme : Etude de droit international et comparé (Pedone 2019). Here's the abstract:

Le droit international et sa doctrine sont en pleine crise existentielle. C’est à leur chevet que se porte ce recueil d’articles signés par Anne Peters. Il faut repenser le droit international, écrit-elle. Pour cela, cependant, il faut repartir des fondamentaux, c’est-à-dire de l’épistémologie. Ici, les qualités et l’érudition de l’auteure comme internationaliste, constitutionnaliste et comparatiste apportent un regard original et très riche qui revisite non seulement le droit international mais également la manière dont il se pense. En particulier, l’auteure se livre à une critique des critiques faites au modernisme. S’il y a de vrais apports de la part de la critique post-moderne, elle y voit également des limites, contradictions et exagérations. Il faudrait donc tenir compte de ce mouvement pour le dépasser pour un « post-postmodernisme » qui emprunte ce qu’il y a de bon dans les divers courants de doctrine(s). Deux des directions proposées sont une nouvelle approche du constitutionnalisme mondial et une reformulation du droit international fondée sur le respect des droits de la personne humaine.

Call for Applications: Methodological Challenges in International Legal Research

The Chinese Initiative on International Law has issued a call for applications for junior scholars for a workshop on "Methodological Challenges in International Legal Research," July 11, 2019, in The Hague. The call is here.

New Issue: European Journal of International Security

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Security (Vol. 4, no. 2, June 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Stefan Elbe & Gemma Buckland-Merrett, Entangled security: Science, co-production, and intra-active insecurity
• Alexandria Nylen & Charli Carpenter, Questions of life and death: (De)constructing human rights norms through US public opinion surveys
• Marc R. DeVore, Strategic satisficing: Civil-military relations and French intervention in Africa
• Miguel Alberto N. Gomez, Sound the alarm! Updating beliefs and degradative cyber operations
• Faye Donnelly & Brent J. Steele, Critical Security History: (De)securitisation, ontological security, and insecure memories
• Alexander Lanoszka, Disinformation in international politics

Seibert-Fohr & Weniger: Compliance Monitoring under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Anja Seibert-Fohr (Universität Heidelberg - Law) & Christine Weniger (Universität Heidelberg - Law) have posted Compliance Monitoring under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Here's the abstract:

Despite their unequivocal international commitments, many States continue to neglect their human rights obligations domestically and do not give effect to human rights at the local level. The international community, once primarily concerned with the codification of human rights standards, has therefore accelerated its efforts to monitor and induce compliance over the past decades. The Human Rights Committee as a fundamental pillar of the UN Human Rights System has become a pioneer in this respect. As the main treaty body charged with monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights it was the first institution to introduce a follow-up procedure to its individual complaint mechanism. It subsequently extended this mechanism to the state reporting procedure and developed a grading scheme to assess the national measures taken in response to its recommendations. This article locates the follow-up procedures within the UN system, identifies the relevant stakeholders and explains the strategies to overcome resistance. In view of the Committee’s almost three decades long follow-up experience it is time now to take stock and evaluate this procedure in order to determine whether it has contributed to the compliance by States with their international human rights commitments. Based on the experience gained in the course of the follow-up proceedings and with compliance, more generally, we offer a critical evaluation of compliance monitoring and a perspective for future developments.

New Issue: Nordic Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 37, no. 1, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Jan Grue, Inclusive Marginalisation? A Critical Analysis of the Concept of Disability, Its Framings and Their Implications in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Anne Vestergaard, Frederik Schade & Michael Etter, How to Study Public Negotiation of Responsibilities: A Communicative Approach to Business and Human Rights Research
• Eduard Jordaan, Elephants in the Room: Botswana and the United Nations Universal Period Review
• Leyla-Denisa Obreja, Human Rights Law and Intimate Partner Violence: Towards an Intersectional Development of Due Diligence Obligations

New Issue: Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy

The latest issue of the Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy (Vol. 14, no. 1, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Raj Bhala & Nathan Deuckjoo (D.J.) Kim, The WTO’s Under-Capacity to Deal with Global Over-Capacity
• Jaemin Lee, Trade Agreements’ New Frontier—Regulation of State-Owned Enterprises and Outstanding Systemic Challenges
• Sofía Boza, Rodrigo Polanco & Macarena Espinoza, Nutritional Regulation and International Trade in APEC Economies: The New Chilean Food Labeling Law
• Alice Maxwell, Plainly Justifiable? The World Trade Organization’s Ruling on the Validity of Australia’s “Plain Packaging” Under Article 20 of the TRIPS Agreement
• Gaegoung Kim & Minjung Kim, Regulatory Development and Challenges for the Regionalization Provisions in the WTO SPS Agreement and Regional Trade Agreements
• Hochang Roh & Jongho Kim, A Comparative Study on the Protection of Citizens’ Right to Health Focus on the Public Health Policy of Korea and the USA
• Tsung-Ling Lee, Two Minutes to Midnight—What International Law Can Do about Genome Editing
• Lawrence O. Gostin, Global Health Security in an Era of Explosive Pandemic Potential

Duxbury & Tan: Can ASEAN Take Human Rights Seriously?

Alison Duxbury (Univ. of Melbourne - Law) & Tan Hsien-Li (National Univ. of Singapore - Law) have published Can ASEAN Take Human Rights Seriously? (Cambridge Univ. Press 2019). Here's the abstract:

The adoption of the ASEAN Charter in 2007 represented a watershed moment in the organisation's history - for the first time the member states explicitly included principles of human rights and democracy in a binding regional agreement. Since then, developments in the region have included the creation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights in 2009 and the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012. Despite these advances, many commentators ask whether ASEAN can take human rights seriously. The authors explore this question by comprehensively examining the new ASEAN human rights mechanisms in the context of existing national and international human rights institutions. This book places these regional mechanisms and commitments to human rights within the framework of the political and legal development of ASEAN and its member states and considers the way in which ASEAN could strengthen its new institutions to better promote and protect human rights.

Hathway, Strauch, Walton, & Weinberg: What is a War Crime?

Oona A. Hathaway (Yale Univ. - Law), Paul Strauch (Yale Univ. - Law), Beatrice Walton (International Court of Justice), & Zoe Weinberg (Yale Univ. - Law) have posted What is a War Crime? (Yale Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

What is a war crime? Do all violations of the international law of war qualify as war crimes? And are all war crimes violations of the law of war? Academics, international criminal tribunals, and domestic courts have struggled to adopt consistent and comprehensive answers to these questions. To date, the most common approach has been to specify an act as a war crime if it violates the law of war and has been “criminalized.” Although this approach has the appeal of simplicity, it lacks a deep underlying justification and fails to adequately guide criminal tribunals, courts, and commissions. This Article instead identifies the core features of war crimes untethered from prior criminalization. We show that, despite differences in war crimes across jurisdictions and statutes, agreement exists as to the core features of war crimes. A war crime has two key elements: (1) a breach of international humanitarian law (IHL) that is (2) “serious.” Several practical implications follow from defining war crimes in this way: First, it provides a clearer standard for domestic courts holding individuals accountable for war crimes. Second, it clarifies the reach of international legal obligations requiring States to investigate violations of the law of war. Third, it provides clearer guidance for determining whether charges lodged in military commissions are in accordance with the “law of nations,” as required by Article I of the U.S. Constitution. And fourth, it helps to clarify the extent to which combatants can be subject to war crimes prosecutions.

New Issue: Melbourne Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Melbourne Journal of International Law (Vol. 19, no. 2, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Dorothea Anthony, Resolving UN Torts in US Courts: Georges v United Nations
• Eliana Cusato, From Ecocide to Voluntary Remediation Projects: Legal Responses to ‘Environmental Warfare’ in Vietnam and the Spectre of Colonialism
• Philipp Eschenhagen & Max Jürgens, Protective Jurisdiction in the Contiguous Zone and the Right of Hot Pursuit: Rethinking Coastal States’ Jurisdictional Rights
• Juliette McIntyre, Put on Notice: The Role of the Dispute Requirement in Assessing Jurisdiction and Admissibility before the International Court
• Rosemary Mwanza, Enhancing Accountability for Environmental Damage under International Law: Ecocide as a Legal Fulfilment of Ecological Integrity
• Nanda Oudejans, Conny Rijken & Annick Pijnenburg, Protecting the EU External Borders and the Prohibition of Refoulement
• Thea Philip, Climate Change Displacement and Migration: An Analysis of the Current International Legal Regime’s Deficiency, Proposed Solutions and a Way Forward for Australia
• Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh & Tess Van Geelen, Protection of Climate Displaced Persons under International Law: A Case Study from Mataso Island, Vanuatu
• Nathan Yaffe, Indigenous Consent: A Self-Determination Perspective
• Antony Anghie, Race, Self-Determination and Australian Empire
• Richard Garnett, Increasing Co-Operation between Australia and China in the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments

Voulgaris: Allocating International Responsibility Between Member States and International Organisations

Nikolaos Voulgaris (European Law and Governance School; European Public Law Organization) has published Allocating International Responsibility Between Member States and International Organisations (Hart Publishing 2019). Here's the abstract:

The ever-growing interaction between member States and international organisations results, all too often, in situations of non-conformity with international law (eg peacekeeping operations, international economic adjustment programmes, counter-terrorism sanctions). Seven years after the finalisation of the International Law Commission's Articles on the Responsibility of International Organisations (ARIO), international law on the allocation of international responsibility between these actors still remains unsettled. The confusion around the nature and normative calibre of the relevant rules, the paucity of relevant international practice supporting them and the lack of a clear and principled framework for their elaboration impairs their application and restricts their ability to act as effective regulatory formulas.

This study aims to offer doctrinal clarity in this area of law and purports to serve as a point of reference for all those with a vested interest in the topic. For the first time since the publication of the ARIO, all international responsibility issues dealing with interactions between member States and international organisations are put together in one book under a common approach. Structured around a systematisation of the interactions between these actors, the study provides an analytical framework for the regulation of indirect responsibility scenarios. Based on the ideas of the intellectual fathers of international law, such as Scelle's 'dédoublement fonctionnel' theory and Ago's 'derivative responsibility' model, the book employs old ideas to add original argumentation to a topic that has been dealt with extensively by recent commentators.

Chaumette & Haupais: Religion et droit international

Anne-Laure Chaumette (Université Paris Nanterre - Law) & Nicolas Haupais (Université d'Orléans - Law) have published Religion et droit international (Pedone 2019). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

A une époque où la question religieuse occupe une place croissante au sein du débat public, cet ouvrage s’attache à déterminer l’influence du fait religieux dans le champ du droit international. Issu d’un colloque organisé sous l’égide du Centre de Recherche Juridique Pothier de l’Université d’Orléans et du Centre de droit international de Nanterre, il vient prolonger les réflexions menées en 2014 lors d’une précédente manifestation portant sur les rapports entre le politique et le religieux dans la construction et l’évolution de l’État. Il entend vérifier si et dans quelle mesure la religion a pu être et est encore un facteur structurant du droit international (et des relations internationales). La religion a-t-elle encore, dans le champ du droit international, un rôle dans son élaboration, la formation des normes, la manière dont il est appréhendé ? La religion exerce-t-elle une quelconque influence dans la formation de l’État ? dans le règlement pacifique des différends ou le maintien de la paix ? Dans quelle mesure, les entités confessionnelles internationales et les confréries religieuses sont-elles des acteurs influents des relations internationales ? Telles sont quelques-unes des questions auxquelles les contributions, ici réunies, s’essayent de répondre.

Dykes: Researching International Tax Law

Christopher C. Dykes (Univ. of Houston - Law) has posted Researching International Tax Law (GlobaLex, April 2019)

Kassoti & Vatsov: A Missed Opportunity? Unilateral Declarations by the European Union and the European Court of Justice’s Venezuelan Fisheries Judgment

Eva Kassoti (T.M.C. Asser Instituut) & Mihail Vatsov (Univ. of Edinburgh) have posted A Missed Opportunity? Unilateral Declarations by the European Union and the European Court of Justice’s Venezuelan Fisheries Judgment (International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The EU has entered into many binding undertakings (international agreements) with third States on access to fisheries resources. In the Venezuelan Fisheries case, the ECJ was, for the first time, confronted with an EU unilateral declaration granting fishing opportunities in EU waters to Venezuela-flagged vessels. We argue, contrary to ECJ’s conclusion, that the declaration is a binding unilateral act and not an international agreement. This case is important for the burgeoning debate on the ECJ’s approach to international law. It represents a missed opportunity for the ECJ to clarify its previous case-law on the broad concept of ‘international agreement’ and align it with relevant international jurisprudence and doctrine. More fundamentally, it is a missed opportunity for the ECJ to truly develop and shape international law practice and doctrine on unilateral acts by international organisations – an omission that does not comport with the EU’s self-projection as an internationally engaged polity.

New Issue: International Community Law Review

The latest issue of the International Community Law Review (Vol. 21, no. 2, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Gloria Fernández Arribas, The Narrow Protection of Cultural Properties and Historical Monuments in The Rome Statute: Filling the Gap
• Zachary Allen Roy Phillips, Interpretation of the Meaning of ‘Direct Effect’ in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre
• Babatunde Fagbayibo, Some Thoughts on Centring Pan-African Epistemic in the Teaching of Public International Law in African Universities
• Sumith Suresh Bhat, A Study of the Issue of ‘Relevant Rules’ of International Law for the Purposes of Interpretation of Treaties under Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 88, no. 2, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, Tatu Hyttinen & Pirjo Kleemola-Juntunenc, Life on the Border: Dealing with Territorial Violations of the Demilitarised and Neutralised Zone of the Åland Islands
• William Joseph Simonsick, Is Provisional Application on the Rise in International Investment Agreements? The European Union’s Recent Treaty Practice and the Curious Case of Von Pezold
• Meltem Ineli-Ciger, Remedies Available against Asylum Decisions and Deportation Orders in Turkey: An Assessment in View of European Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
• Jie (Jeanne) Huang, Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in China: Promising Developments, Prospective Challenges and Proposed Solutions
• Nathanael Tilahun Ali, States’ Varied Compliance with International Anti-money Laundering Standards for Legal Professionals

Saab: Narratives of Hunger in International Law: Feeding the World in Times of Climate Change

Anne Saab (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies) has published Narratives of Hunger in International Law: Feeding the World in Times of Climate Change (Cambridge Univ. Press 2019). Here's the abstract:

This book explores the role that the language of international law plays in constructing understandings - or narratives - of hunger in the context of climate change. The story is told through a specific case study of genetically engineered seeds purportedly made to be 'climate-ready'. Two narratives of hunger run through the storyline: the prevailing neoliberal narrative that focuses on increasing food production and relying on technological innovations and private sector engagement, and the oppositional and aspirational food sovereignty narrative that focuses on improving access to and distribution of food and rejects technological innovations and private sector engagement as the best solutions. This book argues that the way in which voices in the neoliberal narrative use international law reinforces fundamental assumptions about hunger and climate change, and the way in which voices in the food sovereignty narrative use international law fails to question and challenge these assumptions.

Contesse: Case of Barrios Altos and La Cantuta v. Peru

Jorge Contesse (Rutgers Univ. - Law) has posted Case of Barrios Altos and La Cantuta v. Peru (American Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

On May 30, 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered Peru to review the presidential pardon granted to former president and dictator Alberto Fujimori, who had been convicted and imprisoned for his role in serious human rights violations. The Peruvian Supreme Court obliged and, after examining the merits of the presidential pardon through a special procedure set up to assess the pardon’s conformity with international human rights law, invalidated the pardon, effectively reinstating Fujimori’s imprisonment for crimes against humanity. The Inter-American Court’s form of engagement with Peruvian law—which I refer to as “constrained deference”—is novel and could be a sound method of interaction with states in future cases.

Call for Papers: Prison Abolition, Human Rights, and Penal Reform: From the Local to the Global

The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law has issued a call for papers for a conference on "Prison Abolition, Human Rights, and Penal Reform: From the Local to the Global," to be held September 26-28, 2019. The call is here.

King, Walker, & Gurulé: The Palgrave Handbook of Criminal and Terrorism Financing Law

Colin King (Univ. of Sussex - Law), Clive Walker (Univ. of Leeds - Law), & Jimmy Gurulé (Univ. of Notre Dame - Law) have published The Palgrave Handbook of Criminal and Terrorism Financing Law (Palgrave Macmillan 2019). Here's the abstract:

The Palgrave Handbook of Criminal and Terrorism Financing Law focuses on how criminal and terrorist assets pose significant and unrelenting threats to the integrity, security, and stability of contemporary societies. In response to the funds generated by or for organised crime and transnational terrorism, strategies have been elaborated at national, regional, and international levels for laws, organisations and procedures, and economic systems. Reflecting on these strands, this handbook brings together leading experts from different jurisdictions across Europe, America, Asia, and Africa and from different disciplines, including law, criminology, political science, international studies, and business. The authors examine the institutional and legal responses, set within the context of both policy and practice, with a view to critiquing these actions on the grounds of effective delivery and compliance with legality and rights.

Call for Papers: Mining Regulation & Disputes

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on "Mining Regulation & Disputes," to be held March 27, 2020, at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law. The call is here.

Call for Submissions: Palestine Yearbook of International Law

The Palestine Yearbook of International Law has issued a call for submissions for its next volume. Here's the call:

THE PALESTINE YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Call for Papers (Volume XXII, 2019)

The Palestine Yearbook of International Law is now inviting submissions of scholarly articles for publication for its next volume, XXII (2019). This is a general call for papers.

As such, the editors encourage the submission of scholarly pieces of relevance to public international law, including but not necessarily in relation to Palestine and the Palestinian people.

The Yearbook is published in the English language, is edited at Birzeit University’s Institute of Law (Birzeit, Palestine), and published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (The Hague, The Netherlands). The Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook is Mr. Ardi Imseis.

The Yearbook is now accepting abstracts for review. Abstracts should include a working title, with a preliminary outline of the author’s research and arguments, along with a current CV.

Important Dates and Contact Information

Prospective authors should express interest by e-mailing an abstract (of under 750 words) of the suggested paper as indicated above, along with a CV by June 15, 2019 (extended from April 15, 2019). If full manuscripts are available by that date, prospective authors should feel free to send those instead by that date.

All submissions should be made to:

• Ms. Reem Al-Botmeh: rbotmeh@birzeit.edu and iol.pyil@birzeit.edu; and
• Mr. Ata Hindi: atahindi@yahoo.com.

For more on the Palestine Yearbook of International Law, see here.

Jalloh, Clarke, & Nmehielle: The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context: Development and Challenges

Charles C. Jalloh (Florida International Univ. - Law), Kamari M. Clarke (Univ. of California, Los Angeles - Anthropology), & Vincent O. Nmehielle (African Development Bank) have published The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context: Development and Challenges (Cambridge Univ. Press 2019). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

The treaty creating the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights, if and when it comes into force, contains innovative elements that have potentially significant implications for current substantive and procedural approaches to regional and international dispute settlements. Bringing together leading authorities in international criminal law, human rights and transitional justice, this volume provides the first comprehensive analysis of the 'Malabo Protocol' while situating it within the wider fields of international law and international relations. The book, edited by Professors Jalloh, Clarke and Nmehielle, offers scholarly, empirical, critically engaged and practical analyses of some of its most challenging provisions.

New Issue: Nordic Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Nordic Journal of International Law (Vol. 88, no. 1, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: An Anatomy of Autonomy
• Jan Klabbers & Panos Koutrakos, Introduction: An Anatomy of Autonomy
• Niamh Nic Shuibhne, What is the Autonomy of EU Law, and Why Does that Matter?
• Panos Koutrakos, The Autonomy of EU Law and International Investment Arbitration
• Bruno De Witte, The Relative Autonomy of the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Regime
• Nigel D. White, Peacekeeping Doctrine: An Autonomous Legal Order?
• J. Klabbers, Interminable Disagreement: Reflections on the Autonomy of International Organisations

Call for Papers: Military Justice and Armed Conflict: Old Problems, New Challenges

The Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories have issued a call for papers the 14th Annual Minerva/ICRC Conference on International Humanitarian Law. The theme is: "Military Justice and Armed Conflict: Old Problems, New Challenges." The call is here.

New Issue: International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Vol. 34, no. 2, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Tullio Treves, ‘Due Regard’ Obligations under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: The Laying of Cables and Activities in the Area
• Valentin J. Schatz, Alexander Proelss & Nengye Liu, The 2018 Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean: A Critical Analysis
• Tullio Scovazzi, Sunken Spanish Ships before American Courts
• Solène Guggisberg, The EU’s Regulation on the Sustainable Management of External Fishing Fleets: International and European Law Perspectives
• Fayokemi Ayodeji Olorundami, Should the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Be Classified as Islands or Rocks? An Examination in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration Award
• Rozemarijn Roland Holst, The Netherlands: The 2018 Agreement between The Ocean Cleanup and the Netherlands