Events and Announcements: 24 November 2020

Announcements

Top international lawyers to draft definition of ‘Ecocide’: International lawyer Philippe Sands QC and international judge Justice Florence Mumba are to co-chair an expert drafting panel on the legal definition of “ecocide” as a potential international crime that could sit alongside War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.  Launching with preparatory work this month, and set to draft the definition over the early months of 2021, the panel has been convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation on the request of interested parliamentarians from governing parties in Sweden. The concept of criminalising mass damage and destruction of ecosystems or “ecocide” at a global level has been steadily gaining traction in recent months since small island states Vanuatu and the Maldives called for “serious consideration” of it at the International Criminal Court’s annual Assembly of States Parties in December last year.  President Macron of France has actively promised to champion the idea and the newly formed Belgian government has pledged diplomatic action to support it.  Now an impressive list of top international and environmental lawyers will be tackling how best to define it. Read the complete live press release here.

The Fourth Volume of the Nuremberg Academy Series ‘Integrity in International Justice‘: The International Nuremberg Principles Academy has published the latest volume of the Nuremberg Academy Series, a book entitled Integrity in International Justice, edited by Morten Bergsmo and Viviane E. Dittrich. This is the first book to comprehensively analyse integrity in international justice. Thirty-three chapters discuss in-depth the meaning of integrity, awareness and culture of integrity, the roles of international organizations and states as well as international courts in enhancing integrity, integrity as seen through the lens of cases, and the relationship between the principles of independence and integrity. The book considers integrity as a legally binding standard in international courts, while including perspectives from other disciplines such as philosophy, history, psychology and religion. It argues that respect for integrity among high officials and staff members is a prerequisite for international courts and other international organizations to fulfil their mandates. The anthology relates to the international expert conference ‘Integrity in International Justice’, which was co-organised by the Nuremberg Academy and the Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP) in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands, in December 2018. The authors include the prominent judges Hans Corell, Richard J. Goldstone, Hanne Sophie Greve, Ivana Hrdličková, Erik Møse and David Re, and 37 other leading actors and experts in the field of international justice. You can find more information and download the e-book version of the book on the Nuremberg Academy website.

The End of War Project: Can Technology Bring About the End of War? The Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, and Emory Law School, in cooperation with the International Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) and CNA cordially invites you to the third event in its End of War Project’s 2020 Global Dialogue on “Can Technology Bring About the End of War?” on Wednesday, 2 December 2020 at 9 pm Israel time (8 pm CET or 2 pm EST). The End of War Project is a multi-year interdisciplinary project, co-directed by Daphné Richemond-Barak (Lauder School of Governmentt, IDC-Herzliya) and Laurie Blank (Emory Law School), to explore a range of legal, policy, moral and strategic challenges in ending complex counterterrorism and counterinsurgency conflicts. Past events in the Fall 2020 Global Dialogue include Do Wars Actually End in the 21^stCentury? and What’s the Best Way to End Wars?. The current event can be viewed on Zoom here.

Call for Papers

Early career workshop on Critical perspectives on global law and the environment: The School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex (UK), invite contributions to the Workshop ‘Critical perspectives on global law and the environment’ to be held as an online event on 22-23 April 2021. The aim of the Workshop is to bring together 8-10 early career scholars from around the world, employing interdisciplinary and critical approaches to the study of environmental issues, e.g. North-South dimension of environmental problems, including from a TWAIL and critical race perspective; critical readings of the law in the Anthropocene; posthuman and new materialist analyses; and queer/gender theory etc. The format of the Workshop is for each participant to produce a paper of around 8,000 words, with a short presentation and the opportunity to give feedback to one another based on the submitted paper. Each paper will also have a senior colleague as discussant​, including colleagues from the University of Essex and beyond. Professor Carmen G. Gonzalez, Professor of Law at Loyola University of Chicago, will deliver a keynote address on the topic of racial capitalism and global environmental law.  The best papers presented at the workshop will be considered for a Symposium in the Asian Journal of International Law, subject to the journal’s review process and criteria of having a significant transnational or international component, in line with the journal’s focus. Abstracts no longer than 500 words must be sent for consideration by 1 December 2020 to b[dot]ohdedar[at]essex[dot]ac[dot]uk.

UN Audiovisual Library

The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs recently added the following materials to the AVL: a lecture by Mr. Steven Hill on “Legal Aspects of the Work of NATO”; a lecture by Professor Donald M. McRae on “Varieties of International Dispute Settlement: From Litigation to Conciliation”; a lecture by Mr. Manuel Rama Montaldo on “Aspectos conceptuales e históricos del proceso de codificación y de desarrollo progresivo del derecho internacional en la Naciones Unidas, con especial referencia a la labor de la Comisión de Derecho Internacional”; and an introductory note by Mr. Hans Corell on Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia concerning the prosecution under Cambodian law of crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, 2003.

The Audiovisual Library of International Law is also available as a podcast on SoundCloud and can also be accessed through the relevant preinstalled applications on Apple or Google devices, or through the podcast application of your preference by searching “Audiovisual Library of International Law”. 

If you would like to post an announcement on Opinio Juris, please contact John Heieck at eventsandannouncements[at]gmail[dot]com with a one-paragraph description of your announcement along with hyperlinks to more information. Failure to provide said information may result in delayed posting of your announcement. Thank you!