Announcements: Workshop on The Paths of Change in International Law; Prosecution of International Crimes in the UK; CfP The Trials and Prospects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; CfP Conference on International Economic Law; CfP EU Trade Agreements and the Duty to Respect Human Rights Abroad

1. Workshop on The Paths of Change in International Law. The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is hosting an interdisciplinary workshop on The Paths of Change in International Law in Geneva on 6 – 7 June 2019. The workshop is part of an ERC-funded research project on processes of informal change in the international legal order and asks how international law changes, how this change is registered among participants in legal discourses, and how the pathways of change differ across issue areas and sites of international legal practice. The workshop will bring together leading and rising scholars from different disciplines – law, international relations, and political sociology – to explore these issues in a small and interactive format. More information is available here. 

2. The Prosecution of International Crimes in the UK: Present Problems and Future Possibilities. 6.30pm Tuesday 18 June 2019, Hogan Lovells, Holborn, London EC1A 2FG. Various pieces of legislation have been enacted in the UK to allow those suspected of having committed international crimes to be prosecuted domestically; the most notable example of such legislation is the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which gives effect to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Despite this, the prosecution of individuals in UK courts for international crimes remains incredibly rare, with other countries, such as Spain, Germany and Sweden taking the lead on this issue. In light of recent reports that individuals suspected of playing key roles in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide may be prosecuted in the UK in the near future, this Human Rights Lawyers Association organised panel event will discuss why prosecutions for international crimes have been wanting thus far and examine whether there is a future for such prosecutions in UK courts. To RSVP for this free event, please contact administrator@hrla.org.uk.

3. Call for Papers: The Trials and Prospects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Berlin Forum on Global Politics (Berlin, Germany), the Institute for Global Dialogue (Pretoria, South Africa) and the RECLAIM! Universal Human Rights Initiative (Germany, United States, and France) are pleased to announce their joint collaboration on an international call for papers on the trials and prospects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is the landmark document for the international human rights movement of the 20th century and remains its legal bedrock today. The aim of the multi-author publication is to share ideas that will make this document more effective in the world than it has been as a protector of human dignity and security. The publication will be revised and edited by experienced academics, and published as a free-to-the public .pdf formatted document – licensed as a CC-BY (Attribution only) Creative Commons. This will allow to inform a multiplicity of stakeholders about the UDHR and how its reaffirmation can address and effectively contribute to resolving the challenges of our times. The deadline for submitting papers is 24 June 2019. For further information, please read the call for papers  here. 

4. Call for Papers and Panels: American Society of International Law International Economic Law Interest Group Conference on International Economic Law. The American Society of International Law International Economic Law Interest Group is pleased to announce its biennial conference on international economic law which will take place on 14 – 15 February 2020 at the University of Miami School of Law.  The theme is Designing International Economic Law: Challenges and Opportunities. We welcome unpublished paper proposals relating to the conference theme, but will also consider submissions on other topics in international economic law.  The deadline for both unpublished paper and panel proposal submissions is Monday 24 June 2019. Submissions should be sent to 2020IELconference {at} gmail(.)com. Papers: Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words and confirm that the paper will not be published before the conference. Please also provide a CV or resume, your current affiliation, and indicate whether you are a member of the ASIL International Economic Law IG. Panel proposals: Please submit a proposal of no more than 1500 words on the approach, anticipated content, and format of the panel, and proposed speakers with their affiliation and their field(s) of expertise. Please note that panel proposals may be combined or amended by the conference organizers to take into account the range of submissions. 

5. Call for Papers: EU Trade Agreements and the Duty to Respect Human Rights Abroad. The T.M.C. Asser Institute, the Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) and the ESIL Interest Group on the EU as a Global Actor invite submissions of abstracts for a workshop on EU Trade Agreements and the Duty to Respect Human Rights Abroad. The workshop will take place at the Asser Institute in The Hague, on 11 December 2019. In recent years, the issue of whether human rights obligations incumbent upon the EU have an extraterritorial scope has gained much salience. Recent developments, including the Western Sahara litigation before the CJEU concerning the conclusion of a trade agreement extending to a territory whose people are denied the right to self-determination by an EU trading partner, attest to the increasing significance of answering questions of ‘extraterritoriality’ of EU human rights obligations in the context of trade agreements. In this light, this workshop aims to explore the question of whether the EU is bound by human rights obligations towards individuals outside the territory of its Member States when it concludes trade agreements with third countries. For the full call for papers see here.