Author Archives: Tobias Thienel

New – Fifth – Issue of the Goettingen Journal of International Law

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GoJIL

By Tobias Thienel

 

The Goettingen Journal of International Law has just published a new issue, and once again the editors have done tremendous work. The Journal is now on its fifth issue, so the project of running the first student-edited and peer-reviewed journal on international law in Europe (and beyond, as commenter John points out at Opinio Juris) may be taken to be a great success.

 

The Journal has won many friends, and rightly so, given the obvious strength of their latest issue. Indeed, this issue in particular stands out among law journals in that the editors and authors have made the most of the capacity for rapid publication that is a (quite intentional) hallmark of the Goettingen Journal. The number of "firsts", and also of other extremely topical contributions, in this issue is simply astounding:

 

The issue for the first time features a GoJIL: Focus, in which a number of contributions discuss a recent event. In this case, the event in question is the Kampala ICC Review Conference. It is already impressive that the Journal has been able to put together a whole section on the conference so hot on the heels of the actual event. It is all the more astounding that it has been able to attract writers like Judge Kaul of the ICC, Roger S. Clark and Morten Bergsmo (to name but a few).

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Call for Papers: Symposium on the “Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials”

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By Tobias Thienel

 

The organisers of an international symposium at Melbourne Law School have asked me to publish this Call for Papers. I’m more than pleased to do so. This should be a good one.

 

UNTOLD STORIES: HIDDEN HISTORIES OF WAR CRIMES TRIALS

A two-day international symposium to uncover and explore some of the less well-known war crimes trials, both international and domestic.

Melbourne Law School

15th and 16th October 2010

Presented by The Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, Melbourne Law School, and supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant

Organizers: Gerry Simpson, Tim McCormack, Kevin Heller, Jennifer Balint

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for Abstracts: 30th May 2010

As international criminal law matures, there has been a return to history. Intriguing research agendas have focused on the origins of international criminal law in the repression of piracy or slave-trading and on the institutional innovations found at Versailles and The Hague. Meanwhile, familiar landmarks are being revisited in order to clarify ongoing doctrinal debates (aggression at Nuremberg, conspiracy at Tokyo, and so on). Alongside all of this is increased interest in less familiar war crimes trials, both international and domestic.

The idea behind this symposium is to uncover and explore some of the less well-known – perhaps even obscure – war crimes trials. As an example, Kevin Heller, one of the organizers, will be presenting a paper on the twelve Nuremberg Military Tribunals held under Control Council Law No. 10. There will also likely be papers on the war crimes trials held in Bangladesh after the secession, on the recent genocide trial in Ethiopia, and on the post-war trials under Australian jurisdiction in the Far East.

The symposium will be held over two days. We regret we cannot offer travel or accommodation expenses, but lunches and teas (morning and afternoon) will be provided. A speakers’ dinner will be held on the evening of the 15th and an informal dinner on the 16th for those who remain in town.

In addition to the organizers, confirmed participants in the symposium include Mark Drumbl and Larry May. The organizers intend to publish the papers presented at the symposium as an edited book; Oxford University Press has indicated preliminary interest.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the symposium or contributing to the planned book, please send a 300-500 word abstract and a short C.V. no later than 30th May 2010 to Gerry Simpson c/o Cathy Hutton, Administrator, APCML (c [dot] hutton [at] unimelb [dot] edu [dot] au). Doctoral students are welcome to submit abstracts.

Questions about the symposium can be directed to Kevin Heller (kheller [at] unimelb [dot] edu [dot] au)

Vacancy for Professor / Reader in Law and Security

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Glasgow

By Tobias Thienel

The University of Glasgow has announced a vacancy for a Professor or Reader in International Law and Security. As the university has explained on a previous occasion:

The University of Glasgow has ambitious and exciting plans for expansion and development of teaching and research in law. It is investing heavily in the School of Law and this investment will ensure that Glasgow claims a place as one of the top seven law schools in the UK and one of the top forty in the world. These plans include a large expansion in staff, a major increase in research activity and establishing a range of new LLM and other postgraduate programmes. […]

A crucial part of these developments and of our vision for the future of legal education at Glasgow will be a major expansion of our research and teaching activities in two overlapping areas: international law and law and security. The theme of law and security refers to a range of issues of contemporary importance in both international and national law which in various ways represent major threats (global and local) to national and international security. Specific threats would include terrorism, (forced) migration, environmental degradation, armed conflict and constraints on supply of energy, food, water and other essential resources.

The intention is to examine the legal dimensions of these issues, notably by assessing the contribution of law and legal processes to effective responses, as well as the role of (international) legal standards as a constraint on responses. Specific developments will include new taught postgraduate programmes, additional research students and funded research in the area of law and security.

This new job is set to further sharpen Glasgow’s new profile as a major centre of research in these important fields. It should be exciting to be part of the project, and Glasgow is an exciting city, too.

 

The full text of the job description (minus some technical stuff) is after the fold; contact details are at the bottom of the announcement website.

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GoJIL International Law Essay Competition

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By Tobias Thienel

 

Not content with holding an international conference this autumn, the Goettingen Journal of International Law is currently seeking submissions for its 3rd International Law Essay Competition. This year’s topic is "The Rise of Self-Determination".

 

The best article submitted will be published in an upcoming issue. Past winners of the Competition are Evelyne Schmid’s fine article on "The Right to a Fair Trial in Times of Terrorism: A Method to Identify the Non-Derogable Aspects of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights", published in the first-ever issue of the GoJIL, and Marco Benatar’s impressive "The Use of Cyber Force: Need for Legal Justification?", published in GoJIL Vol 1 No 3.

 

The deadline for submissions this year is 15 June 2010.

Call for Papers: GoJIL Conference on “Resources of Conflict – Conflicts over Resources”

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The Goettingen Journal of International Law, Germany’s first student-run journal on international law, is set to hold its first international conference, titled "Resources of Conflict – Conflicts over Resources", from 7-9 October 2010. Judge Bruno Simma of the International Court of Justice has already agreed to give one of the two keynote addresses.

 

The broad topic of the conference will be subdivided into four panels, each of which will seek to bring together scholars – particularly emerging scholars and junior faculty – of international law, international politics and adjacent disciplines. The panels are planned as follows:

Panel 1: Actors of Armed Conflicts and International Law

Panel 2: Resources Before, During and After Conflicts

Panel 3: Resources of Conflict Prevention: Access, Sharing and Regulation

Panel 4: Knowledge as a Resource: Access, Assessment and Legal Consequences

 

Abstracts of presentations are invited until 1 June 2010. The full text of the Call for Papers is after the fold. Continue reading →

Gay Marriage and the ECHR

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By Tobias Thienel

 

Last Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights heard oral argument in the case of Schalk and Kopf v Austria. In this rather prominent case, the Court is asked to decide whether – and that – the Convention guarantees a right for same-sex couples to enter into marriage. Note that this is marriage in the full traditional sense, stricto sensu, not any form of civil partnership offering a lesser extent of rights.

 

The applicants, Mr Horst Michael Schalk and Mr Johann Franz Kopf, brought their case at a time when Austrian law offered no possibility for them to formalise their relationship. That has changed as of 1 January this year, since when they can register a form of civil partnership, much like in many other European states. But that is not what they want.

 

Whatever may be the politics of this issue in Austria (and they are likely not to reach the heights of absurdity scaled by some opponents of gay marriage in the United States), there certainly are a few constructive difficulties with the applicants’ argument under the Convention. Continue reading →

Call for Papers: German Yearbook of International Law

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By Tobias Thienel

 

The German Yearbook of International Law has just put out a general Call for Papers for its next issue, vol. 53 (2010), which is to be published early in 2011. The German Yearbook is, of course, a very prominent and prestigious, high-profile publication.

 

Publishing an article in the German Yearbook guarantees a large audience. Also, on a more personal note, I can attest to the fact that publishing with the Yearbook and working with the editorial staff is a true pleasure.

 

The text of the call for papers is after the fold. Continue reading →

Zelaya Dispute Goes to the ICJ (UPDATED)

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By Tobias Thienel

ZelayaThe International Court of Justice has announced today that the Republic of Honduras has filed an application against the Federative Republic of Brazil. The application states, as quoted in the Court’s Press Release:

"[Mr. José Manuel Zelaya Rosales and] an indeterminate number of Honduran citizens", who have been taking refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras since 21 September 2009, "are using [its] premises . . . as a platform for political propaganda and thereby threatening the peace and internal public order of Honduras, at a time when the Honduran Government is making preparations for the presidential elections which are due to take place on 29 November 2009."

Honduras therefore requests the Court to adjudge and declare that

Brazil does not have the right to allow the premises of its Mission in Tegucigalpa to be used to promote manifestly illegal activities by Honduran citizens who have been staying within it for some time now and that it shall cease to do so. Just as Brazil rightly demands that the Honduran authorities guarantee the security and inviolability of the Mission premises, Honduras demands that Brazil’s diplomatic staff stationed in Tegucigalpa devote themselves exclusively to the proper functions of the Mission and not to actions constituting interference in the domestic affairs of another State.

While this is not strictly appropriate language for a request (it being bad form to put argument in the formal request, which ought to mirror the dispositif of the desired judgment), the heart of the case is clear: Honduras wants a declaration from the ICJ to the effect that Brazil has committed and is committing a wrong in allowing Mr Zelaya to stay in the embassy (i.e. in granting him diplomatic asylum) and in permitting his ongoing political activities (or ‘propaganda’, as the application calls it). Continue reading →

George W. Bush Wins Nobel Peace Slap-in-the-Face

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NobelBy Tobias Thienel

Okay, this may be a little facile, and it’s definitely not what the Committee has said, but witness these statements in the official announcement (CNN video here, transcript here; emphasis in the following mine):

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Now if only Mr Bush could be reached for comment…

Al-Saadoon Case Ruled Admissible

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pic ECtHR.jpg

By Tobias Thienel

First off, my sincere apologies for being a bad blogger of late. But now, on to the day’s business:

The European Court of Human Rights today delivered its decision on the admissibility of Al-Saadoon and Mufdhi v United Kingdom. That case, of course, represents the continuation at Strasbourg of domestic proceedings; some readers may recall that I have previously discussed the English judgments and the actions of the UK Government in that case on this blog: see here (on the case in the High Court), here (on the Court of Appeal judgment) and here (on the case in general).

The case was – and, in a way, still is – about the transfer of two Iraqi men suspected of murder, who were originally held by the British Army in Iraq and were then due to be – and have now been – transferred to the Iraqis for trial. The two men originally challenged their upcoming transfer under the ECHR, arguing that they would, if transferred, be ill-treated in prison, sentenced to death and executed.

Much to my dismay, the English courts had held that the European Convention did not apply, because the UK was bound in (other) international law to hand over the two men to the Iraqis. The issue, then, is whether a conflict between the ECHR and other international law rules out the application of the Convention. The English courts, by somewhat different routes, held that it did. Marko Milanovic argued that it did not; so did I.

The European Court has now knocked the theory from the English judgments on the head. A good thing, too. The application of the two men – who, unfortunately, have by now been transferred, in violation of an interim measure from the Court – has been declared admissible (at least for the most part; a complaint about expected ill-treatment in prison is inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies).

HT: Marko Milanovic at EJIL:Talk, who offers a somewhat fuller – and excellent – discussion of the case.

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