The Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy invites submissions on "Immigration" and "The Environment" for its journal and Spring 2009 symposium. Articles, essays, or speeches are welcome. Submissions are due 15 December 2008. More

The International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy solicits articles for its upcoming issue. The deadline is 1 December 2008. More

The World Wide Web Conference on 20-24 April 2009 in Madrid, Spain is the global event that brings together key stakeholders and the standards bodies working to shape the Internet. Paper topics may include security, privacy, and supranational governance. Papers are due 3 November 2008. More

The International Law Section of the State Bar of California invites papers for possible publication in The California International Law Journal. The papers may be on any subject that would be of interest to an international law practitioner. Any student currently enrolled in, or a 2008 graduate of, an accredited law school in a J.D., L.L.M., Ph.D and S.J.D. program may submit an article for consideration. Prize: US$2,000. More

October 31 is the last day to submit abstracts for the Journal of Private International Law Conference to be held at New York University on 17-18 April 2009. A limited number of paper-presenters will be selected on the basis of abstracts of 500 words. Scholars at all stages of their academic or professional careers are encouraged to submit abstracts. More

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or other entities in the EU are eligible for operating grants to conduct activities related to fundamental rights and justice. Possible activities include civil rights promotion, judicial training, professional information exchange, and access to justice. Individual grant amounts are EUR 250,000. Co-financing grants are up to 80% of the total eligible costs of the relevant financial year 2009. The application deadline is 13 November 2008. More

On 23 October 2008, Syria acceded to the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, becoming the 32nd state party. The treaty, also referred to as the UN Mercenary Convention, entered into force in 2001 in response to increasing concern over the accountability of private military companies providing security capabilities traditionally performed by state actors, including intelligence, military training, security services, logistical support, and prison operations. The Convention is the only international treaty applicable to mercenaries and private military and security companies, yet a UN Working Group in August 2008 concluded that the Convention is effective only at regulating "traditional" mercenary activities, not private military companies. The Working Group recommended the development of a new international agreement specific to private military and security companies. Why, at this time, did Syria accede to the Convention? More

This post is part of a series of background material on international law and answers frequently asked questions about the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). More

Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group, gave the keynote address this morning to conclude UN Week 2008 in Washington, D.C. He argues that whatever we mess up in human rights, we cannot mess up in our response to mass atrocity crimes. Let's never again have a repeat of preventable horrors, such as those in the 1990s in Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. He asserts that we cannot allow indifference to what happens solely within a state's borders to be institutionalized. He, however, limits the scope of Responsibility to Protect, known as R2P, to situations where leaders act with criminal intent. Accordingly, he contends that international action in Burma after Cyclone Nargis would not be justified in the absence of demonstrating a violation of international criminal law by the political leaders. Further, he distinguishes between domestic conflicts, such as Sri Lanka, and R2P-type conflicts, which may be arising in the eastern DRC. He concludes that future progress in R2P faces three challenges: conceptual, institutional, and political. More

Sixty-three years ago on October 24, 1945, the UN Charter entered into force and became legally binding upon 29 countries. The preamble to the UN Charter envisioned the establishment of an international organization "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained." Today, the United Nations, its agencies, and its courts and tribunals play a prominent role in coordinating, reaffirming, and enforcing the promises of fundamental human rights, international peace and security, the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, and the rule of law. Most recently, 44 of the 192 UN member states took 84 treaty actions relating to 37 treaties registered with the United Nations on a wide range of subjects, including corruption, organized crime, human rights, disarmament, refugees, the environment, and trade. More

This post is part of a series of background material on international law and answers frequently asked questions about what constitutes international law and sources of international law. More

Part II continues the discussion on whether legally mandated quotas should be used as affirmative mechanisms to increase women's political representation in national legislatures. The discussion explores the advantages of legally mandated quotas systems used in 46 countries, the perils of quotas, and whether quota systems could be considered discriminatory under international human rights law.More

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) released a report last month titled, "Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability." The report, in part, examined how countries have implemented their obligations under the Millennium Development Goals to increase the number of women in public office. The good news is that more women serve in governments today than ever before. Further, eleven women serve in the highest positions of their governments. Most recently, two African countries made significant gains in September 2008. Rwanda became the first country in the world to have a women majority in parliament. Two weeks later, elections in Angola nearly tripled the number of women in parliament. Yet, the report found that women largely remain outnumbered 4 to 1 in legislatures around the world and, on average, constitute a scant 18.4% of national assemblies, up from 11.6% in 1995. The report asserts that the increasing rate of representation likely is unsustainable and, even if continued, will be insufficient to achieve gender equity in many developing countries until 2045. For these reasons, the report recommends three affirmative actions to increase women's political representation in legislatures: voluntary political party and media codes of conduct, campaign finance controls to level the playing field for women candidates, and quota systems. To elect more women to leadership positions is a worthy goal, but should legally mandated quotas be the answer? The discussion explores the advantages of legally mandated quotas systems used in 46 countries, the perils of quotas, and whether quota systems could be considered discriminatory under international human rights law. More

Upcoming submission deadlines in October 2008 for journals, conferences, symposiums, and student moot competitions. More