Lundgren: Backdoor Peacekeeping: Does Participation in UN Peacekeeping Reduce Coups at Home?

Magnus Lundgren (Stockholm Univ.) has posted Backdoor Peacekeeping: Does Participation in UN Peacekeeping Reduce Coups at Home? (Journal of Peace Research, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

I advance and test a theoretical argument of how participation in UN peacekeeping affects the likelihood of coup attempts in troop-contributing countries (TCCs). The argument highlights the interplay between the economic incentives of militaries in poor TCCs and the UN’s preference for contributors with stable civil-military relations. Fearing the loss of UN reimbursement funds, militaries for which such funds are important will avoid visible acts of military insubordination, such as coup attempts, that would place their future participation in UN peacekeeping at risk. I test this proposition against time-series cross-sectional data on 157 countries in the 1991–2013 period using panel regression and matching. The data show that countries where the armed forces are more dependent on peacekeeping revenues experience fewer coup attempts than comparable peers, even when taking coup-proofing measures and other alternative explanations into account. I also find that the coup-restraining effect is only observed in periods where member states contribute enough troops to award the UN a real choice over alternative contributors. The study introduces a novel theoretic logic, presents empirical results at odds with the existing literature, and suggests important policy implications with regard to UN vetting and standards for troop-contributing countries.

Wasiński: The Optional Declarations Regime As a Lawful Tool to Develop the Jurisprudential Interaction between the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the National Authorities

Marek Jan Wasiński (Univ. of Lodz) has posted The Optional Declarations Regime As a Lawful Tool to Develop the Jurisprudential Interaction between the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the National Authorities (Studies in Law and Economics, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The starting point for this paper is the problem of limited individual access to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights under Article 5(3) and Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of the Court. While such a restriction imposed upon its personal jurisdiction is a standard element of political constraint introduced by states to protect their interests, it is argued that the aforementioned provisions may be also perceived differently, namely as constituting a platform enabling dialogue between the judicial organ and the sovereigns. It is asserted in particular that judges of the Court may stimulate expansion of the individual access striking a fair balance between the tendency to interpret human rights obligations of the states progressively and the relevant policy considerations echoing the more conservative approach in their perception of human rights. The paper presents such a judicial tactic as reflecting a particular environment of the international society and possibly remaining in line with international law of treaty interpretation and judicial impartiality.

de la Rasilla del Moral: In the Shadow of Vitoria: A History of International Law in Spain (1770-1953)

Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral (Brunel Univ. London - Law) has published In the Shadow of Vitoria: A History of International Law in Spain (1770-1953) (Brill | Nijhoff 2018). Here's the abstract:

In the Shadow of Vitoria: A History of International Law in Spain (1770-1953) offers the first comprehensive treatment of the intellectual evolution of international law in Spain from the late 18th century to the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral recounts the history of the two ‘renaissances’ of Francisco de Vitoria and the Spanish Classics of International Law and contextualizes the ideological glorification of the Salamanca School by Franco’s international lawyers. Historical excursuses on the intellectual evolution of international law in the US and the UK complement the neglected history of international law in Spain from the first empire in history on which the sun never set to a diminished and fascistized national-Catholicist state.

deGuzman: Complementarity at the African Court

Margaret M. deGuzman (Temple Univ. - Law) has posted Complementarity at the African Court (in The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights, Charles Jalloh, Kamari Clarke & Vincent Nmehielle eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The proposed African Criminal Court, which will form part of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights, is designed to be complementary to national courts in Africa, as well as to sub-regional courts with criminal jurisdiction. This book chapter analyzes the complementarity provision of the statute of the proposed court, which largely replicates article 17 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It seeks to elucidate the likely relationship between the proposed African Court and the ICC, as well as between the African Court and national and regional courts in Africa. The chapter then addresses the normative question of how the proposed African Court should interact with these other institutions. While a great deal of theoretical work remains to be done in this area, the chapter suggests that as regional and sub-regional criminal courts such as the proposed African Court emerge, they should not be viewed as forming a jurisdictional hierarchy, with national courts at the top and the ICC at the bottom, but rather as providing a menu of adjudicative options. Jurisdictional priority should be decided by balancing a range of factors from practical considerations such as ease of obtaining evidence and custody, to defendants’ rights. Particular attention should be paid to the interests of each institution’s constitutive community in adjudicating a particular case. In this way, national, regional, and international criminal courts can truly complement each other.

Kuntz: Conceptualising Transnational Corporate Groups for International Criminal Law

Marie Kuntz has published Conceptualising Transnational Corporate Groups for International Criminal Law (Nomos 2017). Here's the abstract:

The volume offers a concept of transnational corporate groups for international criminal law. It thus fills a gap in the discussion about criminalising corporate behaviour. Drawing from international law, EU competition law, UK and US law and economic theory, it defines a transnational corporate group as an economic entity and thus potential addressee of international criminal law if the parent has the power to control its subsidiaries and it also exercises this power. The book adds a company law perspective. It provides a uniform, independent and economically sound concept of business entities, aiming at adding clarity as to what a transnational corporate group is and according to which criteria it may be defined. The criteria are derived from a comparative in-depth analysis of transnational, overarching structural elements found in main legal orders. They are synthesised in a detailed set of criteria emphasising and describing substantial and effective control mechanisms.

Contesse: The International Authority of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: A Critique of the Conventionality Control Doctrine

Jorge Contesse (Rutgers Univ. - Law) has posted The International Authority of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: A Critique of the Conventionality Control Doctrine (International Journal of Human Rights, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This Article discusses the constitutional turn in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ recent jurisprudence, exemplified in the adoption of the conventionality control doctrine. Building on previous work and inquiring for the first time into the legal theory of Judge Sergio García Ramírez, who created the doctrine, I show that conventionality control lacks solid legal footing and reveals a problematic understanding of the Court as a regional constitutional tribunal. I propose, therefore, an alternative account of the doctrine that rests more on state practice. Reviewing how two states, Peru and Argentina, have internalised the Inter-American Court’s case law on amnesty laws—a prominent feature of the Court’s jurisprudence—I argue that the Court should embrace such domestic developments to, first, provide a robust justification for its assertion of international authority; and second, to strengthen the Court in the face of increasing challenges and criticisms raised by states and other actors.

Mélanges en l’honneur du Professeur Emmanuel Decaux

Réciprocité et universalité - Sources et régimes du droit international des droits de l'homme : Mélanges en l’honneur du Professeur Emmanuel Decaux (Pedone 2017) has been published. The table of contents is here.

Call for Abstracts: Regional Conference of the Brazilian and Portuguese Branches of the International Law Association

The Brazilian and Portuguese Branches of the International Law Association have issued a call for abstracts for their 2018 Regional Conference, to take place May 23-25, at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Here's the call:

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Regional Conference of the Brazilian and Portuguese Branches of the International Law Association

The Brazilian and Portuguese Branches of the International Law Association, in conjunction with the Jean Monnet Chair, are pleased to invite professors and those who have finished at least one postgraduate degree to submit abstracts for their 2018 Regional Conference. The conference will be held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from May 23rd to May 25th, 2018, at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

Abstracts must not exceed 2500 characters and must be submitted to the following e-mail: regionalconference2018@gmail.com until December 20th, 2017. An updated resumé should also be included. Preference will be given to abstracts concerning the following subjects:

1. Theoretical approaches to International Law.
2. History of International Law in Latin America.
3. New trends in international lawmaking.
4. Codification of International Law.
5. Procedure before International courts and tribunals.
6. International Institutional Law: New challenges, which responses? Law and practice of American and European organisations.
7. International taxation: paths to the future.
8. Uniformisation of Private International Law: European and American experiences.
9. The politics of International Law.
10. Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking.
11. European and International Environmental Law and access to justice.
12. Empirical evidences on International Law
13. Theorizing International Economic Law.
14. International Humanitarian Law.
15. European and International foreign policy and Euroamerican relations
16. Immunities and International Law.
17. Geopolitics of the Amazon

Decisions will be made by January 10, 2018. Authors of accepted abstracts will be responsible for covering the cost of their own travel to and accommodations in Belo Horizonte, but will be exempted of paying registration fees for the conference. For any questions or inquiries please contact the organisation committee: helpregionalconference2018@gmail.com

Call for Papers: Cambridge International Law Journal 2018 Conference (Reminder)

A reminder that the Cambridge International Law Journal has issued a call for papers for its 2018 Conference. The theme is" "Non-State Actors and International Law." The deadline is December 8, 2017. Here's the call:

The Editors of the Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ) and the Conference Convenors welcome submissions for the Cambridge International Law Conference 2018, which will be held at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge on the 3rd and 4th of April 2018.

THEME

This year, the Conference invites the submission of papers under the theme ‘Non-State Actors and International Law’. In addition to scholarly research which looks generally at armed groups, civil society, and transnational corporations in international law, the Conference is particularly interested in papers which explore the role of social media actors, as well as those which consider intersections with the economy, development, and society. Papers which fall within the broad spectrum of the Conference and which offer new perspectives and conceptualisations of the theme are also highly welcome.

ABSTRACTS

Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be submitted together with your CV (separately uploaded) via Submittable by Friday, 8 December 2017.

Successful applicants will be notified by email by Friday, 12 January 2018. The authors of selected papers will be required to submit a 2,000-word extended abstract to conference@cilj.co.uk by Friday, 23 February 2018.

Authors who present at the Conference will also be invited to submit their papers to be considered for publication in Volume 7(2), the conference issue of the Journal, to be published in December 2018, subject to the normal double-blind peer-review process. Authors will be contacted about this after the Conference.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information will be posted on the CILJ website in due course. In the interim, please contact conference@cilj.co.uk with any questions or concerns.

Call for Submissions: Utrecht Journal of International and European Law

The Utrecht Journal of International and European Law has issued a call for submissions for its "General Issue in International and European Law" to be published in August 2018. Information on submissions is available here.

Call for Papers: Performing World Politics Through Rituals

A call for papers has been issued for a workshop on "Performing World Politics Through Rituals." Here's the call:

Performing world politics through rituals

at the 5th EISA European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS)

University of Groningen, 6-8 June 2018

Workshop convenors: Anna Leander (Copenhagen Business School/CePTL) and Tanja Aalberts (VU/CePTL)

This workshop explores the constitutive role of rituals in the production of contemporary world politics. Core institutions of international society such as diplomacy and international law are obviously replete with rituals, some public and grandiose ceremonies other more mundane practices. But rituals also pervade a range of world political practices including for example migration, digital communication, humanitarianism, peacekeeping, torture, or marketing. If rituals traditionally functioned to strengthen the bond between believers and their god(s), what role do they play in their secularized form in the creation and enactment of world political order?

This workshop seeks to bring together recent scholarship that has developed around practices, materiality, institutions, performativity and aesthetics within different disciplines to discuss this question.

Deadline: 10 January 2018. For the full call and submission details see here.

New Issue: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen

The latest issue of Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen (Vol. 24, no. 2, 2017) is out. Contents include:

• Aufsätze
• Daniel Göler & Lukas Zech, »Füße still« und »keine Beunruhigung Zuhause«
• Hanna Pfeifer & Michael Reder, »Ich schwöre euch, dieses Land in Syrien ist barakah, Segen pur«
• Can Büyükbay & Deniz Ertin, EU-Skeptizismus am Bosporus?
• Caroline Kärger, Janet Kursawe, & Daniel Lambach, Von Agenten, Akteuren und Strukturen in den Internationalen Beziehungen

Call for Papers: Seventh Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law (Reminder)

A reminder that a call for papers has been issued for the Seventh Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law, convened by Dino Kritsiotis (Univ. of Nottingham - Law), Anne Orford (Univ. of Melbourne - Law), and J.H.H. Weiler (New York Univ. - Law). The Seventh Forum will be held at the University of Melbourne on May 28-30, 2018. The closing deadline for applications is December 15, 2017. The full call is here.

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 51, no. 6, 2017) is out. Contents include:

• Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz & Mahesh Sugathan, Enabling the Energy Transition and Scale-Up of Clean Energy Technologies: Options for the Global Trade System – Synthesis of the Policy Options
• Hong Xue, The Newest UN Treaty to Facilitate Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific: An Insight Preview
• Jaemin Lee, A More Widely Available Public Good: Proposed DSU Reform and Its Implication for Developing Members
• Hazel V. J. Moir, Understanding EU Trade Policy on Geographical Indications
• Enrico Partiti & Steffen Van der Velde, Curbing Supply-Chain Human Rights Violations Through Trade and Due Diligence. Possible WTO Concerns Raised by the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation
• David Collins & Tae Jung Park, Deafening Silence or Noisy Whisper: Omission Bias and Foregone Revenue Under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
• Laurens Hubert Van de Ven, Resolution of Too-Big-To-Fail Institutions Under Dodd-Frank: America First, GATS Second?

Titi: Investment Arbitration and the Controverted Right of the Arbitrator to Issue a Separate or Dissenting Opinion

Catharine Titi (Centre national de la recherche scientifique; Université de Bourgogne - CREDIMI) has posted Investment Arbitration and the Controverted Right of the Arbitrator to Issue a Separate or Dissenting Opinion (Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Although dissents are not generally encouraged in international arbitration, they are a reality of investment treaty disputes. About one in five cases includes at least one separate or dissenting opinion. The ICSID Convention is rare among investment arbitration rules to expressly recognise the right of the arbitrator to attach his or her personal opinion to the award. Other investment arbitration rules are silent on the topic. And yet dissenting opinions are an established feature of several international courts and tribunals and their role is often viewed upon more benevolently than in investment arbitration. The article explores the perceived advantages and disadvantages of dissents as identified in different legal settings, including in public international courts and municipal legal systems, and critically applies them to investment arbitration. Normatively, it expects that dissents function in broadly similar manner in investment arbitration and in other public international courts and tribunals. But it also recognises that this is nuanced by particularities of context and notably the terms of appointment of the adjudicator.

Athen: Der Tatbestand des völkerrechtlichen Interventionsverbots

Marco Athen has published Der Tatbestand des völkerrechtlichen Interventionsverbots (Nomos 2017). Here's the abstract:

Der Begriff der „Intervention“ bzw. der „Einmischung“ gehört seit langer Zeit schon sowohl zum Grundarsenal der internationalen Politik als auch zum Begriffshaushalt des Völkerrechts. Kaum eine zwischenstaatliche Auseinandersetzung wird nicht – wenigstens auch oder zeitweise – vom Vorwurf der verbotenen Einmischung oder vergleichbarer Einwürfe begleitet, was für den Völkerrechtler seit nun gut sechzig Jahren stets die Frage aufwirft, welche juristische Substanz dieser Vorwurf hat und wie er rechtsdogmatisch zu strukturieren ist. Insbesondere in der Staatenpraxis steht die Häufigkeit der Geltendmachung des Interventionsverbots in einem umgekehrt-proportionalen Verhältnis zur konkreten Benennung seiner Voraussetzungen und Rechtsfolgen. Wie genau der Tatbestand beschaffen ist und welche Reichweite er besitzt, spielt in Doktrin und Praxis bislang eine nachgeordnete Rolle. Die Arbeit versucht diese Lücke zu schließen und der Staatenpraxis ein völkerrechtsdogmatisches Gerüst an die Seite zu stellen.

New Issue: International Journal of Human Rights

The latest issue of the International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 22, no. 1, 2018) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: Realising International Human Rights: Scotland on the Global Stage
• Jo Ferrie, Rebecca Wallace & Elaine Webster, Realising international human rights: Scotland on the global stage
• Jo Ferrie & Alison Hosie, Methodological challenges in developing an evidence base, and realising rights
• Elaine Webster & Deirdre Flanigan, Localising human rights law: a case study of civil society interpretation of rights in Scotland
• Katie Boyle & Edel Hughes, Identifying routes to remedy for violations of economic, social and cultural rights
• Jill Stavert & Rebecca McGregor, Domestic legislation and international human rights standards: the case of mental health and incapacity
• John G. Love & Rory Lynch, Enablement and positive ageing: a human rights-based approach to older people and changing demographics
• Colin Clark, Dee Matthew & Vicki Burns, Power, privilege and justice: intersectionality as human rights?
• Nils Muižnieks, Reflections for an international audience

New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law

The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs recently added new lectures to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. They were given by Christian J. Tams on “The League of Nations” and “Coopération et intégration régionale en Afrique” and Jean Ho on “La responsabilité d’Etat et la rupture des contrats d’Etat” and “国际法对投资合约的保障.”

Janik: The Responsibility to Protect, Conflict Prevention, and the ius ad bellum: What Role for Democracy?

Ralph R.A. Janik (Univ. of Vienna - Law) has posted The Responsibility to Protect, Conflict Prevention, and the ius ad bellum: What Role for Democracy? (in Gerechte Intervention? Zwischen Gewaltverbot und Schutzverantwortung, Stephanie Fenkart, Heinz Gärtner, & Hannes Swoboda eds., pp. 167-190, 2017). Here's the abstract:

The Responsibility to Protect goes way beyond a mere political and legal framework for the use of force in cases of mass atrocities. On the contrary, as it focuses on conflict prevention. Democracy, i.e. first and foremost the peaceful transfer of governmental authority, plays a key role in this connection. At the same time, one must not underestimate the potential detrimental impact of elections in countries and situations marked by ethnic, cultural, or religious tensions.

New Issue: American Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the American Journal of International Law (Vol. 111, no. 3, July 2017) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Megan Donaldson, The Survival of the Secret Treaty: Publicity, Secrecy, and Legality in the International Order
• Katerina Linos & Tom Pegram, What Works in Human Rights Institutions?
• Notes and Comments
• Geoff Dancy & Florencia Montal, Unintended Positive Complementarity: Why International Criminal Court Investigations May Increase Domestic Human Rights Prosecutions
• International Decisions
• Beatrice I. Bonafé, Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean
• Jed Odermatt, Council of the European Union v. Front Populaire pour la Libération de la Saguia-El-Hamra et Du Rio de Oro (Front Polisario)
• Marie Joseph Ayissi, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Libya
• David Attanasio & Tatiana Sainati, Urbaser S.A. and Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia, Bilbao Biskaia Ur Partzuergoa v. The Argentine Republic ICSID
• Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
• Kristina Daugirdas & Julian Davis Mortenson, Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
• Recent Books on International Law
• Deborah Pearlstein, reviewing How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything. by Rosa Brooks
• Adam S. Chilton, reviewing The Continent of International Law: Explaining Agreement Design, by Barbara Koremenos
• Patrick Kelly, reviewing Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change: Recognizing Grotian Moments, by Michael P. Scharf
• Jessica Simonoff, reviewing Procedural Fairness in International Courts and Tribunals, edited by Arman Sarvarian, Filippo Fontanelli, Rudy Baker & Vassilis Tzevelekos
• Donald Earl Childress, reviewing The Oxford Handbook of the Theory of International Law, edited by Anne Orford & Florian Hoffman, with Martin Clark
• Bart L. Smit Duijzentkunst, reviewing Paradigms of International Human Rights Law, by Aaron Xavier Fellmeth

New Issue: Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law

The latest issue of the Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (Vol. 26, no. 3, November 2017) is out. Contents include:

• Special Issue: International and EU Law on Air Pollution
• Yulia Yamineva & Seita Romppanen, Is law failing to address air pollution? Reflections on international and EU developments
• Peter H. Sand, The discourse on ‘protection of the atmosphere’ in the International Law Commission
• Adam Byrne, Trouble in the air: Recent developments under the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
• Mark W. Roberts, Finishing the job: The Montreal Protocol moves to phase down hydrofluorocarbons
• Sophia Kopela, Making ships cleaner: Reducing air pollution from international shipping
• Shawkat Alam & Laely Nurhidayah, The international law on transboundary haze pollution: What can we learn from the Southeast Asia region?
• Aleksandra Čavoški, The unintended consequences of EU law and policy on air pollution
• Regular Articles
• Alejandro Gonzalez Arreaza, Natural resource sovereignty and economic development in the WTO in light of the recent case law involving raw materials and rare earths
• Peter Lawrence & Daryl Wong, Soft law in the Paris Climate Agreement: Strength or weakness?
• Case Notes
  • Caroline E. Foster, Respecting regulatory measures: Arbitral method and reasoning in the Philip Morris v Uruguay tobacco plain packaging case
  • Fernando Dias Simões, Blusun S.A. and others v Italy: Legal (in)stability and renewable energy investments

Call for Papers: ANZSIL 26th Annual Conference

The Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law has issued a call for papers for its 26th Annual Conference, to take place July 5-July 7, 2018, at the Victoria University of Wellington's Faculty of Law. The theme is "International Law: From the Local to the Global." Here's the call:

26th Annual ANZSIL Conference
Call for Papers

Conference Theme: International Law:
From the Local to the Global

Conference dates: 5 - 7 July 2018

Victoria University of Wellington's Faculty of Law, New Zealand

Closing date for Call for Papers and Panels: 2 March 2018

Please read the following before submitting your paper proposal or panel proposal using the application form below.

The 26th ANZSIL Annual Conference will take place from Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 July 2018 at Victoria University of Wellington’s Faculty of Law, New Zealand. The Conference Organising Committee now invites proposals for papers to be presented at the Conference, either individually, or as a panel.

International law practice and scholarship is increasingly confronted by the tension between the global aspirations and traditions of international law and the impact of more local demands. Law and institutions that have been built upon state-centric institutions and universalist aspirations face the challenge of shifts in regional perspectives; the impact of legislatures, referenda and other national political processes; development and sometimes divergence in national foreign relations law; and the capacities of non-state actors. The 26th ANZSIL Annual Conference will be an opportunity to explore these themes as they arise across a range contexts.

The intersection of domestic law and politics with international law

The 2017 ANZSIL Conference explored the role of international law in an age of nationalism, which is continuing to have an influence in many states. How do domestic law and politics affect international law? Are some national legal systems becoming more open or more closed to international influences? If so what are the reasons for this? And to what extent are there major differences in the ways in which national legal systems conceptualise international law? Does this undermine assumptions about the universality of international law?

The intersection between regionalism and globalism

There is ongoing tension in international law between the development of global rules and institutions, and the ascendancy of regionalism – as seen for example in the preference for regional trade agreements over new WTO rules and the argument that the international community has no role to play in security disputes in particular regions. Does this move challenge the international rule of law, or is it an opportunity for international law to respond to the needs of particular groups of states?

The emergence of new (and old) global challenges

New challenges are arising for the international community all the time. Meanwhile, the existing challenges continue, but in a time at which national interests are sometimes being promoted over the stability of the international order. Are the existing international legal frameworks capable of effectively responding to these developments? Are the principles on which our international legal order are based under threat? Or can we be confident that the international rule of law is sufficiently robust that our contemporary challenges are no more problematic than those that arose in the past?

Particular issues of interest may include, for example:

• International or foreign policy-making and social media
• Journalism, international media conglomerates and democracy
• Data protection and innovation, trade and investment promotion
• Balancing surveillance needs with data protection
• Between local and global: the challenges of cybersecurity
• Protection of the environment in the climate change era (including domestic barriers to international climate change objectives)
• International or cross-border migration and the future labour force
• The future of international (development) aid and regional issues (especially in relation to the Pacific)
• Transnational cooperation and non-legally binding international instruments
• The role of culture and customs in international law
• International challenges and opportunities for middle powers

The Conference Organising Committee invites paper submissions reflecting on these themes in any area of public and private international law, including (but not limited to): human rights; the law of the sea; international humanitarian law; international trade law; international investment law; international financial regulation; international environmental law; international criminal law; global administrative law, including the law surrounding sanctions; international diplomatic and consular law, including diplomatic protection and immunities; international legal pedagogy; international legal theory; international legal history; anthropologies, sociologies or geographies of international law; and/or the ethics or politics of international law.

Also invited are proposals for panels comprised of three to four papers in circumstances where the presenters concerned are already in conversation, or would find it useful to be so assembled. Proposed panels are expected to have a balanced gender representation. Those proposing panels are also invited to seek out a diversity of presenters in other respects as well, including the stage of their career, type and place of work, discipline or sub-discipline, and so on.

In the tradition of ANZSIL Conferences, the Conference Organising Committee also invites and welcomes proposals on international law topics not connected to the Conference theme.

Submission of Paper Proposals

Those proposing papers for presentation at the Conference should submit a single Word document comprised of:

• an abstract of no more than 250 words (papers with extracts in excess of 250 words will not be considered);
• a biographical note of no more than 200 words (for possible inclusion in the conference program); and
• a one-page curriculum vitae.

The information requested above should be provided in a single Word document entitled “ANZSIL Conference 2018 Paper Proposal: [Your Name] [Title of Paper]”. Please submit your paper proposal using the application form.

Submission of Panel Proposals

Those proposing panels for presentation at the Conference should submit a single document comprised of:

• a synopsis of no more than 250 words, explaining the rationale and theme of the panel; and
• three or four paper proposals, including in each case the information requested above (250-word abstract, 200-word biographical note and one-page curriculum vitae).

The information requested above should be provided in a single Word document entitled “ANZSIL Conference 2018 Panel Proposal: [Your Name] [Title of Proposed Panel]”. Please submit your panel proposal using the application form.

Process and Dates

The closing date for proposals is Friday, 2 March 2018. The Conference Organising Committee will endeavour to inform applicants of the outcome of their proposals by early April 2018. All presenters will be required to register for the Conference by Monday, 15 May 2018 to be included in the final Conference program. Further information about the Conference, including program and registration details, will be available on the ANZSIL website.

New Volume: Irish Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Irish Yearbook of International Law (Volume 10, 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Symposium: Collective Responsibility for Migrants at Sea
• Richard Collins, Europe's Shared Burden: Collective Responsibility for Migrants at Sea
• Patrick Burke, Troubled Waters: The Legal Issues Inherent in the Irish Defence Forces' Role in the Mediterranean Migrant Crisis
• Kristof Gombeer, Human Rights Adrift?: Enabling the Disembarkation of Migrants to a Place of Safety in the Mediterranean
• Ainhoa Campàs Velasco, The International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue: Legal Mechanisms of Responsibility Sharing and Cooperation in the Context of Sea Migration?
• Francesca Mussi & Nikolas Feith Tan, Comparing Cooperation on Migration Control: Italy–Libya and Australia–Indonesia
• Bríd Ní Ghráinne, Left to Die at Sea: State Responsibility for the May 2015 Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian Pushback Operations
• Daria Davitti & Annamaria La Chimia, A Lesser Evil? The European Agenda on Migration and the Use of Funding for Migration Control

New Issue: Questions of International Law

The latest issue of Questions of International Law / Questioni di Diritto Internazionale (no. 44, 2017) is out. Contents include:

• The Israeli military justice system and international law
• Introduced by Mariagiulia Giuffré, Peter Langford, and Triestino Mariniello
• Valentina Azarova, The Pathology of a Legal System: Israel’s Military Justice System and International Law
• Luigi Daniele, Enforcing Illegality: Israel’s Military Justice in the West Bank

New Volume: Asian Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Asian Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 21, 2015) is out. Contents include:

• Articles
• Ted L. McDorman, The South China Sea Arbitration: Selected Legal Notes  
• Hsiao-Chi Hsu, The Political Implications of the South China Sea Ruling on Sino-Philippine Relations and Regional Stability  
• Thi Lan Anh Nguyen, Award of the Republic of Philippines v. the People’s Republic of China: Legal Implications on the South China Sea Disputes  
• Jacques deLisle, Political-Legal Implications of the July 2016 Arbitration Decision in the Philippines-PRC Case Concerning the South China Sea: The United States, China, and International Law  
• Alan H. Yang, The South China Sea Arbitration and Its Implications for ASEAN Centrality  
• Terence Roehrig, Caught in the Middle: South Korea and the South China Sea Arbitration Decision  
• Leszek Buszynski, Law and Realpolitik: The Arbitral Tribunal’s Ruling and the South China Sea  
• Eiichi Usuki, China’s Three Distinctive Assertions under the ‘Nine-dash-line’ Claims and the Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal’s Interpretation of Article 121 Regarding an Island and Rocks under the 1982 un Convention on the Law of the Sea  
• Chie Kojima, South China Sea Arbitration and the Protection of the Marine Environment: Evolution of UNCLOS Part XII Through Interpretation and the Duty to Cooperate  
• Notes and Commentaries
• Xiangxin Xu, Guobin Zhang & Guifang (Julia) Xue, China’s Deep Seabed Law: Towards “Reasonably Appropriate” Environmental Legislation for Exploration and Exploitation of Deep Sea Minerals in the Area  
• Kanami Ishibashi, Further Developments in Fukushima and Other New Movements for Implementing International Human Rights Law in Japan  
• Taegil Kim & Eonkyung Park, Status and International Cooperation Aspects of Air Quality Control Laws and Policies in Korea  
• Kyu Rang Kim & Seong Won Lee, The Waste You Left Behind: Polluter Liability as Tort Korean Supreme Court Decision (2009 Da 66549)