The Research Project on Shared Responsibility in International Law (SHARES), carried out at the University of Amsterdam, explores the allocation of international responsibilities where multiple actors contribute to an international wrong. It seeks to uncover the extent and nature of the problem of scattering international responsibilities and to provide a fresh perspective on how the ever increasing interdependence in the international legal order, can be better matched with a proper system of shared responsibility. 

The Conference on Foundations of Shared Responsibility in International Law, organized on 17 and 18 November in Amsterdam, will explore fundamental and conceptual issues that explain the state of law, allow for identification of gaps and provide insights on possibilities for further development of the law pertaining to shared responsibility. The Conference will also be a first take on the findings of the SHARES project so far, and will allow for a confrontation with other competing and/or complementary approaches. 

The programme of the conference is available here. Registration for the conference is open. However, as seating is limited, we may not be able to accommodate all requests. Please wait for a confirmation of your registration before making any travel arrangements. For registration please contact Ingrid van Beek-Meijer at shares-fdr@uva.nl. 

• Date: 11 October 2011
• Time: 17.30-19.30 (lecture starts at 18.00)
• Organizer: Peace Palace Library
• Venue: Peace Palace Library, Historic Reading Room, Carnegieplein 2, The Hague

In 1961, Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962), a former SS-Obersturmbannführer, was accused, before a court in Jerusalem, of helping Hitler in his plan to exterminate the Jews in the Second World War. He was found guilty on all charges and subsequently hanged in a prison near Tel Aviv in June 1962. The trial was omnipresent in Israeli and global politics, media and academic discussions. Especially due to the work of Hannah Ahrendt, Eichmann became known as the embodiment of the banality of evil, the Schreibtischmörderer who slavishly and uncritically carried out orders from the top of the bureaucracy.

Documents recently disclosed and studied by Dr. Birn shed some interesting new light on the case. They give the impression that the Israeli prosecutor in the Eichmann case was ill-prepared, and that his investigation had significant gaps.

Professor Thomas Mertens will present his recently published book on the Eichmann trial and the controversial reporting by Hannah Arendt. 

Professor Harmen van der Wilt will compare the Eichmann trial with standards and the practice of modern day prosecutions.  

The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series consists of approximately four lectures a year about issues of international public law. Each lecture will start with a small reception in the library’s new reading room, followed by the lecture in the historical reading room. The Lecture Series are open to everyone and are especially interesting for researchers and students, as well as diplomats, international civil servants, journalists and other professionals working in the field of international public law.

Please register by sending an email to Otto Spijkers at o.spijkers@ppl.nl. We hope to see you there!   

This year’s Venice Academy of Human Rights will take place in less than two months. The programme will focus on legal, political and philosophical aspects of globalisation and global governance with lectures by famous professors from all over the world including Abdullahi A. An-Na’im, David Held, Yasuaki Onuma, Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Mary Robinson (Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).

A few reasons why this programme is unique and particularly appealing:

• It focuses on a complex and yet practical topic,
• Its lectures will be delivered by eminent professors;
• It is an interdisciplinary programme;
• It is open to only 50 participants (academics, experienced practitioners, Ph.D. researchers);
• It offers a space where participants can present their work in progress (book chapters, articles, projects, etc.);
• It allows a unique environment for exchange of ideas and perspectives for research and debate;
• It is organised by EIUC which is the leading EU human rights higher education institution associating 41 European Universities;
• It is organised in the fascinating location of the Monastery of San Nicolò in Venice Lido.

Find out more on the application procedures at http://www.eiuc.org/veniceacademy/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=44. For more information visit www.eiuc.org/veniceacademy or write an email to veniceacademy@eiuc.org.

Lecture by Prof. Nico Schrijver

Organized by the Peace Palace Library

• Date: Wednesday 22 June, 2011
• Time: 17.30-19.30 (lecture starts at 18.00)
• Location: Peace Palace Library, Historic Reading Room
• Free entrance

About Prof. Nico Schrijver

Professor Nico Schrijver is Chair of Public International Law at Leiden University, and Academic Director at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University/Campus The Hague. He is also President of the Netherlands Society of International Law, and Member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He appeared before the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and as legal counsel in law of the sea cases before special ad hoc tribunals, and as expert in proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and before the Inter-American Court for Human Rights. He has working experience in the UN system, including as legal officer for the Office of the Legal Counsel, United Nations. He is Chairperson of the Committee on the International Law of Sustainable Development of the International Law Association (previously General Rapporteur) and Co-Chair (with Dr. Kamal Hossain) of the ILA Study Group on UN Reform. He was also a student and research assistant of Prof. Röling.

About Prof. Bert Röling

Bert Röling (1906-1985) studied law at the University of Nijmegen. In 1933, he defended his dissertation on the legislation regarding the so-called professional and habitual criminals (‘De wetgeving tegen de zoogenaamde beroeps- en gewoontemisdadigers’), cum laude, at Utrecht University. In 1934, Röling founded the Institute of Criminology, often called the cradle of the postwar ‘Utrecht School’. Since 1936, Röling gained practical experience in criminal law as deputy judge in the District Court of Utrecht. A conflict with the Germans led to his transfer, in 1941, to Middelburg. Four years later he returned to Utrecht, and became judge at the Court of Utrecht. In 1946, he also became professor of Dutch-Indian criminal law and criminal procedure in Utrecht. But as soon as he was appointed, he was asked to serve as judge on the bench of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. From 1946 to 1948 Röling lived and worked in Tokyo and played a prominent role in the work of the tribunal. During his stay in Tokyo, Röling was appointed professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at the University of Groningen. After his return to the Netherlands he was also, from 1949 to 1951, judge at the Special Court of Appeals. Röling’s research interest and teaching at Groningen turned increasingly towards international law. In 1953, he became a member of the Advisory Committee for International Law Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1949 to 1957 he was a member of the Dutch delegation to the United Nations, where he got involved in the work of the Special Commission on the Definition of Aggression.

Registration

If you wish to attend the lecture, we kindly ask you to register in advance. To enter the premises of the Peace Palace, you are required to bring a valid ID (passport, driving license), and show this to the security at the gate of the Palace. They will show you the way to the Library. For registration and for more information, please contact Mr. Otto Spijkers of the Peace Palace Library at o.spijkers@ppl.nl.

About the Peace Palace Library Lecture Series

The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series is a lecture series on issues of general international law. Each year, approximately four lectures will be organized. All lectures are held in the Peace Palace Library. The evening starts with a small reception in the library’s new reading room. The lecture itself takes place in the historical reading room. There will be plenty of time for questions afterwards. The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series are open to everyone. They are especially interesting for researchers and students, as well as diplomats, international civil servants, journalists and other professionals working in the field of public international law.

The first Peace Palace Library Lecture will take place 23 may 2011, inside the historic reading room of the Peace Palace. Everybody is welcome to attend. Simon Minks, Public Prosecutor to the Court of Appeal in The Hague, and Roel van Rossum, Coordinating Vice-President at the District Court The Hague, will discuss the van Anraat Case, and the challenges Dutch courts face when dealing with complex issues of international criminal law. The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series consists of approximately four lectures a year about issues of international public law. Each lecture will start with a small reception in the library’s new reading room, followed by the lecture in the historical reading room. The Lecture Series are open to everyone and are especially interesting for researchers and students, as well as diplomats, international civil servants, journalists and other professionals working in the field of international public law. See the website of the Hague Justice Portal for more detailed information. We hope to see you on the 23^rd of May!

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS) was established by the ARC in 2007 to boost policing and security research capacity in Australia amid the growing complexity and internationalisation of transnational crime in the post-9/11 environment.

The third CEPS International Conference will be held at Hilton Hotel from 6-7 October 2011 in Brisbane, Australia. The title for the 2011 conference is Risk and Resilience: Redefining Security.

The aim of this conference is to bring together state-based, national, and international policing and security scholars and practitioners to identify, discuss, and analyse our understanding of risk, preparedness and resilience. A particular focus will be given to issues relating to Australian national security and disaster management in an all-hazards environment. This conference will discuss state, national and international trends in natural and human-made disaster response by combining different perspectives on a variety of emergency situations. Continue reading →