SUMMER ACADEMY: Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History

Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History

The Max-Planck Summer Academy for Legal History, offered by the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History (MPIeR), provides an in-depth introduction to methods and principles of research in legal history. Although its main focus is on European legal history, there is special emphasis on global perspectives on legal history. It addresses a selected group of highly motivated early-stage researchers, usually PhD candidates, working on a research project with an interest in the basic research of historical formation and transformations of law and other normative orders.

The academy consists of two modules and lasts two weeks; the first week provides an introduction to the study of sources, methodological principles, as well as theoretical models and controversial research debates on basic research fields of legal history (module 1). During the second week the participants discuss a special research theme and develop their own approach to the theme (module 2).

Date

The next Summer Academy will take place from July 27 until August 7, 2015.

Course aim

The overall aim of the Max Planck Summer Academy for Legal History is to provide PhD candidates with an expertise on the methods and principles of legal history and to equip them with the ability to apply this knowledge to their research projects and other research in legal history or related disciplines.

Curriculum

Lectures and workshops in history of legal history, methodological principles of legal history, antiquity, legal history in antiquity, Ius Commune, legal bibliography, history of private law in the modern era, constitutional history, history of criminal law, and history of international law form the core of the academy.

• History of Legal History
• Antiquity
• An introduction into the secular Ius Commune I (12th-16th century)
• Ius Commune II – Classical and Post-Classical Canon Law (12th-16th century)
• History of Private Law in the Modern Period
• Constitutional History
• History of Criminal Law
• Contemporary Legal History Introduction to Legal Theory
• History of International Law

In addition to the lectures and workshops the participants have the opportunity to work on their individual research projects which should reflect the special theme (see below) and present and discuss them in plenum. Furthermore, the academy offers additional courses in complementary skills. As a summer academy should not consist of academic activities only, a variety of extra-curricular activities, such as visits to nearby historical sites and several get-togethers in the evenings are offered.

CALLS FOR PAPERS - BACK-TO-BACK CONFERENCES: Juris Diversitas (2-4 June 2015) and Irish Society of Comparative Law (5-6 June 2015)

NOTE: CALLS FOR PAPERS

The Juris Diversitas and Irish Society of Comparative Law (ISCL) annual conferences will be hosted back-to-back at the School of Law of the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland.

Please feel free to submit the same proposal for both conferences.

The theme of the Juris Diversitas conference is ‘The State and/of Comparative Law’ and the deadline for proposals is 28 February 2015.

The theme of the ISCL conference is ‘Comparative Law: From Antiquity to Modernity’ and the deadline for proposals is 30 January 2015.

See the links here and here.

eJOURNAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal

The 2014 vol 17 no 5 issue of the Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PER) is now freely available on our website at http://www.nwu.ac.za/p-per/2014%2817%295

You can access and download the following manuscripts in pdf format from the website:

1.     Transboundary Movements of Genetically Modified Organisms and the Cartagena Protocol: Key Issues and Concerns
OJ Lim Tung
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295LimTung%20.pdf

2.     Defending the Absurd: The Iconoclast's Guide to Section 47(1) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013
H McCreath and R Koen
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295McCreath%26Koen.pdf

3.     The Legal Status of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in Spain and Thoughts on Environmental Law and Policy as Contributing Factors in the Conservation of Species
JC Knobel
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Knobel.pdf

4.     Barriers to Advocacy and Litigation in the Equality Courts for Persons with Disabilities
W Holness and S Rule
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Holness%26Sarah.pdf

5.     Reassessing Judicial Independence and Impartiality against the Backdrop of Judicial Appointments in South Africa
K Malan
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Malan.pdf

6.     The Different Worlds of Labour and Company Law: Truth or Myth?
MM Botha
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Botha.pdf

7.     The Regulation of Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa: Law and Governance Perspectives
L Feris and LJ Kotzé
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Feris%26Kotze.pdf

8.     Spatial Practices in Lowliebenhof: The Case of Maphango v Aengus Lifestyle Properties (Pty) Ltd
I de Villiers
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295DeVilliers.pdf

9.     Rectification and Party Misdescription: To what extent is Rectification Competent or Useful?
R Sharrock
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Sharrock.pdf

10.   Limiting Organisational Rights of Minority Unions: POPCRU v Ledwaba 2013 11 BLLR 1137 (LC)
T Cohen
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no5/2014%2817%295Cohen.pdf

EJOURNAL ANNOUNEMENT: Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal

The 2014 vol 17 no 4 issue of the Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PER) is now freely available by clicking here.

You can access and download the following manuscripts in pdf format from the website:

1.     Unlawful Occupation of Inner-City Buildings: A Constitutional Analysis of the Rights and Obligations involved
J Strydom and S Viljoen
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Strydom%26Viljoen.article.pdf

2.     Managing the Trade-Public Health Linkage in Defence of Trade Liberalisation and National Sovereignty: An Appraisal of United States-Measures affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarettes
TV Warikandwa and PC Osode
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294WarikandwaOsode.article.pdf

3.     Shaken Baby Syndrome: A South African Medico-Legal Perspective
A le Roux-Kemp and E Burger
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294LeRouxKemp%26Burger.article.pdf

4.     Legislative Prohibitions on wearing a Headscarf: Are they justified?
F Osman
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Osman.article.pdf

5.     The Potential of Capstone Learning Experiences in addressing perceived Shortcomings in LLB Training in South Africa
G Quinot and SP van Tonder
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Quinot%26vanTonder.article.pdf

6.     Is Law Science?
MC Roos
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Roos.article.pdf

7.     Regulating Traditional Justice in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Aspects of the Traditional Courts Bill
CB Soyapi
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Soyapi.article.pdf

8.     The Incorporation of Public International Law into Municipal Law and Regional Law against the Background of the Dichotomy between Monism and Dualism
G Ferreira and A Ferreira-Snyman
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Ferreira%26Ferreira-Snyman.article.pdf

9.     Reformation from Criminal to Lawyer: Is such Redemption Possible?
M Slabbert and DJ Boome
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Slabbert%26Boome.article.pdf

10.   "Contributory Intent" as a Defence Limiting Delictual Liability
R Ahmed
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Ahmed.article.pdf

11.   A Panoramic View of the Social Security and Social Protection Provisioning in Lesotho
KE Mosito
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Mosito.article.pdf

12.   Public Servants' Right to Strike in Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa – A Comparative Study
T Cohen and L Matee
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Cohen%26Matee.article.pdf

13.   Localising Environmental Governance: The Le Sueur Case
T Humby
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Humby.NOTE.pdf

14.   Peel v Hamon J & C Engineering (Pty) Ltd: Ignoring the Result-Requirement of Section 163(1)(A) of the Companies Act and Extending the Oppression Remedy Beyond its Statutorily Intended Reach
HGJ Beukes and WJC Swart
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294Beukes%26Swart.Note.pdf

15.   Sailing between Scylla and Charybdis: Mayelane v Ngwenyama
H Kruuse and J Sloth-Nielsen
http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-per/issuepages/2014volume17no4/2014%2817%294KruuseSloth-Nielsen.NOTE.pdf

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Post-doc position on "Reinventing the Foundations of European Legal Culture 1934-1964"

The research project “Reinventing the Foundations of European Legal Culture 1934-1964” in the University of Helsinki (FoundLaw.org) is looking for a scholar to engage in a study of narratives arising from different strands of European thought on law, tradition and history. 

The closing date for applications is the 2nd of March 2015. The starting date is flexible. 

Link to ad: http://www.helsinki.fi/recruitment/index.html?id=99023

JOURNAL ANNOUNCEMENT: European Journal of Legal Studies

A new issue (vol. 7, issue 2) of the European Journal of Legal Studies has just been published.
Click here to download this issue.

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Modern Perspectives On Islamic Law

Ann Black, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland, Hossein Esmaeili, Associate Professor of Law, Flinders Law School, Flinders University and Nadirsyah Hosen, Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong, Australia
This well-informed book explains, reflects on and analyses Islamic law, not only in the classical legal tradition of Sharia, but also its modern, contemporary context.

The book explores the role of Islamic law in secular Western nations and reflects on the legal system of Islam in its classical context as applied in its traditional homeland of the Middle East and also in South East Asia. Written by three leading scholars from three different backgrounds: a Muslim in the Sunni tradition, a Muslim in the Shia tradition, and a non-Muslim woman – the book is not only unique, but also enriched by differing insights into Islamic law.

Sir William Blair provides the foreword to a book which acknowledges that Islam continues to play a vital role not just in the Middle East but across the wider world, the discussion on which the authors embark is a crucial one.

The book starts with an analysis of the nature of Islamic law, its concepts, meaning and sources, as well as its development in different stages of Islamic history. This is followed by accounts of how Islamic law is being practised today. Key modern institutions are discussed, such as the parliament, judiciary, dar al-ifta, political parties, and other important organizations. It continues by analysing some key concepts in our modern times: nation-state, citizenship, ummah, dhimmah (recognition of the status of certain non-Muslims in Islamic states), and the rule of law. The book investigates how in recent times, more and more fatwas are issued collectively rather than emanating from an individual scholar. The authors then evaluate how Islamic law deals with family matters, economics, crime, property and alternative dispute resolution. Lastly, the book revisits certain contemporary issues of debate in Islamic law such as the burqa, halal food, riba (interest) and apostasy.

Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law will become a standard scholarly text on Islamic law. Its wide-ranging coverage will appeal to researchers and students of Islamic law, or Islamic studies in general. Legal practitioners will also be interested in the comparative aspects of Islamic law presented in this book.
2013 320 pp Hardback 978 0 85793 446 8 Regular Price £88.00  Web Price £79.20 ebook 978 0 85793 447 5
2014 Paperback 978 1 78254 552 1  Regular Price £30.00  Web Price £24.00

Click here to visit the ElgarOnline page regarding this book.

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.