Announcements: CfP GoJIL Student Essay Competition; CfP International Law Association; UN Audiovisual Library of International Law; ITLOS Case Roundtable; Women’s Voices in the International Judiciary; Berlin Potsdam Research Group Vacancy; Society of Legal Scholars Conference; CfA Asian Society of International Law; We Refugees – Panel Discussion of Hannah Arendt’s Essay

1. Call for Papers: 11th GoJIL Student Essay Competition. The Goettingen Journal of International Law is looking for contributions to its 2021 Student Essay Competition. This year´s topic is “International Law in Times of a Pandemic”. The winner will be published in an upcoming issue of the GoJIL. Submissions must not exceed 5000 words. The deadline is 1 August 2021. More information and the full Call for Papers can be found here.

2. Call for Papers: International Law Association. In 2023, the International Law Association (ILA) is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and the ILA (French Branch) as organisers of this event (whether it will be an in-person or virtual conference) are eager that the celebratory conference in Paris not only be a retrospective, but that it also look to the future for what is needed to continue to question, build and improve global rule of law. The call for papers is available here and the deadline for submissions is 30 March 2021.

3. New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Rule of Law. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs recently added the following materials to the Historic Archives of the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: an introductory note by Eileen Denza on the Draft Articles on the Status of the Diplomatic Courier and the Diplomatic Bag Not Accompanied by Diplomatic Courier, 1989; and an introductory note by Kevin Riordan on the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, 1989.

4. Roundtable Discussion: Perspectives on the recent ITLOS case between Mauritius and the Maldives. On 12 March 2021, from 14:00 – 15:30 GMT, the Exeter Centre for International Law will be hosting an online roundtable discussion of the preliminary objections decision in the case pending between Mauritius and the Maldives before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. To this end, they will host a panel of experts consisting of Professor Sir Malcolm Evans (University of Bristol), Dr Lan Nguyen (University of Utrecht), Dr Stephen Allen (Queen Mary University of London), and Professor James Harrison (University of Edinburgh). The roundtable discussion is convened and will be moderated by Dr Justine Bendel (University of Exeter). The roundtable will be followed by a Q&A session open to all participants. Further details and zoom link can be found here.

5. Women’s Voices in the International Judiciary. The SNF-funded project “Diversity on the International Bench: Building Legitimacy for International Courts and Tribunals”, led by Professors Neus Torbisco-Casals and Andrew Clapham, is launching a monthly public lecture series on “Women’s Voices in the International Judiciary”. The series aims to reflect on the lack of diversity in the international judiciary – especially gender diversity. The lectures will run from March 2021 until Spring 2022, with the inaugural lecture being delivered by Lady Françoise Tulkens (Former Vice-President of the ECtHR) on 1 March at 18:30 hrs., via webinar. Confirmed speakers include Ms Irene Khan (UN), Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (Lévy-Kaufmann-Kohler), Ms Catherine Marchi-Uhel (IIIM-Syria), and Dr Navi Pillay (former UN, ICC, and ICTR). The lectures are open to the broader public, but registration is required for attendance.

6. Berlin Potsdam Research Group Fellowship in International Law Vacancy. The Berlin Potsdam Research Group “The International Rule of Law – Rise or Decline?” invites applications for a Fellowship in International Law, International Relations or Political Philosophy. This is a fixed-term position for a period of 12 months which may be extended by up to a further year. The fellow will work at Freie Universität Berlin and co-operate with the group’s senior researchers and participate in the academic exchange of the Research Group. The Research Group examines the role of international law in a changing global order. Applicants should have completed their PhD before joining the group and should not have pursued more than 2 years of postdoctoral research. Applicants are not required to speak German. Further details are available here.

7. The Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference. The Society of Legal Scholars will host its Annual Conference from 31 August – 3 September 2021 at Durham University. Participants can attend in person or online. The International Law Section invites abstracts on any issue relating to Public or Private International Law. Each panel will feature a commentator, including Professor Christian Tams (University of Glasgow), Professor Philippa Webb (King’s College London), Professor Duncan French (University of Lincoln) and Dr Martins Paparinskis (University College London). They welcome papers for a panel on the following theme: ‘Why is international environmental law failing?’ as well as papers for a panel on the following theme: ‘What do “general international law” and “generalists” mean?’ Paper abstracts or panel details should be submitted by 11:59pm UK time on 26 March 2021, and must be submitted through the Oxford Abstracts conference system which can be accessed here. Further details can be found here.

8. Call for Abstracts: Asian Society of International Law – 8^th Biennial Conference and PhD Students Workshop, What place for international law in the Asian future? The biennial conference of the Asian SIL is to be held online from 24 – 28 May 2021 (plenary conference). There will also be a PhD Students Workshop held from 20 – 21 May 2021. The conference will include events in a range of formats including an opening plenary, academic presentation sessions, curated discussions/roundtables and networking sessions. This call for abstracts invites members of the Society and others to submit abstracts for short presentations at the Annual conference. They are also inviting expressions of interest from higher degree research students who wish to participate in the PhD Workshop. Unless speaking in another capacity, PhD students are asked to apply to present at the dedicated workshop rather than at the conference. Deadline for submission is 15 February 2021. For more information, see here. Enquiries may be addressed to asiansil2021 {at} adfa.edu(.)au.

9. We Refugees – A Multi-Perspective Panel Discussion of Hannah Arendt’s Essay. The Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum is organising an online discussion featuring Itamar Mann (Faculty of Law, University of Haifa), Sabah Carrim (Writer & Genocide Scholar, University of Texas) and Farah Alfaisal (NOHA-Alumni, Ruhr-Universität Bochum). After an introduction by Pierre Thielbörger (IFHV, Ruhr-Universität Bochum), we want to discuss how different disciplines can benefit from Arendt’s insights expressed in her essay “We Refugees”, first published in the Menorah Journal in 1943, for addressing the challenges forced migration poses today. The event will take place via zoom on 25 February 2021, 4 pm (CET). You can register for the event here and find Arendt’s essay here. For more information on the event, you can visit the IFHV’s website.