Call for Papers: 2024 ASIL Research Forum

The American Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its 2024 Research Forum, a part of the Society's Midyear Meeting, which will be held November 14-16, in Chicago. The deadline is June 5, 2024 at 5:00PM EDT. The call is here.

Contesse: The American Convention on Human Rights in Latin American National Courts

Jorge Contesse (Rutgers Univ. - Law) has posted The American Convention on Human Rights in Latin American National Courts (in Research Handbook on Constitutional Interpretation, Catherine O'Regan, Carlos Bernal & Sujit Choudhry eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This Chapter addresses the role that Latin America’s major human rights treaty—the American Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1969, with the Inter-American Court as its main interpreter—plays in constitutional interpretation conducted by national courts. The Chapter proceeds as follows: in Part II, I describe domestic constitutional law in Latin America, focusing on both national constitutions and decisions by Latin American courts. I show that the trend, since at least the late 1980s, is one of great interdependence between domestic and international law. Consequently, international law is a key interpretive guideline to domestic courts. In Part III, I discuss the Court’s main functions—contentious, advisory and monitoring—and explain how the Court has increasingly become a crucial tool for domestic constitutional interpretation. I use the anti-impunity doctrine and the articulation of the conventionality control doctrine as key examples of this trend. In this Part, I also use the same-sex marriage advisory opinion as an instance of robust interaction between the domestic and international realms. Finally, I turn to instances of domestic judicial implementation of the Court’s judgments as another example of the Court’s influence on national courts as a constitutional interpreter.

New Issue: International Community Law Review

The latest issue of the International Community Law Review (Vol. 26, no. 3, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Elżbieta Karska & Bartłomiej Oręziak, European Paradigm of the Protection of Aliens: Categorisation of Foreigners Seeking International Protection in the European Union
• Ludovica Di Lullo, Striving for Fairness: A Critical Examination of the ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Capabilities’ Principle in International Health Law
• Maciej Oksztulski, Maciej Perkowski, & Wojciech Zoń, Person on the Autism Spectrum on (the margin of) the Labour Market: The Nominal International Standard versus the Reality of a European Union Member State – (The Example of Poland)
• Maria Oluyeju & Olufemi Oluyeju, Normative Framework for the Regulation of Holdout Creditors in the Sovereign Debt Market

Segura Serrano: Global Cybersecurity and International Law

Antonio Segura Serrano (Univ. of Grenada - Law) has published Global Cybersecurity and International Law (Routledge 2024). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:

Assessing the need to regulate cyberspace has triggered the re-emergence of new primary norms. This book evaluates the ability of existing international law to address the threat and use of force in cyberspace, redefining cyberwar and cyberpeace for the era of the Internet of Things. Covering critical issues such as the growing scourge of economic cyberespionage, international co-operation to fight cybercrime, the use of foreign policy instruments in cyber diplomacy, it also looks at state backed malicious cyberoperations, and the protection of human rights against State security activities. Offering a holistic examination of the ability of public international law, the book addresses the most pressing issues in global cybersecurity.

Conference: 19th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law

On September 5-6, 2024, the European Society of International Law will hold its 19th Annual Conference in Vilnius. The theme is: "Technological Change and International Law." Details are here.

Call for Papers: Distributive Justice in International Law

A call for papers has been issued for a conference on “Distributive Justice in International Law,” to be held October 3-4, 2024, at LUISS Guido Carli University. The call is here.

Call for Engaged Listeners: Defund Meat Conference (Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers)

The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law invites doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to apply to be "engaged listeners" at the Defund Meat Conference, which will take place January 16-17, 2025, in Heidelberg. Engaged listeners will be admitted to the conference, including meals free of charge, and will be listed in the program. Engaged listeners do not give a talk but are expected to participate actively in the discussions. Travel and accommodation are at own expenses. Details are here.

AJIL Unbound Symposium: Akande's “An Imperial History of Race-Religion in International Law”

AJIL Unbound has posted a symposium on Rabiat Akande's “An Imperial History of Race-Religion in International Law.” The symposium includes an introduction by S. James Anaya and Adrien K. Wing and contributions by Oded Y. Steinberg, Samuel Moyn, Sahar Aziz, Ntombizozuko Dyani-Mhango, Waheeda Amien, and S. James Anaya.

Call for Session Ideas: 2025 ASIL Annual Meeting

The American Society of International Law has issued a call for session ideas for its 119th Annual Meeting, which will take place April 16-18, 2025, in Washington, DC. The conference theme is: "Traditions and Transitions in International Law." The deadline is July 22, 2024. The call is here.

Kiel: Arms Transfers to Non-State Actors: The Erosion of Norms in International Law

Hannah Kiel has published Arms Transfers to Non-State Actors: The Erosion of Norms in International Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024). This is the latest volume in the Elgar International Law Series. Here's the abstract:

This insightful book analyses the issue of norm erosion in international law by examining arms transfers to non-state actors. Balancing empirical research with legal theory, the author dissects recent case studies, tracing individual changes in norms against a background of systemic transformation.

Arms Transfers to Non-State Actors follows changes in the prohibition of arms transfers to non-state actors since the pivotal International Court of Justice''s Nicaragua ruling in 1986. Hannah Kiel critically discusses the legal developments through relevant case studies, including Abkhazia, Bosnia, Congo, Eastern Ukraine, Kosovo, Libya, Northern Iraq, South Ossetia, Syria and Yemen. Adopting a customary law perspective while also placing the narratives of states in the context of international structural changes, Kiel emphasises the interplay between state practice and the strengthening of a human rights-based paradigm. Kiel ultimately shows that changes in norms at the individual level indicate a larger transformation in the international order, and while the arming of non-state actors remains formally illegal, the prohibition of this practice is informally eroding.

Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the UN International Law Commission

On May 24, 2024, the International Law Commission and the Department of International Law of the Graduate Institute will hold a Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the UN International Law Commission, at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Details are here.

New Podcast: Talking Human Rights

For those interested in human rights and international law, there's a new podcast - Talking Human Rights - hosted by Leens van Kessel.

New Issue: International Criminal Law Review

The latest issue of the International Criminal Law Review (Vol. 24, no. 2, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Simone Antonio Luciano, Pain as the Essence of Torture: Exploring the Characteristics and Requirements of the Element of “Pain or Suffering” in the Crime Against Humanity of Torture
• Sarah Zink, Ecocide as a New Core Crime in the Rome Statute? An Ultima Ratio Lens on Legal Policy in International Criminal Law
• Birju Kotecha, A Hollow Enterprise: International Criminal Justice and Public Relations
• Lorenzo Acconciamessa, Balancing the Interest in Prosecuting International Crimes against the Fair Trial Guarantees: The Italian Constitutional’s Court’s Judgment in the Regeni Case on the Prosecution of Torture In Absentia
• Tatjana Grote, Crimes of Humanity: International Criminal Law as a Collective Psychological Defence Mechanism

New Issue: Transnational Legal Theory

The latest issue of Transnational Legal Theory (Vol. 15, no. 1, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Margot E. Salomon, The Trojan Horse of sovereign debt
• Nahuel Maisley, Law and democracy in the globalisation of infrastructure as an asset class
• Aoife O’Donoghue, Bluntschli, C’est Moi? International legal history and hagiography
• Catherine Frost, Advisory opinions, juridical mischief and Canada’s contribution to the law of statehood

New Issue: Journal of the History of International Law / Revue d'histoire du droit international

The latest issue of the Journal of the History of International Law / Revue d'histoire du droit international (Vol. 26, no. 1, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Sze Hong Lam, The Gentle Civilizer of the Far East – A Re-Examination of the Encounter between ‘China’ and ‘International Law’
• Anna Hood, The Construction of Global Hierarchies through Disarmament Law
• Charlotte Kiechel, ‘A Jurisprudence for the Future’: Anticolonial Lawyering during the Vietnam War Years

Conference: 31st Annual ANZSIL Conference

On July 3-5, 2024, the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law will hold its 31st Annual Conference at Melbourne Law School. The theme is: "International Law: Crisis, Conflict and Cooperation." Program and registration are here.

New Issue: GlobaLex

The latest issue of GlobaLex (March/April 2024) includes:

• Renu Urvashi Sagreiya, Update: Researching Customary International Law, State Practice, and the Pronouncements of States Regarding International Law
• Xin (Sherry) Chen, Update: Researching Third-Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement
• Devan Orr, Update: Searching through Systems of the UN Criminal Tribunals
• Gloria Orrego Hoyos & Mariel Romani, Update: MERCOSUR Legal Research – Sources and Documents
• Gabriela Femenia, Update: Researching League of Nations Documents

Fouchard: The Standard of Review before the International Court of Justice: Between Principle and Pragmatism

Felix Fouchard (Univ. of Münster) has published The Standard of Review before the International Court of Justice: Between Principle and Pragmatism (Hart Publishing 2024). Here's the abstract:

This book examines how the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reviews State behaviour through the prism of the standard of review.

It develops a novel rationale to support the ICJ's application of deferential standards of review as a judicial avoidance technique, based on strategic considerations. It then goes on to empirically assess all 31 decisions of the Court in which the standard of review was at issue, showing how the Court determines that standard, and answering the question of whether it varies its review intensity strategically.

As a result, the book's original contribution is two-fold: establishing a new rationale for judicial deference (that can be applied to all international courts and tribunals); and providing the first comprehensive, empirical analysis of the ICJ's standards of review. It will be beneficial to all scholars of the Court and those interested in judicial strategy.

Lecture: Dehm on "Accounting for Carbon: Targets, Inventories and Risks"

On May 16, 2024, Julia Dehm (La Trobe Univ. - Law) will deliver a lecture (on Zoom) as part of the 2024 Public International Law Lecture Series. The topic is: "Accounting for Carbon: Targets, Inventories and Risks." Details are here.

New Issue: International Organizations Law Review

The latest issue of the International Organizations Law Review (Vol. 21, no. 1, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: The International Law of Regional Organizations
• Samantha Besson & Eva Kassoti, The International Law of Regional Organizations – Mapping the Issues
• Fernando Lusa Bordin & Jed Odermatt, International Law of Regional Organizations: A Comparative Perspective
• Damian Chalmers, The Distinctiveness of Regional International Organization Law
• Guy Fiti Sinclair, Between Functionalism and Hegemony: Regional International Organizations in the History of International Law
• Samantha Besson, The Politics of Regional International Organizations: A New Dawn for the Political Legitimacy of International Law
• Fabia Fernandes Carvalho, Regional International Organizations and Regionalism in the Theory of International Law
• Catherine Brölmann, Regional Organizations in International Law: Exploring the Function-Territory Divide
• Apollin Koagne Zouapet, States and Regional International Organizations
• Kirsten Schmalenbach, The Relationship between rio s and the UN in Matters of Peace and Security: It’s Complicated
• Eva Kassoti, The European Union and Other Regional International Organizations: Tales of Solidarity

New Issue: Human Rights Quarterly

The latest issue of the Human Rights Quarterly (Vol. 46, no. 2, May 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Payam Akhavan, Rebecca J. Hamilton, & Antonia Mulvey, "What Kind of Court Is This?": Perceptions of International Justice Among Rohingya Refugees
• Alexandra Byrne, Bilen Zerie, & Kelebogile Zvobgo, Producing Truth: Public Memory Projects in Post-Violence Societies
• Rebecca Hamlin, Jamie Rowen, & Luz Maria Sanchez, The Paradox of Diasporic Peacebuilding Amidst Violence: Providing Reparations to Colombians Abroad
• Skip Mark, Mikhail Filippov, & David Cingranelli, CIRIGHTS: Quantifying Respect for All Human Rights
• Dominic McGoldrick, Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom in Higher Education in England
• Sigrun I. Skogly, Prevention is Better than a Cure: The Obligation to Prevent Human Rights Violations

Call for Submissions: International Humanitarian Law Under Pressure (Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law)

The Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law has issued a call for submissions for its Volume 27 (2024) on the theme "International Humanitarian Law Under Pressure." The call is here. The deadline for abstracts is June 19, 2024.

New Issue: International Peacekeeping

The latest issue of International Peacekeeping (Vol. 31, no. 3, 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Tamer Qarmout, Predictable in Their Failure: An Analysis of Mediation Efforts to End the Palestinian Split
• Jodok Troy, Ethics as Moral Practice in Peacekeeping Missions: Insights on the Importance of Ethical Training
• Kelsey L. Larsen & Elizabeth A. Stanley, How Stress, Trauma, and Emotion May Shape Post-Conflict Environments – with Implications for International Peacekeeping
• Luissa Vahedi, Sabine Lee, Stephanie Etienne, Sandrine Lusamba & Susan A. Bartels, Peacekeepers and Local Women and Girls: A Comparative Mixed-Methods Analysis of Local Perspectives from Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo

New Issue: European Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law (Vol. 35, no. 1, February 2024) is out. Contents include:

• Editorial
• In This Issue; In This Issue – Reviews; The Human ChatGPT – The Use and Abuse of Research Assistants; Professor Francesco Francioni (1942–2024); Vital Statistics: Behind the Numbers
• EJIL Foreword
• Karen Knop, Looking at Portraits
• Articles
• Luíza Leão Soares Pereira & Fabio Costa Morosini, Textbooks as Markers and Makers of International Law: A Brazilian Case Study
• Artur Simonyan, International Lawyers in Post-Soviet Eurasia: Decoding the Divisibility
• Andrew Lang, ‘Global Disordering’: Practices of Reflexivity in Global Economic Governance
• EJIL: Debate!
• Emanuel Castellarin, Is Imitation Really Flattery? The UK’s Trade Continuity Agreements: A Reply to Joris Larik
• Roaming Charges
• Moments of Dignity: Bereavement
• Critical Review of Jurisprudence
• Fleur van Leeuwen, Epistemic Blind Spots, Misconceptions and Stereotypes: The Home Birth Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
• Ben Czapnik, Consistency Testing in WTO Law and the Special Case of Moral Regulation
• ESIL Corner
• Jean d’Aspremont, Fairness and the Quaintness of International Legal Debates in Europe
• Federica Cristani, ‘Is International Law Fair? Le droit international est-il juste?’: A Few Remarks from the 2023 ESIL Conference in Aix-en-Provence
• Review Essays
• Alan Tzvika Nissel, One State’s Rebel Is Another State’s Agent
• Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi, Anti-Solutionism and Anti-Formalism in Global Algorithmic Governance Studies
• Book Reviews
• Melanie O’Brien, reviewing Melinda Rankin, De Facto International Prosecutors in a Global Era: With My Own Eyes
• Anne Saab, reviewing Matias E. Margulis, Shadow Negotiators: How UN Organizations Shape the Rules of World Trade for Food Security
• Jan Klabbers, reviewing Swati Srivastava, Hybrid Sovereignty in World Politics
• Serena Forlati, reviewing Freya Baetens (ed.), Identity and Diversity on the International Bench: Who Is the Judge?
• The Last Page
• Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali 92

Wentker: Neutrality in International Legal Thought

Alexander Wentker (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) has posted Neutrality in International Legal Thought (in Research Handbook on International Legal Theory and War, Tom Dannenbaum & Eliav Lieblich eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This chapter discusses the key debates surrounding neutrality that international legal thought has had to grapple with. It shows how international legal thought has made sense of an institution that has been shaped by States’ pragmatic mindset in developing and invoking it. The chapter analyses how scholarship has positioned and continuously re-positioned neutrality within a dramatically changing international order in which neutrality has proved stubbornly resilient. In doing so, the chapter demonstrates that, however marginal neutrality’s relevance to current international law may appear at first sight, theoretical reflection on neutrality helps in better grasping the current international legal regulation of war as a whole, and even structural developments in general international law beyond war.