Announcements: International Environmental Law Conference, Corporate Social Responsibility Workshop, Symposium: The End of Treaties?, ASIL Research Forum, University of Amsterdam Workshop

1.  Combustion: Energy, Resources and Environmental Issues Igniting International Law, November 13-15, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario. The Canadian Council on International Law is pleased to announce its 43rd Annual Conference: “Combustion: Energy, Resources, and Environmental Issues Igniting International Law”. Practitioners and legal scholars are invited to submit paper and presentation proposals relating to the theme of energy, natural resources, and related environmental issues. The 2014 Annual Conference will explore the role of international law in global energy transactions, resource extraction and environmental issues. Topics will include but are not limited to the arbitration of mining and energy disputes, the role of the private sector in sustainable development, civil and criminal liability in the extractive industries, and the illegal wildlife trade. The Conference invites the active participation of practitioners, academics, and graduate students in the international legal community. Paper proposals or summaries of proposed presentations in English or French should be no longer than a single page in length and should include a biographical statement or curriculum vitae.  Proposals are due June 9, 2014 and should be sent to manager {at} ccil-ccdi(.)ca with “Annual Conference Call for Papers” in the subject line. Please see the website for more information.

2.  The Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL) at Brunel University and the Commercial Law Research Group, Brunel Law School, Brunel University, London, are organising a Reflective Workshop, supported by the International Human Rights Law Review, at Brunel Law School, London, on 8 May 2014, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The workshop is entitled “Business and Corporate Social Responsibility“. The full details and abstracts can be found here.

3.  This week, AJIL Unbound launches an exploration into The End of Treaties? Our intention is to explore a variety of issues related to the possible decline in formal treaties as a mechanism of cooperation in international law. Are treaties in decline as a form of international cooperation? Possible evidence for such a decline includes the rise of soft law commitments, intergovernmental networks, hybrid governance arrangements, and other less formal cooperation schemes, as well as unilateral denunciations of some treaties (such as BITs and the ICSID Convention) and threats of withdrawals from others (African nations and the ICC, for example). In addition, major multilateral negotiations in the trade and environmental protection regimes are stalled, and the leading UN entity in charge of the progressive development and codification of international law, the International Law Commission, is now generating draft articles or studies in lieu of draft conventions. There is also a domestic challenge to treaty power in the United States, embodied in Bond v. U.S., and the continuing unwillingness of the Senate to give advice and consent to what are widely viewed as noncontroversial treaties. Are treaties really in decline? If so what are the implications for international cooperation and international law? What is the role of global power shifts in explaining decline? Is there regional and national variation in propensity to adopt treaties? Are there any signs of ‘the return of the treaty’?

4.  ASIL Research Forum – November 6-8, Chicago, USA. The American Society of International Law calls for submissions of scholarly paper proposals for the ASIL Research Forum to be held during the Society’s Midyear Meeting in Chicago November 6-8, 2014. Papers can be on any topic related to international and transnational law and should be unpublished.  Interdisciplinary projects, empirical studies, and jointly authored papers are welcome. Interested paper-givers should submit an abstract (no more than 1000 words in length) summarizing the scholarly paper to be presented at the Forum. Review of the abstracts will be blind. Proposals should be submitted online by June 8, 2014. To submit a proposal, or for more information, please visit the website.

5.  The research project “Architecture of Postnational Rulemaking” at the University of Amsterdam has issued a call for papers for a workshop on “Transnational Standards in the Domestic Legal Order: Authority and Legitimacy”, to be held on 24 October 2014. The deadline for the submission of proposal of max. 500 words is 18 May 2014. The sponsoring organizations will cover the speakers’ travelling and accommodation expenses. More information is available here (pdf).