Events and Announcements: October 4, 2015

Announcements

• iCourts (Center of Excellence for International Courts), The Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark is seeking applications for two or three positions as postdoc within the research area of one of the Faculty’s research centres – iCourts (the Center of Excellence for International Courts). The positions are available from 1st February 2016, and for duration of two (2) years. Start date is negotiable under special circumstances.
• A new blog has joined us in the ether, Rights! a free, open online platform to read, write, discuss, share and act on human rights and democratisation: www.rightsblog.net. On one single platform, Rights! gathers together think pieces, comments from the field, case studies, interviews, critiques and provocations from established and emerging human rights professionals from all regions of the world. Find more here.

Calls for Papers/Abstracts:

• The Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies is organizing an international conference on global public goods, global commons and democracy (22-23 February 2016, Leuven, Belgium). The conference will explore the economic, legal and political underpinnings, premises and implications of global public goods and global commons for global governance institutions and international organizations, especially in relationship with the debate on their (non)-democratic nature. The aim is to assess, from an interdisciplinary perspective, how the respective discourses surrounding global public goods and global commons diverge in their relation to global democracy, and, in particular, to the advancement of democracy in global governance and international organizations. Abstracts (no longer than 500 words) should be submitted by the 8^th of October 2015. More information can be found here.
• The Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU) in cooperation with the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia announce the 8^th Yerevan International Conference for Young Researchers on International Humanitarian Law, which will be held from 19 November to 21 November 2015 in Yerevan, Republic of Armenia and will be held under the theme “IHL Development: New Agenda and Reality Check”. The Yerevan Conference is a unique international platform for the discussion of contemporary issues and perspectives related to IHL development among the young scholars. Over the years the conference hosted a number of renowned international experts in the field of IHL, international criminal law and constitutional law thus providing a unique possibility to the young participants not only to be heard by the established professionals and experts, but also to engage with them in the open discussion over their opinions and views. Finally, the Conference provides the unique cultural experience of visiting always beautiful and hospitable Armenia and meeting old and new friends from all over the world. More information about the Conference can be found here. Young researchers in the field of IHL under the age of 35 are invited to take part in the Conference participants pre-selection process. In order to apply the applicants should submit a research paper strictly within the scope of the announced conference topics presented in the Call for papers found here. The deadline for submitting the application package is October 18, 2015.
• The Polish Yearbook of International Law (PYIL) is currently seeking articles for its next volume (XXXV), which will be published in June 2016. Authors are invited to submit complete unpublished papers in areas connected with public and private international law, including European law. Although it is not a formal condition for acceptance, we are specifically interested in articles that address issues in international and European law relating to Central and Eastern Europe. Authors from the region are also strongly encouraged to submit their works. Submissions should not exceed 15,000 words (including footnotes) but in exceptional cases we may also accept longer works. We assess manuscripts on a rolling basis and will consider requests for expedited review in case of a pending acceptance for publication from another journal. All details about submission procedure and required formatting are available at the PYIL’s webpage. Please send manuscripts to pyil@inp.pan.pl. The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2016.

Events

• International Conference: “International Humanitarian Law and Modern Warfare” Rome, 23-24 October 2015. The relationship between warfare and international humanitarian law is an ever-evolving one. New combat methods, novel technologies and the evolution of weaponry pose critical challenges to international humanitarian law; at the same time, the high task of protecting the principles of humanity during wars requires an evolution and an adaptation of the law. International humanitarian law is “law in motion”. Carabinieri are involved in a number of international missions and operations, so we have decided to organize this conference, because we consider it as an important objective to contribute to fostering the study and understanding of such important issues, in the interest of members of the military and society at large. The conference in Rome will last two days and the debate will spread across four panels: one will deal with new weaponry and the law; one will focus on the relationship between human rights and humanitarian law in the context of modern warfare; another will cover recent judicial developments in international humanitarian law and the last one will address the evolving relationship between the general principles of international humanitarian law and the features of modern warfare. Each panel will be composed of four/five experts, and it will be moderated by a young scholar in the field. The deadline for registration is today! For more details, please click here.
• The American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) and the International Law Students Association (ILSA) present: International Law Weekend 2015. This year’s conference will be held in New York City on November 5–7, 2015. The theme of International Law Weekend (ILW) 2015 is Global Problems, Legal Solutions: Challenges for Contemporary International Lawyers. ILW 2015 will explore the many roles that international law plays in addressing global challenges. The conference will offer engaging panels on current problems and innovative solutions in both public and private international law. Register Now for ILW 2015. ILW begins Thursday evening, November 5, with a distinguished opening panel at the New York City Bar. The opening panel, “The Rule of Law and the Post 2015 Development Agenda,” will feature dialogue with senior UN officials and representatives of member states on efforts to advance the UN Rule of Law Initiative and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the next fifteen years.  A reception will follow and is open to all conference attendees. The conference continues Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 at Fordham University School of Law. Friday’s activities feature a keynote address by Miguel de Serpa Soares, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel. View the ILW 2015 Program (subject to change).

Our previous events and announcements post can be found here. If you would like to post an announcement on Opinio Juris, please contact us with a one-paragraph description of your announcement along with hyperlinks to more information.