NEWSLETTER SPRING 2008  |
Director's Notes
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This is an exciting
year for the Institute, as we celebrate 50 years
since its establishment. Over those 50 years the
Institute has had many staff, research projects
and events, yet it has always maintained its aim
of promoting the understanding and application
of the rule of law in international and
comparative law. Its high quality research
projects and seminars encompass almost all areas
of international law (both public and private)
and comparative law, and it aims to be at the
forefront of discussions on the many
contemporary issues of international and
comparative law.
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This Newsletter continues the
Institute’s record in innovation in its methods of
disseminating its activities and engaging in
international affairs in the most effective ways
possible. For example, it has an excellent, up-to-date
and readily accessible website (www.biicl.org), a
fortnightly Bulletin of International Legal Developments
available in both hard copy and electronically,
regularly publishes its research, and, more recently, it
has held a series of rapid response briefings on current
international issues.
The last four months
have been very hectic for me since I commenced as
Director in January. I am impressed with the dedication
and hard work of the staff, and the very positive
engagement and expertise of the Board of Trustees and
the many members of the Institute. I look forward to
meeting more of you as the year progresses.
Raising funds remains
a priority, as is continuing to publish high quality
research (an example of which is the project undertaken
by Anna Riddell and Brendan Plant which is summarized in
this Newsletter), and seeking to attract eminent and
informed speakers to the Institute’s events. This
Newsletter aims to provide a snapshot of some of the
many activities of the Institute. We all hope that you
find it interesting and we welcome your feedback.
Professor Robert
McCorquodale
Institute Director
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50th Anniversary Campaign
In 2008, the Institute celebrates
50 years of promoting the rule of law in international
affairs. If it is to continue to play a leading role in
stimulating debate, providing authoritative practical
research and setting legal standards internationally,
the Institute needs to advance and be fully capable of
undertaking fresh initiatives in response to emerging
needs. For this reason we are embarking upon a major
development campaign to coincide with our 50th
Anniversary
Helen Bright
Development
Director
Click
here to view more information on the 50th
Campaign
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1958-2008 |
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The Rights and Responsibilities
of Citizenship
The
Institute was asked by the former Attorney General Lord
Goldsmith to undertake research on a project on the
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. His
independent study formed part of a wider review of
Governance in Britain conducted by the United Kingdom's
Ministry of Justice. Specifically, Lord Goldsmith’s task
was to generate discussion with regard to what it means
to be a British citizen in order to promote its meaning
and significance. In order to accomplish this, Lord
Goldsmith commissioned five pieces of research, one of
which was completed by the Institute.
Justine
Stefanelli,
Research Fellow in European Law
The Report is available for
download in
PDF format.
Click
here to
view the full story
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Annual Grotius Lecture
The Rule of Law in the International Order
We are delighted to announce that The Rt Hon Lord Bingham
of Cornhill KG
will give this year’s Annual Grotius Lecture on
Monday 17 November 2008, 1800 to 19:30
Location: The Great Hall, The Honourable Society of
Lincoln's Inn |
Evidence in the International
Court of Justice
Several
fact-intensive cases have recently brought fact-finding
in the International Court of Justice into the
spotlight. BIICL’s major study on the issue of evidence
before the International Court of Justice, due to be
published in July 2008, has examined the Court’s
relationship with facts in detail, from the recently
refined procedure for submitting late evidence, to the
hearing of live witness testimony in the Peace Palace.
Anna Riddell,
Research
Fellow in Public International Law
Click
here to view the full
story
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Staff News
- We are very pleased
to announce that Sarah Williams
will be joining the Institute as the new
Dorset Fellow. Sarah was previously at
Durham University, where her teaching and
research interests included public
international law, international criminal
law, legal responses to terrorism and
international human rights. During 2006,
Sarah was a Legal Researcher at the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office. In this role Sarah
appeared before various United Nations
committees and commissions, and advised the
British Government on issues of
international, foreign and domestic law.
From January to March 2008 Sarah was a
Visiting Fellow at the Sydney Centre for
International Law.
- Norah
Gallagher has joined the Institute
as Director of the Investment Treaty Forum
and Senior Research Fellow. Norah Gallagher
took over the role of Director of the
Investment Treaty Forum at the British
Institute of International and Comparative
Law in January 2008. Before joining the
Institute, she worked in the International
Arbitration Group of Herbert Smith where she
advised on a wide range of issues relating
to international arbitration (under all of
the main institutional rules: ICC, LCIA, AAA
ICDR, Stockholm and ICSID), from drafting
valid arbitration agreements (including
bifurcated, multi-tiered and multiparty
arrangements), procedural issues and interim
relief, to enforcement of awards.
- The Institute
congratulates Dr Philip Marsden
on his appointment by the Office of Fair
Trading to its Board as non-executive
director for a four-and-half-year term from
1 October 2008. Philip is a Senior Research
Fellow at the Institute and Director of its
Competition Law Forum.
- Jacob van
de Velden has left the Institute to
become a Lecturer in European Law at the
University of Groningen, and a member of the
International Law Association Committee on
International Civil Litigation
(Netherlands). Although Jacob will be based
in The Netherlands, he will continue to be
closely involved with the Institute's
Private International Law programme.
- The Institute
congratulates Brendan Plant,
Research Fellow on the Institute’s Evidence
Project, who has been accepted into the PhD
programme at the University of Cambridge,
where he will commence research into dispute
settlement in the World Trade
Organization in October 2008.
-
Adineh Abghari,
Research Fellow on the Institute’s Human
Rights in International Law and Iran
Project, has been awarded a fellowship to
participate in the 44th session of the
International Law Seminar to be held at the
United Nations Office in Geneva from 7 to 25
July 2008. The Institute also congratulates
Adineh on being awarded a full scholarship
for the PhD programme in International Law
at the Graduate Institute of International
and Development Studies in Geneva.
-
Monica Sanchez will be
completing her time as a Research Fellow at
the Institute on 6 May 2008. She has made a
most positive contribution to the Institute,
both as an intern when she contributed some
excellent work to the Evidence Project, and
as a Research Fellow, working on the
Citizenship Project and the ATLAS (‘Armed
Conflicts, Peacekeeping, Transitional
Justice: Law as Solution) Project.
- Ndanga
Kamau joined the Institute in July
2007 as an intern on the Damages Project.
She has recently been working as the
Administrative Coordinator and will leave in
the summer to do the Bar Vocational Course
at the Inns of Court School of Law, for
which she has been awarded a partial
scholarship by Middle Temple.
The views
and news of our members are important to us. If
you would like to inform us of your news please
email
newsletter@biicl.org
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Philip Marsden, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Competition Law Forum at the Institute ran the 2008 London Marathon in a personal best time of 3 hours and 16 minutes, raising over £5,000 for the charity Save the Children.
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Members' News
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NGO Involvement in International
Organizations: A Legal Analysis
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The Institute has
recently published NGO Involvement in
International Organizations: A Legal
Analysis. Written by Sergey Ripinsky,
Research Fellow on the Damages Project
at the Institute, and Peter Van den
Bossche, Professor of International
Economic Law at Maastricht University,
the book investigates the arrangements
for NGO involvement in the activities of
a range of international institutions,
and examines and compares relevant rules
and practices. The analysis focuses in
particular on the legal basis for NGO
involvement, forms of involvement, NGO
participatory rights, applicable
accreditation criteria and procedures,
and rules on subsequent monitoring of
accredited NGOs. International
institutions, each covered in a separate
chapter, include: the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC);
the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD); the
International Labour Organization (ILO);
the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO); the World Health
Organization (WHO); the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP); the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
the World Bank; the International
Monetary Fund (IMF); and the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The final
chapter provides a comparative analysis
of the examined systems. Pertinent
documents are reproduced in the
appendices. Offering a systematic
presentation of the relevant material,
this book is a timely and valuable
resource for NGOs wishing to learn more
about opportunities for engagement with
prominent international organizations.
The study will also be a helpful tool in
assessing the relative effectiveness of
the different modalities for engagement
with NGOs and in considering
improvements to the existing systems.
Click
here for
further details on this book
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The Palestine Question in International Law
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Victor Kattan, Research Fellow on the Human Rights in International Law and Iran Project at the Institute, has compiled and edited The Palestine Question in International Law, to be published by the Institute in May. The book reproduces in one complete volume essays on some of the most important questions relating to the Israel–Palestine conflict, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel and the demise of the British mandate of Palestine. The book will be launched at the Institute on 21 May.
Click
here for further information on this book
Click here for
further details on the book launch
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International Electronic Evidence
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An increasing number of civil and criminal proceedings involve the use of digital evidence across jurisdictional boundaries. Digital evidence now affects every aspect of law, including contract, employment, family, crime, intellectual property and land law; in effect, no area of law is excluded, and digital evidence has become of greater importance now the Internet and World Wide Web have become ubiquitous.
It is increasingly apparent that criminals and terrorists target the electronic environment to steal, carry out extortion and abuse children across jurisdictions. Additionally, both public and commercial organizations now rely on the digital environment to such an extent that it has become critical to business and, perhaps, the survival of the State.
This new title, edited by Stephen Mason, Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute, provides an outline of the substantive law of evidence, admissibility, disclosure and procedural requirements in respect of digital evidence for the jurisdictions covered, which include: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.
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Click
here to view more information on the Institute’s publications
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TENTH INVESTMENT TREATY
FORUM PUBLIC CONFERENCE
Brunei Gallery, The School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London,
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H
0XG
Friday 9 May 2008 09:15–15:30
GATS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES SEMINAR
British Institute of International and
Comparative Law, Council Chamber, Charles Clore
House, 17 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5JP
Monday 12 May 2008 13:30–17:45
EIGHTH ANNUAL WTO CONFERENCE
The School of Oriental and African Studies,
Brunei Gallery, University of London Thornhaugh
Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H OXG
Tuesday 13 May 2008 09:00 to
Wednesday 14 May 2008 17:00
EIGHTH ANNUAL WTO CONFERENCE DINNER
Coopers, 49A Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A
3PF
Tuesday 13 May 2008 19:00–22:30
THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TRANS-ATLANTIC ANTITRUST
DIALOGUE
London House, Mecklenburgh Square, London, WC1N
2AB
Thursday 15 May 2008 09:30 to
Friday 16 May 2008 12:00
THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TRANS-ATLANTIC ANTITRUST
DIALOGUE GALA DINNER
The Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Avenue, London,
EC2N 2DQ
Thursday 15 May 2008 19:00–22:00
THE PALESTINE QUESTION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW:
BOOK LAUNCH AND DISCUSSION
British Institute of International and
Comparative Law, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell
Square, London, WC1B 5JP
Wednesday 21 May 2008 18:00–20:00
ABUSE OF DOMINANCE: REFORM OR RETREAT AFTER
MICROSOFT?
British Institute of International and
Comparative Law, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell
Square, London, WC1B 5JP
Monday 2 June 2008 17:30–18:30
ISLAM, THE APPLICATION OF SHARIA, AND HUMAN
RIGHTS
British Institute of International and
Comparative Law, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell
Square, London, WC1B 5JP
Thursday 5 June 2008 09:30–18:00
47TH LEIDEN–LONDON CONFERENCE—THE INTERNAL
MARKET AFTER THE ECJ RULINGS IN VIKING AND
LAVAL; BALANCING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL OBJECTIVES
Former University Library (Oude UB), Rapenburg
70, Leiden
Saturday 28 June 2008 09:15–17:00
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