New Issue: Review of International Organizations

The latest issue of the Review of International Organizations (Vol. 14, no. 1, March 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Paul Novosad & Eric Werker, Who runs the international system? Nationality and leadership in the United Nations Secretariat
• Stephanie J. Rickard & Teri L. Caraway, International demands for austerity: Examining the impact of the IMF on the public sector
• Lukas Haffert, War mobilization or war destruction? The unequal rise of progressive taxation revisited
• Christoph Knill, Louisa Bayerlein, Jan Enkler, & Stephan Grohs, Bureaucratic influence and administrative styles in international organizations
• Miles Kellerman, The proliferation of multilateral development banks
• Benjamin A. T. Graham & Jacob R. Tucker, The international political economy data resource

New Issue: Global Constitutionalism

The latest issue of Global Constitutionalism (Vol. 8, no. 1, March 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: The Ideologies of Global Constitutionalism
• Adam Shinar, The ideologies of global constitutionalism
• Mark Tushnet, The globalisation of constitutional law as a weakly neo-liberal project
• David E Landau, Rosalind Dixon & Yaniv Roznai, From an unconstitutional constitutional amendment to an unconstitutional constitution? Lessons from Honduras
• Marco Goldoni, Introduction to the material study of global constitutional law
• Gila Stopler, Semi-liberal constitutionalism
• Articles
• Tamas Gyorfi, The legitimacy of the European human rights regime – a view from the United Kingdom
• Hakeem O Yusuf & Tanzil Chowdhury, The persistence of colonial constitutionalism in British Overseas Territories

Simmons & Creamer: Do Self-Reporting Regimes Matter? Evidence From the Convention Against Torture

Beth A. Simmons (Univ. of Pennsylvania) & Cosette D. Creamer (Univ. of Minnesota - Political Science) have posted Do Self-Reporting Regimes Matter? Evidence From the Convention Against Torture (International Studies Quarterly, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

International regulatory agreements depend largely on self-reporting for implementation, yet we know almost nothing about whether or how such mechanisms work. We theorize that self-reporting processes provide information for domestic constituencies, with the potential to create pressure for better compliance. Using original data on state reports submitted to the Committee Against Torture, we demonstrate the influence of this process on the pervasiveness of torture and inhumane treatment. We illustrate the power of self-reporting regimes to mobilize domestic politics through evidence of civil society participation in shadow reporting, media attention, and legislative activity around anti-torture law and practice. This is the first study to evaluate systematically the effects of self-reporting in the context of a treaty regime on human rights outcomes. Since many international agreements rely predominantly on self-reporting, the results have broad significance for compliance with international regulatory regimes globally.

New Issue: Ethics & International Affairs

The latest issue of Ethics & International Affairs (Vol. 33, no. 1, Spring 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Essay
• Sean Kanuck, Humor, Ethics, and Dignity: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
• Roundtable: Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests
• Gareth Evans, Introduction
• Nigel Biggar, A Christian View of Humanitarian Intervention
• Rafael Biermann, Secessionist Conflict: A Happy Marriage between Norms and Interests?
• Megan Bradley, Unresolved and Unresolvable? Tensions in the Refugee Regime
• Stefan Oeter, Conflicting Norms, Values, and Interests: A Perspective from Legal Academia
• Hugo Slim, Humanitarian Diplomacy: The ICRC's Neutral and Impartial Advocacy in Armed Conflicts
• Response
• Edward C. Luck, Could a United Nations Code of Conduct Help Curb Atrocities? A Response to Bolarinwa Adediran
• Review Essay
• Christian Schemmel, The Many Evils of Inequality: An Examination of T. M. Scanlon's Pluralist Account

AJIL Unbound Symposium: Efrony & Shany's "A Rule Book on the Shelf? Tallinn Manual 2.0 on Cyberoperations and Subsequent State Practice"

AJIL Unbound has posted a symposium on Dan Efrony and Yuval Shany's article “A Rule Book on the Shelf? Tallinn Manual 2.0 on Cyberoperations and Subsequent State Practice.” The symposium includes an introduction by Fleur Johns and contributions by Nicholas Tsagourias, Lianne J.M. Boer, Kubo Mačák, and Ido Kilovaty.

New Issue: Revista de Direito Internacional

The latest issue of Revista de Direito Internacional (Vol. 16, no. 1, 2019) is out. This is a special issue on "Arbitragem Internacional/International Arbitration." The table of contents is here.

Brölmann: Capturing the Juridical Will of International Organisations

Catherine M. Brölmann (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Capturing the Juridical Will of International Organisations (in International Organizations and Non-State Actors in the Formation of Customary International Law, Sufyan Droubi & Jean d’Aspremont eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The 2018 ILC Conclusions on identification of customary international law bring to light that contemporary international law accords a modest role to international organisations as independent actors in the formation of customary international law. This could seem remarkable, given that international organisations participate ever more fully in international legal affairs. The present chapter argues that one explanatory factor is the hesitation in international law to ascribe to international organisations a ‘juridical Will’. The term is used here as a shorthand for the various subjective, ‘intentional states’ - such as intention, opinion, acquiescence - that systems of law project onto legal participants in order to operationalise legal agency. International law seems to have no problem accomodating States in this respect, but shows signs of hesitation with regard to international organisations. This in turn can be linked to the organisation’s functional, mechanistic identity in international law, which has -in all its political and theoretical facets- persisted even after organisations in the course of the 20th century came to appear as prominent independent legal actors. It is one reason why the ascertainment of an organisation’s opinio juris, or of an organisation’s distinct Will in the attribution of practice, may pose a challenge. The chapter proposes that in light of their current role in global affairs, international organisations should assume a role in the formation of custom in sofar as substantively relevant for their work. More generally, it is time that organisations come of age as international legal persons and be fully susceptible to the projection of a juridical Will.

New Issue: Journal of Conflict Resolution

The latest issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution (Vol. 63, no. 4, April 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Dov H. Levin, A Vote for Freedom? The Effects of Partisan Electoral Interventions on Regime Type
• Abigail Post, Flying to Fail: Costly Signals and Air Power in Crisis Bargaining
• David C. Kang, Dat X. Nguyen, Ronan Tse-min Fu, & Meredith Shaw, War, Rebellion, and Intervention under Hierarchy: Vietnam–China Relations, 1365 to 1841
• Brandon K. Yoder, Hedging for Better Bets: Power Shifts, Credible Signals, and Preventive Conflict
• Andrew Bertoli, Allan Dafoe, & Robert F. Trager, Is There a War Party? Party Change, the Left–Right Divide, and International Conflict
• Kerstin Fisk, Jennifer L. Merolla, & Jennifer M. Ramos, Emotions, Terrorist Threat, and Drones: Anger Drives Support for Drone Strikes
• Sharan Grewal & Yasser Kureshi, How to Sell a Coup: Elections as Coup Legitimation
• Rory Truex, Focal Points, Dissident Calendars, and Preemptive Repression
• Juan Fernando Tellez, Worlds Apart: Conflict Exposure and Preferences for Peace
• Krista Wiegand & Eric Keels, Oil Wealth, Winning Coalitions, and Duration of Civil Wars

Conference: La fabrique de l'universalisme américain : l'Amérique Latine et la construction régionale du droit international

This Thursday, March 7, 2019, a conference will be held in Paris on "La fabrique de l'universalisme américain : l'Amérique Latine et la construction régionale du droit international / La fabricación del universalismo americano: América Latina y la construcción regional del derecho internacional / The quest for an American universalism: Latin America and the regional construction of international law." The program is here. Here's the idea:

L'histoire du droit international a connu, grâce notamment à l'impulsion donnée par Martti Koskenniemi, un développement important au cours des dernières décennies. Ce colloque s'inscrit dans ce renouveau de l'histoire du droit international et propose d'introduire le point de vue latino-américain afin d'enrichir une vision qui demeure largement centrée sur l'étude de la production de pratiques et de discours juridiques en Europe.

Conference: 2019 ESIL Research Forum

The European Society of International Law's 2019 Research Forum will take place April 4-5, 2019, at the Institute for International Law and European Law, Faculty of Law, University of Göttingen. The theme is: "The Rule of Law in International and Domestic Contexts: Synergies and Challenges." The program is here. On Wednesday, April 3, seven ESIL Interest Groups will convene side events on the occasion of the Research Forum. Those events and their programs can be found here.

Chaisse: China's International Investment Strategy: Bilateral, Regional, and Global Law and Policy

Julien Chaisse (Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong - Law) has published China's International Investment Strategy: Bilateral, Regional, and Global Law and Policy (Oxford Univ. Press 2019). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Since China adopted its 'open door' policy in 1978, which altered its development strategy from self-sufficiency to active participation in the world market, its goal has remained unchanged: to assist the readjustment of China's economy, to coordinate its modernization programs, and to improve its quality of life. With the 1997 launch of the 'Going Global' policy, an outward focus regarding foreign investment was added, to circumvent trade barriers and improve the competitiveness of Chinese firms. In order to accommodate inward and outward investment, China's participation in the international investment regime has underpinned its efforts to join multilateral investment-related legal instruments and conclude international investment agreements.

This collection, compiled by award-winning scholar Professor Julien Chaisse, explores the three distinct tracks of China's investment policy and strategy: bilateral agreements including those with the US and the EU; regional agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific; and global initiatives, spear-headed by China's presidency of the G20 and its 'Belt and Road initiative'. The book's overarching topic is whether these three tracks compete with each other, or whether they complement one another - a question of profound importance for the country's political and economic future and world investment governance.

New Issue: Human Rights Law Review

The latest issue of the Human Rights Law Review (Vol. 19, no. 1, February 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Ciara M Smyth, Towards a Complete Prohibition on the Immigration Detention of Children
• Yorck Diergarten, Indigenous or Out of Scope? Large-scale Land Acquisitions in Developing Countries, International Human Rights Law and the Current Deficiencies in Land Rights Protection
• Danwood M Chirwa & Chipo I Rushwaya, Guarding the Guardians: A Critical Appraisal of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa
• Alice Donald & Anne-Katrin Speck, The European Court of Human Rights’ Remedial Practice and its Impact on the Execution of Judgments
• Philippe Yves Kuhn, Reforming the Approach to Racial and Religious Hate Speech Under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
• Sofia Galani, Terrorist Hostage-taking and Human Rights: Protecting Victims of Terrorism under the European Convention on Human Rights
• Dominic McGoldrick, Challenging the Constitutionality of Restrictions on Same-Sex Sexual Relations: Lessons from India

New Issue: International Journal of Transitional Justice

The latest issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Vol. 13, no. 1, March 2019) is out. Contents include:

• Special Section: Advancing Transitional Justice through Technologies
• Special Section Articles
• Oriana Bernasconi, Elizabeth Lira, & Marcela Ruiz, Political Technologies of Memory: Uses and Appropriations of Artefacts that Register and Denounce State Violence
• Michelle E Anderson, Community-Based Transitional Justice Via the Creation and Consumption of Digitalized Storytelling Archives: A Case Study of Belfast’s Prisons Memory Archive
• Tamy Guberek, Velia Muralles, & Hannah Alpert-Abrams, ‘Irreversible’: The Role of Digitization to Repurpose State Records of Repression
• Daniela Gavshon & Erol Gorur, Information Overload: How Technology Can Help Convert Raw Data into Rich Information for Transitional Justice Processes
• Notes from the Field
• Jean-Marie Chenou, Lina P Chaparro-Martínez, & Ana María Mora Rubio, Broadening Conceptualizations of Transitional Justice through Using Technology: ICTs in the Context of Justicia y Paz in Colombia
• Review Essay
• Patrick Vinck, Transitional Justice in the Age of Social Media
• General Issue Articles
• Matilda Keynes, History Education for Transitional Justice? Challenges, Limitations and Possibilities for Settler Colonial Australia
• Kevin Hearty, Moral Emotions and the Politics of Blame and Credit during Transitional Justice Moments
• Karin Dyrstad & Helga Malmin Binningsbø, Between Punishment and Impunity: Public Support for Reactions against Perpetrators in Guatemala, Nepal and Northern Ireland
• Review Essay
• Cécile Aptel & Patrick Nagler, Children and Transitional Justice

Berman: Accordion Governance

Ayelet Berman (National Univ. of Singapore - Centre for International Law) has posted Accordion Governance (Vienna Journal of International Constitutional Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Since the 1990s, western, developed countries have moved away from rule-making and standard-setting in multilateral intergovernmental organizations and have increasingly collaborated on those matters in clubs of developed countries, such as trans-governmental regulatory networks. Although clubs often generate rules or standards that affect developing countries, the latter have not had a voice in rule-making, resulting in a ‘participation gap’, for which clubs are being criticized. Against this background, I analyse a recent development that has largely gone unnoticed: Clubs have been integrating previously excluded developing countries. From small and exclusive clubs, they are growing into larger and more inclusive clubs. I call this trajectory of the past seventy years—the establishment of intergovernmental organizations, their increasing displacement in favour of clubs, and the recent reversion towards larger clubs—accordion governance. Like an accordion that expands or contracts as needed, so too have governance models and rule-making adjusted to changing conditions and preferences by becoming more or less inclusive.

Focusing on club expansion, I address three questions:

(1) How has participation—and the rules governing it—evolved over time?

(2) Why are governments voluntarily sharing rule-making authority with new participants?

(3) Can these reforms close the participation gap in international rule-making?

Call for Papers: Hope in International Law and Human Rights

The International Law and Human Rights Unit of the School of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool has issued a call for papers for its Third Postgraduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights, to take place June 17-18, 2019. The theme is: "Hope in International Law and Human Rights." The call is here.

Germann: Protocole 14: La lettre de cachet de la CEDH - L'Europe des juges en droits de l'Homme unie dans la diversité?

Christophe Germann (Webster Univ., Geneva - Law) has published Protocole 14: La lettre de cachet de la CEDH - L'Europe des juges en droits de l'Homme unie dans la diversité? (Nomos, 1/19). Here is the abstract:

Since the entry into force of Protocol 14 ECHR in 2010, the European Court of Human Rights has begun to lose a crucial element of its legitimacy. Protocol 14 allows a single judge to screen cases with an unrestricted margin of appreciation, formally in order to discharge the Court and, in case of abuse, to deny access to justice. Concluding the inadmissibility of a politically disturbing affair is the most effective way of ignoring it. Of more than 95 % of the applications declared inadmissible each year by single judges in Strasbourg, the probability of a significant number of abuses can not be ruled out from the outset. The litigant thus faces a single judge with an exorbitant and uncontrollable power, who, upon the pretext that the request is "manifestly ill-founded" or that it concerns an "insignificant prejudice" according to his personal interpretation, has "carte blanche" to turn a deaf ear and deny so justice. Moreover, a decision of inadmissibility will allow the State concerned to assert a false legitimacy of its own laws and decisions against an individual who is genuinely a victim of a violation of the ECHR - the ultimate perverse effect of Protocol 14 is to draw in the moral authority of the ECHR to challenge the victim's recourse to law. In order to mitigate the risk of such a situation, a panel of at least two judges from different political and legal cultures and jurisdictions would be needed to determine the admissibility of the application, which would allow a genuine debate compliant with discourse ethics, and thereby a social control between national magistrates sitting in the Court. This contribution calls for a reform of Protocol 14 to safeguard the European Convention on Human Rights.

New Issue: Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé

The latest issue of the Revue de Droit International et de Droit Comparé (Vol. 96, no. 1, 2019) is out. Contents include:

• B. Graeff & M. Rebourg, La protection juridique des majeurs âgés : éléments de comparaison entre droit français et droit brésilien
• É-A.T. Gatsi, Heurs et malheurs du contentieux électoral en Afrique : étude comparée du droit électoral processuel africain
• J. Vanderschuren, France : la loi sapin ii et la lutte contre les fonds vautours
• F. Seatzu & E. Pintus, Observations sur le statut juridique international de la Communauté des pays de langue portugaise
• M-C. Ernotte, L’Office du juge — Études de droit comparé
• P. Sabbadini, Dynamic Markets, Dynamic Competition and Dynamic Enforcement — The impact of the digital revolution and globalisation on competition law enforcement in Europe
• J.F. Leclercq, Le contentieux climatique : une révolution judiciaire mondiale
• A. Kohl, Cross-border debt recovery in the EU. A comparative and empirical study on the use of the European uniform procedures

Symposium: Internationalism and Sovereignty

On March 29, 2019, the Center for International and Comparative Law at Saint Louis University and the Saint Louis University Law Journal will hold a symposium on "Internationalism and Sovereignty." Here's the idea:

Brexit, hybrid war, wall campaigns, mass migration, climate change: In the present political moment, some of our perennial demands on internationalism - its management of the passions of nationalism and logics of sovereignty - have become acute tests of its potential and limitations. At this time of breakdown and opportunity, our spring 2019 Symposium addresses a vital question: can internationalism meet the challenges of the contemporary?

Leal-Arcas: Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty

Rafael Leal-Arcas (Queen Mary Univ. of London - Law) has published Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (Edward Elgar Publishing 2018). Here's the abstract:

The Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) provides a unique, article-by-article, textual analysis of this important international agreement. The ECT outlines a multilateral framework for cross-border cooperation in the energy sector based on the principles of open competitive markets and sustainable development. By binding governments to commitments that guarantee open markets, non-discrimination, and access to foreign investment, the ECT aims to strengthen the global rule of law on energy issues and, in doing so, reduce the risks associated with energy-related investment and trade. Expert contributors provide commentary and analysis on the five primary areas of the ECT: investment promotion and protection, trade, transit, environmental protection, and dispute settlement. The optional protocols are also addressed, including issues such as energy efficiency and the environment.

Conference: Things Fall Apart or Creative Destruction?: The Future of the Rule of Law in International Governance

On March 16, 2019, the University of Dayton School of Law will host International Law Weekend Midwest. The theme is: "Things Fall Apart or Creative Destruction?: The Future of the Rule of Law in International Governance." The program is here.

de Beer: Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens) and the Prohibition of Terrorism

Aniel Caro de Beer (Univ. of Johannesburg - Law) has published Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens) and the Prohibition of Terrorism (Brill | Nijhoff 2019). Here's the abstract:

In Peremptory Norms of International Law and Terrorism (Jus Cogens) and the Prohibition of Terrorism, Aniel de Beer analyses the role of these norms (jus cogens norms) in the fight against terrorism. Jus cogens norms protect fundamental values of the international community, are hierarchically superior and non-derogable. The author argues, based on an analysis of the sources of international law, that the prohibition of terrorism has become the jus cogens norm of our time. She further considers the impact of the status of the prohibition of terrorism as a jus cogens norm on other norms of international law relevant in the fight against terrorism, namely the prohibition of torture, the right to a fair trial and the prohibition of the inter-state use of force.

Conference: The Theory and Philosophy of Customary International Law and its Interpretation

The ERC project on "The Rules of Interpretation of Customary International Law" and the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory and Philosophy will hold a conference on "The Theory and Philosophy of Customary International Law and its Interpretation" on May 24-25, 2019, at the University of Groningen. The program is here. Here's the idea:

Despite claims to the contrary, and to paraphrase Mark Twain’s famous quip, the rumours of customary law’s death have been greatly exaggerated – customary international law remains alive and well. Nowadays, international law seems to be going through a similar process as mathematics did in the 19th century. In order for international legal scholarship to progress, we need to go back to its theoretical foundations. We need to identify, critique and discuss the axioms on which the system is based, as well as the rules under which these building-blocks of the international legal system function.

There is still much to do before we can understand customary international law in all its complexity. One reason is that most analysis tends to focus on the process of emergence and identification of a rule of customary international law, through the dichotomous requirements of state practice and opinio iuris, with all the shortcomings and pitfalls that it entails. Yet, customary international law as a source raises other questions, too. Can we speak of ‘rules’ in this context (what is the nature of customary law)? What is the foundation for the sources of international law in general and customary law, in particular? Do we conflate the determination of a rule of customary international law with the determination of its content?

The First ECTPIL and TRICI-Law Conference will draw on these and other under-researched questions, such as:

• What are the rules, if we can talk about rules, that regulate the functioning of sources of international law and of customary international law in particular?
• Is the classical paradigm of state practice and opinio iuris still valid today?
• Are there alternative approaches that can offer a better model describing the emergence and functioning of rules of customary international law?
• Can customary international law be interpreted? Are rules of customary international law open to interpretation in the same way as treaty rules?
• Do domestic approaches to customary law differ from those in international legal scholarship? What lessons can be learned (or tools adopted) from domestic approaches to customary law?
• Is hermeneutics relevant to customary international law?
• Is there a difference between the interpretation of state practice compared to the interpretation of a rule of customary international law?
• Where do the lines between identification, interpretation, application and modification of a rule of customary international law lie?

New Issue: International Journal of Refugee Law

The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (Vol. 29, no. 3, October 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Susan M Akram, The Search for Protection for Stateless Refugees in the Middle East: Palestinians and Kurds in Lebanon and Jordan
• Damian Lilly, UNRWA’s Protection Mandate: Closing the ‘Protection Gap’
• Shani Bar-Tuvia, Australian and Israeli Agreements for the Permanent Transfer of Refugees: Stretching Further the (Il)legality and (Im)morality of Western Externalization Policies
• Christopher D Boom. Beyond Persecution: A Moral Defence of Expanding Refugee Status

Call for Papers: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton has issued a call for papers for a conference on "The Social Practice of Human Rights," to be held October 1-4, 2019. The call is here.

Conference: ILA British Branch Spring Conference

The ILA British Branch will hold its Spring Conference on April 8, 2019, at the University of Oxford. The theme is: "International Law at the Tipping Point." The program is here. Here's the idea:

Irreversible climate change. Ecosystem collapse and mass extinction of plant and animal species. Renewed threat of a nuclear arms race. Mass migration. Widespread famine. Each has been referred to as a ‘tipping point’ in this age of the anthropocene. What role does international law play when the natural world and human society is at, or nearing, such tipping points? And is international law itself at a tipping point? At the same time as it expands to cover all areas of human activity as an essential tool for bringing order to a rapidly globalising world, it is also the target of significant attacks from different angles – with regard to its general utility, its capacity to order our lives effectively, and its potential for creating an unaccountable leviathan limiting freedom. Increasing polarisation seems to indicate that the system will either gain greater acceptance as an ordering principle, or collapse under the fragmenting tendencies of re-nationalisation of powers and decision-making, ultimately declining as a normative ideal.