BOOK: Paulo Emilio VAUTHIER BORGES DE MACEDO, Catholic and Reformed Traditions in International Law. A Comparison between the Suarezian and the Grotian Concept of Ius Gentium [Studies in the History of Law and Justice, eds. Georges MARTYN and Mortimer SELLARS] (Heidelberg/New York: Springer, 2017), 309 p. ISBN 978-3-319-59403-3, € 148,39

(image source: Springer)

Book abstract:

This book compares the respective concepts of the law of nations put forward by the Spanish theologian Francisco Suárez and by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius. This comparison is based on the fact that both thinkers developed quite similar notions and were the first to depart from the Roman conception, which persisted throughout the entire Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. In Rome, jus gentium was a law that applied to foreigners within the Empire, and one which was often mistaken for Natural Law itself. These two features can be found even in the works of writers such as Francisco de Vitória and Alberico Gentili.
In Suárez and Grotius, the law of nations is applicable to an extra-national domain and inarguably becomes positive law. Yet, it also contains an ethical element that prevents it from transforming into a mere reflection of state interests.
This work argues that this resemblance is hardly a coincidence: Grotius has read Suárez, and that influence has modified the foundations of his early thoughts on jus gentium. This should not be taken to imply that the Dutch jurist wasn’t original: in both authors, the definition of the law of nations pursues his own internal logic. Nevertheless, Suárez’s oeuvre allowed Grotius to solve a fundamental problem touched on in his early writings that had remained unanswered. Accordingly, his oeuvre promises to clarify one of the most significant moments in the History of International Law.

Table of contents:

Introduction (1-11)
The Law of Nations: Between Natural and Positive Law (13-63)
The Foundations of Law in Francisco Suárez (65-118)
The Foundations of Law in Hugo Grotius (119-182)
The Law of Nations in Francisco Suárez (183-243)
The Law of Nations in Hugo Grotius (245-303)
Conclusion (350-309)

On the author:

Paulo Emílio Vauthier Borges de Macedo is an associate professor of International Law at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Vice-Coordinator of the Master and Doctorate Programme; Visiting Professor of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University; Visiting Researcher at Murdoch University; Legal Adviser at the Brazilian Navy War School (EGN); Editor-in-chief of the Rio de Janeiro University Law School Journal; President of the Brazilian section of Communio Journal (Catholic International Journal of Theology and Culture).

JOURNAL: Journal of the History of International Law/Revue d'histoire du droit international XIX (2017), No. 3

(image source: Brill)

The Journal of the History of International Law/Revue d'histoire du droit international published its third issue.

Table of contents:
Emily Crawford, "Tracing the Historical and Legal Development of the Levée en Masse in the Law of Armed Conflict" (329-361)

Steven Harris, "Taming Arbitration: States’ Men, Lawyers, and Peace Advocates from the Hague to the War" (362-396)

Leonardo Valladares Pecheco de Oliveira, "Overcoming the Challenges in Establishing Arbitration in Brazil: A Historical Perspective" (397-421)

Book reviews:
"The Right to Wage War (jus ad bellum). The German Reception of Grotius 50 Years after De iure belli ac pacis , written by Harald H. Aure" (Frederik Dhondt) (423-428)

ESCLH POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE: Call for Papers, Augsburg University (22-24 Feb 2018); DEADLINE 31 OCT 2017

Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History

22–24 February 2018, Augsburg University, Germany
Call for Papers

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its first Postgraduate Conference. The ESCLH invites PhD-students (beyond their first year) and post-doctoral-researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history to participate in the conference. The conference will be held from 22 to 24 February 2018 at Augsburg University, Germany.

The ESCLH wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions.

The first Graduate Conference of the ESCLH will give advanced PhD-students and post-doctoral-researchers the opportunity to present their research in the field of comparative legal history to a panel of six leading experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. The experts on the panel cover a broad range of subjects: Ulrike Babusiaux (Zürich), Mia Korpiola (Turku), Wim Decock (Leuven), Jan Hallebeek (Amsterdam), Aniceto Masferrer (Valencia), Stephen Skinner (Exeter).

The ESCLH invites advanced doctoral candidates and post-doctoral researchers to submit abstracts for presentation. The abstract should be of no more than 300 words and give the title of your research project, your field of research, and your personal data (full name, email address, affiliated university, CV) to:

phillip.hellwege@jura.uni-augsburg.de

The conference language is English and abstracts must be submitted in English. The closing date for receipt of abstracts is 31 October 2017. 12 applicants will be selected and invited to participate in the conference. Successful applicants will be informed by 15 December 2017. Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses. Accommodation and catering will be provided without charge.

LECTURE SERIES: International Order and Justice (Ghent University, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns Institute of International Law), edition 2017-2018

(image source: GRILI)

The Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns Institute of International Law (Ghent University) organizes the second edition of its International Order and Justice Lecture Series. This series is supported by the Ghent University Doctoral School of Arts, Humanities and Law, the International Law Association (Belgian Branch) and the Belgian Society for International Law.

On the programme:

- Eric Franckx (VUB): "The UN Convention for the Law of the Sea and the scramble for the Arctic" (31/10)
- Anne Van Aken (Sankt Gallen): "Behavioural economics and international law" (22-23/11)
- James Crawford (ICJ): "Public policy v. property protection - an international law perspective" (7/12)
- Anne Orford (Melbourne): "Civil war, intervention, and the transformation of international law" (11/12)
- Stephen C. Neff (Edinburgh): "The standard of civilization in international law" (19/2)
- Larissa Van den Heerik (Leiden): "Fact-finding and inquiry in international law" (6/3)
- Hans Van Houtte (Iran Claims Tribunal): "Reparation of damages after war" (13/3)
- Georg Nolte (ILC): "The International Law Commission after 70 years: Its role and challenges" (19/3)

The lecture series consists of a public lecture and a workshop for PhD-candidates.

Prior registration is mandatory. A form can be found here.

BOOK: Jean-Marie MOEGLIN & Stéphane PÉQUIGNOT, Diplomatie et 'relations internationales' au Moyen Âge (IXe-XVe siècle) (Paris: PUF, 2017), 1112 p. ISBN 978-2-13-052787-9, € 42

(image source: PUF)

Jean-Marie Moeglin (Paris-Sorbonne) and Stéphane Péquignot (EPHE/Lisbon) published Diplomatie et 'relations internationales' au Moyen Âge in the series Nouvelle Clio (PUF).

Although the work might not seem focused on international law, several sections treat relevant subjects (treaties, arbitration, international legal order).

Abstract:

Les « relations internationales » à l’époque médiévale ont constitué un champ de recherches privilégié au XIXe siècle et jusqu’aux premières décennies du siècle suivant. Inspirés par la conception positiviste d’une histoire fondamentalement événementielle et institutionnelle, ces travaux ont connu, tout particulièrement en France, un discrédit de plus en plus profond au cours du XXe siècle. Ces dernières années cependant, à l’étranger comme en France, l’histoire des « relations internationales » et de la diplomatie a été l’objet de nouvelles études majeures, qui rompent radicalement avec les conceptions qui présidaient à la rédaction des ouvrages anciens. Elles adoptent une perspective d’anthropologie politique, écrivent à nouveaux frais l’histoire des relations entre rois, princes et puissants à la lumière des acquis de l’historiographie de la résolution des conflits, éclairent le fonctionnement concret du travail des ambassadeurs et montrent le caractère décisif qu’il a eu pour la pratique des « relations internationales ». Le nombre et l’importance de ces publi-cations nécessitaient qu’un ouvrage d’ensemble donne une synthèse des études déjà publiées, et ouvre de nouvelles pistes à l’intérieur de ce champ de recherches.

More information with the publisher.

ARTICLE: Anne HOLTHOEFER, Construction of International Crime: Lawyers, States, and the Origin of International Criminal Prosecution in the Interwar Period (Law & Social Inquiry XLII (2017), No. 3, 711-743)

Anne Holthoefer (Saint Anselm College) published an article on the "construction of international crime" and the interbellum.

Abstract:

This article explains the development of international crime as a legal category. I argue that states’ pursuit of political rights claims empowers international lawyers to develop new legal categories to grant states new tools to pursue their interests. At the same time, lawyers have a stake in defending the autonomy of law from politics, thus pushing for the development of legal norms and institutions that go beyond the original state intent. States’ turn to law thus begets more law, expanding the legal and institutional tools to solve international problems while simultaneously enforcing a commitment to principles of legality. To demonstrate the plausibility of the theory, the article studies the construction of the concept of an international crime in the interwar period (1919–1939). In response to the Allies’ attempt to prosecute the German Emperor, international lawyers sought the codification of international criminal law and drafted enforcement mechanisms. The interwar legal debate not only introduced international crime into the legal and political vocabulary, it also legitimized a new set of institutional responses to violations of international law, namely, international criminal prosecution.

Source: International Law Reporter.
More information with Wiley.

CONFERENCE: Humanitarianism and the Remaking of International Law: History, Ideology, Practice, Technology (Melbourne, 31 May-1 June 2018)

(image source: Blogger) 

Conference Humanitarianism and the Remaking of International Law: History, Ideology, Practice, Technology
Call for Papers: Deadline 1 September 2017
The language and logic of humanitarianism occupy an increasingly central place in international law. Humanitarian reason has shaped the ideology, practice, and technologies of international law over the past century, including through the redescription of the laws of war as international humanitarian law, the framing of mass displacement and armed conflict as ‘humanitarian’ crises, the use of humanitarian justifications for intervention, occupation, and detention, and the representation of international law as an expression of the conscience of humanity.
For some, this trend is clearly positive – international law is reimagined as humanity’s law, humanity as the alpha and omega of international law. Yet critics have pointed to the dark side of these developments and of the humanitarian logic operating within international law, arguing that consolidation of the laws of war has served the interests of powerful groups and states at key moments of potential challenge to existing systems of rule, humanitarianism has been taken up as a language to rationalise the violence of certain forms of occupation, intervention, and warfare, international humanitarian law has displaced other more constraining forms of law as the world becomes imagined as a global battlefield, humanitarian NGOs have served as a fifth column that has enabled particular forms of social transformation and constrained others, and a supposedly impartial humanitarianism has displaced politics.
This conference will bring together scholars working in law, history, international relations, and political theory to think critically about the ideology, institutions, practices, and technologies that condition modern humanitarianism and its relation to international law. Confirmed speakers include Amanda Alexander, Leila Brännström, Markus Gunneflo, Helen Kinsella, Martti Koskenniemi, Dino Kritsiotis, Frédéric Mégret, Naz Modirzadeh, Gregor Noll, Rose Parfitt, Hani Sayed, Ntina Tzouvala, Boyd van Dijk, and Fabia Veçoso. Selected papers will be published in an edited collection by a leading publisher.
Paper proposals related to the conference theme are now invited. Possible topics for papers include:

• laws of war and the social question
• international humanitarian law and revolution
• decolonisation and the remaking of international humanitarian law
• humanitarian intervention and occupation in international law and history
• humanitarian and securitisation responses to dispossession, displacement, and refugees
• international humanitarian law and the framing of civil war
• international humanitarian law and national liberation movements
• incidents and events in the history of international humanitarian law-making
• humanitarian law and human rights law in the 'global' battle space
• humanitarian organisations and the politics of intervention
• the relation of humanitarianism and counter-terrorism in international law
• knowledge production and international humanitarian law
• humanitarian law and visual culture 
• international humanitarian law and practices of distinction
• the technologies of humanitarian law and war
• humanitarian law and algorithmic warfare
• humanitarianism and the penal turn in international law
• the meanings of humanitarian law across time and space
• the political economy of international humanitarianism
• critical geographies of international humanitarian law
• international law after humanity

Those proposing papers for presentation at the Conference should submit a one page abstract and brief bio by email to Professor Anne Orford at laureate-intlaw@unimelb.edu.au by 1 September 2017. 

(source: International Law Reporter)