Law Group of Wageningen University’s Post

📣 Opportunity for Legal and Diversity Scholars! 📅 International Workshop on The Law of Diversity 🗓️ Dates: 30 September - 1 October 2024 📍 Location: European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg, Germany 🎤 Convenors: Kyriaki Topidi (ECMI) & Nicolò Paolo Alessi (University of Bern) 🔍 Workshop themes The focus will be on how legal systems, particularly in the Global North, are adapting through innovative practices such as non-territorial autonomy, legal pluralism, and participatory democracy. It also aims to integrate valuable insights from the Global South, enhancing our understanding and approaches to diversity accommodation. 📚 Call for contributions We are looking for thought-provoking abstracts that challenge existing paradigms and offer new perspectives on minority and indigenous rights. This is an exceptional platform to contribute to a comprehensive edited volume that will serve as a crucial resource for scholars and practitioners alike. ✈️ Benefits Not only is attendance free, but travel and accommodation costs for speakers are also covered. This is an invaluable opportunity to network with leading scholars and contribute to significant advancements in the field of legal diversity. 📅 Important dates Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 June 2024 Notification of Acceptance: 1 August 2024 Final Paper Submission: 15 December 2024 For more details on submission guidelines and registration go to https://lnkd.in/erMarFDU #LawOfDiversity #LegalScholarship #DiversityAndInclusion #CallForPapers #InternationalWorkshop

The finishing touch of my BA at Universitat Pompeu Fabra was to be recognised with honors for my final dissertation (9,7). “The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 in South Korea: “Comfort Women” bring to light the absence of women in the Genocide Convention” I completed this project during my exchange semester in Seoul, South Korea, and it explores the exclusion of women in international criminal law, focusing on gender-based violence in wartime. It analyzes previous literature and highlights the case of Korean "comfort women" who suffered atrocities during WWII. By examining their legal battles, I propose victim-centered solutions and question whether the Genocide Convention should be updated to include women as a protected group. I also argue that achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 5 requires rethinking the protection of women in international law, moving beyond the traditional public/private divide.

As societies pull back from a high tide of globalization, how can we guard against isolationism? One of the missions of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute is to facilitate scholarly exchanges between the US and East Asia, with #Japan as one of our most important partners. Pursuing scholarly communication across borders takes constant effort - it doesn't just happen. Our extraordinary panel of discussants with a range of perspectives on international academic exchanges - including New York University School of Law Dean Troy McKenzie, Noriyuki Shikata, Setsuo Miyazawa, and Carolina van der Mensbrugghe - will talk about why scholarly exchanges matter, how we can incentivize them, and what we lose when scholarship becomes parochial, with a focus on the case of Japan-US exchanges. https://lnkd.in/eu_-pAMS

🎓Here are some of the most interesting random facts that I've learned throughout my bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the University of Geneva (I just received my degree, yay) 🌍 Global Governance & Democracy ·        Did you know only 2% of parliaments worldwide have achieved female majority representation? ·        A reform of the UNSC needs to be approved through the UNSC. Two ways of reform: either you improve the working methods or you include more members. The problem is nobody agrees on which members to include   ⏳ History ·        The case of Switzerland’s industrialization is super interesting. Even though there's not many natural resources, no ocean and a very small market it made it because the lack of fertile land pushed proto-industrialization and later through specializing in added-value sectors like watches ·        As of 2016, China led the world in self-made female billionaires, with 93 out of 124 globally counted female billionaires 🤝 Economics ·        Game Theory: If you are in a difficult situation in a public place, the more people there are the less likely somebody is going to help you. So you need to look someone in the eye and ask them specifically "you, help me", to significantly increase your chances to get help ·        The Braess Paradox shows how individual rational choices can lead to collective drawbacks - sometimes removing roads actually improves traffic flow! ·        You can sort of predict the commerce between two countries by multiplying a constant with both countries PBI and the diverse costs and then divide it by the distance between them 🔄 International Relations ·        War often stems from five key factors: Incomplete Information, Commitment Problems, Indivisible Goods, Brinksmanship, and Audience Cost ·        Thucydides Trap: when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling power, war is often the result. Of 16 such cases in the past 500 years, 12 ended in war ·        The evolution of global civil society is remarkable: from just 30 NGOs in 1913 to 8,000 by 2008 ⚖️ Law ·        During the Roman Republican times people used to come forward to tribunals with their issues. If there was no law yet to solve the conflict, the tribunal just created a new law. ·        International customary law largely reflects Western traditions, as these were established first - making it challenging for other legal cultures to shape global legal norms 📚 Special thanks to the Schweizerische Studienstiftung | Fondation suisse d'études | Fondazione Svizzera degli Studifor their invaluable support throughout this journey. Your mentorship and network have opened doors I never thought possible. #InternationalRelations #GlobalAffairs #UniversityOfGeneva #Graduation #GlobalPolitics #HigherEducation

ECPS Interview Professor Tom Ginsburg: The Search for a ‘Strongman’ to Fix Everything Is a Naive Approach Interview by Selcuk Gultasli In an insightful #interview with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Dr. Tom Ginsburg, Leo Spitz Professor of International Law at the University of Chicago, discusses global democratic #backsliding and the rise of #authoritarianism. He cautions against the simplistic notion that a "#strongman" can solve complex political and social issues, emphasizing that such leaders often undermine democratic #institutions and erode public trust, ultimately weakening #nations rather than strengthening them. Ginsburg highlights the importance of safeguarding democracy and the critical role of strong institutions. Professor Ginsburg underscores the importance of institutions in preserving democracy, noting that while democracies may experience backsliding, complete #breakdowns are rare. He also warns of the #manipulation of international law by authoritarian regimes to entrench power and diminish democratic principles. Reflecting on historical examples, Professor Ginsburg points out that many authoritarian regimes, during their first term, often present themselves as relatively #moderate, only to erode institutions more effectively once they learn how to wield power. He notes that although democracies, especially established ones like the #UnitedStates and #France, are #resilient and unlikely to break down completely, they are vulnerable to backsliding, particularly when #polarization intensifies. When political opponents are seen as existential #threats, the foundations of #democracy can weaken. In discussing the impact of rising #authoritarianism on international law, Ginsburg highlights how authoritarian regimes are increasingly manipulating international institutions to protect themselves from #scrutiny and #criticism. He warns that authoritarian regimes are using international law strategically to legitimize their rule and repress opposition through tactics like exploiting vague terms such as "#extremism" or "#separatism." He also mentions how some authoritarian governments have hijacked institutions like #Interpol to target political opponents under the guise of legal #protocols. Despite these troubling trends, Professor Ginsburg remains cautiously optimistic about democracy’s survival in well-established systems. While authoritarianism poses serious #challenges, he believes that, with #vigilance, democracies will continue to endure and that the resilience of their institutions can help them weather periods of backsliding. Nonetheless, he calls for constant #awareness and global #cooperation to prevent the further #degradation of democratic #norms and international institutions. Read the Interview: https://lnkd.in/dsvj4B87

This should prove to be an interesting topic in this ongoing series.

Jorge E. VIÑUALES, Andrew CLAPHAM, Laurence BOISSON DE CHAZOURNES, Mamadou HÉBIÉ (eds.), The International Legal Order in the XXIst Century. Essays in Honour of Professor Marcelo Gustavo Kohen / L’ordre juridique international au XXIeme siècle. Écrits en l’honneur du Professeur Marcelo Gustavo Kohen / El órden jurídico internacional en el siglo XXI. Estudios en honor del Profesor Marcelo Gustavo Kohen, Leiden, Brill/Nijhoff, 2023 This collection of essays celebrating the work of Professor Marcelo Kohen brings together the leading scholars and practitioners of public international law from different continents and generations to explore some of the most challenging issues of contemporary international law. The volume is a testimony of esteem and friendship from colleagues and former students, and it covers a vast expanse, reflecting the width and diversity of Professor Kohen’s own contribution. Written in English, French and Spanish, the essays in this volume will appeal to a broad public of academics, practitioners and students of international law from around the world. https://lnkd.in/eHmny4RX

As an alumni of the University of Nottingham, I am ashamed and disgusted by how the university has treated its students and employees who have stood up for human rights. I was at the Nottingham Camp for the Liberation of Palestine on May 17, as the camp commemorated the 76 anniversary of the Nakba, when university officials served orders requiring students to appear at the High Court of Birmingham two days later, leaving students with just one day to find legal representation. Knowing how risky it is for students to be identified, a brave staff member, River agreed to be the named person for the lawsuit. This press release explains why the camp agreed to the university demands to ensure that River would be not lumbered with huge financial penalties. Despite several mediations, the University has failed to respond to the camp's request about disclosing deals with arms manufacturers and divesting from companies that are involved in the gen**** and illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Following the ICJ Advisory Opinion earlier this month, the University of Nottingham is obliged to end any dealings which aid or support Israel's illegal occupation and annexation of West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. I am drafting a paper which explains corporate risks, compliance and obligations following the ICJ advisory as well as other harms by Israel including gen***** and war crimes - all documented by ICJ, ICC and UN bodies. Companies, universities and other organisations in the West are bound to comply with international humanitarian law through ratification in their respective countries, as well as the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and most recently for those operating in the EU - the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. For the University of Nottingham in particular, it has campuses in China and Malaysia University of Nottingham Malaysia - both countries which support Palestine and are likely to impose sanctions following the ICJ opinion (Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel). I was from the 1991/92 batch of LL.M. in International Law. Among our lecturers was the respected Prof David Harris who set up the Human Rights Law Centre shortly after and has since retired. I wonder what he thinks of the university's actions. It's depressing that the place where I learnt human rights alongside my fellow students who now uphold human rights in the UK, Malaysia, Turkey, Canada, Greece, Cyprus to name a few, has taken such drastic steps against its students.

It was very motivating to win a legal research prize this week! It's for my article, Communicative Justice and Covid-19: Australia’s Pandemic Response and International Guidance. https://lnkd.in/gXAtapR6 Download it for free via my UTS profile page (Google UTS Alexandra Grey > scroll to 2023 publications) This article combines analysis of international law and international commentary from 2020-2021 with data from my empirical fieldwork online and in-person in 2020. It studies Australia’s right to health obligations as they relate to public communications about Covid-19 in languages other than English. An extract: New expectations are emerging that governments’ multilingual health communications be not merely partially available, as they have been here, but rather produced without (unreasonable) linguistic discrimination, and with minority communities’ involvement at preparatory stages, strategic planning and an eye to effectiveness. In explaining what more effective communication could entail, this article advocates assessing communications’ availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability — that is, the ‘Four As’ recognised by CESCR and crisis communications scholars. I also note the embryonic commentary on securing language rights in domestic law, pointing out that this could bolster the strategic planning, community input and effectiveness of public health communications. Laws could thereby scaffold a communicative justice orientation. This elucidation of the rights-based approach in recent international commentary should remind us that multilingual public pandemic communications are a state responsibility; equalising access to health information between linguistically diverse minorities is an obligation Australia is bound to continually strive to realise. Linguistic inclusion honours people’s dignity, affords people the liberty of informed autonomous decision-making, and supports sociolinguistic identities. It’s also practically advantageous as a trust-building, risk-management measure. Yet Australia is arguably not compliant in its proportionate and progressive realisation of the ICESCR right to health nor in its immediate realisation of the ICESCR right to linguistic non-discrimination.

More often than not, as European lawyers and scholars we praise the Enlightenment and its philosophers for inspiring the ways we think about freedom, rights and the role of government. Yet most of these Eighteenth-century philosophers did not believe that these freedoms and rights applied to everyone. For them, they were matters that belonged to the "civilised" only, certainly not to the "savages", who were conceived as "confined in the waiting room of history while some other agency has the key to that room". While we should be immensely tributary to the Enlightenment for the extraordinarily powerful idea that human history and law can somehow progress, we must also confront the reality that it was this idea that first planted the poisonous seeds of imperialism, colonialism and white supremacy, determining who stayed "forward" and who stayed "behind". As we blame legal superstars like Kant, Hegel and Mill, just to recall a few, for putting racist ideologies into action, we must also remember that what we call international human rights law has been profoundly shaped by African human rights advocates and leaders – and their (few) allies in the West. This book by Derrick M. Nault offers a terrific example of how important is to question the origins of international human rights law and not let our vision be blurred by our admiration for the European thinkers from the past. Africa and African peoples have a lot to say about international human rights and justice and it would be a great exercise if we start to listen to them seriously. The law would certainly move forward. #Africa #InternationalHumanRightsLaw #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Europe