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

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).

Continue reading

Blogging about the ILA 2010 Conference in The Hague

The 74th Conference of the International Law Association, hosted by the Netherlands Society of International Law, takes place in The Hague from 15-20 August 2010. A new blog, ila2010conference, has been set up, which is entirely dedicated to this conference. Check it out! And if you are attending this conference in person, I hope to see you there. All the best, Otto.

Russia and International Law – Forthcoming Special Issue of the Goettingen Journal of International Law

GoJILBy Tobias Thienel

This coming Friday, May Day, will be a notable event in Russia – as it is every year. This May Day, the Russian Federation itself will also be at the centre of – hopefully – a good deal of attention, from international lawyers: The Goettingen Journal of International Law is going to publish its first theme-specific, and only its second-ever, issue. The title of this edition will be ‘Russia and International Law – From the North Pole to the Caucasus.’

Of course, Russia is a very big country, as well as a rather powerful one. It has also, on occasion, not exactly been afraid of throwing its weight around. Yet there are many signs that Russia has a measure of respect for international law. The forthcoming second issue of the Goettingen Journal is to examine to what degree such encouraging signs point to the truth. Do recent events, and systemic qualities of that huge State, bear witness to a largely positive attitude to international law, or is there serious cause for concern?

The articles in the Goettingen Journal address some of the most notable issues relating to Russia and international law. Continue reading

New Online Journal: The Göttingen Journal of International Law

GoJILBy Tobias Thienel

Last night saw the publication of a brand new, exciting online journal: the Göttingen Journal of International Law has published its first issue. The GoJIL, as it is known for short, is the first student-run German international law review. It thus applies in Germany the great American tradition of students taking on a role in the publication of valuable scholarly work, contributed both by other students and by more established writers.

The first issue already contains articles by such prominent authors as Robert Cryer (‘Prosecuting the Leaders: Promises, Politics and Practicalities’), Diane Desierto (‘Universalizing Core Human Rights in the "New" ASEAN: A Reassessment of Culture and Development Justifications against the Global Rejection of Impunity’) and the political scientist Dimitris N. Chryssochoou (‘The European Synarchy: New Discourses on Sovereignty’), as well as a Foreword by Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the ICJ. Judge Buergenthal is also a member of the Advisory Board of GoJIL.

Another very prominent contribution, by the former President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, Jutta Limbach, on ‘Human Rights in Times of Terror’ nicely sets up a more student-oriented part of the Journal: GoJIL has initiated an International Student Essay Competition on just that topic, and the winning essay, by Evelyne Schmid, is now published in the current issue of GoJIL. Ms Schmid writes persuasively of ‘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,’ addressing in particular the role of other international law in derogations from the Covenant.

There is also a section of Current Developments in International Law, with comment on the recent decisions in Georgia v Russia, Kadi v Council and Commission and FIAMM (the last on the liability of the EC for lawful conduct), as well as on the nuclear deal between the US and India.

I have had some – limited – involvement with GoJIL as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board, and therefore can attest to the dedication of the editors and to all the hard work and intense care they have put into this project. The end result reflects all this; it is an impressive piece of work. Do have a look!

New and Improved Opinio Juris

By Tobias Thienel

Opinio Juris has just undergone significant changes that are likely to make it an even better read. Not only have they fundamentally redesigned their blog and added new features, but they have also now teamed up with Oxford University Press, no less, to present discussions on new books. Beyond that, the Opinio Juris team has taken on board as their newest member Ken Anderson, of the Law of War and Just War Legal Theory Blog. Quite a lot to look forward to, then. I doubt any of our readers actually need to be referred to Opinio Juris, but I do it anyway: do check it out!

A Warm Welcome to the Blogosphere

pic ECtHR.jpg By Tobias Thienel

… to the ECHR BLOG, run by Dr Antoine Buyse, a former colleague of Otto’s at Leiden University. The blog obviously centres on the European Convention of Human Rights, and hence also on the law and practice of the European Court. Among the many posts already put up are up-to-date case reviews (here, here, here and here), references to interesting new articles, as well as comments on such matters as how to make an application to the Court, on the execution of the Court’s judgments and on the way the judges make use of the right to append separate opinions. I am duly impressed by the depth and breadth of knowledge in the posts there. The ECHR BLOG is shaping up to be an excellent source of learning on the Convention and on the Court, and I would recommend our readers to check it out.

Irish Referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon: News Coverage

By Björn Elberling

RTE logo.gifEuropean readers particularly will probably be interested in the ratification process of the treaty of Lisbon aka the Reform Treaty, particularly the referendum in the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is the only EU/EC member state to hold a referendum on ratification, and apparently the voters are rather divided. It will be interesting to see whether the Irish will do to the Treaty of Lisbon what the French and Dutch did to the European Constitution in 2005. The referendum will be held on 12 June, meanwhile updated polls and other news are gathered at the website of the Irish broadcasting service. Tip o’ the hat to my colleague Killian O’Brien.

Interesting Website: International Law Video Library

By Björn Elberling

Tip of the hat to my colleague Christian Tams, who pointed me to a website that readers might find interesting: The International Law Video Library by Jean Allain of Queen’s University Belfast is a collection of videos on various aspects of international law, including a number of interviews with both academic experts and practitioners. Check it out!