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Call for papers: justice in international investment law in post-ISDS world: is the world without investment arbitration, a world with(out) justice?

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Is the world without investment arbitration, a world with(out) justice? Investor-State Dispute Settlement has been undergoing profound criticism for the past fifteen years. This has, in turn, generated a wave of initiatives and proposals for reform, either institutionally mandated (e.g., the work of the UNCITRAL Working Group III) or commenced by scholars and civil society organizations. These proposals range from minimal reforms of the current investment arbitration mechanism (e.g., introducing a code of conduct for arbitrators) to a complete eradication of the system. What these all have in common is the acknowledgment that the status quo is untenable and requires at least some degree of change.

Starting from these premises, the conference intends to push the ‘reform’ debate forward and interrogate what a ‘post ISDS’ world entails in terms of delivering ‘justice’.

The conference aims to address two key questions: (i) whether and, if so, (ii) what form(s) of ‘justice’ will feature in the post ISDS scenarios proposed thus far.

We welcome abstracts (max. 500 words) addressing one or multiple aspects of the themes indicated in the call from different legal and non-legal disciplinary perspectives, including economics, political economy, and development studies.

 

If you are interested in contributing, kindly submit your abstract to sail@law.eur.nl by July 16th. The conference will take place on the 23rd and 24th November at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Successful applicants will be informed by October 1st and will be asked to submit an extended abstract (max. 3000 words) by November 5th.

 

Select papers will be invited for a post-conference publication project. Details will be shared during the event.

 

For more information on the themes and overall structure of the event, see our event page or click here

“Mixity in Private and/or Public Law” Conference in Malta, 14-16 June 2023

On 14-16 June 2023, the 5th World Congress of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists (WSMJJ) will take place in Malta. The topic is “Mixity in Private Law and/or Public Law“. This congress will be hosted by the University of Malta – Faculty of Laws through its Departments of Civil Law and European Law. Prof.dr. Aurelia Colombi Ciacchi from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen has been invited to give the first keynote speech. 

To register online to attend the 5th World Congress, click here

28th Annual Meeting of the Common Core in Groningen

The University of Groningen is proud to host the 28 th  Annual Meeting of the Common Core of European Private Law. Entitled ‘Sustainability and its Narratives’, the meeting will be held at various locations in the city centre of Groningen from Wednesday, 24 May to Friday, 26 May 2023.

Any questions about this event? Send us an email at commoncoregroningen@rug.nl.

The Common Core of European Private Law was founded at the University of Trento in 1993, with the aim of comparing and understanding the private laws of Europe and thereby uncovering their Common Core. Through a case-based approach, the Common Core has so far explored myriad legal issues in the areas of contract, tort, and property law, with the commitment and help from hundreds of national reporters from various EU Member States. The fruits of this research network have to date been published in the 23 volumes of the Common Core series. The Common Core is the longest-standing and most productive comparative-law project worldwide. See Common Core and Intersentia for more information.

Past meetings were held in Sweden (2022) and in Italy (1995-2021). In 2023, the Common Core Meeting will be held for the first time in the Netherlands. Given the pressing economic, environmental and social questions posed by environmental degradation, global warming and inequality, the meeting will focus on ‘Sustainability and its Narratives’. With the great expertise of ten speakers from nine jurisdictions, we will reflect on the foundations of the law and the role of sustainability in the law before we move on to discuss sustainability in the areas of contract, tort, and property law. We will close the Annual Meeting by exploring Sustainable Private-Law Forms of Collaboration. Throughout the Annual Meeting there will be working group sessions that give editors and reporters the opportunity to discuss existing projects and to explore and pitch new ones.

Click here to registrate!

Workshop ‘Populism, Non-State Actors and Legal Mobilization in Europe’

Date: 22nd of March 2023 

Location: European University Institute, Florence 

Organizers: Karolina Kocemba (European University Institute), Michał Stambulski (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Since the populist rise (especially in Central and Eastern European countries), scholars focusing on human rights and EU law have used the terms such as ‘rule of law crisis’, ‘human rights backlash’ or ‘democratic backsliding.’ Despite these terms primarily referring to policies and rhetoric carried out by populist governments, there are more actors than just populist parties involved in and responding to current development in Europe. On one hand, right-wing and fundamentalist organizations use legal mobilization to challenge human rights and European standards. Those organization with the support of populist governments are seeking social change through extensive usage of legal norms, discourse, or symbols. Therefore, institutions such as constitutional courts and constitutional litigation, designed to protect liberal rights and freedoms, are used to restrict them. Right-wing organizations learned how to use legal actions and tools, sometimes even more efficiently than liberal and human rights organizations that mastered these tools in the last decades. On the other hand, their effectiveness spurs the activities of liberal, rule-of-law-oriented legal (academic and judicial) organizations. Previously rather abstract categories like ‘constitution’ and ‘rule of law’ are becoming political ideas capable of mobilizing protest. In the middle of this we also have the EU institutions responding to the populist and nationalist challenge by seeking to close its democratic deficit and mobilize European political citizenship.

During the workshop, using both empirically and theoretical oriented papers, we would like to address the following questions:

  • what are the legal and political criteria that distinguish ‘correct’ and ‘unacceptable’ legal mobilization,
  • how populism facilitates legal mobilization,
  • what role non-state actors play in populist regimes and what legal tools they use,
  • what is the mobilization potential of European institutions, law, and academia,
  • what factors constitute the effectiveness of mobilization through the law. 

Registration and full programme are available here

Gendered Dynamics of Environmental Crime

On Wednesday 21 September 2022, the seminar “Environmental Crime & Gender” took place in Malaga, Spain. This one-day event explored the varied intersections of environmental crime and gender with the aim of sharing knowledge with the criminological community and inspiring new research and collaborations. Since 2012, green criminologists from around the world have been organising this (bi)yearly seminar that focuses on different aspects of environmental crime, with the aim of pushing green criminological scholarship further by bridging (sub)disciplinary boundaries, but also by bringing together junior and senior scholars as well as practitioners to learn from each other. For more information about this seminar click here

Call for Papers: ‘SUMMER ACADEMY Law and Political Economy in Europe’

The Law and Political Economy (LPE) in Europe Network invites applications for its first Summer Academy, which will be held at Erasmus University Rotterdam, between the 27th and the 29th of June 2023.

LPE in Europe is a movement of legal scholarship and praxis that seeks to show how law contributes to the social, economic, and ecological crises that we face, and how it could become a tool in addressing them. In this intensive 3-day Summer Academy, successful applicants will join an international Faculty of leading researchers working in the field of LPE studies for a series of writing workshops; masterclasses on core LPE topics, including on teaching LPE; roundtable discussions; sessions on publication strategies, with the support of the journals European Law Open and Journal of Law and Political Economy; networking opportunities, and social activities. We particularly encourage applications from researchers at the doctoral and early career stages.

Key areas of focus for the Academy are those that correspond to the crises currently impacting society, including those relating to the energy transition, housing, and the food system, as well as on the role of social rights, constitutions, and economic governance. However, we invite applications from researchers working on any theme connected to LPE research within and beyond Europe, including contributions from researchers working on the international and transnational arenas.

In order to apply for a place, applicants should submit a 500-word abstract outlining the longer paper (6,000-8,000 words) that they would propose to submit for the writing workshops, and a 2-page CV. Writing workshops will be convened by members of the Faculty, and all participants will be expected to read and comment on the work of their peers.

Participation in the Academy is funded thanks to the generous support of Partners for a New Economy and the Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity. Travel, accommodation expenses, and catering will be covered by the Academy organisers, subject to budgetary constraints.

Applications should be submitted by Monday 6th March 2023 to kampourakis@law.eur.nl.

Successful applicants will be notified within 2 weeks.

Faculty:

  • Professor Alessandra Arcuri (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
  • Dr. Vladimir Bogoeski (University of Amsterdam)
  • Professor Emilios Christodoulidis (University of Glasgow)
  • Dr. Eliana Cusato (University of Amsterdam)
  • Dr. Anna Chadwick (University of Glasgow)
  • Dr. Klaas Eller (University of Amsterdam)
  • Dr. Marco Goldoni (University of Glasgow)
  • Dr. Ioannis Kampourakis (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
  • Professor Poul Kjaer (Copenhagen Business School)
  • Dr. Lys Kulamadayil (Geneva Graduate Institute)
  • Dr. Andrea Leiter (University of Amsterdam)
  • Professor Athena Mutua (University at Buffalo)
  • Dr. Phillip Paiement (Tilburg University)
  • Professor René Repasi (Erasmus University Rotterdam, European Parliament)
  • Dr. Javier Solana (University of Glasgow)
  • Professor Sanne Taekema (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
  • Dr. Ntina Tzouvala (Australian National University)

If you have any questions about the Academy or the application process, please contact one of the Organisers, Anna Chadwick (anna.chadwick@glasgow.ac.uk) or Ioannis Kampourakis (kampourakis@law.eur.nl).

University of Groningen
Faculty of Law
Oude Kijk in ‘t Jatstraat 26
9712 EK Groningen
The Netherlands

Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus School of Law
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3062 PA Rotterdam
The Netherlands

sectorplan@law.eur.nl

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