Calls for Papers

• The Jersey Legal Information Board presents Law Via the Internet: Free Access to Law in a Changing World on September 26-27, 2013. The conference will address the impact of online publishing on e-democracy, access to law and the rule of law, e-learning, privacy and open government in legal publishing, and emerging patterns of information access and usage.Deadline for Proposals: March 31, 2013. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words.
• The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University and the Issam Fares Institute of the American University of Beirut are embarking on a multi-year research project to study the history and contemporary dynamics of human rights in the Arab world. The project focuses on the relationship between research on human rights theory and principles broadly defined, advocacy at the international, regional, and local levels in the Arab world in the form of pressure as well as knowledge production, and the formation of public policies related to human, civil, social and political rights throughout the region. The initiative is soliciting contributions, in the form of research essays, interviews, roundtables, or speculative essays, from scholars, activists, and even government officials working on the above issues. Submissions will be considered for publication on Jadaliyya and potentially for conference and manuscript purposes.Submissions should be 1200-1500 words. Submissions or ideas should be sent to Mark LeVine, at mlevine [at] uci [dot] edu.

Events

• Readers who found our symposium on Curtis Bradley’s book this week interesting might like to check out an upcoming event on Customary International Law: What is its role in the U.S. legal system? to be held on Friday, March 22, 2013 at ASIL’s Tillar House Headquarters (2223 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC) from 12 – 1 p.m. Prof. Bradley will be joined by Professors Bradford Clark (GWU Law) and Carlos Vazquez (Georgetown Law) to discuss the role that the fundamental legal principle of Customary International Law does and should play in U.S. domestic courts. You can register online here.
• The Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London presents the International Graduate Legal Research Conference (IGLRC) on 8 and 9 April, 2013. The 2013 keynote lecture this year will be given by Professor David Caron, the newly appointed Dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law. The title of his lecture is  ’Scholarship (n): What is valued as, What is, Thrust of‘ and it is intended to set a reference point for discussions at the conference. The IGLRC is comprised of Panel and Poster Sessions. The Poster Session presents a wonderful opportunity for Conference participants to debate and discuss cutting edge legal research in a supportive environment. Registration information is found here and more information about the IGLRC can be found here.
• The Sydney Centre for International Law is a holding a conference entitled Facing Outwards: Australian Private International Law in the 21st Century on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. A conference flyer may be found here. For further information and registration, click here.
• Registration is now open for the Spring Conference of the International Law Association (British Branch) which will take place in Oxford on April 12 and 13. The theme of the conference is “The Changing Face of Global Governance: International Institutions in the International Legal Order”. The conference will explore the changing nature of international institutions and their impact on international governance, international law-making and law-enforcement. Papers address the role of international institutions in a wide range of areas, including the maintenance of peace and security, international economic law, environmental law, law of the sea, international criminal law, as well as the regulation of technology and health. The Keynote Lecture and Inaugural Oxford Global Justice Lecture will be delivered by Patricia O’Brien, United Nations Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel.
• Golden Gate University will host its Annual Fulbright Conference April 12, 2013 in San Francisco, California, with the theme International Law in a Multipolar World. This event which will bring together some of the region’s leading experts and scholars in international law. In addition, some Fulbright scholars have accepted invitations to attend or present at this event. We are proud of maintaining a strong tradition of providing legal training in the area of international law to the students in our LL.M. and S.J.D. in International Legal Studies Programs. Professor Dr. Michael C. van Walt van Praag, will deliver the keynote address. Register online here. With questions, contact Brad Lai at blai [at] ggu [dot] edu.
• The inaugural London International Boundary Conference will take place on 18 and 19 April 2013 at the Royal Geographical Society, London. Speakers at the Conference are among the world’s leading experts and practitioners in the effective resolution of territorial disputes. They will examine recent developments in disputed “hotspots” around the world, and discuss new and emerging ideas for the resolution and management of territorial disputes, from legal, geopolitical, technical, commercial and other viewpoints. The Conference will also run a half-day technical workshop at King’s College London on the afternoon of 17 April 2013, offering a practical introduction to maritime limits and boundaries. For further details (including speakers, pricing and registration), click here.
• The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, presents Can International Law Support Changes to Federal Indian Policy? Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Fri., April 19, 2013.
• This year’s Venice Academy of Human Rights will take place from July 8-19, 2013 at the Monastery of San Nicolò in Venice, Italy. The theme of this year’s academy is Obligations of States. You can view the detailed program here.Online registration closes May 5, 2013. The fee is €600 and a maximum of 60 participants will be selected.

Last week’s post can be found here. If you would like to post an announcement on Opinio Juris, please contact us.

• French President Hollande has joined the UK’s David Cameron in calling on the EU to lift the arms embargo on Syria, to enable them to arm the rebels.
• Israel’s military intelligence chief has warned against arming the rebels and has claimed that Iran is sponsoring a Hezbollah-run “people’s army” of 50,000 to fight in Syria on the side of the government forces.
• The UK’s Justice Secretary wants to attract more “forum shoppers” to the UK and actively promote (commercial) legal services as an important UK export industry.
• The United Nations expert on torture has called on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the practice of solitary confinement and its harmful effects in the Americas, and asked for stronger regulation of its use.
• The ECHR Blog points readers to new and updated fact-sheets at the Court.
• In other news at the ECHR, the Court upheld (.pdf) The Pirate Bay co-founders’ criminal conviction for aiding copyright infringement on the Internet, declaring the application inadmissible.
• The head of the UNDP, Helen Clark, has said there is increasing evidence to show that the US-led “war on drugs” has failed, often “creating more problems than it solves.”
• The meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was by many accounts a success, with a pledge from Thailand to end its domestic ivory trade and a historic agreement to restrict the commercial trade in sharks and manta rays.
• Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood warns that a U.N. declaration on the status of women could destroy society by allowing a woman to travel, work and use contraception without her husband’s approval and letting her control family spending.

• The US Air Force has stopped releasing statistical data on drone strikes in Afghanistan and has erased previoiusly published statistics from its website.
• The UK warned Argentina that it would always be ready to defend its citizens on the Falkland Islands after they voted nearly unanimously to remain British.
• Iran plans to “sue Hollywood” about the Oscar-winning film Argo, which Iran claims has an “unrealistic portrayal” of the country and the hostage crisis of 1979.
• Suspected Islamists stormed a school in Kano, Nigeria, opening fire and wounding four teachers.
• A recent World Bank report (.pdf) has said that Israel’s checkpoints and delays in transferring money are causing “lasting damage” to the Palestinian economy.
• North Korea has confirmed that it considers the 1953 armistice agreement with South Korea to be null and void.
• UK Prime Minister Cameron has indicated that the UK could decide to arm Syrian rebels, and would if necessary veto the extension of the EU arms embargo.
• Save The Children, a London-based NGO, has issued a report (.pdf) outlining that children in Syria are being raped, shot at and tortured.
• India has summoned the Italian ambassador after Italy decided that two Italian marines did not have to return to India to stand trial over the shooting of Indian fishermen who they mistook for pirates.
• In testimony to Congress, the head of Cyber Command stated that the US has teams that could launch a counter-cyberattack if the US were the subject of a cyberattack.
• TPP negotiators have concluded the 16th round of negotations in Singapore, a lot of work still remains and it is unlikely that Japan will be able to join the negotiations in time for the next round in Peru.
• The EU has finalized the text to “stop the clock” on the inclusion of aviation in its ETS, to allow for negotiations within the ICAO to bear fruit.
• Justice in Conflict has a post with some praise for ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in the wake of a tumultuous week at the Court.

• The ICC has dropped the charges against Francis Muthaura, Uhuru Kenyatta’s co-accused, because of issues with procuring evidence and witness testimony.
• Twelve more bodies have been fished out of the river near Aleppo in Syria, bringing the total body count to well over 80, many with bullet wounds to the head.
• An African Union-brokered deal has re-opened the oil trade between Sudan and South Sudan, a year after trade was stopped.
• Approximately 99% of those who voted in the Falkland Islands referendum wish to remain British citizens, a strong message to Argentina, which claims the islands as its territory.
• The US Treasury has imposed new sanctions on North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank in response to recent nuclear threats.
• North Korea has derided the formation of a “Commission of Inquiry” by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate potential human rights abuses, calling it a “plot” against their nation filled with “faked material … invented by the hostile forces, defectors and other rabbles.”
• A British judge has delayed the decision on Islamic Cleric Abu Qatada’s deportation until the end of this month.
• The Volokh Conspiracy has a post about ICC jurisdiction over Israeli settlements.
• Foreign Policy weighs in on drones and reports that not only do more countries have access to them, they’re becoming smaller and smarter.

• North Korea reacted with another threat of a nuclear attack after the US and South Korea performed joint military exercises.
• Residents of the Falklands Islands started voting on Sunday on a sovereignty referendum that has already been rejected by Argentina.
• Reuters has a piece on the Khmer Rouge trials at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia alleging justice delayed may be justice denied. 
• Reports from the opposition state that Syrian rebel forces have broken through the governments lines in Homs.
• In other Syria news, twenty bodies have been found in Aleppo’s “river of martyrs” believed to have been executed by government forces and dumped into the water, though reports are difficult to verify as most independent media has been banned by Syrian authorities.
• In Saudia Arabia, officials are entertaining the idea of dropping public beheadings and using firing squads instead.
• International hostages taken in Nigeria last month have been killed, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
• Uhuru Kenyatta, being sought for crimes against humanity at the ICC, has won the Kenyan presidential election with 50.07% of the vote–a result that will be challenged by Raila Odinga, the runner-up, who is alleging “rampant illegality” across the entire election process.
• The Globe and Mail has an article arguing how the Kenyan elections are a triumph for democracy but a failure for international justice.
• UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, is getting ready to make her next move in the deportation efforts of Abu Qatada from the UK to Jordan, after a judge last year banned the deportation.
• The US is using a UK air-force base for drone operations, calling for more staff to assist in operating Predator drones and oversight of US missions and operations.
• The Washington Post has a story discussing imminence in conflict, and the New York Times has a piece about Anwar Al-Awlaki.
• Hungary’s Parliament is set to adopt a constitutional amendment today that will restrict judicial powers and interpretation methods. The move could lead to EU aid cuts.

• In honor of International Women’s Day today, the Guardian has posted a graphic map of political rights for women around the world.
• North Korea threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on the United States yesterday; even though they lack the range to hit the US, South Korea and Japan could be realistic targets. The UN slapped new sanctions on North Korea as a result and in response, North Korea “cancelled” peace agreements with South Korea. 
• The Kenyan presidential election is coming to a nail-biting conclusion, with Uhuru Kenyatta’s lead diminishing to levels that might possibly indicate the need for a run-off with his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
• A New Zealand court has ruled in Kim Dotcom’s favor allowing him to go ahead with a lawsuit against New Zealand’s foreign intelligence agency for spying on him for a US piracy probe.
• Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law was arrested in Jordan and extradited to New York to face charges of conspiracy to kill Americans.
• Russia carried out a massive nuclear drill last month, the largest in 20 years, raising concern from the Pentagon.
• More on the story about British dual-citizens being stripped of their nationality and then being killed by US drone strikes is over at Lawfare.

• The rebel leader whose followers invaded Sabeh has called for a ceasefire with Malaysia.
• According to US Attorney General Eric Holder, President Obama will release more information about the US drone program; further commenting on the program, Holder did not rule out drone strike attacks on US soil in extraordinary circumstances akin to 9/11.
• US and European officials are worried about the rise in English-language videos coming from Islamic extremist groups.
• Because of North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Australia has barred the country from reopening its embassy in Canberra.
• The Chinese are trying to “wear out” the Japanese ships around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.
• Sudan and South Sudan are poised to continue talks to set up a demilitarized border zone, ultimately aimed at resolving a land and oil dispute between the two countries.
• The UN has partially lifted an arms embargo on Somalia for a year in order to allow the Somalian military to train to fight Islamic militants in the region.
• The ECHR Blog has pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights is now on Twitter: @ECHR_Press
• EJIL: Talk! has a post about the recent ICC privileges and immunities decision.
• Professor William Schabas also has a post about the ICC on his blog referring to the problems he perceives in the case against Kenyan Ambassador Francis Muthaura.

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has died from cancer. Thousands of mourners took to the streets to pay their respects to their late president. World leader reactions: here.
• A trial on Operation Condor of the 1970s and 1980s in South America has started in Buenos Aires. It is expected that the proceedings could take up to two years to conclude.
• North Korea threatens to end its 1953 armistice agreement after the US, with Chinese backing, introduced a draft Security Council resolution to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear test. South Korea says it is ready to strike back, should the North attack.
• Two “Palestinian-only” buses were torched overnight by unknown assailants.
• The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees has canceled its annual fundraising marathon in Gaza after Hamas decided to ban women from participating in the event.
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has condemned “abhorrent” attacks against Tanzania’s albino population.
• Two Pakistan officials have vehemently denied the New York Times’ story yesterday of two drone strikes being disavowed by the United States and purportedly carried out by Pakistan itself, calling the report a “distortion of the facts.”
• ISAF will stop reporting on Taliban attacks, though they will still collect the data; this move comes after admitting to an incorrect reporting last week of a 7% decline in attacks when there has been no decline at all.
• At least 70 have died and thousands have fled their homes in eastern Congo amid violence between rebels and government forces. According to a Russian envoy, the UN Security Council hopes to approve a special force to combat the rebels by the end of March.
• Syrian warplanes bombarded the fallen city of Raqqa yesterday in an attempt to reclaim the area from the rebels.
• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has announced the the number of Syrian refugees has grown strongly since the start of the year and now exceeds more than one million, putting pressure on neighboring states.
• The Obama administration has taken domestic steps to implement its 2010 commitments on IMF voting reform, but it is unclear at this stage whether the measure will be passed by Congress.
• Foreign Policy points out that momentum is building to declassify information related to the US’ secret detention program run by the CIA.
• FP also asks the blunt question: Has anybody noticed that Malaysia is at war? Though we can’t speak for others, we have definitely taken notice here at OJ and reported on it yesterday in our  News Wrap.

• The head of the IAEA has urged Iran to allow international inspectors access to a military site near Tehran to explore whether nuclear tests have been carried out there.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson, has urged the US to publish a Bush-era detention and rendition program report.
• On the island of Borneo, Malaysian troops attacked an armed Filipino group with jets and mortars in an attempt to end a standoff that has claimed at least 27 lives so far.
• Uhrhu Kenyatta is shown in early tallies to be ahead in the Kenyan presidential election after voting yesterday; charges have been confirmed by the pre-trial chamber of the ICC against Kenyatta for crimes against humanity.
• Amnesty International has called on the UN Security Council not to end the 21-year-long arms embargo in Somalia, describing the idea as premature and potentially hazardous to the Somalian humanitarian situation (Amnesty statement here).
• Syrian rebel forces have captured the city of Raqqa, the provincial capital, and crowds toppled the statue of President Bashar Al-Assad’s father.
• A British inquiry into allegations of torture and abuse by British soldiers in Iraq was shown gruesome pictures of bloodied corpses and faced testimony of missing body parts in evidence.
• Our own Kevin Jon Heller has joined the ongoing debate at Lawfare about the capture-versus-kill debate in IHL.
• The UN Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution today increasing sanctions on North Korea.
• Vice-President Biden has told AIPAC members that President Obama is serious when threatening military force if necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

• Sudan’s government has violated UN sanctions on the Darfur region by carrying out airstrikes in the country’s west.
• Israel has plans to launch “Palestinian-only” buses to transport people from the West Bank to Israel, in a move officials claim is designed to reduce traffic congestion but many concerned with civil rights see this as a move toward further segregation.
• Al-Qaeda has issued an English-language magazine (downloadable) offering advice on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents in addition to calling on militants to attack public figures, such as author Salman Rushdie,  Dutch politician Geert Wilders, Islam-critic Aayan Hirsi Ali and Pastor Terry Jones.
• NATO has apologized for killing two 10-year-old boys in a case of “mistaken identity” in a firefight with the Taliban.
• The UN Security Council has set the stage to lift an arms embargo in Somalia in order to train the army to fight Islamists in the region; the resolution will come to a vote on Wednesday.
• The US will give $250 million in budget aid to Egypt after President Morsi promised to carry out economic reforms.
• Violence is brewing in Malaysia’s Sabah province after Philippine Muslims invaded to reassert a territorial claim pre-dating colonization. The Philippines is considering taking up the issue with the International Court of Justice.
• The Cambodian translators at the ECCC have gone on strike to protest after budget shortfalls left them without pay since December.
• At the conference of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Thailand’s Prime Minister has vowed to close legal loopholes that made Thailand a hub for the illegal trade in ivory tusks of African elephants, but environmental activists are yet to be convinced.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran is using the extra time gained by new IAEA negotiations to build a nuclear bomb.
• Many Kenyans living abroad as a part of a 2.5-million-citizen diaspora have expressed feeling cheated out of their right to vote in today’s presidential election.
• A UN senior official has addressed sexual violence issues in Cambodia and Kenya.
• Human Rights Watch has called for an end to the violence in Bangladesh in light of the recent sentencing of opposition leader Jamaat-e-Islaami. Jurist has more here.
• Foreign Policy recently carried out a survey of 70 experts about global conflicts; an analysis of the results can be found here.
• The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported last week that UK terror suspects are being stripped of their citizenship before being killed by US drones.

Events

• Fordham Law School presents the Eighth Annual Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation on April 11-12, 2013. The conference will bring together leading international arbitrators, mediators, practitioners, and scholars to discuss contemporary issues in international arbitration and mediation.

Calls for Papers

• PolSci, the Romanian journal of political science, is accepting submissions for publication in its summer 2013 issue on the topic Democracy and the Rule of Law. The deadline for application is April 1, 2013, at midnight, Central European Time.

Announcements

• Transnational Dispute Management Journal has come out with another issue: TDM 2 (2013) – EU, Investment Treaties, and Investment Treaty Arbitration – Current Developments and Challenges.
  
• The Goettingen Journal of International Law has also released its latest issue, Vol. 4, No 3 (2012), which can be found on the GOJIL homepage.
• Middlesex University has announced new, fully-funded doctoral studentships under the supervision of Professor William Schabas in law and criminology, including all fields relating to human rights. Applications are due March 22, 2013.
• Enterprise & Society: The International Journal of Business History, which “offers a forum for research on the historical relations between businesses and their larger political, cultural, institutional, social, and economic contexts,” is seeking a new editor. The book review editor works closely with the editor of the journal, who is currently Philip Scranton, and serves as a member of the editorial board for the journal. Application deadline: April 1, 2013. For more information, see here.

Last week’s post can be found here. If you would like to post an announcement on Opinio Juris, please contact us.