On 28 September 2018, the State of Palestine (“Palestine”) instituted proceedings in the International Court of Justice (“the Court”) against the United States of America (“United States”) regarding the relocation of the embassy of the United States of America in Israel to the Holy City of Jerusalem.
This article will explain the implications of this Application, including its factual background, Palestine’s claims on jurisdiction and merits, and the likely consequences of the filing.
Globalisation has altered the makeup of the work of domestic courts all around the world. Civil litigation is increasingly cross-border. Yet despite the frequent recognition that private international law (conflict of laws) is increasingly important, the subject is still a bit of a niche, at least in Australia. It is a compulsory subject at Sydney Law School but many other law schools do not offer it at all. A handful of Australian academics specialise in the subject, as a handful of barristers hold themselves out as specialists. Happily, that smallish circle is steadily growing.
As the curtain descended on the fifth day of the ILA Conference, foreign delegates began bracing themselves for long treks home, just as the jetlag was finally relenting for some. Meanwhile, Australian delegates were abuzz with the news of the political crisis enveloping Parliament House.
Day four was like walking into IKEA – you wanted everything, even if it wasn’t relevant to you or you had no practical use for it, and it was anxiety inducing to walk past a room without going inside. The sessions were topical, contentious, and the panelists colourful and compelling in their breadth and depth of experience.
Interesting and thought inspiring presentations were abundant on day three, with sessions spanning ocean management, investment disputes, modern slavery, emerging technologies in conflict, investment disputes across boundaries, international law education and a new topic that the ILA’s Director of Studies is very excited about and had many people talking at morning tea, cities at the frontiers of international law and governance.
Day 2 of the ILA Conference commenced with an invigorating opening ceremony, plunging us back in time to the to the very germination of international law, and the conditions that promoted its growth and proliferation.
Tantalising us with a taster for what is to come, the ILA Conference’s Welcome Reception skimmed the surface of several themes woven into the conference program. Although it might seem obvious to a crowd of international legal minds, the speakers reminded us of why the international legal community such as that of the ILA is important, and how international law is a fundamental pillar of global harmony, peace and stability.
The ILA Reporter (ilareporter.org.au) is the official blog of the Australian Branch of the International Law Association (ILA). The ILA was founded in Brussels in 1873. It has consultative status, as an international non-governmental organisation, with a number of the United Nations specialised agencies.The ILA Reporter provides analysis, commentary and discussion on issues in public and private international law which have bearing on Australia and the wider region.
The ability of an applicant for refugee status to relocate within their country of origin to escape persecution forms the basis of an important concept in international refugee law, known variously as the “internal relocation alternative”, or the “internal flight alternative”. The concept provides that if internal relocation is relevant and reasonable, the applicant is not a refugee. The concept is not codified in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, however, it is relevant to the question of whether the applicant meets the definition of “refugee” as set out in Art 1A(2) of the Convention, as being any person who:
The Australian International Law Journal, published by the Australian Branch of the International Law Association, is calling for papers of between 6,000 and 12,000 words on topics of public or private international law. Casenotes (2,000-3,000 words) and book reviews (1,000 words) within the area of public or private international law are also welcome.
Papers should be submitted by email to the Editors c/o [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2018. Accepted submissions will be published in Volume 24 of the Journal.
Persons interested in submitting a paper for consideration should refer to the AILJ Guidelines for Authors.