Reminder

• As Kevin mentioned, we are conducting an Opinio Juris reader survey. Please see more about that here and the link to the survey here. Thanks in advance for your participation!

Call for Papers

• The Military Law and the Law of War Review / Revue de Droit Militaire et de Droit de la Guerre is a journal specialised in matters of interest for both civilian and military legal advisors as well as legal scholars and academics. Published since 1962, it is among the oldest publications at the international level in the areas of military/security law and the law of war. For decades, the Review has been an important forum of discussion for scholars and practitioners from all over the world. The Review is published under the auspices of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War. It features original and challenging articles, case notes, commentaries of the latest legal developments, as well as book reviews. As a distinct trait, it accepts contributions in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. For its coming issue (vol. 56/2), the Review’s editorial board welcomes submissions from scholars and practitioners that come within the broader scope of the Review (including military law, law of armed conflict, law on the use of force, as well as international criminal law and human rights law (inasmuch as related to situations of armed conflict)).The deadline for submission is 30 April 2018. Submissions should be sent by e-mail to brussels [at] ismllw [dot] org and will be subject to double-blind peer review. Articles should normally not be longer than 15.000 words (footnotes included), although longer pieces may exceptionally be considered. Inquiries as to whether a possible submission comes within the scope of the Review can be sent to the abovementioned e-mail address. Selected papers will be published online on the Review’s website in advance access (in a non-downloadable and non-printable form) as well as on Hein Online following editing and type-setting. The print version of the issue is scheduled to come out in Autumn 2018.
• Universidad del Pacífco Law School is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its International Law Seminar “New Security Challenges: Organized Crime & Urban Confict in the Americas”, which will take place on October 24-26 2018. After the dictatorships and armed conficts of the latter half of the 20th century, Latin American security has entered a new stage. Politically motivated armed groups are subsiding, while new criminal actors (drug cartels, transnational gangs, and criminal organizations) are fourishing from Mexico to Brazil. The protection of human rights in the fght against crime is adapting to this new reality. In Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and even in the United States, however, there is a worrisome tendency to militarize responses to international crime, sometimes even involving the use of legal tools more proper to armed confict and international humanitarian law than to traditional police action and crime fghting. This Seminar will explore the human rights challenges posed by this new security situation and seek to offer concrete steps and policy options for Latin American governments to pursue. In particular, the Seminar looks to gather lessons other regions may have learned from similar situations. More information can be found here about the event and the call can be found here.

Announcements

• Postgraduate Colloquium in Critical International Law: The Centre for the Study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law at SOAS University of London and Durham Law School’s Law and Global Justice research centre are delighted to launch the Postgraduate Colloquium in Critical International Law to be held at SOAS in London on 20th September 2018. The colloquium will focus on postgraduate research in international law that takes a critical approach (broadly understood). The organisers are keen to hear from junior scholars taking an innovative or in some sense alternative approach to the study of international law. Relevant approaches might include, for example: feminism/gender studies, queer theory, critical race theory, Marxism, TWAIL/(post-)colonial approaches, international legal history/history and international law, psychoanalysis, structuralism and post-structuralism, post-modernism, law and literature, law and art, realism, law and science, and/or empirical approaches.  The full call for papers can be found here. The deadline for receipt of applications is 15th April 2018.
• Open call for 2 PhD Positions for the European Research Council (ERC) Funded Research Project, “The Rules of Interpretation of Customary International Law” (TRICI-Law), University of Groningen. TRICI-Law is a research project funded through an ERC Starting Grant, which was awarded in 2017 to Prof. Panos Merkouris. Based at the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies of the University of Groningen, TRICI-Law is seeking two PhD Researchers, each of which will be a four-year appointment. The research focus of the PhD positions will revolve around the theory of interpretation of customary international law, and the manner in which both international and domestic courts have approached it in their own jurisprudence. The successful applicants will be appointed starting 1 May 2018 (or soon thereafter). More information on the positions, the project, submission of applications and selection process can be found here. Applications must be submitted by 29 March 2018 (23:59 CET). Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof. Panos Merkouris (p [dot] merkouris [at] rug [dot] nl).

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.

Over the next several days we will have an online discussion on a recent article by Harold Koh on The Trump Administration and International Law, 56 Washburn L. J. 413 (2017). The article is based on a lecture Professor Koh gave at Washburn University School of Law last year, and is published in a special issue of the Journal that includes four other articles responding to different aspects of the Trump administration and international law.

For this week’s discussion, we welcome Craig Martin (Washburn University School of Law), who will kick off and wrap up the discussion, and we will post exciting contributions from Bill Burke-White (University of Pennsylvania School of Law); Laura Dickinson (George Washington University Law School); Bill Dodge (UC Davis School of Law); Kevin Jon Heller (University of Amsterdam School of Law); Freddy Sourgens (Washburn University School of Law); and Melissa Waters (Washington University School of Law).

We very much look forward to the conversation!

Call for Papers

• Call for papers: Ensuring and Balancing the Rights of Defendants and Victims at International and Hybrid Criminal Courts: Pluricourts, University of Oslo has issued a call for papers for this conference to be held in Oslo on 30 and 31 August.  The call is available here. The deadline for abstracts is 19 March.

• The Palestine Yearbook of International Law is now inviting submissions of scholarly articles for publication for its next volume, XXI (2018). This is a general call for papers. As such, the editors encourage the submission of scholarly pieces of relevance to public international law, including but not necessarily in relation to Palestine. The Yearbook is published in the English language, is edited at Birzeit University’s Institute of Law (Birzeit, Palestine), and published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (The Hague, The Netherlands). The Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook is Mr. Ardi Imseis. The Yearbook is now accepting abstracts for review. Abstracts should include a working title, with a preliminary outline of the author’s research and arguments, along with a current CV. Important Dates and Contact Information: Prospective authors should express interest by e-mailing an abstract (of under 750 words) of the suggested paper as indicated above, along with a CV by March 15, 2018. If full manuscripts are available by that date, prospective authors should feel free to send those instead by that date. All submissions should be made to: Reem Al-Botmeh (rbotmeh [at] Birzeit [dot] edu and iol [dot] pyil [at] birzeit [dot] edu; Ardi Imseis (ai295 [at] cam [dot] ac [dot] uk) and Ata Hindi (ahindi [at] birzeit [dot] edu). For more on the Palestine Yearbook of International Law, see here.
• CALL FOR PAPERS: 3^rd ANNUAL “REVISITING THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN NATIONAL SECURITY” WORKSHOP Many conversations in the U.S. about situations of armed conflict – within civil society, academia, and the U.S. government – center on “national security law,” often drawing primarily from domestic law and military perspectives.  International law is sometimes set aside in these discussions.   This workshop aims to draw the international legal aspects of armed conflicts to the forefront of national security discussions. The workshop is for public international law scholars and practitioners.  It aims to drive discussions of public international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law, into conversations, in the U.S. in particular on national security issues and situations of armed conflict. The organizers are interested in discussing scholarship and ideas that seek to bridge partisan political divides while addressing both the law and national interests.The workshop will provide an opportunity for authors to have their works in progress critiqued by established experts in the field of IHL, and will provide a networking opportunity for participants. The organizers ask only for papers that that have not yet been accepted for publication. In addition to submissions to traditional US law reviews, participants might consider the possibility of publication in the ICRC’s International Committee of the Red Cross Review, which is seeking submissions for its upcoming editions. The Review is a thematic journal covering a wide variety of issues, and to the extent that there are paper topics that overlap with “revisiting the role of international law in national security” and upcoming Review topics, the organizers encourage these submissions. The upcoming Review topics are outlined below. Please note that selection for this workshop does not guarantee that a paper will be published by the Review. The author would still need to submit the publication to the Editor of the Review for consideration. We invite you to submit a detailed abstract or draft of an article for discussion.  A small number of papers will be selected for discussion at the workshop.
  • When:  June 18th, 2018 (full day)
  • Where:  Cardozo Law School, New York City
  • Submissions:  Please send your name, current affiliation, and paper proposal to Tracey Begley at trbegley [at] icrc [dot] org. 
  • Deadline for submissions:  April 1^st, 2018

  Co-organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation for the United States and Canada, and faculty at Loyola Law School Los Angeles, Stanford Law School and Cardozo Law School. A limited amount of travel funds may be available.

Announcements

• On August 3-4, 2018, the University of Colorado Law School is hosting a workshop on International Law and Racial Justice. Among the central concerns of the workshop is the current place (or absence) of racial theory in international law.  You can find more information about the workshop here. The workshop is being organized by James Anaya, Tendayi Achiume, and Justin Desautels-Stein. If you are interested in presenting a paper at the workshop, please email jjdstein [at] colorado [dot] edu.

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.

Call for Papers

• The Frankfurt Max Planck Institute for European Legal History will be hosting “Key Biographies in the Legal History of European Union 1950-1993” on 21-22 June 2018 and have issued a call for papers. “Legal History of the European Union” is a recently established research field at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History at Frankfurt. The MPIeR attempts to situate the history of European law in a longue durée perspective, with a strong comparative dimension and taking into account the broader political and socio-economic context. The convenors welcome proposals of not more than 150 words by 15th January 2018. For more information please click here. Please email your proposal and a short CV to bajon [at] rg [dot] mpg [dot] de.

Announcements

• Call for contributions for the 2018 Francis Lieber Prize. The American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict awards the Francis Lieber Prize to the authors of publications that the judges consider to be outstanding in the field of law and armed conflict.  Both books and articles (including chapters in books of essays) are eligible for consideration — the prize is awarded to the best submission in each of these two categories.

  • Criteria: Any work in the English language published during 2017 or whose publication is in final proof at the time of submission may be nominated for this prize. Works that have already been considered for this prize may not be re-submitted. Entries may address topics such as the use of force in international law, the conduct of hostilities during international and non‑international armed conflicts, protected persons and objects under the law of armed conflict, the law of weapons, operational law, rules of engagement, occupation law, peace operations, counter‑terrorist operations, and humanitarian assistance. Other topics bearing on the application of international law during armed conflict or other military operations are also appropriate.

  • Eligibility: Anyone may apply for the article or book prize. For those in academia or research institutions, the prize is open to those who are up to 8 years post-PhD or JD or those with up to 8 years in an academic teaching or research position. Membership in the American Society of International Law is not required.  Multi-authored works may be submitted if all the authors are eligible to enter the competition.  Submissions from outside the United States are welcomed.

  • Submission: Submissions, including a letter or message of nomination, must be received by 10 January 2018.  Three copies of books must be submitted.  Electronic submission of articles is encouraged. Authors may submit their own work.  All submissions must include contact information (e‑mail, fax, phone, address) and relevant information demonstrating compliance with eligibility criteria.  The Prize Committee will acknowledge receipt of the submission by e‑mail.

• Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop 2018: International Investment Law and Constitutional Law (9-10 March 2018). For many years, the Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop – jointly organized by Rainer Hofmann (Frankfurt), Stephan W. Schill (Amsterdam), and Christian J. Tams (Glasgow) – has been a forum for the discussion of foundational issues of international investment law. The 2018 workshop addresses the increasingly relevant relationship between international investment law and constitutional law. While both fields, for a long time, have kept maximum distance to each other, they are beginning to interact as constitutional courts around the world, such as the German Federal Constitutional Court, the French Conseil Constitutionnel, and the Court of Justice of the European Union, are being called to address the constitutional limits of international investment law and investment dispute settlement. Similarly, investment tribunals increasingly face constitutional law arguments, and investment law scholarship promotes the use of constitutional legal analysis to step up to the challenges the field is facing as an instrument of global governance. The 2018 Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop will explore the different facets of the increasing interaction between international investment law and constitutional law and critically analyze the opportunities and challenges this interaction creates. The Workshop will bring together academics and practitioners and provide them with a forum for open and frank exchanges.The program is available here; for edited collections that have grown out of earlier Frankfurt Investment Law Workshops see here, here, here, and here. If you are interested in attending, please contact Sabine Schimpf, Merton Centre for European Integration and International Economic Order, University of Frankfurt, E-Mail: S [dot] Schimpf [at] jur [dot] uni-frankfurt [dot] de by 23 February 2018.

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.

Announcement

• ASIL presents “International Law and the Trump Administration: The Use of Force under International Law” Online, Monday, October 30 at 2:00 PM ET. This live online briefing, the eighth in the American Society of International Law’s series on “International Law and the Trump Administration,” will feature former senior U.S. officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations who were responsible for formulating policy and advising the Executive Branch on issues involving the use of force and the law of armed conflict. They will discuss the international legal principles that apply to the permissible use of force by nation states and the extent to which those principles serve as an effective constraint on aggression, and will examine the interplay between international law, domestic legislation, and Executive Branch policies that US officials consider in determining whether a given exercise of armed force is legally permissible. Jack Goldsmith (Harvard Law School, former Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice and former special counsel, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense) and Oona Hathway (Yale Law School, former special counsel, Office of the General Counsel for National Security Law, U.S. Department of Defense) will discuss these issues with moderator, Laura Dickinson (George Washington University School of Law, former senior policy adviser, U.S. Department of State.). More information about the series and this briefing is available at www.asil.org/trump.

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.

Call for Papers

• The Military Law and the Law of War Review / Revue de Droit Militaire et de Droit de la Guerre is a journal specialised in matters of interest for both civilian and military legal advisors as well as legal scholars and academics. Published since 1962, it is among the oldest publications at the international level in the areas of military/security law and the law of war. For decades, the Review has been an important forum of discussion for scholars and practitioners from all over the world. For its coming issue (vol. 55/2), the Review’s editorial board welcomes submissions from scholars and practitioners that come within the broader scope of the Review (including military law, law of armed conflict, law on the use of force, as well as international criminal law and human rights law (inasmuch as related to situations of armed conflict)). The deadline for submission is 15 November 2017. Submissions should be sent by e-mail to brussels [at] ismllw [dot] org and will be subject to double-blind peer review. Articles should normally not be longer than 15.000 words (footnotes included), although longer pieces may exceptionally be considered. Inquiries as to whether a possible submission comes within the scope of the Review can be sent to the abovementioned e-mail address. Selected papers will be published online on the Review’s website in advance access (in a non-downloadable and non-printable form) as well as on Hein Online following editing and type-setting. The print version of the issue is scheduled to come out in Spring 2018.

Announcements

• The European Research Council funded research project on “The Individualization of War: Reconfiguring the Ethics, Law, and Politics of Armed Conflict”, based at the European University Institute, Florence & the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seeks a postdoctoral researcher. The successful applicant will work closely with Professor Dapo Akande (who is based in Oxford and is co-investigator on the project). She or he will conduct research on the application of human rights law in armed conflict and on the relationship between human rights law and international humanitarian law.  Candidates should have an outstanding PhD in international law but should be excited about working in an inter-disciplinary team which includes international relations scholars and moral philosophers. The position is for one year and will start in December 2017 or January 2018. Further details on the project is available here the position. Full details about the position and the application process can be found here.

• At the occasion of its bicentennial, the Faculty of Law of Ghent University will host a two-day international conference on 7 and 8 December 2017 entitled ‘Freedom under Pressure’. The conference will gather legal scholars and practitioners to discuss key fundamental rights and freedoms under pressure in three distinct areas: (1) property protection; (2) data protection and privacy, and (3) freedom of movement in the EU. Panels will tackle a range of issues, including, for instance, the use and abuse of international investment arbitration, immunity from execution, or the use of targeted financial sanctions as a foreign policy tool. Confirmed speakers include Judge James Crawford (International Court of Justice), Judge Siofra O’Leary (European Court of Human Rights), Judge Allan Rosas (Court of Justice of the EU), Prof. Joseph Cannataci (UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy) and Mr. Gilles de Kerchove (EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator). The full programme as well as further practical information is available on the conference website. Early-bird registration rates expire on 15 October.

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.

Call for Papers

• Call for Papers – Human Dignity and Human Security in Times of Terrorism. The T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Association of Constitutional Law invite the submission of abstracts for a one day conference on “Human Dignity and Human Security in Times of Terrorism”, taking place at the Asser Institute in The Hague on 14 December. The organisers seek papers that are characterised by a critical legal reflection, that make an explicit link to the concept of human dignity and human security, and that think out of the box. Abstracts (of maximum 1000 words) should be submitted to Dr. Christophe Paulussen, c [dot] paulussen [at] asser [dot] nl, by 23 September 2017. Please include your name, e-mail address and a CV. Full papers (of around 10,000 words, including footnotes) are to be submitted by 1 March 2018. Dr. Christophe Paulussen and Prof. Martin Scheinin will make the final selections, and will later edit the full papers to be published by T.M.C. Asser Press and distributed by Springer in March 2019.For more information on the submission guidelines visit our website.

Announcements

• On September 11, ASIL will hold a live webcast  on, “International Law and the Trump Administration: The Use of Force.” Jack Goldsmith and Oona Hathaway will be joining us for this discussion. The webcast will be streamed live at 11:30 AM ET and will then be made available on our website and youtube page. More information is available at www.asil.org/trump.
• On 26 and 27 October, the Conference on the Legitimacy of Unseen Actors in International Adjudication will take place in The Hague, co-organised by the PluriCourts Centre of Excellence (Oslo University) and the Europa Instituut (Leiden University). ‘Unseen actors’ are central to the ‘institutional makeup’ of international courts and tribunals as registries and secretariats, law clerks and legal officers may exert varying levels of influence on the judicial process. At this conference, legal and political science scholars and members of adjudicatory institutions will consider and discuss the legitimacy of assigning ‘unseen actors’ certain roles in the judicial process as well as the implications thereof for the dispute settlement mechanism as such. The Conference Programme and link for registration are now available here . For more information, please email Prof. dr. Freya Baetens at freya.baetens@jus.uio.no .

• The American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict awards the Francis Lieber Prize to the authors of publications that the judges consider to be outstanding in the field of law and armed conflict.  Both monographs and articles (including chapters in books of essays) are eligible for consideration — the prize is awarded to the best submission in each of these two categories. Criteria: Any work in the English language published during 2017 or whose publication is in final proof at the time of submission may be nominated for this prize.  Works that have already been considered for this prize may not be re-submitted.  Entries may address topics such as the use of force in international law, the conduct of hostilities during international and non‑international armed conflicts, protected persons and objects under the law of armed conflict, the law of weapons, operational law, rules of engagement, occupation law, peace operations, counter‑terrorist operations, and humanitarian assistance. Other topics bearing on the application of international law during armed conflict or other military operations are also appropriate. Eligibility: Anyone may apply for the article or book prize.  For those in academia or research institutions, the prize is open to those who are up to 8 years post-PhD or JD or those with up to 8 years in an academic teaching or research position. Membership in the American Society of International Law is not required.  Multi-authored works may be submitted if all the authors are eligible to enter the competition.  Submissions from outside the United States are welcomed. Submission: Submissions, including a letter or message of nomination, must be received by 10 January 2018.  Three copies of books must be submitted.  Electronic submission of articles is encouraged. Authors may submit their own work.  All submissions must include contact information (e‑mail, fax, phone, address) and relevant information demonstrating compliance with eligibility criteria.  The Prize Committee will acknowledge receipt of the submission by e‑mail. Printed submissions must be sent to: Professor Laurie Blank, Emory University School of Law, 1301 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia  30322, USA. Electronic submissions must be sent to: Lblank[at]emory.edu. Please indicate clearly in the subject line that the email concerns a submission for the Lieber Prize. Prize: The Selection Committee will select one submission for the award of the Francis Lieber Prize in the book category and one in the article category. The Prize consists of a certificate of recognition and a year’s membership in the American Society of International Law.  The winner of the Lieber Prize in both categories will be announced at the American Society of International Law’s Annual Meeting in April 2018.

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.

Call for Papers:

• The Irish Yearbook of International Law is now accepting submissions for the next Volume (Volume XIII (2018)). Edited by Professor Siobhán Mullaly (incoming at NUI Galway) and Professor Fiona de Londras (University of Birmingham) and published by Hart Publishing, the Yearbook is internationally peer reviewed and publishes longer and shorter articles on all areas of international law. The Irish Yearbook of International Law is committed to the publication of articles of general interest in international law as well as articles that have a particular connection to, or relevance for, Ireland. Articles are usually 10,000 to 12,000 words in length, although longer pieces will be considered. The Yearbook also publishes a small number of shorter articles and notes, which should not exceed 6,000 words. Authors are asked to conform to the Hart Publishing house style. Submissions, comprising a brief 100-word abstract, article and confirmation of exclusive submission, should be sent to both Siobhán Mullally (siobhan [dot] mullally [at] nuigalway [dot] ie) and Fiona de Londras(f [dot] delondras [at] bham [dot] ac [dot] uk) by October 31 2017. Initial enquiries can be directed to either or both Editors. If you wish to review a title in the Yearbook’s book review section, please contact the book reviews editor Dr. Dug Cubie, d [dot] cubie [at] ucc [dot] ie (University College Cork.)

Leiden University’s The Hague Program for Cyber Norms is inviting an open consultation on how to best implement the UN Group of Governmental Experts’ (UN GGE) recommendations on responsible State behavior in cyberspace. Partner in these consultations is the ICT4Peace Foundation. The Call for commentary and implementation guidelines can be found here.

To participate, please send your questions, comments, recommendations to Mr. Walle Bos.

Background

The UN GGE’s 2015 report (U.N. Doc. A/70/174, July 22, 2015) proposed 11 voluntary, non-binding norms on cooperation, mutual assistance, information exchange, respect for Human Rights, integrity of the supply chain, and critical infrastructure protection. Since then, there has been little public debate on these norms.

In June of this year, the fifth consecutive UN GGE concluded its negotiations without producing a consensus report. In the absence of such a report to offer guidelines on the implementation of the proposed norms contained in the 2015 report, this project aims to support the UN GGE’s work by conducting open consultations in order to produce a commentary with implementation guidelines that includes a wide variety of relevant views.

Sponsored Announcement

• The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is pleased to share with you today the newly released brochure for the 2017 Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Program will take place from May 30 to June 16, 2017 and offers 20 courses in English and Spanish taught by more than 40 world-renowned scholars in the field of human rights and humanitarian law. Professors include Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations, Commissioners, Judges and other members of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, Judges from International Tribunals like the ICC, ICJ and ICTY and professors from all over the world. The program provides a unique opportunity to interact directly with these high profile officials who are rarely available in such a personal setting. We also welcome over 150 participants from more than 25 countries around the world, all with varying levels and areas of professional experience in human rights, providing an excellent networking opportunity. The application can be found here: https://goo.gl/WcRh0J, and the deadline to apply is May 1. We would be happy to speak to anyone who may be interested in attending the Program at our new Tenley Campus by email at hracademy [at] wcl [dot] american [dot] edu or by phone at 202-274-4295.

Announcements

• Duke Law seeks to fill a Clinical Fellow/Supervising Attorney position in its International Human Rights Clinic beginning in the Summer of 2017. The Clinical Fellow/Supervising Attorney will work closely with the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic. She or he will primarily help supervise student fieldwork in Clinic projects and participate in the planning and teaching of the Clinic advocacy seminar. The Clinical Fellow/Supervising Attorney will also work closely with the Director and other faculty to expand Duke Law’s experiential learning opportunities in international law, including through student placements in competitive summer and semester fellowships and externships in human rights and related fields. The individual appointed to the position will receive mentorship in teaching, scholarship, and human rights lawyering and will have an opportunity to work with the faculty affiliated with the Center for International and Comparative Law. Applicants should have a minimum of two to five years of relevant experience. In addition to a record of, or demonstrated potential for, clinical teaching, advocacy, and intellectual engagement, the ideal candidate will have experience: as practicing lawyers or human rights advocates, developing practice- oriented courses, supervising students in fellowships or externships, working collaboratively with faculty, and other evidence of in-depth knowledge of and practical engagement in international human rights law and mechanisms. The initial term of the appointment is expected to be two years. Salary and benefits will be commensurate with experience and competitive with similar fellowship positions at other top U.S. law schools. Applicants should send a statement of interest and CV to Ali Prince at ali [dot] prince [at] law [dot] duke [dot] edu by April 16, 2017. For more information, see here.

Last March, the ICRC released an updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention of 1949 (GCI), the first installment of six new Commentaries aimed at bringing the interpretation of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols of 1977 to the 21st century.

The updated Commentaries serve as an interpretive compass emerging from more than 60 years of application and interpretation of the Geneva Conventions. In order to bring to light the significance of the updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention, several blogs are hosting a joint series focusing on particular GCI provisions. This blog series is co-hosted by Intercross, Humanitarian Law & Policy, and Opinio Juris.

The first episode was launched last summer and featured posts by Jean-Marie Henckaerts on Locating the Geneva Conventions Commentaries in the International Legal Landscape, Sean D. Murphy on The Role of the ICRC Commentaries in Understanding International Humanitarian Law and Kevin Jon Heller on First Thoughts from Academia on the Updated GCI Commentary. 

Recently, we launched the second episode, focusing on the arming of military medical personnel, units and transports. To what extent can military medical personnel, units and transports be armed? When permitted, can they be armed with weaponry heavier than the so-called “light” individual weapons? When would this constitute an “act harmful to the enemy”? Which implications does arming them have in terms of the entitlement to display the distinctive emblem of the Conventions?

To kick off the series, Heather Brandon, Advocacy Counsel of National Security for Human Rights First, posted first at Intercross discussing restricting medical personnel, units, and transports to ‘light individual weapons.’

Posts in this Series:

• Restricting medical personnel, units, and transports to ‘light individual weapons’ – Heather Brandon, Advocacy Counsel of National Security for Human Rights First, February 16, 2017.

This page will be regularly updated with past and upcoming posts. 

This week, we are hosting a symposium on The Death of Treaty Supremacy: An Invisible Constitutional Change the latest book from David Sloss, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University. The book was published last fall by Oxford University Press and the American Society of International Law recently selected the book to receive the 2017 Certificate of Merit for a Preeminent Contribution to Creative Scholarship.

A short description:

This book provides the first detailed history of the Constitution’s treaty supremacy rule. It describes a process of invisible constitutional change. The treaty supremacy rule was a bedrock principle of constitutional law for more than 150 years. It provided that treaties are supreme over state law and that courts have a constitutional duty to apply treaties that conflict with state laws. The rule ensured that state governments did not violate U.S. treaty obligations without authorization from the federal political branches. In 1945, the United States ratified the UN Charter, which obligates nations to promote human rights for all without distinction as to race. In 1950, a California court applied the Charters human rights provisions along with the traditional supremacy rule to invalidate a state law that discriminated against Japanese nationals. The implications were shocking: the decision implied that the United States had abrogated Jim Crow laws throughout the South by ratifying the UN Charter. Conservatives reacted by lobbying for a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, to abolish the treaty supremacy rule. The amendment never passed, but Bricker’s supporters achieved their goals through de facto constitutional change. Before 1945, the treaty supremacy rule was a mandatory constitutional rule that applied to all treaties. The de facto Bricker Amendment converted the rule into an optional rule that applies only to self-executing treaties. Under the modern rule, state governments are allowed to violate national treaty obligations including international human rights obligations that are embodied in non-self-executing treaties.

In addition to Professor Sloss’ introductory and concluding remarks, there will be posts from Carmen Gonzalez, John Coyle, David Stewart, Tom Lee, John Parry, Peggy McGuinness and Paul Dubinsky. We look forward to the discussion from our contributors and the ensuing commentary from our readers.