Events and Announcements: 24 January 2021

Call for Papers

Call for inputs: UN OHCHR Working Group on the use of mercenaries: Twice a year, the United Nations (UN) Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Working Group (WG) on the use of mercenaries issues calls for inputs to inform its thematic studies to be presented at the Human Rights Council in its September session and at the General Assembly in October. The WG on the use of mercenaries has identified “cyber mercenaries” as one category of actors that can generate mercenary-related activities. This entails a wide range of military and security services provided in cyberspace, including data collection and espionage. For more information on the call go here. The deadline for submissions is 12 February 2021. The word limit for submissions is 3000 words. Submissions should be emailed to mercenaries[at]ohchr[dot]org with the subject headline “Input for the report on cyber mercenaries of the WG on the use of mercenaries”.

 Events

Online Panel Discussion and Book Launch ‘Integrity in International Justice’: The International Nuremberg Principles Academy is pleased to announce that it will hold a live online launch of the fourth volume of the Nuremberg Academy Series, entitled Integrity in International Justice, edited by Professor Morten Bergsmo and Dr. Viviane E. Dittrich on 2 February 2021 at 14:00-15:30 CET. The recently published book is the first book-length publication to analyse integrity in international justice comprehensively. Integrity in International Justice is a timely contribution to the field, particularly considering recent developments such as State sanctions imposed against international institutions officials, the release of the Independent Expert Review of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’), as well as the elections of six new judges as well as the Prosecutor of the ICC.

The online book launch will include a brief presentation of the book and will be followed by a panel discussion with high-level practitioners and academics moderated by Dr. Viviane Dittrich, Deputy Director of the Nuremberg Academy. Confirmed speakers are: Judge Richard Goldstone(Independent Expert Review, formerly International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda), Judge Ivana Hrdličková (Special Tribunal for Lebanon), Judge Adel Maged (Court of Cassation of Egypt), Brigid Inder (Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice) and Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal (Norwegian Helsinki Committee).

The event will take place on 2 February 2021 (2 p.m. CET). The platform used will be Zoom webinar. Prior registration via the Nuremberg Academy website is required and now open.

Virtual Seminar on the Future of Deep Sea Mining: Volterra Fietta, the public international law firm, is pleased to invite you to the virtual seminar “Deep Sea to Deep Space (Part 1): The Future of Deep Sea Mining”.  This is the first in a three-part virtual seminar series being hosted by Volterra Fietta throughout January and February.  The second and third seminar will focus on the extraction of natural resources in space and the arctic region.

As the world gears up to start the exploitation of mineral resources from the deep sea, this timely seminar will examine latest developments in the field.  Deep-sea mining is a potentially lucrative and rapidly developing industry.  It has the potential to power the world’s green energy transition.  However, it is not without its controversy and legal complications.  This seminar explores the future of deep-sea mining as well as those thorny issues.  In particular, it will examine the International Seabed Authority’s Mining Code, including the most recent stakeholder consultations on the draft standards and guidelines to support the Draft Exploitation Regulations.

Our experienced panelists will be Mr Siosiua Utoikamanu, Member of the International Seabed Authority’s Technical and Legal Committee; Mr Christopher Williams, Managing Director at UK Seabed Resources; Dr Joanna Dingwall, Visiting Lecturer in International Law at the University of Glasgow; and Ms Florentine Vos, Associate at Volterra Fietta. This seminar will be chaired by Mr Robert Volterra, Partner at Volterra Fietta and Visiting Professor of Law at University College London.

For any queries regarding the content of the seminar, please email florentine[dot]vos[at]volterrafietta[dot]com. To attend this seminar please RSVP to attend[at]volterrafietta[dot]com stating your name and affiliation. For more information, go here.

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!