SSRN ARTICLES ANNOUNCEMENTS: Two interesting articles from ISLAMIC LAW & LAW OF THE MUSLIM WORLD eJOURNAL

We suggest the following articles from Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal:

"Constitution-Making in Egypt: The Role of Constitutional Court Judges" 
in Revolution as a Process: The Case of the Egyptian Uprising edited by Adham Hamed (Wiener Verlag für Sozialforschung (6 Dec 2014)

ANEESA WALJI, Consultant
Email: aneesa.walji@gmail.com

Since February 2011, when street protests forced former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to resign, Egypt has experienced two constitution drafting processes. This chapter examines the role of judges in the second constitution-making process.

More specifically, it examines and interrogates the role of individual Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) judges. It begins with an introduction to constitution-making and constitutional courts, and then points to an important literature gap at the intersection of these two subjects. Following this, it examines the situation in Egypt. There is a brief description of the Egyptian SCC and the role of SCC judges in the constitution-making process leading up to the 2014 Constitution. Finally, it offers some analysis and observations, employing democratic concepts and principles about the role of judges in a democracy, all with a commitment to liberal constitutionalism.

Ultimately, the author raises a number of abstract and Egypt-specific contextualized factors to assess the role of judges in constitution-making, in order to begin a discussion about the kinds of considerations that might be made generally in constitution-making. The key conclusion is that while there may be value to having judges formally involved in constitution building, much is at risk for judicial independence in the process.

"Boko Haram, Islamic Law of Rebellion and the ICC" 
International Human Rights Law Review 3 (2014) 29-60

NOELLE HIGGINS, Maynooth University
Email: nfhiggins@gmail.com
DR. MOHAMED ELEWA BADAR, University of Northumbria - School of Law
Email: Mohamed.badar@northumbria.ac.uk

Since its foundation in 1999 Boko Haram has carried out numerous acts of violence on the territory of Nigeria constituting gross violations of human rights. The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been monitoring the violence between Boko Haram and Nigerian armed forces as part of a preliminary investigation. It has stated that the violence between Boko Haram and the armed forces has reached the level of a non-international armed conflict and that there is reason to believe that Boko Haram is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This article assesses certain types of behaviour of Boko Haram from an Islamic law perspective and examines whether Islamic law condemns or justifies such acts. Arguably, it would help the ICC in asserting the legitimacy of its judgments, if it was able to prove that such judgments are compatible with the legal and belief system recognised by the actors at trial. In turn it would enable the Court to deal with at least some of the criticisms aimed at it for being an imperialistic institution.

CALL FOR PAPERS: 2015 Osgoode Forum - Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll: Subversive Sites in the Law

May 15 - 16, 2015, Toronto, Ontario

Deadline for papers' submission: 31 January 2015

Change and stability, evolution and historical continuity, progress and constancy - these are conflicting demands that society and its members make of the law and legal institutions. Knowledge accumulates, past truths are shown to be false, and historical anomalies come to dominate the present. Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher stated that "everything changes and nothing stands still". If change is the only constant, how have, do, and should law and legal institutions respond, resist, react, accommodate, accept, or suppress social change and the agents of change?

OVERVIEW: Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll is a credo associated with counter-culture, subversion, and resistance. Subversive sites of contestation exist not only because of constant change but also because of the failure of law to capture and accommodate individual realities, complexities, and varieties. There are many sites where individuals have reacted against dominant social views, perceptions, prescriptions, and propaganda. Some pursue activities, practices, and social arrangements which are illegal, disruptive, or unsanctioned - recent examples being Occupy Movements in light of the 2008 Financial Crisis; Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution; Aboriginal blockades and Idle No More movements in Canada; homeless encampments; and polygamist communities. Such resistance has resulted in positive social change as well as socially sanctioned violence, persecution, and prosecution. Others suppress desires and needs, hide actions, or suffer in obscurity. The prevailing social approach, action, or reaction may create barriers, thereby excluding the rebels, disrupters, outcasts, abnormals, dissenters, immorals, and perverts from full participation in society.

TOPICS: The 2015 Osgoode Forum takes a wide, inclusive, view of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll:

- Sex includes: sex; gender; sex selection; sexual abuse; sexual harassment; sex and gender bias/equity, sexuality; gender; sexual practices; sexual orientation; sex trade; and reproductive rights.

- Drugs include: illegal drugs; war on drugs; legalization, regulation, and decriminalization; religious or cultural uses; medicines; patenting; indigenous or traditional medicines; regulation of food and natural remedies; medical research funding; availability of life-saving drugs; and mandatory vaccinations.

- Rock 'n Roll includes: Counter culture, subversion, and resistance; Performers, consumers, and property ownership; censorship; sponsorship; cultural appropriation; intellectual property rights - and many other sites that include, but are not limited to: territoriality; immigration; displacement; land claims; natural and economic resources; and social and ecological conservation.

If you would like to know how your paper fits into the conference topic, email a short description to glsa@osgoode.yorku.ca

As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Osgoode Hall Law School, the 2015 Forum will focus on change and continuity in the law, and will examine how law is shaped by political, economic, and cultural forces. We invite participants to reflect on subversive sites in the law in the past, the present, and into the future though proposals for papers, presentations, panels, and other interventions (including art-based and performance contributions) from Master's and Doctoral students, artists, and activists.

Osgoode is committed to the promotion of interdisciplinary scholarship addressing the nature and function of law and legal institutions, and the impact of law in our changing world. We are eager to accept proposals from a range of disciplines intersecting with law, including: cultural studies, criminology, political science, health studies, gender studies, sociology, anthropology, history, psychology, and philosophy.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Please submit your abstracts in English to glsa@osgoode.yorku.ca

Abstracts or proposals should be between 250-500 words in length, and should include:

(i) your name,

(ii) title of the paper,

(iii) your organization or institution (if any), and

(iv) a list of up to five keywords.

The abstract submission deadline is EXTENDED to the end of the day January 31, 2015.

Successful applicants will be notified by February 7, 2015.

Final papers (maximum of 15,000 words) OR Drafts (1,000-1,500 words) must be submitted by May 9, 2015, to allow for dissemination so that forum participants can engage with authors and provide authors with feedback and comments.

Information about the conference site, accommodations, conference fees, and programming will be provided before the abstract submission deadline at http://glsa.osgoode.yorku.ca

LAUNCHES: Juris Diversitas Books/LLM in Jersey Law

LAUNCHES: Juris Diversitas Books and LLM in Jersey Law

The Institute of Law Jersey (Law House, St Helier) will be hosting several launches on 22 January 2015.

The launches include the first two volumes of our series with Ashgate:

• Seán Patrick Donlan and Lukas Heckendorn Urscheler (eds), Concepts of law: comparative, jurisprudential, and social science perspectives (2014)
• Sue Farran, Esin Örücü and Seán Patrick Donlan (eds), A study of mixed legal systems: endangered, entrenched, or blended (2014)

The editors of the former will briefly launch the book. The latter will receive special emphasis in Jersey’s mixed legal system. All of the editors will be present to discuss the subject. 

The launches are graciously hosted by the Institute’s Director (David Marrani) and Chairman (Senator Sir Philip Bailhache). Indeed, the Institute will also launch its first LLM, focusing on Jersey Law.

A reception will follow.

For details please contact the Institute manager@lawinstitute.ac.je.

Note, finally, that our third volume, also on mixed systems, has recently been published:

• Vernon Palmer, Mohamed Y Mattar, and Anna Koppel (eds), Mixed legal systems, East and West (2014)

CALL FOR PAPERS: The State and/of Comparative Law

CALL FOR PAPERS

JURIS DIVERSITAS

ANNUAL CONFERENCE  

2-4 June 2015

School of Law, University of Limerick

Limerick, Ireland

THE STATE AND/OF COMPARATIVE LAW

[Note that the Irish Society of Comparative Law annual conferences will be held in Limerick immediately afterwards. Its theme is ‘Comparative Law: From Antiquity to Modernity’ and the same proposal may be submitted for both conferences. See here.]

While any proposal on comparative law (broadly conceived) will be considered, the conference’s primary theme is the relationship between social and legal norms and social and legal institutions. In memory of Roderick A Macdonald (1948-2014) and H Patrick Glenn (1940-2014), both former members of our Advisory Council, particular attention will be given to the diverse themes of their scholarship: for example, ‘common laws’, ‘constitutive polyjurality’, ‘critical legal pluralism’, ‘everyday law’, and ‘legal cosmopolitanism’.

As with our past conferences, proposals on a wide variety of topics will be accepted: comparative jurisprudence and legislation, legal philosophy, legal education, law reform, etc. Presentations may be theoretical analyses or case studies on the past or present, North or South, East or West ….

Panel proposals and interdisciplinary presentations are strongly encouraged, as is the participation of doctoral students and scholars from outside of the discipline of law. While parallel sessions of three twenty-minute presentations will be used, we welcome more original session structures.

Proposals should be in English or French. Proposals of c250 words (or 1000 words for panel proposals) should be submitted to Olivier Moréteau at moreteau@lsu.edu by 15 January 2015, with a short biography or resume (c250 words). Please send Word documents only, with minimal formatting.

Registration fees are €200 (€125 for Juris Diversitas members paid up for 2015). Membership and fee payment information is available on the Juris Diversitas Blog (http://jurisdiversitas.blogspot.ie/). Note that fees don’t cover travel, accommodation, or the conference dinner (€50).