Soft Law in International Law: Call for Papers
BIICL / SLS Workshop Call for Papers
The term "soft law" may take on a variety of meanings, but in the international legal context it is generally thought of as "a convenient description for a variety of non-binding, normatively worded instruments used in contemporary international relations by states and international organizations" (Boyle, 2019). In recent decades, there has been a proliferation of declarations, resolutions, codes of conduct, action plans, guidelines and principles adopted by international and regional organisations across every field and sub-field of international law. These instruments play an increasingly important role in international law and relations today and offer various advantages to States when compared with regulating their affairs through binding multilateral treaties. However, the increasing use of soft law in various fields of international law has also given rise to questions relating to the creation, status, utility and enforcement of these instruments, as well as what in fact amounts to soft law and how these instruments relate to and interact with other sources of international law.
To explore these and other questions, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the International Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars will convene a hybrid workshop to take place on 26 March 2025.
The convenors welcome contributions which address any issue relating to the workshop's theme of international soft law, including both general/structural issues as well as questions relating to specific instruments or falling within specific disciplines or sub-fields of international law. Contributions from early career researchers, academics from the Global South, and those working in non-traditional international law/research roles are particularly encouraged.
Abstracts of no more than 300 words must be submitted by 16 December 2024, 1700hrs GMT to: biicl-sls-workshop@biicl.org. Abstracts should be clearly connected to the workshop theme and provide the title of the proposed paper as well as the ideas, arguments or analyses to be presented. They should also include a short (no more than 150 words) biography of the author or authors. Decisions will be communicated by 24 January 2025.
