Saturday, July 9, 2011

New Volume: Australian International Law Journal

The latest volume of the Australian International Law Journal (Vol. 17, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Damien van der Toorn, ‘Direct Participation in Hostilities’: A Legal and Practical Road Test of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Guidance through Afghanistan
  • Tahlia Petrosian, Secondary Forms of Genocide and Command Responsibility under the Statutes of the ICTY, ICTR and ICC
  • Rebecca Zaman, Playing the Ace? Jus Cogens Crimes and Functional Immunity in National Courts
  • Sadhana Abayasekara, A Dog without a Bark: A Critical Assessment of the International Law on Language Rights
  • Rosehana Amin, International Jurisdiction Agreements and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Australian Litigation: Is There a Need for the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements?
  • Hop Dang, The Applicability of International Law as Governing Law of State Contracts
  • Michael Longo, EU Financial Reform and New Opportunities for European Integration
  • Michael Joachim Bonell, Symposium Paper: The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: Achievements in Practice and Prospects for the Future
  • Donald Robertson, Symposium Paper: Long-Term Relational Contracts and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts
  • Paul Finn, Symposium Paper: The UNIDROIT Principles: An Australian Perspective
  • Luke Nottage, Symposium Paper: Afterthoughts: International Commercial Contracts and Arbitration

Friday, July 8, 2011

New Issue: Global Policy

The latest issue of Global Policy (Vol. 2, no. 2, May 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Research Articles
    • Yılmaz Akyüz, Global Economic Prospects: The Recession May be Over but Where Next?
    • Andy Sumner & Meera Tiwari, Global Poverty Reduction to 2015 and Beyond
    • Adrienne Héritier & Yannis Karagiannis, The New Institutions of Transatlantic Aviation
  • Special Section - Rethinking economics after the financial crisis
    • Tim Besley, Rethinking Economics: Introduction and Overview
    • Joseph E. Stiglitz, Rethinking Macroeconomics: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It
    • David F. Hendry & Grayham E. Mizon, What Needs Rethinking in Macroeconomics?
    • Peter J. Boettke & Christopher J. Coyne, The Debt–Inflation Cycle and the Global Financial Crisis
    • Geoffrey Hodgson, Reforming Economics after the Financial Crisis
  • Survey Articles
    • Thomas G. Weiss, Fundamental UN Reform: A Non-starter or Not?
    • Andrew F. Cooper, The G20 and Its Regional Critics: The Search for Inclusion
    • Barry Kellman, The Biological Weapons Convention and the Democratization of Mass Violence
  • Practitioner Commentaries
    • Kamalesh Sharma, The Commonwealth in the 21st Century
    • Andreas Klasen, The Role of Export Credit Agencies in Global Trade
    • Hafez Ghanem, Food and Nutrition Security: Key Policy Challenges and the Role of Global Governance
    • Mark Harrod & Sandra Dodgson, Values-Based Global Governance: The YMCA Story (So Far)
  • Responses to Articles
    • Mary Kaldor, Stability, War and Human Security in the 21st Century: Addendum to Desai
    • Justin Yifu Lin, A Comment on Professor Robert Wade’s Rebuttal
    • Daniele Archibugi & Andrea Filippetti, How Powerful are Intellectual Property Rights?
  • Review Essay
    • Jim Whitman, Globalization and the Politics of Health

Nollkaemper: Dual attribution: liability of the Netherlands for removal of individuals from the compound of Dutchbat

André Nollkaemper (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted Dual attribution: liability of the Netherlands for removal of individuals from the compound of Dutchbat. Here's the abstract:
On 5 July 2011 the Court of Appeal of The Hague held that the state of the Netherlands had acted unlawfully and is liable, under Dutch law, for evicting four Bosnian nationals from the compound of Dutchbat in Srebrenica on 12 July 1995. When not overturned by the Supreme Court, the decisions of the Court of Appeal will stand as groundbreaking rulings on the possibility of dual attribution of conduct to the United Nations (UN) and a troop contributing state. In this case-note, I will first summarize the relevant facts (section 2) and the disputed conduct (section 3) and subsequently discuss questions of attribution (section 4) and wrongfulness (section 5). The case-note focuses in particular on the implications of the case for the possibility of shared responsibility in international law.

New Issue: World Trade Review

The latest issue of the World Trade Review (Vol. 10, no. 3, July 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Johanna Croser & Kym Anderson, Changing contributions of different agricultural policy instruments to global reductions in trade and welfare
  • Nellie Munin, The GATS: a legal perspective on crossroads of conflicting interests
  • Alberto Alvarez-Jiménez, Mutually agreed solutions under the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding: An Analytical Framework after the Softwood Lumber Arbitration
  • Petros C. Mavroidis, Always look at the bright side of non-delivery: WTO and Preferential Trade Agreements, yesterday and today
  • Baris Karapinar, China's export restriction policies: complying with ‘WTO plus’ or undermining multilateralism

New Volume: Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional

The latest volume of the Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional (Vol. 26, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Estudios doctrinales
    • Romualdo Bermejo García & Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada, La declaración unilateral de independencia de Kosovo a la luz de la Opinión Consultiva de la Corte Internacional de Justicia, de 22 de julio de 2010 y de las declaraciones, opiniones individuales y disidentes a la misma
    • María Teresa Comellas Aguirrezábal, La jurisdicción universal en España tras la reforma de 2009: ¿racionalización del principio o un paso atrás en la lucha contra la impunidad?
    • José Elías Esteve Moltó, La inacción del Consejo de Seguridad ante la amenaza a la paz y seguridad internacionales: el caso de Birmania
    • Raúl Ignacio Rodríguez Magdaleno, El régimen internacional de la pesca de ballenas: entre la conservación y la explotación (a propósito del asunto de la pesca de ballenas en el océano Antártico)
  • Notas
    • María José Cervell Hortal, Las nuevas estrategias, nuclear y de seguridad de Estados Unidos
    • Matteo Fornari, El pilotaje obligatorio en los estrechos utilizados para la navegación internacional
    • María José Marzá Bataller, Reflexiones en torno a la nueva estrategia estadounidense para Afganistán
    • Sagrario Morán Blanco, La Unión Europea y la creación de un Espacio de Seguridad y Justicia. Visión histórica de la lucha contra el terrorismo internacional en Europa
    • Juan Jorge Piernas López, La Conferencia de revisión del Estatuto de Roma
    • Carlos Ruiz Miguel, Las obligaciones legales de España como potencia administradora del Sahara Occidental
    • Raquel Vañó Vicedo, La Década trece-veinticinco: un análisis de género de las operaciones multidimensionales de paz

New Issue: Journal du Droit International

The latest issue of the Journal du Droit International ("Clunet") (Vol. 138, no. 2, Avril-Mai-Juin 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Doctrine
    • Leila Lankarani, La notion de dispersion en droit international des patrimoines culturels (immatériel, naturel et mondial)
    • Johanna Guillaumé, L'autonomie de la nationalité sportive
    • Ousmane Bougouma, La dimension commerciale des accords de partenariat économique: quelle stratégie pour le régionalisme ouest africain
  • Variétés
    • Mauro Rubino-Sammartano, Trois médiations, dont une obligatoire (ombres et lumières de l'exemple italien)
    • Chen Weizuo & Lyvia Bertrand, La nouvelle loi chinoise de droit international privé du 28 octobre 2010: contexte législatif, principales nouveautés et critiques

New Issue: Revue Générale de Droit International Public

The latest issue of the Revue Générale de Droit International Public (Vol. 115, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Pierre Brunet, Aspects théoriques et philosophiques de l'interprétation normative
  • Benjamin Remy, Techniques interpretatives et systemes de droit
  • Olivier Corten, Les techniques reproduites aux articles 31 à 33 des conventions de Vienne: approche objectiviste ou approche volontariste de l'interprétation?
  • Rolf Einar Fife, Les techniques interprétatives non juridictionnelles de la norme internationale

Thursday, July 7, 2011

New Issue: International Legal Materials

The latest issue of International Legal Materials (Vol. 50, no. 2, March 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation and Protocol Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, with introductory note by Samuel M. Witten
  • Kuwait Airways Corp. v. Republic of Iraq (Can.), with introductory note by Chimène I. Keitner
  • UN Security Council Resolutions 1956-1958 on Iraq, with introductory note by Ronald J. Bettauer
  • AES Summit Generation Ltd. v. Republic of Hungary (ICSID), with introductory note by Charles O. Verrill
  • Bagosora et al. v. Prosecutor (Int’l Crim. Trib. for Rwanda), with introductory note by Alexis S. Kramer
  • Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, with introductory note by Aaron X. Fellmeth
  • 2011 French Arbitration Law, with introductory note by Jennifer Kirby

New Issue: Journal of World Intellectual Property

The latest issue of the Journal of World Intellectual Property (Vol. 14, nos. 3-4, July 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Alison Brimelow, “Not Seeing the Woods for the Trees”: Is the Patent System Still Fit for Purpose?
  • Michael Blakeney & Getachew Mengistie, Intellectual Property and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Milana Karayanidi, Bargaining Power in Multilateral Negotiations on Intellectual Property Rules: Paradox of Weakness
  • David Price, Politics, Piracy and Punishment: Copyright Protection in the Arabian Gulf
  • Asanka Perara, Plant Variety Protection in Sri Lanka and its Impact on Sri Lanka's Agricultural Economy: A Critical Analysis
  • Anh L.T. Tran, Patent Law and Public Health under the TRIPS Agreement Standards: How Does Vietnam Benefit from the WTO Membership?

New Issue: Die Friedens-Warte

The latest issue of Die Friedens-Warte (2010, no. 4) is out. The theme is "Zivilgesellschaft und Frieden." Contents include:
  • Thania Paffenholz, NROs als Friedensbringer? Möglichkeiten und Grenzen
  • Claudia Hofmann & Ulrich Schneckener, Verhaltensänderung durch Normdiffusion? Die Ansätze von IKRK und Geneva Call im Umgang mit bewaffneten Gruppen
  • Martin B. Kalinowski, Zivilgesellschaftliche Beiträge zur Überprüfung nuklearer Rüstungskontrollverträge
  • Martina Fischer, Zivilgesellschaft und Friedenskonsolidierung. Erfahrungen in Bosnien-Herzegowina
  • Cornelia Brinkmann, Frieden in Afghanistan: Durch wen? Mit wem? Zur Rolle lokaler zivilgesellschaftlicher Schlüsselakteure und NGOs für einen bottom-up-Friedensprozess

New Volume: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law

The latest volume of the African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (Vol. 2009-2010) is out. Contents include:
  • 'Dejo Olowu, The Imperative of Extending International Criminal Accountability to Violent Internal Strife and Disturbances in Africa: Filling a Dangerous Lacuna
  • Japhet Biegon & Sarah Swart, The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa: a Panoramic View
  • Quintin Combrink, Operation Cast Lead: Ex Post Review as a Mechanism for Compliance with Proportionality in International Humanitarian Law
  • Sebastiaan Buijs, Protecting Our Cultural Property: Article 3(d) of the Statute of the ICTY
  • Emmanuel C. Ibezim, Contemporary Challenges to International Humanitarian Law: the Private Military Companies
  • Jamil Ddmamulira Mujuzi, The Enforcement of Sentences Imposed by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL): Examining the Agreement between the SCSL and the Government of Rwanda
  • Hennie Strijdom, An Overview of the UN Draft Convention on Private Military and Security Companies
  • Chris Black, Some Reasons for Considering Why the ICC may not be Considered as an Anti-African Institution

New Volume: Baltic Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Baltic Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 10, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Tanel Kerikmäe, Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, & Mari-Liis Põder, The August 2008 Russian-Georgian War: Issues of International Law
  • Dovydas Špokauskas, Suspension of the Operation of an International Treaty: Analysis of the Decision by the Russian Federation to Suspend the Implementation of Its Obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
  • Arnis Lauva, Why Soldiers Have to Perform Combat Tasks: Latvian Perspective
  • Jo Stigen, The Right or Non-Right of States to Prosecute Core International Crimes under the Title of “Universal Jurisdiction”
  • Carl Lebeck, Consensus not Constitutionalism: Fundamental Rights in EU law after Kadi
  • Christoph Schewe, Legal Aspects of the Baltic Sea Strategy – International Law in a European Macro-Region

New Volume: Japanese Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Japanese Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 53, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Articles
    • Nisuke Ando, The Khoka-ryo Case and International Law: A Critique of the Japanese Supreme Court Decision
  • International Economic Law and the Governance of Global Economy
    • Henrik Horn & Petros C. Mavroidis, Climate Change and the WTO: Legal Issues Concerning Border Tax Adjustments
    • Mark S. Manger, Common Standards in a Bilateral Regime: A Political Economy Perspective on International Investment Law
    • Junji Nakagawa, Reconstructing Global Monetary/Financial Governance: Beyond the Bretton Wood System
    • Daisaku Sugihara, Investment Chapter of the Japanese-Switzerland Free Trade Economic Partnership Agreement (JSFTEPA): A Comparative Study of the "Japan Model" in the Context of the Evolution of International Investment Agreements
  • International Law and Combating Piracy
    • Douglas Guilfoyle, Combating Piracy: Executive Measures on the High Seas
    • Masataka Okano, Is International Law Effective in the Fight Against Piracy? – Lessons from Somalia
  • State Immunity: U.N. Convention and New Act of Japan
    • Kimio Yakushiji, Legislation of the Act on Civil Jurisdiction over Foreign States, Acceptance of the U.N. Convention on Jurisdictional Immunity of States and Their Property, and Their Possible Effects upon the Jurisprudence of Japanese Domestic Courts on State Immunity
    • Chusei Yamada, UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property— How the Differences Were Overcome
    • Shusuke Kakiuchi, Foreign State Immunity Viewed from the Perspective of Japanese Procedural Law
    • Takehiro Nobumori, Recent Sovereign Immunity Legislation in Japan from a Perspective of Central Banks
  • “Transparancy of Japanese Laws” Project
    • Toshiyuki Kono, The “Transparency” Project, Its Achievements, and Some Cross-Cutting Issues
    • Kenichi Osugi, Recent Reform of Japan’s Corporate Law in an International Context: Who Have Participated in the Reforms, and How?
    • Takashi Kubota, Enhancing the Transparency of Japanese Financial Laws: The Case of Oversight of Credit Rating Agencies
    • Ryu Kojima, Contemporary Problems in Japanese Intellectual Property Law: Copyright Limitations and Exceptions, Indirect Copyright Infringement, and Selected Issues Related to Private International Law
    • Junichi Matsushita, Transparency of the Japanese Law Project: From the Viewpoint of International Civil Procedure Law
  • Public International Law
    • Onuma Yasuaki, Takano Yuichi: Personification of a Liberal Mind and Solid Scholarship
  • Private International Law
    • Hiroo Sono, Japan’s Accession to and Implementation of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
    • Hajime Sakai, Enforcing the Obligation to Return a Child in Japan: With Insight into the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Cross-Border Child Abduction Cases

New Volume: German Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the German Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 53, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Forum: Perspectives on International Law from China
    • B.B. Jia, A Synthesis of the Notion of Sovereignty and the Ideal of the Rule of Law: Reflections on the Contemporary Chinese Approach to International Law
  • Focus: Climate Change and new Challenges for International Law
    • A. Proelss, International Environmental Law and the Challenge of Climate Change
    • M. Fitzmaurice, Responsibility and Climate Change
    • P. Aerni, B. Boie, T. Cottier, K. Holzer, D. Jost, B. Karapinar, S. Matteotti, O. Nartova, T. Payosova, L. Rubini, A. Shingal, F. Temmerman, E. Xoplaki, & S. Z. Bigdeli, Climate Change and International Law: Exploring the Linkages between Human Rights, Environment, Trade and Investment
    • C. Schofield, Rising Waters, Shrinking States: The Potential Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Claims to Maritime Jurisdiction
    • J. McAdam & B. Saul, Displacement with Dignity: International Law and Policy Responses to Climate Change Migration and Security in Bangladesh
    • M. Bowman, Conserving Biological Diversity in an Era of Climate Change: Local Implementation of International Wildlife Treaties
    • J. Gupta, Climate Change: A GAP Analysis Based on Third World Approaches to International Law
    • W. Th. Douma, Legal Aspects of the European Union's Biofuels Policy: Protection or Protectionism?
  • General Articles
    • G. Handl, In Re South African Apartheid Litigation and Beyond: Corporate Liability for Aiding and Abetting Under the Alien Tort Statute
    • K. Ambos, The Crime of Aggression after Kampala
    • K. Odendahl, The Scope of Application of the Principle of Territorial Integrity
    • C. Riziki Majinge, Southern Sudan and the Struggle for Self-Determination in Contemporary Africa: Examining its Basis Under International Law
    • A. Gourgourinis, Lex Specialis in WTO and Investment Protection Law
    • A. Peters, Extraterritorial Naturalizations: Between the Human Right to Nationality, State Sovereignty and Fair Principles of Jurisdiction
    • P. Pustorino, Failed States and International Law: The Impact of UN Practice on Somalia in Respect of Fundamental Rules of International Law
    • P. Kroker, Transitional Justice Policy in Practice: Victim Participation in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
    • K. Oellers-Frahm, Problematic Question or Problematic Answer? Observations on the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion Concerning Kosovo's Unilateral Declaration of Independence

Verdier: U.S. Implementation of Basel II: Lessons for Informal International Law-Making

Pierre-Hugues Verdier (Univ. of Virginia - Law) has posted U.S. Implementation of Basel II: Lessons for Informal International Law-Making. Here's the abstract:
This paper examines the highly contentious and protracted implementation of the Basel II accord on bank capital adequacy in the United States. As a formal matter, this process should have been simple, as banking regulators already had the relevant authority under existing legislation. This form of transgovernmental standard-setting has long been regarded with suspicion due to concerns that it compromises democratic legitimacy and accountability. The U.S. implementation of Basel II, however, poses challenges for this critique. Over several years, deep divisions emerged among banks and regulators, numerous Congressional hearings were held, regulators faced hostile questioning and severe criticism, and the Accord suffered long delays and substantial modifications. Based on this experience, the paper argues that robust domestic implementation processes advance certain forms of accountability, such as legislative control over regulators and responsiveness to affected domestic constituencies, at the exclusion, and perhaps the detriment, of others, such as accountability to banks, firms and consumers in other countries. The accountability benefits must also be balanced against the resulting costs and delays and the risk of compromising the uniformity and effectiveness of the standards. This paper was prepared for the Hague Institute of International Law’s project, “Informal International Law-Making: Mapping the Action and Testing Concepts of Accountability and Effectiveness.”

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

New Issue: Journal of World Intellectual Property

The latest issue of the Journal of World Intellectual Property (Vol. 14, no. 2, March 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Carolyn Deere Birkbeck & Ron Marchant, Implementation of the Technical Assistance Principles of the WIPO Development Agenda
  • Nixon K. Kariithi, Is the Devil in the Data? A Literature Review of Piracy Around the World
  • Lisa Forman, An Elementary Consideration of Humanity? Linking Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights to the Human Right to Health in International Law
  • Jennifer W. Reiss, Commercializing Human Rights: Trademarks in Europe After Anheuser-Busch v Portugal
  • Ebenezer K. Tetteh, Pharmaceutical Innovation, Fair Following and the Constrained Value of TRIPS Flexibilities

New Issue: Journal of International Maritime Law

The latest issue of the Journal of International Maritime Law (Vol. 16, no. 5, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Andrew Tettenborn, Emotional trauma at sea, California-style - The Eva Danielsen 2010 AMC 1782
  • Proshanto K. Mukherjee & Abhinayan Basu Bal, The impact of the volume contract concept on the global community of shippers: the Rotterdam Rules in perspective
  • Francesco Munari & Andrea La Mattina, The Rotterdam Rules and their implications for environmental protection
  • Richard Zwitser, Cash against mate's receipt under the Rotterdam Rules

Joyner: Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Daniel H. Joyner (Univ. of Alabama - Law) has published Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Oxford Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

The 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty has proven the most complicated and controversial of all arms control treaties, both in principle and in practice.

Statements of nuclear-weapon States from the Cold War to the present, led by the United States, show a disproportionate prioritization of the non-proliferation pillar of the Treaty, and an unwarranted underprioritization of the civilian energy development and disarmament pillars of the treaty.

This book argues that the way in which nuclear-weapon States have interpreted the Treaty has laid the legal foundation for a number of policies related to trade in civilian nuclear energy technologies and nuclear weapons disarmament. These policies circumscribe the rights of non-nuclear-weapon States under Article IV of the Treaty by imposing conditions on the supply of civilian nuclear technologies. They also provide for the renewal and maintaintenance, and in some cases further development of the nuclear weapons arsenals of nuclear-weapon States.

The book provides a legal analysis of this trend in treaty interpretation by nuclear-weapon States and the policies for which it has provided legal justification. It argues, through a close and systematic examination of the Treaty by reference to the rules of treaty interpretation found in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, that this disproportionate prioritization of the non-proliferation pillar of the Treaty leads to erroneous legal interpretations in light of the original balance of principles underlying the Treaty, prejudicing the legitimate legal interests of non-nuclear-weapon States.

Hollyer & Rosendorff: Why Do Authoritarian Regimes Sign the Convention Against Torture? Signaling, Domestic Politics and Non-Compliance

James R. Hollyer (New York Univ. - Politics) & B. Peter Rosendorff (New York Univ. - Politics) have posted Why Do Authoritarian Regimes Sign the Convention Against Torture? Signaling, Domestic Politics and Non-Compliance. Here's the abstract:
Traditional international relations theory holds that states will join only those international institutions with which they generally intend to comply. Here we show when this claim might not hold. We construct a model of an authoritarian government’s decision to sign the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT). Authoritarian governments use the signing of this treaty – followed by the willful violation of its provisions – as a costly signal to domestic opposition groups of their willingness to employ repressive tactics to remain in power. In equilibrium, authoritarian governments that torture heavily are more likely to sign the treaty than those that torture less. We further predict that signatory regimes survive longer in office than non-signatories, and enjoy less domestic opposition – and we provide empirical support for these predictions.

New Issue: Journal of Private International Law

The latest issue of the Journal of Private International Law (Vol. 7, no. 1, April 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • S.I. Strong Jurisdictional Discovery in Transnational Litigation: Extraterritorial Effects of United States Federal Practice
  • Jonathan Fitchen, Authentic Instruments and European Private International Law in Civil and Commercial Matters: Is Now the Time to Break New Ground?
  • Zheng Sophia Tang, Consumer Collective Redress in European Private International Law
  • Burcu Yüksel, The Relevance of the Rome I Regulation to International Commercial Arbitration in the European Union
  • Guangjian Tu & Muchi Xu, Contractual Conflicts in the People's Republic of China: The Applicable Law in the Absence of Choice
  • Maebh Harding, The Harmonisation of Private International Law in Europe: Taking the Character Out of Family Law?

New Issue: Journal of International Economic Law

The latest issue of the Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 14, no. 1, March 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Steve Charnovitz, What is International Economic Law?
  • Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, International Economic Law, ‘Public Reason’, and Multilevel Governance of Interdependent Public Goods
  • Matthew Kennedy, Two Single Undertakings—Can the WTO Implement the Results of a Round?
  • Pasha L. Hsieh, The China–Taiwan ECFA, Geopolitical Dimensions and WTO Law
  • Julie A. Maupin, MFN-based Jurisdiction in Investor–State Arbitration: Is There Any Hope for a Consistent Approach?

New Volume: South African Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the South African Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 34, 2009) is out. Contents include:
  • Africa and the International Criminal Court
    • Max du Plessis & Christopher Gevers, Making Amend(ment)s: South Africa and the International Criminal Court from 2009 to 2010
    • Nidal Nabil Jurdi, Some lessons on complementarity for the International Criminal Court Review Conference
    • Dire Tladi, The African Union and the International Criminal Court: The battle for the soul of international law
  • Articles
    • Shannon Bosch, Journalists: Shielded from the dangers of war in their pursuit of the truth?
    • Hennie Strydom, The responsibility of international organisations for conduct arising out of armed conflict situations
    • Christa Rautenback & Anel du Plessis, Fragmentation: Friend or foe in the effective implementation of the Cultural Diversity Convention in South Africa?

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

New Issue: American Review of International Arbitration

The latest issue of the American Review of International Arbitration (Vol. 21, nos. 1-4, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Symposium: Arbitration and National Courts: Conflict and Cooperation
    • W. Michael Reisman & Heide Iravani, The Changing Relation of National Courts and International Commercial Arbitration
    • Alan Scott Rau, Understanding (and Misunderstanding) "Primary Jurisdiction"
    • Dominique T. Hascher, Injunctions in Favor of and Against Arbitration
    • Pierre Mayer, The Second Look Doctrine: The European Perspective
    • Andrea K. Bjorklund, Sovereign Immunity as a Barrier to the Enforcement of Investor-State Arbitral Awards: The Re-Politicization of International Investment Disputes
    • W. Laurence Craig, The Arbitrator's Mission and the Application of Law in International Commercial Arbitration
    • Anthony Evans, Arbitration and the Role of Law
    • Leonard H. Hoffmann, Arbitrators and the Courts
    • Mariano Gomezperalta Casali, Representation of State Parties in Investment Arbitration

Margolies: Spaces of Law in American Foreign Relations: Extradition and Extraterritoriality in the Borderlands and Beyond, 1877-1898

Daniel S. Margolies (Virginia Wesleyan College - History) has published Spaces of Law in American Foreign Relations: Extradition and Extraterritoriality in the Borderlands and Beyond, 1877–1898 (Univ. of Georgia Press 2011). Here's the abstract:

In the late nineteenth century the United States oversaw a great increase in extraterritorial claims, boundary disputes, extradition controversies, and transborder abduction and interdiction. In this sweeping history of the underpinnings of American empire, Daniel S. Margolies offers a new frame of analysis for historians to understand how novel assertions of legal spatiality and extraterritoriality were deployed in U.S. foreign relations during an era of increased national ambitions and global connectedness.

Whether it was in the Mexican borderlands or in other hot spots around the globe, Margolies shows that American policy responded to disputes over jurisdiction by defining the space of law on the basis of a strident unilateralism. Especially significant and contested were extradition regimes and the exceptions carved within them. Extradition of fugitives reflected critical questions of sovereignty and the role of the state in foreign affairs during the run-up to overseas empire in 1898.

Using extradition as a critical lens, Spaces of Law in American Foreign Relations examines the rich embeddedness of questions of sovereignty, territoriality, legal spatiality, and citizenship and shows that U.S. hegemonic power was constructed in significant part in the spaces of law, not simply through war or trade.

New Issue: International Arbitration Law Review

The latest issue of the International Arbitration Law Review (Vol. 14, no. 1, 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Hop Dang, Jurisdiction Clauses in State Contracts Subject to Bilateral Investment Treaties
  • Hakeem Seriki, Anti-suit Injunctions, Arbitration and the Non-EU Perspective: Some Recent Developments
  • Moreza Shahbazinia & Mohammad Issaei Tafreshi, Nationality of Parties and Arbitrator(s) in International Commercial Arbitration under Iranian Law

New Volume: New Zealand Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 7, 2009) is out. Contents include:
  • Stefan Talmon, New Zealand’s Policy of Implied Recognition of States: One Step Ahead or Falling Behind?
  • Claire Breen, Law, Policy and Practice: The United Nations Collective Security Regime and the Contribution of the New Zealand Defence Force
  • Stephen R. Tully, Getting it Wrong or Being Ignored: Ten Words on Advice for Government Lawyers
  • Michael Bowman, Transcending the Fisheries Paradigm: Towards a Rational Approach to Determining the Future of the International Whaling Commission
  • Trevor Ryan, Sea Shepherd v Greenpeace? Comparing Anti-whaling Strategies in Japanese Courts
  • Joanna Mossop, Australia v Japan: Whaling in the International Court of Justice
  • Duncan French & Richard Kirkham, Complaint and Grievance Mechanisms in International Law: One Piece of the Accountability Jigsaw
  • Hannah Yiu, Jus Cogens, The Veto and the Responsibility to Protect: A New Perspective
  • K.J. Keith, Resolving International Disputes: The Role of the Courts

New Issue: Criminal Law Forum

The latest issue of Criminal Law Forum (Vol. 22, nos. 1-2, March 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Payam Akhavan, Preventing Genocide: Measuring Success by What Does Not Happen
  • Chile Eboe-Osuji, The Plea of Alibi in International Criminal Law as Viewed Through the Prism of the Common Law
  • Róisín Mulgrew, The International Movement of Prisoners
  • Jonathan Clough, Data Theft? Cybercrime and the Increasing Criminalization of Access to Data
  • Symposium: From Rome to Reality
    • Florian Jessberger, From Rome to Reality: Introductory Observations
    • Carsten Stahn, How is the Water? Light and Shadow in the First Years of the ICC
    • Volker Nerlich, The International Criminal Court 2002–2010 – A View from the Inside
    • Adrian Fulford, The Reflections of a Trial Judge

New Volume: Irish Yearbook of International Law

The latest volume of the Irish Yearbook of International Law (Volume 3, 2008) is out. Contents include:
  • Gráinne de Búrca, The Lisbon Treaty No-Vote: An Irish Problem or a European Problem?
  • Colm O’Cinneide, Human Rights within Multi-Layered Systems of Constitutional Governance: Rights Cosmopolitanism and Domestic Particularism in Tension
  • Aonghus Heatley, Diplomatic Protection of Northern Irish Residents by the Republic of Ireland in Reliance upon the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956
  • Killian O’Brien, Representation in the Doctrine of Estoppel in International Law

Louka: Nuclear Weapons, Justice and the Law

Elli Louka (Alphabetics) has published Nuclear Weapons, Justice and the Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

It is often argued that the nuclear non-proliferation order divides the world into nuclear-weapon-haves and have-nots based on a nuclear apartheid. Employing a careful and nuanced discussion of this claim, Elli Louka explores here the emergence of new threshold nuclear weapon states (TNWS), transparency standards, and precautionary preemption.

The author analyzes how a carbon-constrained future and energy security are bringing about a renaissance for the nuclear energy industry. This shift will bring more TNWS to the international arena, thereby altering the politics of use of the nuclear instrument. In addition to examining the architecture of the nuclear non-proliferation order, she discusses the fairness and effectiveness of international and regional institutions and scenarios for the future of nuclear weapons.

New Issue: World Trade Review

The latest issue of the World Trade Review (Vol. 10, no. 2, April 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Emily Barrett Lydgate, Consumer preferences and the National Treatment Principle: emerging environmental regulations prompt a new look at an old problem
  • Sherzod Shadikhodjaev, International regulation of free zones: an analysis of multilateral customs and trade rules
  • Valentin Zahrnt, Transparency of complex regulation: how should WTO trade policy reviews deal with sanitary and phytosanitary policies?
  • Paul Brenton, Christian Saborowski, Cornelia Staritz & Erik von Uexkull, Assessing the adjustment implications of trade policy changes using the Tariff Reform Impact Simulation Tool (TRIST)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Antonopoulos: Counterclaims before the International Court of Justice

Constantine Antonopoulos (Democritus Univ. of Thrace) has published Counterclaims before the International Court of Justice (T.M.C. Asser Press 2011). Here's the abstract:
Counterclaims, the right of a State sued by another State to bring its own counter-suit in the course of the same trial, may offer an opportunity to mitigate the effects of the original suit and help to resolve disputes between States that have more than one aspect. In recent years, counterclaims have been frequently presented at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).This book examines the counterclaims presented at the ICJ and at its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), during its 65 years of existence. It is the first study that focuses exclusively on the subject of counterclaims. It analyses the evolution of the germane provisions in the PCIJ and ICJ Rules of Procedure and the practice of the Court, especially in light of the relevant case-law of the ICJ. This book is a useful source of information for academics and practitioners in International law and provides a solid basis for further research.

Cassella: La nécessité en droit international: De l’état de nécessité aux situations de nécessité

Sarah Cassella (l'Université Panthéon-Assas - Law) has published La nécessité en droit international: De l’état de nécessité aux situations de nécessité (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2011). Here's the abstract:
La Commission du droit international, après avoir longuement hésité, a inscrit l’état de nécessité dans sa codification de la responsabilité des États en tant que circonstance excluant l’illicéité. L’objet de cette étude est de démontrer qu’il s’agit d’un mécanisme beaucoup plus diffus et fondamental du droit international, intimement lié à ses caractéristiques propres. Il a comme fonction la limitation des obligations substantielles des États lors de la survenance d’un fait-condition – la situation de nécessité – afin d’éviter que l’application du droit ne génère un coût social excessif. Sa réalisation requiert toujours une pondération des intérêts en conflit. Seulement lorsqu’un coût social excessif ne peut être évité, l’état de nécessité intervient dans le cadre des obligations secondaires de la responsabilité internationale, en tant que circonstance atténuante.

New Issue: Journal of International Arbitration

The latest issue of the Journal of International Arbitration (Vol. 28, no. 3, June 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Maria Hook, Arbitration Agreements and Anational Law: A Question of Intent?
  • Kanaga Dharmananda & Raphaël de Vietri, Impartiality and the Issue of Repeat Arbitrators — A Reply to Slaoui
  • Jeff Waincymer, International Arbitration and the Duty to Know the Law
  • Inae Yang, Nurdin Jivraj v. Sadruddin Hashwani: The English Court of Appeal Erects a Regulatory Barrier to Appointment of Arbitrators in the Name of Anti-Discrimination
  • Ahmad Alkhamees, International Arbitration and Shari’a Law: Context, Scope, and Intersections
  • Erica Stein, Polimaster Ltd. v. RAE Systems, Inc.: My Place or Yours? But Not Both
  • Sarosh Zaiwalla, Are Arbitrators Not Human? Are They from Mars? Why Should Arbitrators be a Separate Species?
  • Ximena Bustamante Vásconez, The Mediated Settlement Agreement — The Ecuadorian Experience

Bassiouni: Crimes Against Humanity: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application

M. Cherif Bassiouni (DePaul Univ. - Law) has published Crimes Against Humanity: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:
This book traces the evolution of crimes against humanity (CAH) and their application from the end of World War I to the present day, in terms of both historic legal analysis and subject-matter content. The first part of the book addresses general issues pertaining to the categorization of CAH in normative jurisprudential and doctrinal terms. This is followed by an analysis of the specific contents of CAH, describing its historic phases going through international criminal tribunals, mixed model tribunals, and the International Criminal Court. This includes both a normative and jurisprudential assessment as well as a review of doctrinal material commenting on all of the above. The book examines the general parts and defenses of the crime, along with the history and jurisprudence of both international and national prosecutions. For the first time, a list of all countries that have enacted national legislation specifically directed at CAH is collected, along with all of the national prosecutions that have occurred under national legislation up to 2010. The book constitutes a unique and comprehensive treatment of all legal and historical aspects pertaining to crimes against humanity in a single definitive volume.

Van Schaack: Par in Parem Imperium Non Habet: Complementarity and the Crime of Aggression

Beth Van Schaack (Santa Clara Univ. - Law) has posted Par in Parem Imperium Non Habet: Complementarity and the Crime of Aggression (Journal of International Criminal Justice, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The principle of complementarity undergirds the International Criminal Court’s admissibility regime. And yet, in the negotiations leading up to the 2010 Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, delegates did not fully focus on the potential for the addition of the crime of aggression to destabilize the Court’s complementarity regime. The only guidance from the ASP came in the form of two interpretive Understandings that express a subtle preference that States Parties not incorporate the crime into their domestic codes. If States Parties heed this call - which they should - the Court will inevitably be faced with situations in which there is incomplete concurrence between the prosecuting state’s domestic law and the ICC Statute given that few states have codified the crime of aggression. Under prevailing interpretations of the principle of complementarity, however, a case would be admissible before the Court if a domestic court were prosecuting atrocity crimes, but not the crime of aggression.

This paper argues that the Prosecutor should announce in advance of the amendments’ activation the intention to stay his or her hand in the event that genuine domestic prosecutions are going forward on the basis of charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, even if potential domestic aggression charges are not available, are legally barred, or are not forthcoming. The only exception to this general approach should be in cases in which the crime of aggression is the primary or central charge to arise out of a particular situation, such that atrocity crimes are non-existent or largely peripheral. This paper thus advocates that the ICC be allowed to exercise a de facto primacy over the crime of aggression vis-à-vis domestic courts, which will retain the ability to take the lead on prosecuting the atrocity crimes.

Such a division of labor between the ICC and domestic courts will obviate a number of concerns associated with domestic prosecutions of the crime of aggression, encourage domestic prosecutions in keeping with the ideal of positive complementarity, reinforce the recognized duty of states to prosecute international crimes, and avoid over-burdening the ICC with cases that could otherwise proceed effectively in a domestic court. It will also ensure that to the extent that the crime of aggression is ever prosecuted, it is done in an international, rather than domestic, forum pursuant to a consensus definition of the crime and a negotiated jurisdictional regime.

Call for Papers: Justice for All? The International Criminal Court: A Conference - Ten Year Review

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales have issued a call for papers for a conference on "Justice for All? The International Criminal Court: A Conference – Ten Year Review," to take place February 13-15, 2012. The deadline is July 15, 2011. Here's the call:

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia are hosting an international conference in February 2012 to mark the 10th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The conference will review the work of the ICC and its impact in its first decade. A key objective of the Conference is to examine the circumstances and reasons for the Asia Pacific’s limited engagement with the ICC, and the key lessons from other regions about how to achieve ratification and full implementation of the Court’s mandate, including in the area of gender justice. Against the backdrop of the two main themes of gender justice and the Asia Pacific, the Conference will consider the operation of the Rome Statute of the ICC at three distinct levels: within the Court itself, as between states parties, and between the ICC and civil society. The Conference will be attended by the President of the Court, the Registrar of the Court, and other senior figures involved in the administration of the Court, as well as leading scholars and practitioners in the field.

The Conference will address questions, including:

  • How effective has the ICC been in ensuring that gender justice informs its mandate, practice and procedure?
  • What factors explain the limited engagement of states and civil society in the Asia Pacific region with the ICC?
  • How does advocacy around the ICC fit into broader strategies for achieving gender justice and equality at the global, regional and national level?
  • What is the future of the ICC (and similar tribunals) in putting an end to impunity for the perpetrators of crimes and contributing to the prevention of such crimes?

Papers addressing these questions and the Conference themes are invited. We are particularly interested in receiving proposals addressing the position of countries in the Asia Pacific region in relation to the ICC Statute, in particular papers examining the stance of China, Indonesia, Japan, India, Pacific Island and ASEAN States. Papers on gender justice and the ICC are also encouraged. Abstracts should be no more than 200-300 words. A brief biography of no more than 150 words in a form appropriate for inclusion in the Conference program must accompany each abstract. Abstracts and biographies should be submitted by 15 July 2011. The Conference organisers will notify authors of the acceptance of papers by 1 August 2011. Written papers are due on 19 December 2011.

Leading international journals in the field of international law and international relations are currently being approached to publish conference papers in two special issues.

The following address should be used for the submission of abstracts and any queries regarding the conference: justiceforall@unsw.edu.au

Please consult the website for further information on the conference: www.justiceforall.unsw.edu.au

Sunday, July 3, 2011

New Issue: ASA Bulletin

The latest issue of the ASA Bulletin (Vol. 28, no. 4, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Pierre Lalive, L’Article 190 al. 2 LDIP a-t-il une utilité ?
  • Georg von Segesser, The IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration
  • Nathalie Voser, New Rules on Domestic Arbitration in Switzerland

Parish: Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal Order

Matthew Parish (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP) has published Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal Order (Edward Elgar Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

Since the end of the Cold War there has been an explosion of international courts and tribunals that sit apart from domestic legal systems, yet they are often woefully inadequate for their stated purposes. This book explores common problems across these courts, and applies a constructivist theory of international relations to explain their operation.

Often established by states as signals of their commitment to moral values and political ideology, once created these courts find themselves trapped between the interests of the Great Powers. Some endure irrelevance, their judgements ignored. Yet more are unusably slow. Still others exhibit demonstrable political bias. Their common failings suggest that international law is not nearly as robust as it claims. The author skilfully shows that international courts are a species of international organisation, and share the same challenges of bureaucracy and unaccountability as have plagued the United Nations.

Mirages of International Justice will be of particular interest to scholars and practitioners interested in critiques of the European Court of Human Rights, the World Trade Organisation, investment treaty arbitration, the EU courts, the international criminal courts, the International Court of Justice and public international law in general. Students of international relations and advocates for reform of international organisations will also learn much from this insightful study.

New Issue: World Trade Review

The latest issue of the World Trade Review (Vol. 10, no. 1, January 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Seventh report of the American Law Institute project on World Trade Organization Case Law covering 2009-2011
    • Henrik Horn & Petros C. Mavroidis, Introduction
    • Bernard Hoekman & Jasper Wauters, US Compliance with WTO Rulings on Zeroing in Anti-Dumping
    • Thomas J. Prusa & Edwin Vermulst, United States – Continued Existence and Application of Zeroing Methodology: the end of Zeroing?
    • Kamal Saggi & Joel P. Trachtman, Incomplete Harmonization Contracts in International Economic Law: Report of the Panel, China – Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
    • Robert Howse, China – Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
    • Paola Conconi & Joost Pauwelyn, Trading Cultures: Appellate Body Report on China–Audiovisuals (WT/DS363/AB/R, adopted 19 January 2010)
    • Frieder Roessler, Appellate Body Ruling in China–Publications and Audiovisual Products
    • Gene M. Grossman & Alan O. Sykes, ‘Optimal’ Retaliation in the WTO – a commentary on the Upland Cotton Arbitration

New Volume: Eyes on the ICC

The latest volume of Eyes on the ICC (Vol. 7, 2010-2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Lenore F. Horton, Prosecutorial Discretion before International Criminal Courts and Perceptions of Justice: How Expanded Prosecutorial Independence Can Increase the Accountability of International Actors
  • Anthony Diala, Victims’ Justice and Re-Characterizing the Facts in the Lubanga Trial at the ICC
  • Elizabeth Kimundi, Post-Election Crisis in Kenya and the Implications for the International Criminal Court’s Development as a Legitimate Institution
  • Kristin Gallagher, Towards a Gender-Inclusive Definition of Child Soldiers: The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
  • Jennifer Lincoln, Nullum Crimen Sine Lege in International Criminal Tribunal Jurisprudence: The Problem of the Residual Category of Crime
  • Abadir M. Ibrahim, The International Criminal Court in Light of Controlling Factors of the Effectiveness of International Human Rights Mechanisms
  • Aurora Elizabeth Bewicke, What Did Victims Achieve in Kampala? Reviewing the ICC Review Conference in Relation to Victims

d'Aspremont: The International Legal Scholar in Palestine: Hurling Stones Under the Guise of Legal Forms? A Talk with Koskenniemi and Kassis

Jean d'Aspremont (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) has posted The International Legal Scholar in Palestine: Hurling Stones Under the Guise of Legal Forms? A Talk with Martti Koskenniemi and Mudar Kassis. Here's the abstract:
This paper is the written transcript of the author’s exchange of views with Martti Koskenniemi and Mudar Kassis on the occasion of a debate organized by the Institute of Law (IoL) of the University of Birzeit. The paper explores the origin of international lawyers’ frustrated expectations when it comes to the role of international law in the Middle East. It more specifically argues that the disenchantment of international lawyers is the upshot of three well-entrenched beliefs. It then elaborates on three attitudes which can help international lawyers make sense of the role of international law in general and, in particular, in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Attention is paid to the place of compliance in studies about international law, the role of legal forms and, eventually, the role of international legal scholars in a conflict like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The spoken character of the text has been preserved.

Wilson: Writing History in International Criminal Trials

Richard Ashby Wilson (Univ. of Connecticut - Law) has published Writing History in International Criminal Trials (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:
Why do international criminal tribunals write histories of the origins and causes of armed conflicts? Richard Ashby Wilson conducted empirical research with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and expert witnesses in three international criminal tribunals to understand how law and history are combined in the courtroom. Historical testimony is now an integral part of international trials, with prosecutors and defense teams using background testimony to pursue decidedly legal objectives. Both use historical narratives to frame the alleged crimes and to articulate their side's theory of the case. In the Slobodan Milošević trial, the prosecution sought to demonstrate special intent to commit genocide by reference to a long-standing animus, nurtured within a nationalist mind-set. For their part, the defense calls historical witnesses to undermine charges of superior responsibility, and to mitigate the sentence by representing crimes as reprisals. Although legal ways of knowing are distinctive from those of history, the two are effectively combined in international trials in a way that challenges us to rethink the relationship between law and history.

Conference: AsianSIL 3rd Biennial Conference

The Asian Society of International Law will hold its third biennial conference on August 27-28, 2011, in Beijing. The theme is "Asia and International Law: A New Era." The tentative program is here. Papers are being posted here. Here's the idea:

Asian peoples, civilizations and societies have interacted with each other for centuries. In doing so, they established complex diplomatic relations and extensive trading arrangements, entered into treaties, formulated rules regarding the treatment of foreigners and devised ways of resolving conflicts. The great religious and philosophical teachings of the continent developed far-reaching principles and ideas on issues central to governance-the relationship between rulers and the ruled, society and economy, the conduct of foreign relations, and war and peace. Many Asian societies in the sixteenth century were amongst the most powerful, prosperous, and technologically advanced in the world. The expanding reach of Western imperialism from that time onwards presented a profound challenge to Asian societies which were confronted by a rapidly changing international environment—one in which their own institutions, traditions, and customs were treated as inferior and inadequate. These societies, furthermore, found themselves having to comply with international rules that they generally played no role in creating and that were formulated by Western powers intent on legitimizing their own expansion and domination.

Since that time, Asian states, together with African and Latin American states with which they had much in common, have continuously attempted to transform international law in order to make it more properly representative of the many civilizations and communities of the world. The Bandung Conference of 1955, which led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, was an especially significant attempt on the part of the peoples of Asia and Africa to make their voices heard in the international arena.

The international community is now entering a new era, one in which a discernible shift has taken place in the distribution of global power. Asia, once more, is emerging as an extremely dynamic, prosperous, and innovative region. At the same time, it must be noted that Asia is an extraordinarily diverse continent; it contains many distinctive civilizations, and it includes states that are among the wealthiest and poorest in the world. Tensions exist between Asian states, and an overwhelming number of people in Asia continue to be vulnerable to oppression, poverty, environmental disasters, and the ravages of conflict.

It is in this context that the Asian Society of International Law meets in Beijing. The general purpose of the Conference is to explore the many issues confronting the peoples of Asia and the international community more generally. The topics that will be addressed include, broadly, human rights, international economic law and private international law, the law of the sea, development and the environment, international law relating to security and conflict, and the history and theory of international law. A panel will be devoted to the crucial issue of the teaching and dissemination of international law in Asia. The conference will explore Asian state practice, regional developments and the Asian traditions of international law, and the ways in which Asian societies are attempting to formulate and adapt international law to meet their needs and their growing economies. At the same time, the conference will examine developments in international law more broadly. Both Asian and international perspectives on the selected topics are welcome, as it is only when international lawyers are fully conscious of the changing international political environment, and truly understand the economic needs and social conditions of both the developed and developing world that they can genuinely facilitate the creation of a system which helps ensure equal opportunities and mutual benefits for all parties and thus contribute towards achieving the great and enduring goals of international law: global justice, peace, and prosperity.