EJIL: Talk!

1. CfP Dornburg Workshop ‘A Review of Current Trends in Foreign Relations Law’. Professors Helmut Philipp Aust (Freie Universität Berlin) and Thomas Kleinlein (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) will convene a workshop on ‘Current Trends in Foreign Relations Law’ at Dornburg Castle on 9 – 10 May 2019. A keynote lecture will be given by Professor Campbell McLachlan, QC, University of Wellington. Scholars interested in presenting a paper are invited to submit an abstract by 15 November 2018. For further information please see the Call for Papers. 

2. 2 Year Post-Doctoral Fellowships for Academic Years 2019-21 (September 2019 – August 2021). CIL invites applications for Post-Doctoral Fellowship positions commencing in Academic Year 2019/20. We seek applications from those with expertise in international economic law or international trade law, international investment law, comparative constitutional law, and law and transnational crime. Applications are particularly sought from those with or interested in developing a research interest in the emerging trade and investment regime in the Asia-Pacific region, notably the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or the Belt and Road initiative. For more details, see here. 

1. New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs has added the following lectures to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law website: Dr. Anthea Roberts on “Is International Law International?” and Mr. Dire Tladi on “The African Peace and Security Architecture”. The UN Audiovisual Library of International Law provides high quality international law training and research materials to users around the world free of charge.

2. Call for Papers – The League of Nations Decentred: Law, Crises and Legacies. Melbourne Law School is hosting a conference on 18 – 19 July 2019 which intends to bring together scholars working in law, history, international relations, and political theory to think critically about the League of Nations, law, institutions, practices, ideologies and technologies in relation to or with a view from the South. Abstracts of no more than 350 words should be submitted to Dr Ntina Tzouvala (konstantina.tzouvala {at} unimelb.edu(.)au) by 30 of November 2018.

3. Cynical International Law? Conference: Abuse and Circumvention in Public and Private International law, as well as European Law. The conference departs from the idea that cynicism in international law appears to be ubiquitous. Actors seem to abuse international law or circumvent the purpose of its rules on many occasions. This is particularly evident where illiberal, populist or autocratic actors try to profit from the legitimacy of lawful conduct, while arguably acting against the spirit of the law. Situations in which states advance international legal arguments of self-determination and humanitarian intervention in this manner in order to justify the use of force have received much attention. Further, one could call it cynical when states undermine international organizations, e.g. by obstructing the election process of the organizations’ organs, or when international standards are eroded due to minimalist implementation, e.g. by reducing climate law’s ‘nationally determined contributions’ to zero. Likewise, non-state actors might use international law in a cynical way. Examples include the potential abuse of investment protection mechanisms and of strategic litigation before international judicial bodies.

3. Legal Resilience in an Era of Hybrid Threats – Conference and Call for Papers. The Exeter Centre for International Law and its conference partners, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, are delighted to invite you to a conference on ‘Legal Resilience in an Era of Hybrid Threats’, to be held on 8 – 10 April 2019 at the University of Exeter. The aim of the event is to explore the utility of legal resilience as an analytical and policy framework for countering the legal challenges presented by gray zone conflict, hybrid warfare and lawfare. The conference organizers invite proposals for papers, to be submitted by 30 November 2018, addressing subjects including the notion of legal resilience; strategies for rendering the international legal system more resilient against contemporary threats; the legal challenges presented by gray zone conflict, hybrid warfare and lawfare; the impact of influence operations and other indirect forms of intervention; and the legal and ethical implications of counter-lawfare. The full call for papers and more information about the event can be found here. 

1. Critical Perspectives on Race and Human Rights Conference. UCLA’s Critical Race Studies Program, Promise Institute for Human Rights, International and Comparative Law Program and Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs are planning a one-day conference at UCLA School of Law on Friday, 8 March 2019. Critical Perspectives on Race and Human Rights: Transnational Reimaginings will explore critical topics in contemporary international human rights law from the joint perspectives of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). The deadline for submissions is Monday 1 October, 2018, by 5pm Pacific Time.  The call for papers is available here. 

2. New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs has added the following lectures to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law website: Dr. Hussein Hassouna on “The International Law Commission: Challenges and Achievements”, Mr. Pavel Šturma on “Succession of States and State Responsibility” and Mr. Yacouba Cissé on “La problématique de la délimitation des frontières maritimes: généralités et contexte africain”. 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. The Judicial Power of Africa’s Supranational Courts Conference. Africa boasts a high number of supranational courts, but at the same time there appears to be a widespread lack of willingness among Member States to comply with rulings issued by these courts. The conference will address this paradox and investigate which forms of judicial power are being favoured by African States on the one hand and African supranational courts on the other. The conference will be held at the University of Luxembourg on 21 September 2018. It will analyse to what extent approaches of activism or, conversely, restraint, are being considered as legitimate and effective by these actors. The conference will address dynamics that are potentially common to supranational institutions operating in different fields of law, such as the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Court of Justice and Arbitration of the Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (OHADA), and the East African Court of Justice. Further information is here. 

4. Politics and the Histories of International Law Conference. On 15 and 16 February 2019, an international conference will be held at the Max Planck Institute for International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, under the auspices of the Journal of the History of International Law. The conference deals with the correlation of politics and international law and its implication for the writing of the history of international law. Scholars from all over the world will discuss their thoughts on the subject in a variety of panels. The conference organizers encourage interested scholars to apply for participation as engaged listeners. More information can be found here. 

1. Nottingham International Law and Security Centre Interdisciplinary Conference. The Nottingham International Law and Security Centre (NILSC) welcomes submissions for its 2018 conference, which will take place at the School of Law, University of Nottingham on 9 November 2018. The theme of the conference is the ’70th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention’. This theme can be conceived broadly. Submissions from multiple backgrounds and disciplines are encouraged. Proposals taking normative, conceptual, doctrinal, and historical perspectives are particularly welcome. The conference will also include a keynote debate between Professors Olympia Bekou, Marko Milanovic and David Fraser on the concept of genocide’s value, chaired by Dr Cosmin Cercel. Abstracts of strictly no more than 500 words and a biography of no more than 100 words should be sent to nilsc {at} nottingham.ac(.)uk The deadline for submission of abstracts is midnight on Saturday 15 September 2018. For further information please visit the NILSC website.

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1. Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies: Conference on Knowledge Production and International Law. The International Law Departement of the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is organizing a conference on “Knowledge Production and International Law” to be held in Geneva on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th September 2018. The conference aims to analyze the actors by whom, or the mechanisms, channels and politics though which, knowledge is produced, disseminated, performed and reproduced in international law. It is an invitation to initiate a discussion on knowledge production and international law through four thematic panels: 1) International law as a field of knowledge; 2) Ignorance and the limits of knowledge in international law; 3) Determinants of international law scholarship; and, 4) Emotions and international law. Detailed descriptions of the panels can be found here. Attendance is open to the public. Registration for the conference is free and should be done via email to knowledge-production-il@graduateinstitute.ch by Friday 31 August.

2. New Additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs has added the following lectures to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law website: Mr. Georg Nolte on “The International Law Commission and Community Interests” and Dr. Nilüfer Oral on “Climate Change and the Protection of the Ocean”. The UN Audiovisual Library of International Law provides high quality international law training and research materials to users around the world free of charge.

1. University of Geneva Conference: Evolutionary Interpretation in Different International Legal Systems. On 4 – 5 October 2018, the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva is hosting a conference entitled Evolutionary interpretation in different international legal systems. Evolutionary interpretation is an intriguing and fundamental concept in international law. It allows for the interpretation of treaty provisions by taking into account, emerging factual and legal situations, changes in international law, new social considerations, technological improvements or environmental concerns that did not exist at the time of the conclusion of the treaty. Whether this evolutionary reading of terms occurs by virtue of the generic nature of the terms in the treaty, the contemporary meaning of such terms, the object and purpose of the treaty or the immediate or remote context of the treaty, evolutionary interpretation allows the terms of a treaty to adapt to the passage of time. This conference aims to facilitate thematic discussions on the topic of evolutionary interpretation. These discussions will allow for a broader understanding of the approaches to evolutionary interpretation in various areas of international law, as well as a comparison of these approaches. The programme can be found here. Further information can be found on the conference’s website. Attendance is free, but registration is mandatory. To register for the conference or to ask questions, send an email before 25 September to clement.marquet {at} unige(.)ch.

2. IMPRS-SDR Applications for PhD Proposals. The International Max Planck Research School for Successful Dispute Resolution in International Law (IMPRS-SDR) is accepting applications for PhD proposals within the research areas of the Department of International Law and Dispute Resolution and the Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law to fill a total of 5 funded PhD positions at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural law. The IMPRS-SDR was established in 2009 to bring together academics and practitioners in international dispute settlement with excellent PhD candidates to examine and compare international dispute resolution from a legal and interdisciplinary perspective. Selected PhD candidates will receive full-time research contracts of initially two years, with a possible extension. For further information please see here. The closing date for applications is 31 August 2018.

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. 

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