Announcements: CfA Constitutional Court Review; UN Audiovisual Library of International Law; CfR – Global Study on the Impact of the UN Human Rights Treaty System

1. Call for Abstracts: Constitutional Court Review. The editors of the Constitutional Court Review are issuing an open call for abstracts and articles for the Constitutional Court Review X (2019). The Constitutional Court Review is the only internationally accredited journal on the work of South Africa’s Highest Court. The Constitutional Court Review Conference/Workshop allows authors and editors to read one another’s work and engage initial drafts in an intimate environment. For those persons unfamiliar with the journal, please see here to view all eight published volumes and find out a little more on who we are and what we do. CCR I through CCR VIII are online, open access and freely downloadable. (CCR IX will be housed online in 2019.) The journal is also freely available on SAFLII (the Southern African Legal Information Institute database), and can be accessed through Heinonline and Sabinet. 

2. New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs recently added the following lectures to the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law (AVL) website: Ms. Patrícia Galvão Teles on “Obligations and Rights Erga Omnes in the case-law of the International Court of Justice” and Mr. Ki-Gab Park on “Lex Ferenda in International Law”. The UN Audiovisual Library of International Law provides high quality international law training and research materials to users around the world free of charge.

3. Call for Researchers: Global Study on the Impact of the UN Human Rights Treaty System on the Domestic Level. The UN human right treaty system is widely believed to be at the core of the international human rights project. But exactly what evidence is available to demonstrate its impact on the lives of people worldwide? Moreover, what are the factors that enhance or inhibit its effect where it matters – on the ground? Two decades ago, a group of researchers  based in twenty countries engaged in the most comprehensive attempt thus far to to answer these questions. The study leaders were Christof Heyns and Frans Viljoen from the the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, working with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. They have now again assembled a group of researchers based in the same twenty countries. Using the earlier study as a base-line, they are  asking where are we today, and how should we approach the future. Yet in spite of its geographical and temporal scope, this study will reveal only part of the picture, and it will date soon. What is needed is global, ongoing academic engagement with the treaty system. Researchers worldwide are encouraged to undertake independent research on the same topic in their home countries and to publish it in academic journals of their choice, making sure the treaty system enjoys the benefit of rigorous – and most importantly, locally based – academic engagement. See here.