Announcements: Recommendations on the Legitimacy of Institutions of International Justice; Armed Conflict and Starvation Event; 20 Years of the ICC’s Rome Statute; CfP Melbourne Doctoral Forum on Legal Theory; CfP Engaging with Domestic Law in International Adjudication; CfP German Yearbook of International Law

1. Recommendations on the Legitimacy of Institutions of International Justice. Fifteen judges from thirteen international courts recently drafted and finalized a set of recommendations aimed at reinforcing the legitimacy of institutions of international justice. These were the participants of the 2018 session of the Brandeis Institute for International Judges (BIIJ), organized collaboratively in June 2018 by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, of Brandeis University, and the PluriCourts Center for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order, a center of excellence of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law. Blog posts are available on Intlawgrrls and PluriCourts blogs.

2. Chatham House Event: Armed Conflict and Starvation – What does the law say? The International Law Programme at Chatham House is hosting an even entitled “Armed Conflict and Starvation- What does the law say?” on 12 October 2018 from 17.30pm. Millions of civilians suffer hunger and starvation in times of armed conflict. This panel will discuss the legal prohibitions on the use of starvation as a method of war, and the obligations on the warring parties to allow access for humanitarian relief. Speakers include Professor Dapo Akande and Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, and the event will be chaired by Elizabeth Wilmshurst. It will be hosted at Chatham House | 10 St James’s Square | London | SW1Y 4LE.  The event will be followed by a drinks reception.

3. Twenty Years of the ICC’s Rome Statute: Utopia – Reality – Crisis. On 7 – 8 of September 2018 Edge Hill University and the University of Hamburg will co-host an interdisciplinary conference in Liverpool/UK on “Twenty Years of the ICC’s Rome Statute: Utopia – Reality – Crisis“. ICC judges, international scholars and practitioners will critically discuss the past, present and future role of the International Criminal Court. The program of the Conference and further information are available here. 

4. Call for Papers: 11^th Melbourne Doctoral Forum on Legal Theory. The 11^th Melbourne Doctoral Forum on Legal Theory is calling for papers for this year’s Forum, which will take place on 4 and 5 December 2018. The Forum brings together graduate researchers and early career scholars from a range of disciplines and backgrounds to think methodologically, theoretically and critically about law and legal theory. The theme for this year’s Forum is ‘Facts, Law and Critique’ and this year’s Forum organisers are delighted to announce Anne Orford and Ben Golder as our keynote speakers for the Forum. To apply, abstracts of up to 500 words and biographies of up to 200 words should be emailed to law-mdflt {at} unimelb.edu(.)au by 5 September 2018. The full call for papers and further information can be found here.

5. Call for Papers: Workshop: “Engaging with Domestic Law in International Adjudication: Fact-Finding or Transnational Law-Making?”. The European Research Council-supported Lex Mercatoria Publica project headed by Prof. Stephan Schill at the Amsterdam Center of International Law (ACIL) announces an open call for papers for a workshop held at the University of Amsterdam from 27 February – 1 March 2019. International law today is marked by ‘judicialization’ as a result of the unprecedented proliferation of international courts and tribunals. Great emphasis in this context has been put on how international courts and tribunals engage with – interpret, apply and further develop – international law. By contrast, what is often neglected, is that international courts and tribunals routinely engage with domestic law, in addressing incidental questions as well as applying domestic law as applicable law. This raises a variety of questions that are wholly underexplored and hidden behind the mantra that domestic law is to be treated principally as fact in international adjudication. How do international courts and tribunals engage with domestic law? Do they mimic domestic courts or apply a comparative and transnational approach? What happens to domestic law in the course of this process? Why do international courts and tribunals do one or the other? And what is normatively appropriate in this context? The deadline for Submissions is 15 September 2018. The full Call for Papers is here.

6. Reminder – Call for Papers: Volume 61 (2018) German Yearbook of International Law (GYIL). The GYIL is published annually by the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel and contains contributions on topics addressing all aspects of public international law. The Editors are pleased to call for contributions to the “General Articles” section of Volume 61 (2018) of the GYIL. Prior to publication, all manuscripts are independently peer-reviewed by a board of renowned experts. Submissions from all areas of public international law are welcome. The paper should be 10,000-12,500 words inclusive of footnotes and conform with the house style of the GYIL (which is available on our website). Submissions, including a brief abstract, statement of affiliation, and confirmation of exclusive submission, should be sent by 1 September 2018 to the Assistant Editors of the GYIL via e-mail: yearbook {at} wsi.uni-kiel(.)de.