CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT: In Pursuit of Pluralist Jurisprudence

Thursday & Friday, 5-6 February 2015, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Existing jurisprudential analyses of law beyond the state have focused upon substantive questions surrounding the institutional, normative and systemic character of non-state law, both on its own and in interaction with state law. That scholarship, however, has revealed a significant gap surrounding questions of jurisprudential methodology, purpose and scope. These are the broad themes the conference will aim to address.

PROGRAMME: The programme has been arranged to cover the following sessions.

Thursday, 5 Feb 2015

SESSION I (Chair: Andrew Harding)

Do Lawyers Need a Theory of Legal Pluralism? Roger Cotterrell (Queen Mary University of London)
Tribal Executive Power in the Settler States: Legal and Political Theories of Inter-indigenous Pluralism. Kirsty Gover (University of Melbourne)

SESSION II (Chair: Terry Nardin)

Three Concepts of Legal Pluralism: A Jurisprudential Assessment. Mattias Kumm (The WZB Berlin Social Science Center)
Law and Legitimacy for Global Institutions. Pavlos Eleftheriadis (University of Oxford)

SESSION III (Chair: Maksymilian Del Mar)

Legal Pluralism and the Rule of Law. Martin Krygier (University of New South Wales)
The Many Uses of Law: Connecting an Instrumental and an Interactional Perspective. Sanne Taekema (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Friday, 6 Feb 2015

SESSION IV (Chair: Tony Anghie)

Metaphors of the New Legal Theory. Margaret Davies (Flinders University)
Towards a Genealogical Understanding of Transnational Law. Detlef Von Daniels (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

SESSION V (Chair: Kevin Walton)

Legal Theory and Global Justice: The Gap. Neil Walker (University of Edinburgh)
Collectivist Authority and International Customary Law. Stefan Sciaraffa (McMaster University)

SESSION VI (Chair: Nicole Roughan)

Law and Recognition-Towards a Relational Concept of Law. Ralf Michaels (Duke University)
Against a General Jurisprudence of Pluralism. Cormac Mac Amhlaigh (University of Edinburgh)

SSRN ARTICLE ANNOUNCEMENT: Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and Beijing's Failure to Honor the Basic Law

"Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and Beijing's Failure to Honor the Basic Law" 
University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2014/043

MICHAEL C. DAVIS, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law
Email: mcdavis@hku.hk

Over the past few months Hong Kong has been deeply embedded in political change and protests. These debates and confrontations in Hong Kong have had a particular constitutional character grounded in disputes over interpretation of the Hong Kong Basic Law’s constitutional text. Recent actions initiated by Beijing have, in the public eye, called into question solemn commitments made to Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” model promised in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. A series of reports and decisions issued this past year have been the source of public discontent. This paper will consider these causes and suggest avenues to a solution going forward.

SSRN ARTICLE ANNOUNCEMENT: China & the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: The Tibetan Case

"China & the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: The Tibetan Case"  

University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2014/044

MICHAEL C. DAVIS, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law
Email: mcdavis@hku.hk

Using sovereignty as a shield, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has generally sought a pass in regard to enforcing international human rights compliance. Though it has signed numerous human rights treaties, its state-centered approach has sought to avoid all efforts at enforcement. This avoidance has nowhere been more absolute than its disavowal of any obligations regarding indigenous peoples’ rights. The PRC actually voted in support of the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) (UN General Assembly 2008). It then promptly disavowed any obligation under the declaration, proclaiming there were no indigenous peoples in China. It proclaimed 5,000 years of unity and harmony with its 55 designated national minorities living in peace on their own land. Though a bloody history and recent protests by the most prominent of these minorities – Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongols – would tend to belie such assertion, the international community has rarely challenged this claim.

SSRN ARTICLE ANNOUNCEMENT: "Muslim Law: Judicial and Legislative Changes Around the World"

From PHILOSOPHY OF LAW eJOURNAl, we suggest the following article: 

"Muslim Law: Judicial and Legislative Changes Around the World" 

MOSLAY UDDIN, University of Dhaka
Email: moslayudden@gmail.com
MD AYATULLAH, University of Dhaka

The prime objective of this paper is to find a way out to the discomfiting situation that now exists. An attempt has been made to point out the exact sites of contradiction with the orthodox law and to link between the mainstream Islamic law and the present judicial thought. Here, the limitations that we have not crossed yet in the field of reforms in Islamic principles have been incorporated.

This paper is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter presents the scope and objectives of the research along with a short description of the methodology of the research. The second chapter narrates the fundamental issues of the Islamic law of reforms and a short description of our present legal system. The third chapter deals with the concept of Muslim marriage and certain other mandatory issues that validate the marriage, with a discussion of certain reforms. Fourth chapter deals with the provision of dower and some reforms regarding the implementation of this right. The fifth chapter deals with the maintenance right specially focusing the post divorce maintenance. Chapter six describes the provisions of dissolution of marriage and reforms regarding women’s right to divorce, and restriction on husband’s capricious exercise of divorce. Chapter seven contains the discussion of polygamy and intervening marriage with reforms that has taken place in the contemporary world. Eighth chapter deals with custody and guardianship of Muslim child and judicial review. Under chapter nine inheritance rights and the question of equality has been described. This chapter also contains a discussion on the application of the doctrine of representation. The last chapter enunciates the findings and concludes the study.

CALL FOR PAPERS Extended: Juris Diversitas Annual Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS - 
DEADLINE EXTENDED: 28 February 2015

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 28 February 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).