WEBSITE: The Small Jurisdictions Service

Some of you know that the Juris Diversitas gang has an interest in, among other things, microjurisdictions. Indeed, a project and event(s) focusing on the subject is in the works now.

Looking over drafts of our project, I was reminded again of the Small Jurisdictions Service of Oxford Brookes University. 

Their website reads:

Legal practice in a small jurisdiction poses its own special challenges. Although the range of legal issues which need to be covered are frequently as broad as for larger jurisdictions, the limited volume of legal materials from within the jurisdiction require a particular approach to successful legal practice. The Small Jurisdictions Service aims to support legal practitioners in the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, and Small Commonwealth States whether in private practice or public service.

Their site is worth visiting, not least because of materials available on Manx Law, the law of the Caribbean, and Seychellois Law. 

Have a look.

BOOK: Siems on Comparative Law

Mathias Siems’ Comparative law is due to be published in May 2014. It

presents a fresh contextualised and cosmopolitan perspective on comparative law. It critically discusses established approaches to comparative law, but also presents more modern ones, such as socio-legal and numerical comparative law. Special emphasis is given to the impact of globalisation on legal systems. The argument of this book is structured as follows: Part 1 looks at past approaches to comparative law and how these approaches have been challenged by contextual research. Parts 2 and 3 explain how at present other disciplines make comparative law richer by using new methods and extending it to new questions. In Part 4 it is proposed that future comparative law can even go further by integrating the research of other disciplines, even if this is not yet classified as comparative law.

Keep an eye out for the book.  In the meantime, check out Siems’ Comparing Laws Blog.

WORKSHOP: Hybridity - Power, social structures,and institutions beyond the liberal west

Hybridity: Power, social structures,and institutions beyond the liberal west

Institute of Advanced Studies, The University of Birmingham

Thursday, 13 March 2014 from 09:30 to 13:00 (GMT)

Birmingham , United Kingdom

Led by Dr Rosa Freedman and Dr Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, this Institute of Advanced Studies workshop will bridge the theoretical gap that divides the different disciplines by bringing together scholars and practitioners to focus on hybridity and its potential impact and challenges over the coming years. The workshop will provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussions that will fuse the theory and practice of hybridity during this embryonic phase.

Speakers include:

Professor François Crépeau (McGill University) United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

 

• Professor Eric Heinze (Queen Mary University of London)
• Professor Fiona De Londras (Durham University)
• Professor Paul Jackson (University of Birmingham)
• Dr Gareth Sears (University of Birmingham)
• Dr Diana Spencer (University of Birmingham)

Provisional Programme:

09.00 Coffee

09.30 Panels: Hybrid peace; Culture and Hybridity; Identity and Hybridity

13.00 Open session ends

If you would like to attend lunch and Roundtable session in the afternoon (13.00-18.15)Please send Expressions of Interest of no more than 200 words to Dr Rosa Freedman (r.a.freedman@bham.ac.uk) or Dr Nicolas Lemay-Hébert (n.lemayhebert@bham.ac.uk).

LECTURE: Twining on Normative and Legal Pluralism - A Global Perspective

Preparing to add a few videos to my outlines for (i) Comparative Law and (ii) Jurisprudence, I discovered William Twining's 'Normative and Legal Pluralism: A Global Perspective'.

Professor Twining delivered the paper in 2009 to the Center for International and Comparative Law of Duke University School of Law. It was posted last month. I recommend it highly.

In addition to being on our Advisory Council, Professor Twining is 'the Quain Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus, University College of London, and a regular visiting professor at the University of Miami Law School'. In the video, he 'presents the annual Bernstein Lecture titled "Normative and Legal Pluralism: A Global Perspective."

His text is available here. The abstract reads:

This lecture sets out to demystify the topic of legal pluralism by examining the relationship between legal pluralism, normative pluralism, and general normative theory from a global perspective. The central theme is that treating legal pluralism as a species of normative pluralism decenters the state, links legal pluralism to a rich body of literature, and helps to show that some of the central puzzlements surrounding the topic can usefully be viewed as much broader issues in the general theory of norms and legal theory. A second theme is that so-called “global legal pluralism” is in several respects qualitatively different from the older anthropological and socio-legal accounts of legal pluralism and is largely based on a different set of concerns.

BOOK: S.M. Boyne on the German Prosecution Service

Juris Diversitas is pleased to announce the publication of Shawn Marie Boyne's new book, The German Prosecution Service: Guardians of the Law (Springer 2014).

 Abstract:

Acclaimed as the "the most objective prosecutors in the world" the German prosecution service has long attracted the attention in the past of comparative law scholars. At first glance, the institutional position and statutory mandate of German prosecutors indicate that that reputation is well-deserved. Unfortunately, the introduction of chargebargaining has opened the door to criticism that German prosecutors have abandoned their role of objective decision-makers. Using interview data collected from interviews with German prosecutors themselves as well as quantitative data, the book uses the actual voices of German prosecutors to show how real-world constraints, rather than changes in the law, undermine the ability of German prosecutors to objectively seek the truth. The book will take readers behind closed doors where prosecutors discuss case decisions and unveil the realities of practice. As a result, it will critically revise previous studies of German prosecution practices and offer readers a well-researched ethnographic analysis of actual German decision-making practices and the culture of the prosecution service.

BOOK: Law in Politics, Politics in Law

Hart Publihing has published a new title 'Law in Politics, Politics in Law', edited by David Feldman
Abstract

A great deal has been written on the relationship between politics and law. Legislation, as a source of law, is often highly political, and is the product of a process or the creation of officials often closely bound into party politics. Legislation is also one of the exclusive powers of the state. As such, legislation is plainly both practical and inevitably political; at the same time most understandings of the relationship between law and politics have been overwhelmingly theoretical. In this light, public law is often seen as part of the political order or as inescapably partisan.  We know relatively little about the real impact of law on politicians through their legal advisers and civil servants. How do lawyers in government see their roles and what use do they make of law? How does politics actually affect the drafting of legislation or the making of policy?

This volume will begin to answer these and other questions about the practical, day-to-day relationship between law and politics in a number of settings. It includes chapters by former departmental legal advisers, drafters of legislation, law reformers, judges and academics, who focus on what actually happens when law meets politics in government.

Info on the book is avaliable here.

BOOK: Mitchell's Contract Law and Contract Practice

Hart Publishing has published a new title 'Contract Law and Contract Practice. Bridging the Gap Between Legal Reasoning and Commercial Expectation' by Catherine Mitchell.

Abstract

An oft-repeated assertion within contract law scholarship and cases is that a good contract law (or a good commercial contract law) will meet the needs and expectations of commercial contractors. Despite the prevalence of this statement, relatively little attention has been paid to why this should be the aim of contract law, how these 'commercial expectations' are identified and given substance, and what precise legal techniques might be adopted by courts to support the practices and expectations of business people. This book explores these neglected issues within contract law. It examines the idea of commercial expectation, identifying what expectations commercial contractors may have about the law and their business relationships (using empirical studies of contracting behaviour), and assesses the extent to which current contract law reflects these expectations. It considers whether supporting commercial expectations is a justifiable aim of the law according to three well-established theoretical approaches to contractual obligations: rights-based explanations, efficiency-based (or economic) explanations and the relational contract critique of the classical law. It explores the specific challenges presented to contract law by modern commercial relationships and the ways in which the general rules of contract law could be designed and applied in order to meet these challenges. Ultimately the book seeks to move contract law beyond a simple dichotomy between contextualist and formalist legal reasoning, to a more nuanced and responsive legal approach to the regulation of commercial agreements.

Information on the book is here.

CALL FOR GRANTS AND WORKSHOPS: the International Institute for Sociology of Law

Hall of Residence Grants – for carrying out research work at the Oñati International Institute for Sociology of Law 2014 - 2015

The Board of the International Institute for Sociology of Law has created residence grants for scholars who would like to conduct research at the Institute’s Library and Documentation Centre. These grants cover lodging in a shared room for a maximum of 3 months at the Institute’s Hall of Residence between the months of October and March. Those interested in applying for such a grant should fill out the application form and submit it before the 17th of February 2014. For more details, check here. 

Call for workshops. The Oñati Institutes also welcomes applications to organize workshops on topics within the broad field of law in society. It provides a very congenial location for discussions and interactions among a relatively small group of researchers. For more details, check here.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Women in War and at War

The University of Warwick has issued a call for papers.

18th - 19th September 2014 / University of Warwick

Call for papers

Women's roles in war are complex and varied and are not limited to that of victims. During the Arab Spring, women took to the streets protesting against oppressive regimes in North Africa and the Middle East. We are also witnessing a significant rise in female political activism during conflict: many women increasingly find Internet, blogs and social media a useful tool to fight oppression, advocate change but also to report from war zones. Many women actively participate in combat, in regular armed forces but also as guerillas and, freedom fighters. They are also compelled to fight as girl child soldiers.

Sexual violence against women remains an alarming and disturbing feature of modern armed conflicts. This is despite the fact that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) prohibits rape and other forms of sexual violence in war and despite the major advances in International Criminal Law (ICL) in the punishment of gender crimes. Over the past two years, some further steps and initiatives have been taken at national and international level to address this problem.  For instance, in June 2013 the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 2106 on sexual violence in conflict, calling (once again) for the prevention of sexual violence during conflicts. In April 2012, the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, which resulted in adopting a G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and endorsing the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which has been signed by 70% of UN Member States.

What impact have these measures had? Will they make a real difference? Have they had any impact on the way that armed conflict is conducted? How much can the law actually achieve? What do recent conflicts tell us about the contemporary representations of women in and at war?

This conference builds on the 2012 Women in War and at War conference held at Aberystwyth University and is designed to focus in particular on recent developments in relation to women and war.

Keynote speaker: Prof. Christine Chinkin, London School of Economics


The University of Warwick invites proposals for papers in the following or related areas:

 -          Women and the conflict in Syria

-          Women, the Arab Spring and the aftermath

-          International Humanitarian Law: effectiveness and challenges

-          International Criminal Law and the prosecution of gender-related crimes

-          Representations of women in and at war

-          Women, war and the media

-          Women in post-conflict settings

-          Gender and conflict.

 Abstracts of max. 250 words should be submitted by 15 February 2014 to womeninatwar@gmail.com. Authors of selected abstracts will be informed by mid-March 2014.

SYMPOSIUM: In Search of Constitutionalism

Symposium hosted by the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law: IN SEARCH OF CONSTITUTIONALISM http://t.co/vXU6YcYY7E
— ConstitutionUK (@ConstitutionUK) January 27, 2014

FELLOWSHIPS: Islamic Law and Legal History, Islamic Law and Society, and Islamic Law Themes in Digital Humanities.

Fellowships in Islamic Legal Studies at HLS: Via H-Law, we have the following announcement from the Islamic Le... http://t.co/jIFvHchErh
— Legal History Blog (@legalhistory) January 27, 2014

BLOG: AJIL [American Journal of International Law] Unbound

The American Journal of International Law has inaugurated its new blog - AJIL Unbound. Here's the first post:

The American Journal of International Law is pleased to introduce this experimental edition of AJIL Unbound. In this edition, we include the contributions emerging from the AJIL’s open Agora requesting short reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. It includes submissions that appear in the October 2013 issue of AJIL, Agora: Reflections on Kiobel, as well as a number of contributions that appear for the first time on the web. We hope to formally launch AJIL Unbound as an exciting new online publication and blog that will feature web-exclusive essays, symposia, and timely commentary on the latest developments in international law.

We seek readers’ input on what they would most like to see in AJIL Unbound. We hope that AJIL Unbound will enrich international law scholarship in at least three important ways:

1) Fostering debate and discussion;

2) Providing key source material such as images, court documents, and maps; and

3) Bringing you even more scholarly content that is both immediate and relevant.

The publication of the inaugural edition AJIL Unbound presents an opportunity to hear from you, our readers. Over the course of the next week, this blog will host its first virtual symposium: a series of thought-provoking blog posts from contributors to this most recent Agora. We also welcome readers’ suggestions of what they want to see in future editions of AJIL Unbound. Kindly send these suggestions to the editors in chief of AJIL at AJILUnbound@asil.org.

NEWS AND REVIEWS: European Network on Law and Society (Réseau Européen Droit & Société)

The excellent 'Nouvelles du monde’, 'Au fil des revue', and 'Repères'--both Anglophone and Francophone--of the European Network on Law and Society (Réseau Européen Droit and Société) are now available. 

 

ALWAYS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Comparative Urban Law Conference

Call For Participation
Comparative Urban Law Conference

June 30, 2014, London, England

The Fordham Urban Law Center is pleased to announce a call for participation for the Comparative Urban Law Conference, which will be held on Monday, June 30, 2014 at Loyola Hall, University of London. The Conference will gather legal and other scholars for a provocative, engaging conversation about the field of "urban law" from an international, comparative, and interdisciplinary perspective. The Conference will focus on the nature and boundaries of urban law as a discipline, which participants will explore through overlapping themes such as the structure of local authority and autonomy and the role of law in urban policy areas such as environmental sustainability, consumer protection, public health, housing, and criminal justice, among others. The goal is to facilitate an in-depth exploration across sub-specialties within the legal academy to help develop an understanding of urban law in the twenty-first century.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Potential participants in panels and workshops throughout the day should submit a one-page proposal to Professor Nestor Davidson at ndavidson@law.fordham.edu. If you are already working on a draft paper, please include that draft with your submission, but participants do not need to have prepared a formal paper to join the conversation. The deadline for topic proposal submissions is Thursday, February 13. We will discuss potential publishing options available as a result of conference participation. Please contact Annie Decker at adecker2@law.fordham.edu with any questions.

ABOUT THE URBAN LAW CENTER: The Urban Law Center at Fordham Law School in New York City is committed to understanding and affecting the legal system's place in contemporary urbanism. See: http://law.fordham.edu/urbanlawcenter.htm for more information about our activities.

JOURNAL: Transnational Legal Theory

A new, special issue of Transnational Legal Theory has been published:

Symposium: The Turn to Authority beyond States: Political, Legal and Philosophical Perspectives

Guest Editors: Birgit Peters (University of Münster) and Johan Karlsson Schaffer (University of Oslo)

Foreword: The Promise of Authority

Armin von Bogdandy

Introduction: The Turn to Authority beyond States

Birgit Peters and Johan Karlsson Schaffer

CONFERENCE: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the History of Islamic International Law and the Intercultural Origins of the Law of Nations

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the History of Islamic International Law and the Intercultural Origins of the Law of Nations

Day Conference

Fri 28 Feb 2013

Newton South, Hamilton Centre

Brunel University Campus

Organised by Brunel Law School and the Centre of International and Public Law (CIPL) and co-sponsored by the Brunel Seminar Award Series (2013-2014) and the Doha/Santander Collaborative Research Grant (Institute of Global Law and Policy, Harvard Law School).

A poster is available here and the programme here.

SCHOLARSHIPS: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Aggregating Citizenship around Private Law: entrapping private autonomy in global economy

European Union citizenship is increasingly assuming the role of, what we coin here, the fifth freedom of the Union. This has important consequences not only on the creation of a state-less civic polity but also on the redefinition of the fundamental boundaries and rights enjoyed by all communities of the European multilevel architecture. This phenomenon runs in parallel with the expanding transnational global dimension on economic and personal interactions and a trend to “delegate” in various forms large areas of regulation to private autonomy. In the B2c transactions these trends results in a legal protection that is rather formal (e.g. expanding information duties). The research, also by means of case law analysis, appreciates these trends in their true lights and to investigate tools for empowering citizens bot at national and transnational level.

Applicants must hold a MSc Degree in Law and an excellent knowledge of both written and spoken English.(level C1).

Legal and regulatory implications of simulation training (E.g. CRM) in complex environments with specific reference to health related services

Complex organizations along with the extensive use of technologies require a revision of the role of the human factor and possible ways of controlling it. As Aviation and other business have taught, training with the use of simulation techniques as well as the design of other CRM mechanisms have proved extremely important to reduce risks. The goal of the research is to extensively analyse the legal and regulatory implications of these techniques in actually reducing risks. Among the various fields considered healthcare delivery will play a central role.

Applicants must hold a MSc Degree in Law and an excellent knowledge of both written and spoken English.(level C1).