Events and Announcements: 19 January 2022

Featured Announcement

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) provides training that combines world leading research with an applied perspective. Our courses are designed to enable legal practitioners, government officials, students, academics, and civil society organisations to deepen their knowledge and gain expert insights in areas of international law. 

Building on the successes of 2021, for spring 2022, BIICL is delighted to launch a series of new courses in areas including Artificial Intelligence, Energy and Natural Resources Law and Pharmaceuticals and Intellectual Property. These courses will complement other existing courses on offer at BIICL, including those focusing on Climate Change Law and Business and Human Rights. 

Each course is convened and taught by international experts from BIICL’s own team in collaboration with external partners, combining academic expertise with practical experience in these fields of law. 

The following courses are now available for booking:

• Energy and Natural Resources Law, starts 23 February 2022
• Artificial Intelligence, Law and Ethics, starts 24 February 2022
• Pharmaceuticals and Intellectual Property, starts 4 March 2022
• Climate Change Law, starts 9 March 2022
• Business and Human Rights, starts 10 March 2022

The courses are offered virtually – consisting of a series of sessions in which live teaching is provided via Zoom. Places are limited to ensure a highly interactive experience. 

A limited number of scholarships are available for each course to provide financial assistance for people who cannot otherwise participate, and for people from communities that are currently under-represented in the legal community. Discounts for group bookings and individual members of BIICL are also available.

Find out more about our short courses and book a place

Call for Papers

Call for Papers – PhD Workshop on Responding to Complex Relationships in International Law: The SLS International Law Section, in collaboration with the European Journal of Legal Studies, invites abstracts from PhD researchers in international law (public or private) for an online Workshop on Responding to Complex Relationships in International Law. This initiative hopes to assist PhD researchers in building their networks, provide space for them to engage with their peers from across the discipline, and offer a publication opportunity for strong papers.

The theme intends to encourage new voices in international law to critically consider what complex relationships are emerging in different areas of the international system and, where challenges arise, propose innovative methods for actors to respond. Potential topics may include, but are in no way limited to, the role of non-state actors in international law-making, the future functions of international organizations, the continuing legitimacy of the state, and the need for cooperation between states and actors, such as multinational corporations and activist groups. Papers may examine the complex relationships in specific branches of international law or cast a wider net considering general aspects of international law.

The Workshop will consist of several panels chaired by international law academics who will also act as discussants for the papers. The Workshop will conclude with a session on the academic job market to share experiences of how to prepare for the job market as an early career international law researcher. The event will be held online to allow for participants to join from around the world, abstracts are particularly encouraged from the Global South.

To be eligible to present you must (1) currently be registered as an MPhil/PhD candidate or employed as a PhD Researcher (depending on institutional practices in your jurisdiction) and (2) hold a current SLS membership at the time of the Workshop. You do not need to be based at a UK institution nor do you need to join SLS to submit an abstract.

If you wish to present a paper, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to a[dot]f[dot]gilder[at]reading[dot]ac[dot]uk no later than 7 February 2022. Selected presenters will be informed by 14 February 2022. If selected, full draft papers of 4,000-5,000 words must be submitted no later than 27 April 2022. If you would like to attend, please also register your interest at a[dot]f[dot]gilder[at]reading[dot]ac[dot]uk.

When submitting their full draft, speakers must indicate whether they wish the paper to be considered for publication in a special section of the European Journal of Legal Studies (subject to the journal’s regular submission and peer review process). The organisers will communicate a submission timeline that allows selected authors to incorporate any useful comments they received during the Workshop into their final paper. Papers will need to follow the Journal’s ‘New Voices’ format and the special section will be published in the Autumn 2022 issue.

Important: to present, if selected, or to attend the Workshop you must hold a current SLS membership. See here for details.

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. Thank you!