Call for Papers: International Law-Making and the United Nations

The Section on International Law of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its program at the AALS Annual Meeting in New York, New York on Friday, January 3, 2014. 

The topic of the program and call for papers is “International Law-Making and the United Nations.” This panel will explore contemporary developments, processes and controversies in international law-making by the United Nations.  The presenter chosen through this call for papers will join several high-level United Nations legal experts who bring deep experience from a number of UN bodies:

Mahnoush Arsanjani, who served in the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) of the United Nations for over 32 years. Her last position was as Director of Codification, OLA.  She also served as Secretary of the International Law Commission and Secretary of the Committee of the Whole, Rome Conference on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court.

Marie Jacobsson, a member of the UN International Law Commission (ILC) and only the third woman to be appointed to this august body since its founding in 1948.  She also serves as Principal Legal dviser on International Law at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.  She was appointed by the ILC  in May 2013 as Special Rapporteur for the topic “Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts.”

Kimberly Prost, UN Security Council Ombudsperson for the Al Qaida Sanctions Committee, and Head of Legal Advisory Section, Division of Treaty Affairs, UN Office on Drugs and Crime.  Previously she served as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Eligible faculty members are invited to submit manuscripts or detailed abstracts that address any of numerous issues in United Nations law-making, including players, processes, or practices. 

Eligibility

Per AALS policy, only full-time faculty members of AALS member law schools are eligible to submit a paper to a call for papers; the following are ineligible: faculty at fee-paid law schools, foreign, visiting (without a full-time position at an AALS member law school) and adjunct faculty members, graduate students, fellows, non-law school faculty.  Untenured faculty members are particularly encouraged to submit papers.  

Registration fee and expenses

The selected Call for Paper participant is responsible for paying his or her AALS annual meeting registration fee and travel expenses.

Form and length of submission

Eligible faculty members are invited to submit manuscripts or detailed abstracts dealing with any aspect of the foregoing topic.  Detailed abstracts should be comprehensive enough to allow the committee to meaningfully evaluate the aims and likely content of papers proposed.

Papers may be accepted for publication but must not be published prior to the Annual Meeting.

Deadline and submission method

Papers must be submitted electronically to: [email protected]. The subject of the email should read: “Submission for AALS Section on International Law.”

The initial review of the papers and abstracts will be blind, and will be conducted by members of the section’s executive committee.  In order to facilitate blind review, please identify yourself and your institutional affiliation only in the cover letter accompanying your manuscript, and not in the manuscript itself.  The submitting author is responsible for taking any steps necessary to redact self-identifying text or footnotes.    

The deadline for submission is September 10, 2013.

The author of the selected paper/abstract will be notified by September 30, 2013.

(cgb)