Category: ILA Updates

Event Re-Cap: Developments in cyber and international law at the UN – Josephine Dooley

Editors Events, ILA Updates

For the Australian National University’s Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL) Seminar in April, key members of Australia’s delegation to the United Nations (UN) Open-ended Working Group on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security (OEWG) discussed latest developments in cyber and international law at the UN.

The third and final substantive OEWG session was held in March. Importantly, on 12 March 2021, 193 States adopted a consensus report containing recommendations to address cyber threats and ‘promote an open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful’ international cyber environment (OEWG, Final Substantive Report UN Doc A/AC.290/2021/CRP.2, para 7 (‘OEWG Final Report’). The OEWG Final Report has now been endorsed by consensus by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). As part of that effort to improve peace and security in the cyber environment, the OEWG Final Report includes recommendations concerning the development of how international law applies in cyberspace, that States continue to:

  • Inform the UN Secretary-General, and through other appropriate avenues, of their national views and practices on how international law applies to states’ conduct in cyberspace  (Recommendation 38),
  • Support, in a neutral and objective manner, capacity-building of other States in developing their national views and practices, to contribute to building common understandings of and consensus on how international law applies in cyberspace (Recommendation 39), and
  • Participate in future UN processes on international law and cyber as a key step to clarify and further develop common understandings on the issue (Recommendation 40).

At the talk on 27 April 2021, participants were able to learn first-hand from key Australian representatives in the OEWG process what has been Australia’s role in the recognition and elaboration of the application of international law to cyberspace so far, and Australia’s perspective on the implications of the OEWG Final Report going forward. The Panel consisted of: 

  • Johanna Weaver, Special Adviser to Australia’s Cyber Ambassador and Head of Delegation on UN Cyber Processes,
  • Harry Aitken, Assistant Director, International Law Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT),
  • Tess Kluckow, Senior Legal Officer, Office of International Law, Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), and 
  • Wing Commander Craig Deveney, Deputy Director, Operations and International Law Military Branch (Defence Legal).

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Event: Book Launch of “The UN Commission on Human Rights: ‘A Very Great Enterprise'”, 2 June 2021

Editors Events, ILA Updates

The UN Human Rights Council faces a critical phase in its development. Between 2021 and 2026, the Assembly is due to review its status, with a view to determining, to quote Kofi Annan at its inauguration in 2006, whether its work has “so clearly established [its] authority that there would be a general will to amend the Charter, and to elevate it to the status of a Principal Organ of the United Nations”.

A new book by former Secretary to the UN Commission on Human Rights John Pace is intended to aid the process of review by furnishing, in one volume, the entire record of the Commission and the Council since the inception of UN work in human rights in 1946. The UN Commission on Human Rights: ‘A Very Great Enterprise’ was published by Oxford University Press in 2020.

In the course of a career spanning more than 50 years in the field of human rights, John Pace has worked in a wide range of human rights activities at the international and regional level. He has headed several sectors of the human rights programme and was Secretary to the Commission on Human Rights (1978 to 1994) and Coordinator of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights (1991 to 1993). He has a long association with UNSW, where he has taught and headed the Australian Centre for Human Rights in the early 2000s. He is currently Senior Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Law and Justice and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Diplomacy Training Programme.

Former High Court Justice the Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG and Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous UNSW and Professor of Law Megan Davis will join the author in conversation about his new book, moderated by Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute Professor Justine Nolan.

This event will be held online on 2 June 2021 at 9:00 am to 10:00 am CEST. Registration for this event is via Eventbrite and is free to all attendees. Event attendees are eligible for a 30% discount on purchase of the book.

This event is co-hosted by the Australian Human Rights Institute and the International Law Association Australia.

Call for Papers: iCourts (University of Copenhagen) Virtual Conference

Editors ILA Updates

The iCourts (University of Copenhagen) Virtual Conference will be occurring on 22 April 2021 and 23 April 2021. The Conference, organised by iCourts (the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for International Courts), focuses on transforming evidence and proof in international criminal trials. As part of the Conference, a call for papers has been issued.

On 1 July 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) will mark the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute, its constitutive treaty. Prior to the Court’s establishment, and through those intervening years, scholars and practitioners have energetically debated the effectiveness of its procedural architecture, its evidential model, and its deliberations on matters of fact. The twentieth anniversary of the Rome Statute’s entry into force thus provides an opportune time to re-engage with these debates, and to take stock of a dynamic field which has undergone significant development. To this end iCourts is hosting a virtual conference, which will serve both to generate dialogue, and to facilitate engagement with innovative theoretical, and empirical work: research which advances the study of evidence and proof, shaping future practice, and laying the foundations for a dynamic research agenda.

iCourts welcomes contributions relating to the core topic of the ICC, and cognate international criminal courts and tribunals, but would also encourage submissions which engage with the overarching topics, as broadly construed. We particularly welcome papers focusing on national jurisdictional approaches to international offences, in addition to theoretical and empirical works whose application reaches beyond the sphere of international criminal adjudication. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, discussions of;

  • Proof and procedure in international criminal courts.
  • Open Source investigations and expert scientific evidence
  • Bayesian and Wigmorean inference networks
  • Evidential reasoning in epistemological and ontological perspective
  • Eyewitness testimony, narrative and memory
  • Innovative jurisdictional approaches to international crimes

We further welcome contributions from researchers, academics, and practitioners across the fields of law, the forensic sciences, political science, psychology, data science, and allied disciplines. Interdisciplinary approaches are particularly encouraged. Interested authors should send an abstract (300 words), and a brief author biography (150 words) to [email protected] by 29 March 2021. Authors will be notified of the status of their submission by 5 April 2021.

The organisers encourage contributors to submit their papers to a special issue of the International Criminal Law Review. Completed papers will be due by 14 June 2021, and will undergo blind peer review. Submissions must be original and should not have been previously published elsewhere. More details on the submission process will be provided following acceptance of proposals. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers.

Further details are available in the call for papers.

Call for Submissions: Brennan and Nygh Prizes

Editors ILA Updates, News

The ILA (Australia Branch) is calling for submissions for the Brennan Essay Prize in Public International Law and the Nygh Essay Prize in Private International Law.

The prizes are awarded for essays that demonstrate outstanding scholarship and make a distinct contribution to the field of public international law and private international law (conflict of laws), respectively. Submissions must be sent to [email protected] by no later than 1 July 2021.

More details are available on the leaflet below.

Event: ILA (Australian Branch) End of Year Event, 2 December 2020

Editors Events, ILA Updates

The International Law Association (Australian Branch) is hosting an end of year event featuring Professor Philippa Webb, King’s College London on the following topic: Swaying or straying? Australia’s influence on freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial in international law.

Philippa Webb is Professor of Public International Law at King’s College London. She joined The Dickson Poon School of Law in 2012 after a decade in international legal practice. She was previously visiting Assistant Professor in the Advanced LLM Programme at Leiden University (2009-2011). She has been Visiting Professor at Université Paris X Nanterre, ESADE Law School and Pepperdine University’s London programme.

In recent studies of geopolitical influence, Australia has been labelled a ‘hemispheric power’, more influential than India and Russia. There is also a long held view that Australia is a ‘middle power’ than can ‘punch above our weight’. By focusing on Australia’s influence on two critical protections – freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial – I will examine whether Australia is shaping international law (swaying) or forging its own, potentially violative path (straying). I will distil some of the key debates in international law and identify Australia’s contribution to the law through its state practice and the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies. 

The event will be held on Wednesday 2 December 2020 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM CET via Zoom and is free of charge. Registration is essential and may be done through this link.

Event: Australian Arbitration Week, 12-15 October 2020

Editors Events, ILA Updates

ACICA is pleased to present Australian Arbitration Week 2020 (AAW 2020) in the week of 12 October 2020. A full Calendar of Events is now available on the AAW website, which will be kept updated as event information is released.

ACICA, together with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia (CIArb Australia), will launch AAW2020 with Australia’s premier international arbitration event, the 2020 International Arbitration Conference featuring a line-up of speakers from across Australia and around the world. This year the conference will be offered virtually and is open to registrants around the globe. Program and speaker information is available to view on the website. 

The theme for this year’s International Arbitration Conference is Bridging the Distance: Arbitration in the New Normal. This one day program will offer virtual presentations on topics including: 

  • Advocacy in the Virtual Environment;
  • Technology as an Enabler in International Arbitration;
  • The Future of Investor-State Dispute Resolution;
  • Around the Globe in 60 Minutes;
  • Mega Projects in the New Normal;
  • Is Third Party Funding Changing International Arbitration?; and
  • Enhancing Efficiencies in the Arbitral Process.

Registration is now open! CPD points are available.

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Publication of Australian International Law Journal Vol. 25 (2018) – Part 2

Editors ILA Updates

The International Law Association (Australian Branch) is proud to announce the publication of Volume 25 of the Australian International Law Journal. This Special Volume compiles selected papers presented at the International Law Association’s 78th Biennial Conference held in Sydney, Australia from 19 to 24 August 2018. 

From its modest beginning in 1983 as Australian International Law News, the Australian International Law Journal has become a peer-reviewed law journal of international standing with contributions from prominent individuals in the field. Articles published in the Journal cover a wide range of topics of public and private international law. The Journal is currently edited by Professor Anthony E Cassimatis AM of the TC Beirne School of Law at The University of Queensland.

This post, the second of two, shares abstracts of the contributions available in the Special Volume. To read the contributions, visit the International Law Association (Australian Branch)’s website to become a member, or subscribe to the Journal.

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Publication of Australian International Law Journal Vol. 25 (2018) – Part 1

Editors ILA Updates

The International Law Association (Australian Branch) is proud to announce the publication of Volume 25 of the Australian International Law Journal. This Special Volume compiles selected papers presented at the International Law Association’s 78th Biennial Conference held in Sydney, Australia from 19 to 24 August 2018.

From its modest beginning in 1983 as Australian International Law News, the Australian International Law Journal has become a peer-reviewed law journal of international standing with contributions from prominent individuals in the field. Articles published in the Journal cover a wide range of topics of public and private international law. The Journal is currently edited by Professor Anthony E Cassimatis AM of the TC Beirne School of Law at The University of Queensland.

This post, the first of two, shares abstracts of the contributions available in the Special Volume. To read the contributions, visit the International Law Association (Australian Branch)’s website to become a member, or subscribe to the Journal.

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ILA Update: Peter Nygh Hague Conference Internship

Editors ILA Updates, News

The International Law Association (Australian Branch) and the Australian Association of International Affairs are delighted to announce that Nicole Sims, the 2020 Peter Nygh Hague Conference Intern, has been appointed Legal Officer at The Hague Conference on Private International Law for a period of 12 months. 

Nicole will commence work as Legal Officer in July 2020 after completing her internship.  After spending a large part of her internship working from her home in The Hague due to COVID-19, Nicole is back in The Hague Conference office and is looking forward to having a chance to stay in the Hague and have ‘the proper experience’.  She will be working mostly with previous Peter Nygh Hague Conference Intern, Brody Warren, on a portfolio related to legal cooperation, litigation, international commercial law and family law.  Nicole was appointed as Legal Officer following a competitive interview process and her selection reflects her excellent work as the Peter Nygh Hague Conference Intern.

Ms. Sins, pictured at The Hague Conference on Private International Law

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