Read On! The Regulation of Intelligence Activities under International Law

► Presenting a thorough examination of intelligence activities in international law, Sophie Duroy provides theoretical and empirical justifications to support the cutting-edge claim that states’ compliance with international law in intelligence matters serves their national security interests. This book theorises the regulation of intelligence activities under international law, identifying three layers of regulation: a clear legal framework governing intelligence activities (legality); a capacity to enforce state responsibility (accountability); and the integration of legality and accountability into responsive regulation by the international legal order (compliance).

Sophie Duroy, Fellow, KFG Berlin-Potsdam Research Group ‘The International Rule of Law: Rise or Decline?’, Berlin, Germany.

Read On! The Logic of Human Rights: From Subject/Object Dichotomy to Topo-Logic

► Conceptualizing the nature of reality and the way the world functions, Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko analyzes the foundations of human rights law in the strict subject/object dichotomy. Seeking to dismantle this dichotomy using topo-logic, a concept developed by Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitarō, this topical book formulates ways to operationalize alternative visions of human rights practice.

Subject/object dichotomy, Yahyaoui Krivenko demonstrates, emerges from and reflects a particular Western worldview through a quest for rationality and formal logic. Taking a metaphysical and epistemological perspective, this book explores the alternative views of reality and logic, developed by Kitarō, to demonstrate how topo-logic can enable both a theoretical and a practical renewal of human rights and overcome the subject/object dichotomy. Examining the recent growth of social movements, decolonization and diversification of discourses about human rights, and substantive equality, the book identifies these developments in contemporary human rights as indications of a movement towards a topo-logical view beyond the subject/object dichotomy.

More information can be found here.

Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko, Associate Professor, Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, University of Galway, Ireland.

Read On! Art and Human Rights: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues

► This timely book builds bridges between the notions of art and aesthetics, human rights, universality, and dignity. It explores a world in which art and justice enter a discussion to answer questions such as: can art translate the human experience? How does humanity link individuality and community building? How do human beings define and look for their identity? The fields of human rights and art are brought together in order to open the discussion and contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights. More information can be found here.

Edited by Fiana Gantheret, Expert and Consultant in International Justice and Human Rights, Founder and Director of Creating Rights, Nolwenn Guibert, Senior Legal Officer at an international organization, Geneva, Switzerland and Sofia Stolk, Assistant Professor, VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In honor of Thomas Buergenthal

Judge Buergenthal championed the cause of humanization of international law and human rights education at the early level to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity. Here is his 2008 interview in which he discusses the creativity of international courts, the value of provisional measures, the backlog of human rights cases at the regional courts, the complexity of humanitarian intervention, the need to regulate multinational corporations and NGOs in relation to human rights, the role of truth commissions as a complement to criminal courts, and the need for “shame campaigns” to underscore children’s rights. He declares that the world would have benefited from a truth commission for Germany after WWII in order to understand why Hitler came to power; given the current war in Ukraine, his reflections remain timely.

He was my professor of human rights law at GW and it was an honor to have been his student. He assigned the crisis situation of refugees arriving from Haiti as the exam question. He inspired me to challenge my students to analyze contemporary dilemmas and to recognize the need for shared empathy across borders.

Go On!

► Singapore-based Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI) and the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) announced open registration for their third joint webinar: Cross-border Commercial Dispute Resolution – HCCH 1965 Service Convention.

The event will be held online on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, from 4pm to 5:10pm (Singapore time), and is expected to discuss, among others, the actual operation of the Service Convention in practice, how the Service Convention works with the other HCCH Conventions for cross-border dispute resolution, and Singapore’s accession to and upcoming implementation of the Service Convention.

For more information or to register, click here.

Register by May 28, 2023, to enjoy an early bird discount of 15% off.

Write On! Call for Submissions — Melbourne Journal of International Law

This installment of Write On!, our periodic compilation of calls for papers, includes the following from the Melbourne Journal of International Law:

► The Editors of the Melbourne Journal of International Law (‘MJIL’), Australia’s premier generalist international law journal, are now inviting submissions for volume 24(2). 

MJIL is a peer-reviewed academic journal based at Melbourne Law School (The University of Melbourne) which publishes innovative scholarly research and critical examinations of issues in international law. Past contributors have included HE Judge Hilary Charlesworth, Professor Philip Alston and The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG.

The deadline for submissions is 1 July 2023. Submissions and inquiries should be directed to submissions-mjil@unimelb.edu.au. For more information, please visit https://law.unimelb.edu.au/mjil/submissions.

Go On! BUL Emerging Law Voices Interview Series

► The Brunel University London School of Law invites you to listen and watch the ‘BUL Emerging Law Voices interview series with Dr. Solon Solomon hosting people from the academic world and beyond. Watch the interviews on the Brunel Law School YouTube channel and listen to them on Spotify.

The links of the latest interview with the United Kingdom’s Legal Advisor to the United Nations can be found below:

Dr. Solon Solomon has served as a visiting Lecturer and Scholar in a number of academic institutions including Tel Aviv University, King’s College London, Humboldt zu Berlin and the British Institute of International & Comparative Law. He is currently Lecturer at the Brunel University London School of Law and co-Director of the BUL International Law Group as well as convenor of the School’s ‘Emerging Law Voices’ podcast series. 

Read On! Two New International Law books from Hart Publishing

The European Union and International Investment Law: The Two Dimensions of an Uneasy Relationship by Francesco Montanaro.

This book explores the interaction between the EU and international investment law, both within the EU internal market and externally.

The book shows that the EU has assumed an ostensibly ambivalent attitude towards international investment law and finds that beneath this ambivalence ultimately lies the EU’s attempt to impose its own original model of regulation. It then argues that the EU adopted this approach to support its internal market, enhance its external influence, and, ultimately, pursue long-term ‘federal aspirations’. Finally, the book identifies the obstacles that have curtailed the EU’s efforts at both the internal and external level.

Francesco Montanaro is Legal Officer at the Office of the President of the Italian Republic, Italy.

More details about this title can be found here.

Discount Price: £68 / $92

Order online at www.bloomsbury.com  – use the code GLR AP3UK for UK orders and GLR AP3US for US orders to get 20% off! Sign up for their email list to receive updates about new titles.

The Irish Yearbook of International Law, Volume 15, 2020, edited by Bríd Ní Ghráinne, James Gallen and Richard Collins.

The Irish Yearbook of International Law supports research into Ireland’s practice in international affairs and foreign policy, filling a gap in existing legal scholarship and assisting in the dissemination of Irish policy and practice on matters of international law.

This volume of the Yearbook includes contributions on international humanitarian law, including intersections with international human rights law and the law of state responsibility, the concept of due diligence in international law, and the exercise of international criminal jurisdiction with specific reference to Irish law.

Bríd Ní Ghráinne is Assistant Professor in International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law at Maynooth, Ireland.

James Gallen is Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, Ireland.

Richard Collins is Associate Professor at the School of Law at University College Dublin, Ireland.

More details about this title can be found here.

Discount Price: £156 / $212

Order online at www.bloomsbury.com  – use the code GLR AP3UK for UK orders and GLR AP3US for US orders to get 20% off! Sign up for their email list to receive updates about new titles.

On the Job! The International Nuremberg Principles Academy seeking Project Officers

On the Job! compiles interesting vacancy notices, as follows:

► The International Nuremberg Principles Academy is currently seeking to recruit two full-time Project Officers to work in Nuremberg, Germany. More information can be found in the PDF below, or click here for more details on their website.

To apply, please send your application including cover letter, CV and three referees, ideally in one PDF document, via email with the subject line “Application for Project Officer position_YourLastname” to admin@nurembergacademy.org by June 20, 2023.

Write On! International Conference on Realising Children’s Development Rights in De Facto States

The Children’s Rights Research project in collaboration with the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights is proud to announce that we are organising a child-led conference on the rights of children in de facto statesThe International Conference on Realising Children’s Development Rights in De Facto States will be held in two stages. An online event will be held on 28 October 2023, followed by an in-person event on 17-18 January 2024 in Northern Cyprus. The online event will be completely child-led and provide input for the in-person event. The in-person event will be led by academics, humanitarians and activists, based on the input provided by children during the online event. 

This conference is a child-led conference, designed to encourage the effective and meaningful participation of children in conversations about ways to better realise the development rights of children living in de facto states. The ultimate aim is to have children, academics, humanitarians activists, and others engage in meaningful conversation that will contribute to ensuring that all children – even those in the midst of political and legal conflict – have equal access to development rights. Underpinning the conference is the core principle of the universality of the rights of all children irrespective of their national, ethnic or social origin, birth or other status, including children living in de facto states.

The Children’s Rights Convention recognises “the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” and the Sustainable Development Goals are supposed to “leave no one behind”. However, despite this, one group of children have remained largely invisible to the international community, namely: children living in de facto states. Among the most vulnerable groups in the world, children living in de facto states receive little (if any) attention in international bi-lateral and multilateral fora, because they fall beyond the state-centric structure of the international community. Unfortunately, they generally do not fare any better in academic research. Since the goal of the UN is to provide access to justice for all, and to build effective and inclusive institutions at all levels, these children should not be left behind.

Registration
Academics, humanitarians, activists, and other persons interested in attending are welcome to register for this conference. All who sign up are expected to attend two conferences: the online event (28 October 2023), and the in-person event (17-18 January 2024, northern Cyprus). During the online event, we listen to children who are living in de facto states. During the in-person event, academics, humanitarians and activists can attend either as speakers or as audience members.

Speakers are invited to submit a max 500 word abstract. Please read this call for abstracts for more details, and submit your abstract using this form. Please note that the deadline for submitting abstracts is 11 June 2023.

We will consider abstracts in English on all subjects relating to the theme of the conference, using any methodology/ies. While we welcome abstracts on all kinds of related topics, the following list of themes/topics serves as an inspiration:

  • The situation of children in a specific de facto state (e.g. “education in Somaliland”);
  • The effects of conflict and political upheaval on children’s development rights;
  • Human rights duty bearers in relation to children in de facto states;
  • Your (organisation’s) experience in working on human rights in, or with, de facto states;
  • Fragmentation and the realisation of children’s rights;
  • The United Nations, regional regulatory bodies (e.g. African Union), and human rights in de facto states;
  • Normative rules and children’s rights in de facto states, in law and/or other normative orders.

Audience members who would like to attend without presenting, are invited to fill in this registration form. Please note that we ask you to write a brief “expression of interest”.

Fee & Scholarship
The registration fee for the International Conference on Realising Children’s Development Rights in De Facto States is 300 EUR. We offer partial and complete scholarships. For more information, please see the conference website.

Reminder service

If you are not yet sure whether you can attend the conference, you can enter your email address here. You will receive two-weekly reminders until you either sign up or sign off.

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