Society of International Economic Law News

Call for Papers - Univ Victoria (Canada) conference on Financial Crisis

Colin Picker — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:03:39 GMT

Call for Papers for a Conference on The Financial Crisis, EMU and the Stability of Currencies and the Financial System University of Victoria Canada 30 September-2 October 2010 On 30 September-2 October 2010 a conference on “The Financial Crisis, EMU and the Stability of Currencies and the Financial System” will be held at the University of Victoria (UVic), B.C. Canada. We are seeking contributions from junior and senior scholars and graduate students who are working on any aspect of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the Financial Crisis. We are particularly interested in receiving papers on the following themes: EMU and the Financial Crisis, Non-EMU members and the Financial Crisis; Financial crisis effect on Governance in the EU; future of national currencies. Potential presenters should submit a (draft) paper that should also include an abstract. The applicant should provide the name of the author(s), university affiliation, contact information and indicate who will be attending the conference. Please send your paper by email to assemd@uvic.ca and include in the subject header: “Submission September 2010 conference”. Deadline: Papers should arrive no later than 1 September 2010. Prospective participants will be notified no later than 7 September 2010. A small number of travel grants may be offered to presenters who have limited access to funds (in particular graduate students). Any such travel grant will only pay for part of the travel costs. Participants will need to obtain their own additional financial resources. The conference organizers offer to pay for accommodation for selected presenters whilst at the conference. Those needing financial support should indicate this in their application. This conference is sponsored in part by the European Commission through a grant to UVic’s European Union Centre of Excellence, the University of Victoria and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). More information can be found on http://web.uvic.ca/jmc. You may also email Assem Dandashly (assemd@uvic.ca) or Amy Verdun (averdun@uvic.ca).

SIEl 12th Newsletter

Colin Picker — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:16:10 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 12 (August 2010)

This is the twelfth SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the news section of the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org.

This Newsletter includes information on:

- The Venue for the SIEL 2012 Biannual Conference

- The SIEL 2010 Barcelona Conference

- The SIEL 2010 AGM

- The 2009 SIEL/CUP Prize Essay Competition Details

- Other IEL Activities

- Comings and Goings

I. The SIEL 2012 Conference Venue

At the SIEL 2009 AGM, held in London in December, with people calling into attend by teleconference, it was decided that if possible the venue for the 2012 Biennial conference should be decided in 2010, ideally by the time of the 2010 conference, and that it should be held outside Europe and North America - too often the location for global conferences.

Accordingly, a committee, headed by Tomer Broude, was established to solicit and consider bids to hold the conference. The committee included individuals from within and outside the Executive Council (the “Excon”), reflecting diversity of location and expertise. Its members were: Lorand Bartels, Galina Zukova, Colin Picker, Meredith Kolsky Lewis, Henry Gao, Ricardo Ramirez, and Dorica Phiri. We would like to thank them for their hard work in soliciting and examining many very high quality bids.

After completing its hard work, the committee handed its findings and considerations over to the Executive Council for the ultimate decision on the venue. Both the committee and Council appreciated the long and hard work of all the institutions that proposed bids. It was gratifying to see such interest in our new organization.

After taking into account lessons learned from the most recent conference, and reviewing and discussing the work of the committee, the Council has now come to a decision.

We are pleased to announce that the SIEL 2012 conference will be held in Singapore and hosted by the National University of Singapore’s Centre for International Law (CIL) (www.cil.nus.edu.sg) and Faculty of Law (www.law.nus.edu.sg). (Professor Michael Ewing-Chow represented NUS in presenting its proposal.) We anticipate that the SIEL 2012 Singapore conference will take place in July 2012. The exact dates will be determined in the near future. Please refer to either the SIEL website (www.sielnet.org) or to the CIL’s website www.cil.nus.edu.sg/siel2012/ for updates.

II. The SIEL 2010 Barcelona Conference

The SIEL 2010 conference, hosted by the IELPO Program at the University of Barcelona was a great success. About 250 participants from across the globe attended, with presenters and attendees from all regions of the world. Almost one hundred speakers gave presentations, and many of the draft papers can be found on SSRN (http://www.ssrn.com/link/SIEL-2010-Barcelona-Conference.html).

In addition to papers, IEL regional and interest groups and organizations held meetings at the conference. In addition to the substantive knowledge shared, many close ties and connections were made and renewed – often over what may have been the best coffee ever served at a conference. Indeed, the IELPO hosts, led by Ramon Torrent, Laura Gomez Bustos and Diego Gutierrez and assisted by a host of IELPO Program student volunteers made the whole experience terrific.

Finally, the key note lectures perfectly captured the breadth and scope of the key issues within IEL today. In particular, the opening of the conference, with the Robert Hudec Lecture delivered by Professor Joseph Weiler’s stunning talk, held at one of Barcelona’s jewels, the baroque Salo de Cent, will clearly be remembered by all who attended.

Once again, thanks to all that helped and attended. We would like to post pictures from the event. If you have any you would like to share, please send them to Colin at (c.picker@unsw.edu.au). We are also interested in feedback on the conference, so that we can make any necessary improvements for the next conference. Please send your comments and suggestions to Freya Baetens at f.baetens@law.leidenuniv.nl.

III. The SIEL 2010 AGM

In accordance with the SIEL Articles, an Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) was held for 2010. The AGM took place during the SIEL 2010 Barcelona conference and was well attended. Indeed, the SIEL members engaged in lively discussion and debate on many of the issues raised at the meeting. Specifically, the following business was covered:

A. Elections of new officers and members of the SIEL Executive Council.

After initial presentation of the nominations for those positions by the Nominating Committee, there was a lively discussion over the process to be followed in future years with respect to numbers presented for consideration. The Excon has created a committee to look at this issue more closely and to develop a protocol for future elections in keeping with the views expressed at the meeting. This protocol will be circulated for comment after the committee has completed its work.

After the discussion, nominations for the vacant positions were solicited from the members and then the elections were held in closed ballot. The results were as follows:

Meredith Kolsky Lewis was elected to serve as Executive Vice President (a position that will be shared with Colin Picker); Federico Ortino was elected to serve as SIEL Treasurer (a position that will be shared with Galina Zukova); Amelia Porges was elected to serve as SIEL Secretary (a position that will be shared with Michelle Ratton Sanchez); and

Freya Baetens, Julia Ya Qin and Tania Voon were elected to the Executive Council, to fill one vacant seat and two seats vacated by Melaku Desta and Bhupinder Chimni – our thanks to Melaku and Bhupinder for their service on the Council.

B. Other Business

1. At the start of the AGM, Andrew Lang was formally thanked for his role and hard work in founding and leading the SIEL over the last three years. A plaque was presented, which additionally noted that the SIEL Executive Council had voted to confer lifetime membership on Andrew is recognition of his service.

2. The 2012 Venue process was discussed and suggestions were made that in future there should be both an open and solicited bid process. The Executive Council will be considering the issue in the context of the 2014 venue selection process and will report back to members on the issue.

3. Krzysztof Pelc was recognized for his achievement in winning the SIEL/CUP 2009 Prize, for his article “Eluding Efficiency: Why Do We Not See More Efficient Breach at the WTO?”, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the World Trade Review.

IV. 2010 SIEL/CUP Prize Essay on IEL: Competition & Submission Details

A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law.

The competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students and those who have graduated no earlier than five years before the submission deadline. Members of the SIEL Executive Council may not submit entries. The essay may not have been previously published.

The prize consists of £200, as well as £300 of Cambridge University Press book vouchers and a three year subscription to the World Trade Review. The winning essay will be submitted to the World Trade Review for publication.

Terms and conditions

Entries must be written in English and should follow the style-sheet for the World Trade Review. Entries should not exceed 8,000 words, including references, footnotes, tables, appendices, etc. Entries must be submitted in Word format with a cover sheet containing the title of the entry, name and contact details. The essay itself must contain no identifying information other than the title. Entries should be submitted using the following form: https://siel.wufoo.com/forms/sielcup-prize-for-an-essay-on-intl-economic-law/ The deadline for submission is 30 September 2010 (17:00 GMT). Essays may be submitted from 7 September 2010.

The prize will be awarded by the SIEL Executive Council on the recommendation of a Prize Committee drawn from its members and the Editorial Board of the World Trade Review. Decisions of the Prize Committee on the winning essay and on any conditions relating to this prize are final and no correspondence will be entered into. Publication of the essay in the World Trade Review will be subject to the WTR’s normal review and decision procedure, but the WTR Editorial Board commits to expediting consideration with a view to early publication. For clarification, essays with a focus on international commercial arbitration or EU law will not be considered for this Prize.

Any queries should be addressed by email to Dr Lorand Bartels, University of Cambridge (lab53@cam.ac.uk).

V. Other IEL Activities

A. Women in IEL Group Meeting Report

The Women in International Economic Law (WIEL) interest group met on Thursday 8th July in Barcelona at the conference. This group first met in Geneva in 2007, but unfortunately, various commitments on the part of organizers had slowed progress in the group's activities since then. At this, the second meeting of the group, various ideas were discussed as to how the group could be developed so as to be relevant and useful. A key proposal was that the group should not focus only on women, but that it should primarily exist to undertake outreach activities. Outreach would have two key dimensions. First, it would extend to those who might not consider joining SIEL or who would not attend conferences and other events (including for example, women, students, and academics from developing countries). Second, outreach within SIEL could encompass various activities such as networking and mentoring to help to foster a supportive IEL community. Two priorities were identified at the meeting: the development of a website space which will include a discussion forum, and the introduction of an informal mentoring programme. All queries and suggestions are welcomed and should be directed to either Freya Baetens (f.baetens@law.leidenuniv.nl) or Tracey Epps (tracey.epps@mfat.govt.nz).

B. Special Issue of Transnational Dispute Management

Walid Ben Hamida and Todd Weiler, will be editing a TDM Special Issue

covering intersections between investment treaty law and the WTO

world. They welcome submissions from SIEL members. The call for papers can be found here. http://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/news/news_detail.htm?v

C. New Zealand Centre of Int’l Economic Law (NZCIEL) Conference

The NZCIEL is holding a conference entitled Trade, Intellectual Property and the Knowledge Assets of Indigenous Peoples: The Developmental Frontier from Wednesday 8th – Friday 10th December 2010.

Knowledge assets have come to play an increasingly important role in global, regional and national markets. For indigenous people their traditional knowledge is a unique and multidimensional asset. Such assets offer developmental possibilities. If these developmental possibilities are to be realized new institutional and governance approaches will have to evolve that are responsive to the needs and preferences of indigenous peoples. This conference will discuss the linkages between trade, intellectual property, traditional knowledge assets (including traditional cultural expressions) and the development aspirations of indigenous peoples. What are the broader institutional and governance issues that will need to be considered if flourishing indigenous business enterprises based on traditional knowledge assets are to become a reality? The conference aims to share knowledge, ideas and experience of how markets and trade affect indigenous peoples and ways in which indigenous peoples might harness economic opportunities to benefit from and support their unique heritage of knowledge. The conference will have a particular focus on New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Australia.

D. International Trade Law Symposium, Canberra, September 2010

The International Trade Law Symposium 2010 is being held on 10-11 September in Canberra. The event is co-organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Law Council of Australia, and the Attorney-General’s Department, and aims to bring together academics, judges, private and public practitioners with an interest in international economic and trade law for a stimulating and interactive series of eight sessions on topical issues in international economic and trade law. This year’s sessions will include:

the future of bilateral/plurilateral trade agreements & ambitions of WTO-plus;
the relationship and tensions between international trade law and climate change;
the cross-application of jurisprudence in international trade and investment disputes;
international arbitration in Australia;
transnational litigation;
international trade law in the information age;
fisheries and international trade law; and
consumer rights in the global economy.

Please contact Joe Forbes at the Law Council of Australia on (02) 6246 3753 or by email on joe.forbes@lawcouncil.asn.au for further information and to register for the event.

E. The Law & Development Institute Inaugural Conference

The Law and Development Institute will hold its inaugural conference on October 16, 2010. The Law and Development Institute (LDI) is a new international academic network established as a non-profit research institution in Sydney, Australia, with an objective of promoting law and development studies and projects. Law and development concerns the impacts of law on economic and social development, and the LDI aims to become an international centre for law and development studies. More information on the LDI is available on its website, www.lawanddevelopment.net

The inaugural conference, titled "Future of Law and Development Studies, International Trade Law and Developing Countries" will hold three panels and feature speeches by twelve scholars from several countries on future directions of law and development studies and development dimensions of international trade law. The speakers include Professor Gary Horlick, former Head of U.S. Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Professor Mitsuo Matsushita, former member of the World Trade Organization Appellate Body, Professor Y.S. Lee, Director of the Law and Development Institute and former Associate Professor of Law at the University of Sydney, Dr. Tomer Broude of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Dr. Malcolm Cook, Director of East Asia Program, the Lowe Institute for International Policy.

The LDI conference website, www.ldiconference.net, includes detailed information about the conference, including the conference schedule, speakers and presentations. If you wish to attend the conference, please complete the online registration at http://lawanddevelopment.net/registration.php. The LDI says that the seats are limited, and that it is receiving large numbers of enquiries and therefore it encourages the completion of the online registration as soon as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact via email the LDI (administrator@lawanddevelopment.net) should you have any further queries.

VI. Comings and Goings

In a new feature beginning with this newsletter, we will announce SIEL members’ job changes, visiting positions, and other comings/goings which you may like to share. If you have any upcoming changes, be they temporary or permanent, that you would like us to list, please email either Meredith (meredith.lewis@vuw.ac.nz) or Colin (c.picker@unsw.edu.au) with the details. So, to start this new section:

• Colin Picker has, like Dorothy, gone from Kansas to Oz! He is now in his new position at the University of New South Wales Law School in Sydney.

• Heng Wang will be a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute for

the 2010-11 academic year.

• Meredith Kolsky Lewis will be a Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law for the 2010-11 academic year (but can still be reached on her Victoria email address).

• Susan Franck will be a Visiting Associate Professor at the Vanderbilt University Law School for the 2010 fall semester.

• Tracey Epps has accepted a position as Senior Trade Law Adviser at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). She remains on the University of Otago law faculty and teaches international trade law in the Otago summer school programme.

* * *

The SIEL also seeks to publicize IEL events – be they conferences, “calls for papers”, IEL competitions, IEL programs and so on. Please send us such information for posting. To view a list of past SIEL posts, please visit the SIEL website (www.sielnet.org).

As a member run organization with over 500 members globally, please consider getting in touch with us with specific ideas for SIEL projects and services. We are committed to expanding the SIEL activities and services wherever appropriate - be it alone or in partnership with other IEL organizations around the world. Indeed, at the moment we are in the process of developing new projects and services and once they are finalized we will let you know.

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Meredith

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

AGM 2010 Notice

Colin Picker — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:11:55 GMT

SIEL 2010 AGM

(as e-mailed to members on Thursday June 24, 2010)

Dear SIEL members,

This e-mail gives Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Society of International Economic Law. The one issue subject to voting at the meeting will concern elections for the SIEL Executive Council and for certain SIEL Officers.

The meeting will take place in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday July 9, at 1800 Hrs, during the SIEL 2010 Conference at the Law Faculty of the University of Barcelona (the IELPO Programme as hosts).

Sincerely,

Meredith Kolsky Lewis & Colin Picker,

SIEL Executive Vice-Presidents

* * *

THE SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of The Society of International Economic Law (“SIEL”) will be held at the University of Barcelona Law Faculty, 684 Diagonal Avenue, Barcelona, Spain, on July 9, 2010 at 1800 local time (Barcelona, Spain) and the following business will be considered,

ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS

1. None

SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS

1. None.

OTHER AGENDA ITEMS

1. Presentation of the SIEL Accounts

2. Announcement of 2012 Biennial Conference Venue

3. Election of Members of the Executive Council (three positions are open) and certain SIEL Officer positions (SIEL Executive Vice President, SIEL Treasurer and SIEL Secretary), including Report of the SIEL Nominating Committee.

By Order of the Board

..............................................

Michelle Ratton Sanchez

Secretary

Registered Office: C/O Law Department,

London School of Economics

Houghton Street

London, WC2A 2AE

Dated: June 24, 2010

Notes:

Any member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and to vote on his or her behalf. Proxies may be completed electronically and sent via email. A proxy need not be a member of SIEL.

* * *

Report of the SIEL Nominating Committee

The SIEL Nominating Committee, after due deliberation, nominates the following individuals, for the positions noted, for consideration by the SIEL membership at the SIEL 2010 AGM:

Meredith Kolsky Lewis– for SIEL Executive Vice President (as co-executive vice-president with Colin Picker)

Federico Ortino – for SIEL Treasurer (as co-treasurer with Galina Zukova)

Amelia Porges – for SIEL Secretary (as co-secretary with Michelle Ratton Sanchez)

Freya Baetens - for membership of the Executive Council

Julia Qin – for membership of the Executive Council

Tania Voon - for membership of the Executive Council

Call for papers: TDM Special Issue covering intersections between investment treaty law and the WTO world

Colin Picker — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:57:52 GMT

Call for papers: TDM Special Issue covering intersections between investment treaty law and the WTO world

Walid Ben Hamida and Todd Weiler, will be editing a TDM Special Issue covering intersections between investment treaty law and the WTO world.

Contributions are invited from prospected authors with unpublished or previously published articles, conference papers, research papers, case studies dealing with this issue.

If you have any questions or suggestions for the special, please contact Dr. Walid Ben Hamida (Email: benhamida [at] gmail (dot) com ) Deadline is August 30, 2010

Here are some issues that could be examined:

The TRIMs agreement: a comment
The relationships between GATS and investment agreements
The GATS Agreement: A comment
Telecommunication in WTO law and in investment law
MFN in WTO law and in investment law
National Treatment in WTO law and in investment law
Transparency in WTO law and in investment law
Concurrence between WTO dispute settlement body and investment arbitration
Breach of WTO Obligations as Breach of Investment Treaties
BITs, “Safeguards” Clauses, Health and Safety Measures, and the Relevance of GATT Article XX Jurisprudence
Performance Requirements in Investment Arbitration and before WTO dispute settlement body
Does MFN pick up the GATS, especially Arts. VI and VIII, the Basic Telecommunications Agreement and the Telecoms Reference paper, and/or market-opening commitments
GATS MFN clause and investment arbitration
The Doha round and investment matters
Trade measures before investment arbitration
Relationships beween TRIPs and investment agreement
The relevance of WTO law in interpreting BIT rules
State trading entreprises in WTO law and in investment law
Subnational entities in WTO law in investment Law
Amicus before WTO and before investment arbitration
Energy and WTO Law
The Use of ICSID Jurisprudence in a Recent Ruling of the WTO Appellate Body: The US-Final Anti-Dumping Measures on Stainless Steel Report WT/DS344/AB/R (Apr. 30, 2008)
Energy charter Treaty and WTO law
NAFTA and WTO Law
Financial crisis measures, BITs and the WTO – are there real claims based on the measures taken by the US, the UK and others in response to the crisis that began in 2008 (or just hyperbole) and, if so, how are they affected by the presence or absence of safeguards clauses and prudential measures exceptions?
Why are there so few WTO disputes related to services measures but so many BITs disputes related to services investments?
A comparative consideration of the role of the WTO Secretariat and the role of the ICSID Secretariat with respect to disputes.
Investment and Doha – does the probable failure of the Doha Round to open investment access (and indeed the probable failure of Doha itself) have an impact on the growth of investment agreements and investment chapters of FTAs?
Capital Controls, Restrictions on FX Convertibility and Transfer Restrictions, and Sovereign Debt Defaults – Comparison of WTO and BIT treatment
Why were there no WTO complaints against Argentina?
Chinese BITs and WTO Obligations – Consistency, Growing Liberalization or Paper Tigers?

SIEL 10th Newsletter (March 2010)

Colin Picker — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:29:48 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 10 (March 2010)

This is the tenth SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the news section of the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org.

This Newsletter includes information on:

- The SIEL 2010 Conference Registration (it is now Open)

- The SIEL 2010 Conference Draft Program (it is now available)

- The 2009 SIEL/CUP Prize Essay Results and the 2010 Competition Details

- Other IEL Activities – Conferences and Calls for Papers (ESIL, ASIL, etc)

I. The SIEL 2010 Conference Registration is Now Open

The registration details may be found at: http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=67691

II. The SIEL 2010 Conference Draft Program is Now Available

The conference draft program is available at: http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=579239

There are twenty one panels and numerous plenary sessions with such key note speakers as Joseph Weiler and Giorgio Sacerdoti.

The program, however, is subject to change: panel times/days and participants may be changed throughout the next few months. Please check periodically to see the latest versions which we will post as we make those changes.

III. SIEL/CUP Prize Essay on IEL: 2009 Results & 2010 Competition Details

A. SIEL/CUP Prize Essay on IEL - 2009 Results

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2009 SIEL/CUP Essay Prize Competition.

Winner:

Krzysztof Pelc, “Eluding Efficiency: Why Do We Not See More Efficient Breach at the WTO?”

Highly Commended:

Lisa Hemingway, “What's in a Turn? A Critique of Proceduralism within the WTO”

Catharina Koops, “Manipulating the WTO? The Possibilities for Challenging Undervalued Currencies under WTO Rules”

Shortlisted:

Michael Fakhri, “Reconstruing the WTO Legitimacy Debates Towards Notions of Development”

Anastasios Gourgourinis, “One Standard to Rule Them All: The International Minimum Standard of Treatment vis-à-vis Equitable Standards of Treatment for Foreign Traders/Investors under WTO and Investment Protection Law”

Ruth Kelly, “EU and US Non-Reciprocal Preferences: Preserving the Acquis”

John Siwiec, “Countermeasures and International Investment Law: Mexico's Sweeteners Disputes Under NAFTA”

B. SIEL/CUP Prize Essay on IEL - Submission Details

A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law.

Terms and conditions

Entries must be written in English and should follow the style-sheet for the World Trade Review. Entries should not exceed 8,000 words, including references, footnotes, tables, appendices, etc.

Entries must be submitted in Word format with a cover sheet containing the title of the entry, name and contact details. The essay itself must contain no identifying information other than the title.

Entries should be submitted using the following form: https://siel.wufoo.com/forms/sielcup-prize-for-an-essay-on-intl-economic-law/

The deadline for submission is 30 September 2010 (17:00 GMT). Essays may be submitted from 7 September 2010.

Publication of the essay in the World Trade Review will be subject to the WTR’s normal review and decision procedure, but the WTR Editorial Board commits to expediting consideration with a view to early publication.

For clarification, essays with a focus on international commercial arbitration or EU law will not be considered for this Prize.

Any queries should be addressed by email to Dr Lorand Bartels, University of Cambridge (lab53@cam.ac.uk).

IV. Other IEL Activities

A. ESIL International Economic Law Interest Group seminar on "The International Law of Financial Markets: Governance, Stability and Security”

The ESIL International Economic Law Interest Group is holding a seminar on "The International Law of Financial Markets: Governance, Stability and Security" on 22-23 April 2010 in Granada (Spain). The programme and registration form are available at http://www.dipri.org/iel-esil/programme.pdf The deadline for registration is 15 April 2010 (or 22 March 2010, if your registration includes the visit to the Alhambra).

B. ASIL-IELG Call for Papers & Panel at DC Meeting

1. Call for Papers 2010 ASIL-IELG Biennial Interest Group Conference

International Economic Law in a Time of Change:

Reassessing Legal Theory, Doctrine, Methodology and Policy Prescriptions

University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, USA

November 18-20, 2010

a. Conference Theme

The start of the second decade of the twenty-first century is witnessing a confluence of events affecting international economic law that calls for re-evaluation. The international context has radically changed. Most analysts contend that we are shifting toward a multi-polar world in light of economic transformations in China, India, Brazil, and other developing and transitional countries, coupled with economic stagnation in the United States and Europe which are beset by a financial crisis and embroiled in foreign wars and security concerns. These developments have arguably complicated international economic governance, yet other factors–such as the current financial crisis–press consideration of new forms of international economic governance, such as the G-20. Global economic interdependence, exemplified by global production and supply chains, calls for sustained attention to international economic law and institutions.

b. Possible Topics for Papers and Panels

With this backdrop, the November conference will organize sessions that address the full range of international and transnational economic law. We encourage scholars to submit papers or panel proposals related to trade, investment, international financial regulation, transnational private law, and development law, as well as their intersection with social regulation such as over global warming, labor rights and consumer safety. This call for papers welcomes submissions that provide new analytic frameworks, reassess legal theory, evaluate developments in legal doctrine, engage in empirical analysis of the way international economic law operates, and provide guidance for policymakers, regulators and adjudicators in this time of international economic change.

The range of possible topics is wideundefinedthe list below is provided as a thought-starter of possible topics identified by the conference committee. We welcome however quality proposals on any international economic law topic.

* Methodological approaches for studying international economic law and their implications;

* Interpretive approaches to international economic law: theory vs. practice;

* Reform of international economic governance institutions, such as the WTO, IMF, World Bank, the G-8/G-20; international standards organizations;

* The interaction of institutions in a fragmented international economic law system;

* The role of hard and soft law in international economic governance, such as financial regulation;

* The interaction of private transnational economic governance regimes with public law;

* The interaction of international economic law and domestic law and politics;

* Theoretical and empirical studies on how international economic law institutions work;

* Theoretical and empirical studies on the handling of trade and investment disputes;

* Accountability and legitimacy of international economic governance;

* Climate change and its implications for international economic governance;

* Handling food and consumer safety risks in international trade;

* International economic law and the reassessment of development policies;

* New governance techniques in international economic law: their prospects and limits;

* Teaching international economic law: Using new technologies.

* The Future of International Economic Law after the Financial Crisis

* The Rise of China and a New International Economic Order?

* Proliferating Regional Trade and Investment Agreements: Complementing or Supplanting Multilateralism?

* The Doha Round’s Implications for the WTO

c. Proposal Submission and Selection

We encourage proposals for papers from both young and established scholars and practitioners so that they may engage with each other. Paper proposals and all other program-related proposals must be submitted electronically by July 30, 2010 to 2010IELconference@gmail.com. Proposals should include the author's name and full contact information, and an abstract of no more than 300 words.

A Conference Committee will review and select proposals. Further details will follow shortly regarding submissions and the Conference Committee. Save the Date.

Co-Chairs of ASIL International Economic Law Group: Susan Franck (francks@wlu.edu) and Gregory Shaffer (shaffer@umn.edu).

2. ASIL-IELG Panel at DC Meeting

There will be a special slot at the ASIL’s Annual Meeting in Washington DC for the International Economic Law Interest Group on Friday March 26 from 9-10.30. There will be a panel regarding Policy Updates on International Economic Law. The panel will be comprised of Mark Kantor (Independent Arbitrator); Cynthia Lichtenstein (Boston College); Tim Reif (General Counsel, USTR); Robert Stumberg (Georgetown); and Amy Porges as chair. After the panel there will be a short business meeting.

C. Washington & Lee and the UN Host Joint Symposium on International Investment and ADR

On March 29, 2010, Washington and Lee School of Law will host a Joint Symposium with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to explore the prevention and efficient management of investment treaty disputes.

The event will bring together academics, governments, practitioners, investors, representatives from international organizations and non-governmental entities from around the world. Symposium panels will address the experiences of stakeholders in investment treaty dispute resolution, explore strategies for improving the management of investment treaty disputes, and consider creative options for the future of dispute management and prevention.

The conference will be held at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is requested no later than March 22, 2010. Participants can register at

http://investmentadr.wlu.edu/symposium/registration.asp For additional information, please visit the Symposium’s website at http://investmentadr.wlu.edu/symposium/

D. Six Newly Created Vacancies for Clerks at the ICJ.

The International Court of Justice has been allocated six additional P-2 Law Clerk positions by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/64/244), making it now possible for each of the Court’s 15 judges to be assigned one full-time Law Clerk.

Under the supervision of the judge to whom he or she will be specifically assigned, the Law Clerk will provide such judge with legal research and related assistance with regard to cases pending before the Court. The Law Clerk may also be required to provide legal assistance and support to a judge ad hoc participating in a particular case. In coordination with his or her judge, the Law Clerk may also from time to time be called upon to perform some specific legal tasks for the Registry.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to send their application by e-mail, addressed to the Registrar of the Court, clearly indicating the vacancy announcement number. Deadline for applications is 6 April 2010.

For more information, see

http://www.icj-cij.org/registry/index.php?p1=2&p2=5&p3=3&v=77

E. IEL Publisher Discounts

Since its inception, the SIEL has negotiated SIEL member discounts with a wide variety of publishers, all of whom have been very supportive of the SIEL. For more information on discounts being provided from individual publishers, please visit: http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=107157

* * *

As a member run organization with over 400 members globally, please consider getting in touch with us with specific ideas for SIEL projects and services. We are committed to expanding the SIEL activities and services wherever appropriate - be it alone or in partnership with other IEL organizations around the world. Indeed, at the moment we are in the process of developing new projects and services and once they are finalized we will let you know.

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

2009 SIEL/CUP Essay Prize Competition - Results Announced

Colin Picker — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:02:52 GMT

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2009 SIEL/CUP Essay Prize Competition.

Winner
Krzysztof Pelc, 'Eluding Efficiency: Why Do We Not See More Efficient Breach at the WTO?'

Highly Commended
Lisa Hemingway, 'What's in a Turn? A Critique of Proceduralism within the WTO'
Catharina Koops, 'Manipulating the WTO? The Possibilities for Challenging Undervalued Currencies under WTO Rules'

Shortlisted
Michael Fakhri, 'Reconstruing the WTO Legitimacy Debates Towards Notions of Development'
Anastasios Gourgourinis, 'One Standard to Rule Them All: The International Minimum Standard of Treatment vis-à-vis Equitable Standards of Treatment for Foreign Traders/Investors under WTO and Investment Protection Law'
Ruth Kelly, 'EU and US Non-Reciprocal Preferences: Preserving the Acquis'
John Siwiec, 'Countermeasures and International Investment Law: Mexico's Sweeteners Disputes Under NAFTA'

SIEL 8th Newsletter (Nov 2009)

Colin Picker — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:45:53 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 8 (November 2009)

This is the Eighth SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the the news section of the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org.

This Newsletter includes information on:

- The SIEL 2010 Conference Call for Papers/Panels

- SIEL 2010 Website

- The SIEL Annual General Meeting

- The SIEL Investment Law Network

- Other IEL Activities

- The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law - North American

Regional Round (March 2010)

- Investment Treaty Disputes Project at Washington & Lee and UNCTAD

- Social Legal Studies Assoc. annual conference in Bristol – IEL stream

- IEL Job Postings

I. SIEL 2010 Conference Website and Call for Papers/Panels

A. SIEL 2010 Call for Paper/Panels

MEMBERS: Please circulate/repost the below call or the url of the Call (http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=466207)

The Second Biennial Global Conference of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) will be hosted by the University of Barcelona and its IELPO Programme (see http://www.ielpo.org/) at the premises of the University of Barcelona from the 8th July to 10th July 2010.

The conference committee seeks proposals for paper presentations and conference panels under the following terms.

Conference Themes

Over the course of the last two decades, the communities of scholars, practitioners and others active in the area of international economic law have grown and diversified in ways that few could have predicted. The field of international economic law now includes a diverse array of participants and covers many new substantive issues. Inevitably, the term international economic law defies easy definition: it is at once a fully integrated part of public international law and an identifiable field in its own right.

This conference provides a venue for exploring many different faces of international economic law. Given that the aim of the Society includes fostering research in the area of IEL and promoting cooperation among all parts within the field, the SIEL Global Conference offers a forum for those inside and outside academia to share pedagogical and research methods, as well as to explore greater cooperation among the many different constituencies of the field.

We welcome proposals for papers and panels on any topic related to International Economic Law, including:

the three traditional pillars of IEL: trade, investment, and monetary policies;
the relationship between these pillars, and between these pillars and other

branches of law;

the influence of disciplines such as economics, political economy, and others on

international economic law;

comparative international economic law, focusing on how international

economic law interacts with laws, institutions and actors at the domestic level;

the geographies of international economic law, relating to the role of international

economic law in different parts of the world;

the roles that law and legal practices play within international economic

governance;

methods and trends in the teaching and learning of international economic law; and
interactions between scholars, practitioners, government officials and civil society

groups active in international economic law.

We are particularly interested in integrating new voices with more established figures in the field, and therefore welcome works in progress from young or new scholars.

There will be plenary and concurrent panels. Each panel will be moderated and may also have commentators on the papers presented. We anticipate that many of the eminent members of the Founding Executive Council and members of the present Executive Council will attend the conference - as presenters, commentators, and as Key Note Speakers (see www.sielnet.org for a full listing).

Submission Procedure

Both paper and panel proposals are due by 15 December 2009.

Paper proposals should include a cover e-mail with full institutional affiliation and contact details, and a paper abstract of no longer than 300 words.

In evaluating proposals, please note that priority will be given to unpublished papers and works in progress. In your proposal, please note whether the paper has already been published, or has been accepted for publication.

Panel proposals should include a panel title, a description of the topics covered during the panel, and a list of suggested panelists (between 4 and 6), including information about the panelists and their specific contribution to the panel, in the form of a paper or presentation title. Suggested panelists must have been consulted by the proposer about the proposal. They must have confirmed their interest in serving on such a panel if it were to be selected. Please take into account the diversity of speakers and opinions reflected in your panel proposal.

Proposals must be submitted via email to SIEL2010conference@gmail.com in WORD or PDF formats. Please, write “SIEL 2010 Conference Call for Papers” in the subject of the email.

Results of the selection process are expected to be announced by the end of February 2010. Accepted papers must be submitted by 10 June 2010.

Conference fees and the costs associated with attending the conference will be kept as low as possible. The Society hopes, but cannot guarantee, to be in a position to provide a subsidy of the conference fee for some speakers on the basis of need, but at this time cannot make any guarantees.

Review and Selection Process

Every paper or panel proposal will be reviewed by at least two members of the conference committee, on a double blind and confidential basis.

Online Publication

Conference papers will be made available online prior to the conference. Papers from the Inaugural conference were published online as a working paper series on SSRN's Legal Scholarship Network (see http://www.ssrn.com/link/SIEL-Inaugural-Conference.html).

Inquiries

Please submit inquiries to Colin Picker: Co-Executive Vice President, SIEL (Email: pickerc@umkc.edu).

For more information about the SIEL, please go to: www.sielnet.org

B. New SIEL 2010 Conference Website

The SIEL 2010 website, hosted by the IELPO and at their website, is now up and running at http://siel2010.com/. At this website there is additional information on such conference issues as hotel discounts, Barcelona, the conference program (when it is released), and so on.

II. SIEL Annual General Meeting

The SIEL will be holding its Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) in London, and remotely by call in, on December 14th at 2 PM GMT. More details, including any resolutions, will follow by a separate e-mail to members. At that time we will provide the details on how to arrange for proxy participation. It is not expected that anything controversial or all that consequential will take place as the next AGM will be held in Barcelona six months later where it is expected that a significant number of members will be able to participate.

III. The SIEL Investment Law Network

A SIEL Investment Law Network is being established as a sub-group within SIEL to build a network amongst academics and academically-minded practitioners and officials interested in the field of international investment law. The Network is designed to be an inclusive group open to all SIEL members. Its purpose is to foster a specialized level of engagement and encourage targeted SIEL events on investment.

The SIEL Investment Network will be officially launched at an investment conference taking place in Sydney, Australia, in February 2010: Investment Treaty Law and Arbitration: Evolution and Revolution in Substance and Procedure. For further information on participating in the SIEL Investment Network, contact Kate Miles, University of Sydney, at k.miles@usyd.edu.au.

IV. Other IEL Activities

A. The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law - North American

Regional Round (March 2010)

The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law is an international moot court competition on WTO dispute settlement organized by the European Law Students Association which includes teams of students around the world. Information is available on the ELSA website at: www.elsamootcourt.org. Regional Rounds will be held in Asia, Europe, Australia, Latin America and North America in March and April, with the Final Round being held in the Dominican Republic in May. This competition is supported by the WTO, and co-sponsored by the World Trade Institute, IELPO and Sidley Austin LLP.

This year, the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law is pleased to host the North American Regional Round, which is open to teams from universities in Canada and the United States. It will be held from March 18-20, 2010 in Ottawa, Canada. Information about the North American Regional Round is available at: www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca/wtomoot. If you are at a North American law school, please consider fielding a team.

B. Washington & Lee School of Law and UNCTAD Project on Investment Treaty Disputes

Washington and Lee School of Law has announced a new partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to explore the prevention and efficient management of investment treaty disputes. The joint project’s initial phase will occur through website collaboration. The site (accessible at http://investmentADR.wlu.edu) facilitates discussion by providing overviews of relevant concepts and collecting preconference research. The effort culminates in a conference at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia on March 29, 2010.

The conference is free and open to the public. To register for the conference, please contact Wendy Rice at ricew@wlu.edu no later than Monday, March 22, 2010. Media Contact: Susan D. Franck, Associate Professor of Law (francks@wlu.edu); Jan Knoerich, UNCTAD (Jan.Knoerich@unctad.org).

C. Social Legal Studies Assoc. annual conference in Bristol – IEL stream

A subject stream entitled International Economic Law, Justice and Development will be included at the Social Legal Studies Association annual conference in Bristol (30.03.10-01.04.10). The call for papers and instructions for submission of proposals can be found at: http://law.uwe.ac.uk/slsa/call-for-papers.aspx

D. IEL Activity Announcements

V. IEL Job Postings

At the SIEL website, http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=113495, there are three new IEL jobs posted (1.Senior Research Fellow in International Investment and Trade Law, at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law; 2. Director, at the WTO Legal Affairs Division; and 3.UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Affairs Officer) As you hear of new jobs please log in as a member and post them there.

VI. IEL Publisher Discounts

* * *

As a member run organization with around 400 members globally, please consider getting in touch with us with specific ideas for SIEL projects and services. We are committed to expanding the SIEL activities and services wherever appropriate - be it alone or in partnership with other IEL organizations around the world. Indeed, at the moment we are in the process of developing new projects and services and once they are finalized we will let you know.

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

SIEL 7th Newsletter and SIEL 2010 Call for Papers/Panels

Colin Picker — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:42:20 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 7 (September 2009)

This is the Seventh SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org).

This Newsletter includes information on:

- The SIEL 2010 Conference Call for Papers/Panels

- Regional IEL Activities

- Investment Yearbook Call for Contributions

- SIEL/CUP Prize for an Essay on International Economic Law – Closing Date Approaching

I. SIEL 2010 Conference Call for Papers

The conference committee seeks proposals for paper presentations and conference panels under the following terms.

Conference Themes

We welcome proposals for papers and panels on any topic related to International Economic Law, including:

the three traditional pillars of IEL: trade, investment, and monetary policies;
the relationship between these pillars, and between these pillars and other branches of law;
the influence of disciplines such as economics, political economy, and others on international economic law;
comparative international economic law, focussing on how international economic law interacts with laws, institutions and actors at the domestic level;
the geographies of international economic law, relating to the role of international economic law in different parts of the world;
the roles that law and legal practices play within international economic governance;
methods and trends in the teaching and learning of international economic law; and
interactions between scholars, practitioners, government officials and civil society groups active in international economic law.

We are particularly interested in integrating new voices with more established figures in the field, and therefore welcome works in progress from young or new scholars.

Submission Procedure

Both paper and panel proposals are due by 15 December 2009.

Paper proposals should include a cover e-mail with full institutional affiliation and contact details, and a paper abstract of no longer than 300 words.

Proposals must be submitted via email to SIEL2010conference@gmail.com in WORD or PDF formats. Please, write “SIEL 2010 Conference Call for Papers” in the subject of the email.

Results of the selection process are expected to be announced by the end of February 2010. Accepted papers must be submitted by 10 June 2010.

Review and Selection Process

Every paper or panel proposal will be reviewed by at least two members of the conference committee, on a double blind and confidential basis.

Online Publication

Inquiries

Please submit inquiries to Colin Picker: Co-Executive Vice President, SIEL (Email: pickerc@umkc.edu).

For more information about the SIEL, please go to: www.sielnet.org

II. Regional Organizations

Though a global organization, the SIEL believes in the importance of regional IEL organizations and seeks to support those that already exist and where none exist is in the process of encouraging and supporting the creation of such groups. Below is information on IEL regional groups.

A. Africa Regional IEL Group

(1) The SIEL is in the process of gathering leaders towards the establishment of an African Society as well as an IEL educational network for Africa. There is a lot of work to be done and any expressions of interest would be welcome.

(2) As part of the SIEL's efforts to encourage IEL in Africa, we are proud to announce our formal association with the Law and Democracy Books for Africa (BFA) - http://www.booksforafrica.org/initiatives/law-democracy.html. We have recently received a commitment from Hart Publishing to supply 100 books a year, 5 copies of 20 recent IEL and human rights titles, that will be delivered through BFA to law schools in Africa. The first shipments are scheduled to Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Thank you, to both Hart and BFA! We are interested in encouraging other key publishers in IEL to make similar commitments and would appreciate your leads and input in this respect.

For additional information and any expressions of interest in this area, please contact Tomer Broude at tomerbroude@gmail.com.

B. Asian IEL Network (AIELN)

During the summer the AIELN held a very successful conference at the University of Tokyo, Multilateralism and Regionalism in Global Economic Governance: Trade, Investment and Finance (see http://aieln1.web.fc2.com/programme.html). In addition to hearing many superb papers and different perspectives on IEL, the network discussed future activities, with details to be released later this year.

C. Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Region

The New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law (NZCIEL) is pleased to announce its upcoming conference, "Trade Agreements: Where Do We Go from Here?" which will be held 22-23 October and will feature incoming Appellate Body member Professor Peter Van den Bossche as keynote speaker. For the conference programme and registration information, please visit www.victoria.ac.nz/law/centres/nzciel . For additional information please contact the NZCIEL Co-Directors, Meredith Kolsky Lewis or Susy Frankel, at nzciel@vuw.ac.nz.

D. Latin America Regional IEL Group

SIEL is also starting a red latinoamericana, which intends to be a focal point for IEL research in Latin America and bridge the abyss between practitioners and scholars as well between countries in the region. To support scholarly exchange we set up a blog (http://iel-latinamerica.blogspot.com/) and are building a network of interested practitioners and scholars in the region. In the future, we intend to organize or help organize seminars in the region and on topics of interest for the region. For more information on the Latin America Regional IEL Group please contact siel.redlatinoamericana@gmail.com.

E. American Society of International Law – IELG

The International Economic Law Interest Group (IEcLIG) of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) will host a special Research Forum in early December 2009 to discuss the emerging complexities and interconnectedness of risk, science and law as they relate to international governance. The conference will take place at Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago, IL on December 5 (Saturday), 2009. They are inviting the submission of proposals in the form of abstracts of no more than 300 words which will address this topic. Abstracts should be emailed to Sungjoon Cho at scho1@kentlaw.edu by September 30, 2009 (New Deadline). Each submission should include the author’s name, institutional affiliation, contact information and e-mail address.

The full text of the Call can be found at http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2009/09/call-for-papers-risk-science-and-law-in-international-governance.html

More information on the ASIL-IELG can be found at http://www.asil.org/interest-groups-view.cfm?groupid=21

F. European Society of International Law - IELG

The ESIL has announced “the 3rd ESIL Research Forum ‘Changing Futures: Science and International Law’ will be held in Helsinki, Finland, on 2 - 3 October 2009. The Forum will be a joint meeting of the American and European Societies of International Law (ASIL-ESIL). [They] would like to draw your attention to the following event: The day before the begin of the official program – Thursday, 1 October 2009 – the ESIL International Economic Law Interest Group – together with the respective ASIL Group – will hold a discussion on "The Future of International Economic Law Research". It is a pleasure to announce that the ESIL nominated Prof. Dr. Thomas Cottier to introduce the discussion. [They] would like to invite all of you to participate in this event and look forward to a large attendance.”

More information on the ESIL-IEL interest group can be found at: http://inteurlaw.uni-goettingen.de/esil-iel/

III. Investment Yearbook Call for Contributions

The inaugural edition of the Yearbook of International Investment Law and Policy was published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in June 2009. The Investment Yearbook monitors current developments in international investment law and policy, focusing (in Part One) on trends in foreign direct investment (FDI), international investment agreements, investment disputes, and investment issues in the international energy sector. Part Two, then, looks at central issues in the contemporary discussions on international investment law and policy. The chapters may be detailed analyses or short think-pieces, and in any event they are original texts. The Editor-in-Chief of the Investment Yearbook is Karl. P. Sauvant, Columbia University. The Editorial Committee is composed by: Walid Ben Hamida, Andrea K. Bjorklund, Peter Muchlinski, Ucheora Onwuamaegbu, Federico Ortino

Original contributions to be considered for publication in Part Two of the 2009/10 edition of the Investment Yearbook should be sent (by 21 September 2009) to the Editor-in-Chief at investmentyearbook@law.columbia.edu. An Overview chapter of the inaugural edition can be found at www.vcc.columbia.edu.

SIEL members may purchase the Investment Yearbook benefiting from the 20% discount offered by OUP on purchases of international law titles.

IV. SIEL/CUP Prize for an Essay on International Economic Law – Closing Date Approaching

A prize has been established by the SIEL and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law. The competition is open to current students and those who have graduated within the last five years.

The prize consists of £200, as well as £300 of Cambridge University Press book vouchers and a three year subscription to the World Trade Review. The winning essay will be submitted to the World Trade Review for publication. The closing date for submissions is 30 September 2009.

For submission details and terms and conditions, please see www.sielnet.org/essayprize

V. IEL Activity Announcements

VI. IEL Publisher Discounts

VII. Other SIEL Services & Activities

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

SIEL 2010 Conference

Colin Picker — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:34:24 GMT

“Hold-the-Dates”: The second global Society of International Economic Law Conference will take place the 8^th to the 10^th of July, 2010

We are also very pleased to announce that the conference will be hosted by the International Chair WTO/Regional Integration (IELPO) at the Faculty of Law, University of Barcelona.

More details about the conference, including a conference “Call for Papers”, will be forthcoming.

Asian International Economic Law Network (AIELN) Inaugural Conference

Andrew Lang — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:33:40 GMT

As a service to our Members, please note that the registration for the Inaugural Conference of the Asian International Economic Law Network (AIELN) has been extended to July 31st. For registration, please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com/reg.html.

This conference is being held at the University of Tokyo on August 3, 2009. For further details, and to see the program, please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com/programme.html.

5th SIEL Newsletter

Colin Picker — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:25:58 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 5 (April 16, 2009)

This is the fifth SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org).

This newsletter includes:

I. SIEL/CUP Prize for an Essay on International Economic Law

II. IEL Events & Activities

A. BIICL’s Ninth Annual WTO Conference

B. NUS/AsiaSIL Conference Call for Papers

C. ASIL-IELG Business Meeting

D. Asia IEL Network Conference Registration

E. ELSA WTO Moot Final, AWRN Meeting & Conference (Taipei)

F. NZ IEL Conf Call for Papers

G. Regional IEL Groups: Latin America and Africa

III. SIEL- International Chair WTO/RI, University of Barcelona Discounts

IV. SIEL Translation Project

V. SIEL Services

* * *

I. SIEL/CUP Prize for an Essay on International Economic Law

A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law.

The competition is open to current students and those who have graduated within the last five years.

The closing date for submissions is 30 September 2009.

For submission details and terms and conditions, please see www.sielnet.org/essayprize

II. IEL Events & Activities

A. BIICL’s Ninth Annual WTO Conference

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law’s Ninth Annual WTO Conference will be held from 20-21 May, 2009 in Charles Clore House, London. This conference is a highlight of the annual calendar of WTO events, addressing key events and developments in WTO law, reviewing their impact and significance through presentations from leading lawyers, academics and WTO representatives. Further information, including full details and a copy of the program, can be found at http://www.biicl.org/events/view/-/id/349/ .

The conference is organised by the BIICL, in association with the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown University Law Center, the Journal of International Economic Law, and the Society of International Economic Law.

B. NUS/AsiaSIL Conference Call for Papers

Announcing a Call for Papers for a Joint Conference by the National University of Singapore Law School and Asian Society of International Law: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Governance & Regulation.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) are pleased to invite applications to attend the NUS Law School-AsianSIL Conference on Sovereign Wealth Funds: Governance and Regulation. This will be held at the NUS Law School in Singapore from Wednesday to Friday, 9-11 September 2009. Paper-givers who are selected through a competitive process will have their reasonable expenses covered.

Abstracts for new and unpublished papers are invited. All conference papers will be published as "working papers" on the AsianSIL website. A select number of accepted papers will subsequently be considered for formal publication in a special section of the Singapore Yearbook of International Law.

Proposals should be submitted on the Abstract Submission Form available at the conference website (http://law.nus.edu.sg/asiansil/conference/sovereignwealth/), where there are more details about the conference and the issues to be discussed at the conference.

C. ASIL-IELG Business Meeting

The American Society of International Law’s International Economic Law Group (the ASIL IELG) held its annual business meeting at the ASIL annual conference in Washington, D.C., in late March. In addition to a lively program, Amy Porges and Tomer Broude passed the leadership of the Group to Gregory Shaffer and Susan Franck, who will now lead the Group over the next few years. The SIEL looks forward to continuing its close working relationship the Group under its new leadership (all of whom have also played an active role in the formation and ongoing activities of the SIEL). Congratulation to Amy and Tomer for an outstanding job over the last two years.

D. AIELN Conference Registration

The Asian International Economic Law Network (AIELN) Inaugural Conference will be held on August 3rd, 2009 at the University of Tokyo. For those who will attend the Conference, please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com and register. Registration will be closed on May 31st."

E. 2009 ELSA WTO Moot Court Competition Final, AWRN Meeting &

2009 International Conference On The Future of the WTO (Taipei)

The final rounds of the ELSA WTO Moot will be held in Taipei the 19^th to 24^th of May. In addition, the Asian WTO Research Network will be meeting there and there will be a conference, entitled, The International Conference On The Future of the WTO.

For more info on the ELSA WTO Moot final, see http://www.elsamootcourt.org/for/ and http://www.acwhmootcourt.law.ntu.edu.tw/index.php?action=content&id=2&dl= and for the conference see http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/center/wto/NewsDetail.asp?tb_index=98.

F. The New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law and the

Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Law Call for Papers

The New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law and the Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Law is issuing a Call for Papers for its conference, Trade Agreements: Where do we go from here?, 22-23 October, 2009 in Wellington, New Zealand

This conference will examine trade agreements in the context of the current world economic crisis and the uncompleted WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations. With economies shrinking and protectionism on the rise, many fear a protracted global recession. What role should trade agreements – multilateral, plurilateral, and bilateral – be playing in today’s world? Will the proliferation of regional trade agreements render the WTO irrelevant? Will measures to address climate change lead to clashes with WTO and RTA commitments? Are WTO, RTA, and BIT dispute settlement mechanisms reaching the right results, and for the right reasons? How can developing countries use trade agreements to their advantage? These are but some of the issues this conference will address.

Professor Peter Van den Bossche of Maastricht University will deliver a keynote address.

The conference organizers encourage proposals on any international economic law topic, but particularly falling within one of the following broad categories:

1. Dispute settlement and treaty interpretation

2. Governance, agreement architecture, or other structural/systemic concerns

3. Environment, climate change, health and safety, or human rights

4. Special and differential treatment, special safeguard mechanisms, market access, or other issues of particular concern to developing countries

5. Specific trade agreements, with particular focus on:

• The Pacific EPA, PACER, or other agreements of interest to the Pacific

• ANZCERTA (CER), the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership

• Agreement (P4), or other agreements of interest to New Zealand and/or Australia

• ASEAN expansion, APEC, or other agreements of Asia-Pacific interest

Paper proposals including a title and abstract of 400-700 words should be e-mailed to nzciel@vuw.ac.nz by 30 April. Successful proposals will be notified by 18 May.

If you wish to receive registration information or have other queries, please e-mail Centre Co-Directors Susy Frankel and Meredith Kolsky Lewis at nzciel@vuw.ac.nz .

G. Regional IEL Groups: Latin America and Africa

Just a reminder that members wishing to be involved in these nascent groups should contact Colin Picker (pickerc@umkc.edu) with respect to Latin America and should contact Tomer Broude (tomerbroude@gmail.com) and Chantal Thomas (chantal-thomas@lawschool.cornell.edu) with respect to Africa.

III. SIEL- International Chair WTO/RI, University of Barcelona Discounts

SIEL members will be able to order books from the International Chair WTO/Regional Integration by sending an email to publicaciones@ielpo.org, indicating their full name and their member ID in the subject section of the email.

The book collection includes the following:

Luengo, Gustavo.- El Derecho de las Subvenciones en la OMC: http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100773833

Piris, Jean-Claude.- El Tratado Constitucional para Europa: un análisis jurídico: http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100787125

Fernández Pons, Xavier.- La OMC y el Derecho Internacional: un estudio sobre el sistema de solución de diferencias de la OMC y las normas secundarias del Derecho Internacional General: http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100787129

Blázquez Navarro, Irene.- Integración europea y diferencias comerciales en la OMC:

http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100799770

Bouzas, Roberto (ed.).- Después de Doha: la agenda emergente del sistema de comercio internacional

http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100807268

Fernández Egea, Rosa María.- Comercio de mercancías y protección del medio ambiente en la OMC:

http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100832537

Otherwise, please see http://clientes.marcialpons.com/mpintra/acuerdos/OMC.htm.

The IELPO LL.M., one of the projects of the International Chair WTO/RI, is also offering discounts for its specialized courses (up to ten courses per member) to SIEL members:

35% discount for SIEL members from low income countries

30% discount for SIEL members from lower middle income countries and for postgraduate students from any country

25% discount for SIEL members from upper middle income countries

20% discount for SIEL members from high income countries.

Further information available at http://www.ielpo.org/specialized.asp

IV. SIEL Translation Project

SIEL has begun a pilot project for the translation into English of legal material relevant to international economic law, which is currently available only in a language other than English. A small team of volunteers, including Tais Jost, Nicolas Perrone, Carolina Saldanha and Maria Saldarriaga, have begun work on MERCOSUR material, focusing on judgments relevant to the Retreaded Tyres dispute. Offers of help, as well as suggestions as to what materials are in most urgent need of translation, are welcome.

V. Other SIEL Services

As you see from this and the previous newsletter, we are happy to report on SIEL-related IEL activities. As a SIEL supporter, individually or institutionally, please let us know of any SIEL-related IEL activities that you would like posted in the next newsletter.

Additionally, as a member focused organization, please consider getting in touch with us with specific ideas for SIEL projects and services. We do not promise to handle and deal with them all in the short term, but we are committed to expanding the SIEL activities and services wherever appropriate - be it alone or in partnership with other IEL organizations around the world. Indeed, at the moment we are in the process of developing new projects and services and once they are finalized we will let you know.

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

4th SIEL Newsletter

Colin Picker — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:23:38 GMT

SIEL E-Newsletter - Number 4 (March 3, 2009)

This is the fourth SIEL newsletter, the others may be found at the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org).

This newsletter includes:

I. SIEL Membership Extended - Completed

II. IEL Related Events

A. Reminder of Call for Venue Proposals SIEL Annual Conference 2010

B. Africa Regional Group

C. Asian IEL Network Conference

E. Europ. Soc’y Int’l Law’s IEL Interest Group Conference Call for Papers

D. Latin America Regional Group

F. Call for Papers: 2009 Conference British Inst. of Int’l & Comp. Law

III. Recently Received Publisher Discounts and Information

A. Edward Elgar

B. Oxford University Press

IV. Other SIEL Services

A. IEL Job Postings

B. SIEL Services in General

* * *

I. SIEL Membership Extended - Completed

As noted in last month’s e-newsletter, the SIEL decided that for all our members that joined in our first year (those that joined in 2008) we would extend their membership through January 15, 2010 (we did so in light of the fact that the SIEL is still developing its services and it was thought appropriate in this economic climate to delay the renewal of those memberships that would come due in 2010 until the beginning of next year).

We have now completed those changes in the database (with close to 300 members receiving that one-time free membership extension. But, please mark on your calendars that you should renew your membership before it comes due in 2010 so as not to let your membership lapse.

Also, if your status changes in the meantime, or has already changed, or you should be making other changes to your profile please login to your profile and make those edits.

With respect to those SIEL members that signed up in 2009, they will have their membership renewal due as expected in 2010 on the one year anniversary of when they joined the SIEL.

Of course, for those of you receiving this benefit (and others too), if you wish to make a donation in lieu of this year’s renewal fee, we would be happy to accept it, please contact Andrew Lang (a.lang@lse.ac.uk) or Colin Picker (pickerc@umkc.edu), SIEL Executive Vice Presidents or Galina Zukova (Galina.Zukova@rgsl.edu.lv), SIEL Treasurer.

II. IEL Events & Activities

A. Reminder of Call for Venue Proposals SIEL Annual Conference 2010

As noted in last month’s newsletter, the SIEL invites expressions of interest from institutions willing to host its second biennial global conference in 2010. Proposals from interested institutions should by submitted by March 15, 2009 to SIEL’s Executive Vice-Presidents (Andrew Lang (A.Lang@lse.ac.uk) and Colin Picker (pickerc@umkc.edu)).

For more information, see http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=67692&mode=PostView&bmi=81689

B. Africa Regional IEL Group

Mobilizing an Africa Regional IEL Group: At its Inaugural Conference in summer 2008, SIEL convened an exploratory meeting on the establishment of an Africa Regional IEL Group. SIEL is now actively seeking to broaden the African constituency for such a group, which would plan and execute initiatives for dialogue and research on international and regional economic law in Africa. One goal would be an initial conference in Africa to take place within the next two years. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Tomer Broude (tomerbroude@gmail.com) and Chantal Thomas (chantal-thomas@lawschool.cornell.edu), the SIEL Executive Council members who are currently serving as liaisons for this effort.

B. Asian IEL Network

The Asian IEL Network Inaugural Conference (AIELN(I)) will start registration on March 1^st, closing on May 31^st. For further information, please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com

C. Europ. Soc’y Int’l Law’s IEL Group Conference and Call for Papers

The ESIL-International Economic Law Group announces a Conference to be organized jointly with the Kardinal Stefan Wyscinski University in Warsaw on June 25-27, 2009 on "Regional Integration and the World Trade Order - Synergies and Conflicts from a European Perspective". More information and a call for papers can be found at http://inteurlaw.uni-goettingen.de/esiliel/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=60

More info on the ESIL-IEL interest group can be found at: http://inteurlaw.uni-goettingen.de/esil-iel/

D. Latin America Regional IEL Group

Mobilizing a Latin America Regional IEL Group: At its Inaugural Conference in summer 2008, SIEL convened an exploratory meeting on the establishment of a Latin America Regional IEL Group. If you are interested or have suggestions, please contact Colin Picker (pickerc@umkc.edu), SIEL Executive Vice-President.

F. Call for Papers: 2009 Conference British Inst. of Int’l & Comp. Law

“The 2009 Annual Conference of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law will be held on Friday 5 June 2009 in London. The theme of the conference will be: 'Business and International Law'.

This Call for Papers is for new scholars to submit a proposal for a paper to be delivered at the Conference. It is designed to encourage new academics, doctoral and masters students, and new legal professionals. A list of panels and a brief summary of the issues to be addressed by them is set out below, though this is not the final programme. Papers on subjects within these themes or more generally on the subject of business and international law are sought.

Interested persons should submit a synopsis (350-600 words) of their proposed presentation no later than Monday 16 March 2009 at 5.00pm GMT. The synopsis should provide an outline of the proposed paper and should identify the argument to be advanced, and the major issues to be addressed. Proposal submissions should be accompanied by a short CV (no more than 2 pages). The submission should indicate the author's name, institutional affiliation and contact details.

All papers should be sent in the first instance by email to Sergey Ripinsky (BIICL) at s.ripinsky@biicl.org. The proposals will then be considered by members of the Conference Steering Group. The outcome of the review will be announced in early April 2009. Unfortunately, the British Institute will not be able to cover travel expenses for successful applicants.” See http://www.biicl.org/events/view/-/id/369/

[submitted by Federico Ortino]

III. Recently Received Publisher Discounts and Information

Please also note the other special publisher discount offers for SIEL members at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=107157

A. Edward Elgar Publishing

“Edward Elgar Publishing would be very pleased to offer members of the society the following:

A special price of £25 and $45 for US orders (usual price £35 in paperback) for the Research Handbook on International Economic Law edited by Andrew Guzman and Alan Sykes.

A 20% discount across all of our International Economic Law books.

Orders can be placed on [the] website (www.e-elgar-law.com). After completing your credit card details please enter SIEL09 in the special discount code box. You can also email your order to sales@e-elgar.co.uk (please include full credit card info and delivery address).”

B. Oxford University Press

“Oxford University Press is pleased to offer members of the Society for International Economic Law a 20% discount on purchases of selected international law titles. These include specialist works in investment, trade and environmental law such as the Oxford Handbooks on those topics, as well as more general works of international law which should be of interest to SIEL Members, such as the newly-published two volume set of the collected writings of Rosalyn Higgins. At present there are 34 items included. More will be added as new titles are published.

For Customers in North America, go to http://www.us.oup.com/us/?view=usa. The Discount Code is 27743 (type this into the box at the top right of the screen where it says "Enter Promo Code")

For Customers from the rest of the world, go to http://www.oup.co.uk/sale/webogemid/. The Discount Code is ALRKLA07.

Please remember always to quote the discount code when placing an order and that this discount is only available when ordering directly from OUP.”

IV. Other SIEL Services

A. IEL Job Postings

As a service to our membership, we are happy to pass on information about opportunities in the field (but, please note that SIEL does not vouch for the information circulated nor does it have any connections or knowledge of the underlying institutions involved in such postings). As an example, we just heard about one opportunity in IEL at the following: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/job/187912/legal_adviser.htm

Please consider reviewing or posting IEL employment or study positions on offer or positions sought at the SIEL webpage at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=113495

B. SIEL Services in General

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

AIELN Conference Registration

Colin Picker — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:37:12 GMT

Registration started on March 1st for the Asian International Economic Law Network (AIELN) Inaugural Conference. For those who are going to attend, please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com/reg.html. Also, the accomodation information has been updated. Please visit http://aieln1.web.fc2.com.

January 2009 E-Newsletter

Colin Picker — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:19:57 GMT

This newsletter includes:

I. SIEL Membership Extended

II. Women in International Economic Law (WIEL)

III. SIEL Related Events & Activities

A. Australia-New Zealand IEL Group

B. Regional IEL Newsletter

C. Reminder – SIEL Conference 2010 Call for Venue Proposals

D. Reminder – Asia IEL Network (AIELN) Call for Papers

IV. SIEL Recognized as “ Best Project of 2008”

V. IEL Academic Programs

VI. Other SIEL Services

* * *

I. SIEL Membership Extended

The SIEL has decided to extend the membership of all those members that joined in our first year (those that joined in 2008) through January 15, 2010. In light of the fact that the SIEL is still developing its services it was thought appropriate in this economic climate to delay the renewal of those memberships that would come due in 2009 until the beginning of next year. Thereafter, those memberships will be valid for the usual one year period.

New members that sign up in 2009 will have their membership renewal due in 2010 on the one year anniversary of when they joined the SIEL.

II. Women in International Economic Law (WIEL)

At the recent inaugural meeting of SIEL, a group of nearly fifty people interested in the intersection of women and international economic law gathered to discuss the historical role of women in economic law and how to address the needs of current stakeholders and consider aspirations for the future. The meeting of this group – Women in International Economic Law (WIEL) – started with a speech by WTO Appellate Body Member, Jennifer Hillman, who put the meeting in context and provided a basis for the brainstorming session that followed.

Since the meeting in Geneva, WIEL has announced a Transitional Working Group to begin work on moving WIEL forward. The group of ten represents a great breadth in terms of geography, subject area, and career levels. The group is made up of:

- Padideh Ala’i (American University, Washington DC)

- Freya Baetens (University of Cambridge)

- Marie-Cordonier Segger (Centre for International Sustainable Development Law,

McGill University, Montreal)

- Tracey Epps (University of Otago, New Zealand)

- Mary Footer (University of Nottingham)

- Susan Franck (Washington & Lee University, Virginia)

- Locknie Hsu (Singapore Management University)

- Krista Nadakavukaren (World Trade Institute, Bern/University of Basel)

- Amy Porges (Sidley Austin, Washington DC)

- Maria Rosaria (IGTN, Geneva)

- Seema Sapra (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations,

New Delhi)

- Teresa Thorp (Insight International)

- Valentina Vadi (European University Institute, Florence).

The Transitional Working Group will initially be working on drafting a Mission Statement, establishing a presence on the SIEL website, and making initial plans for the mentoring/networking aspect of the group. It is hoped to have these tasks completed within the next few months. The Transitional Working Group would be happy for feedback and ideas from any SIEL members so please feel free to contact either Susan Franck (francks@wlu.edu) or Tracey Epps (tracey.epps@otago.ac.nz).

II. SIEL Related Events & Activities

A. Australia-New Zealand IEL Group

The New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law will be holding an IEL conference in Wellington in October 2009 (exact dates and call for papers to be released in the near future). In conjunction with the conference, there will be a meeting for anyone interested in participating in an Australia - New Zealand regional grouping affiliated with SIEL ("ANZIEL"). The meeting will provide a forum for those with an interest in the region to discuss what shape ANZIEL should take.

For more information or to proffer ideas about the ANZIEL, please contact Meredith Kolsky Lewis (Meredith.Lewis@vuw.ac.nz)

B. Regional IEL Newsletter

One of the goals of the SIEL is to assist in the circulation of information about IEL events around the world and of IEL materials from different parts of the world. Pursuant to that goal, we have posted at the SIEL website an English translation of this month’s newsletter of Félix Peña, Director of the Institute of International Trade of the Standard Bank Foundation and of the Jean Monnet Module and Interdisciplinary Center of International Studies at Tres de Febrero National University (UNTREF), Argentina. This month’s edition is entitled.: “Return Of Protectionism As a Global Problem? Its Incidence on the 2009 WTO Agenda.” The original website with more information can be found at http://www.felixpena.com.ar/

C. Reminder – SIEL Conference 2010 Call for Venue Proposals

As noted in last month’s newsletter, the SIEL invites expressions of interest from institutions willing to host its second biennial global conference in 2010. For more information, see http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=67692&mode=PostView&bmi=81689

D. Reminder – Asia IEL Network (AIELN) Call for Papers

As noted in last month’s newsletter, the AIELN is a new regional IEL group, and it will be holding its Inaugural Conference “Multilateralism and Regionalism in Global Economic Governance: Trade, Investment & Finance” August 3^rd, 2009, at the University of Tokyo. The Call for Papers/Panels starts 3^rd January and closes 28^th February, 2009.

For more information, please contact: Professor Junji Nakagawa, Institute of Social Science (ISS), University of Tokyo (Email: nakagawa@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp) or see the links at: http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=253476

IV. SIEL Recognized as “ Best Project of 2008”

We were delighted to hear that in the OGEMID Awards of 2008, the “Establishment of the Society of International Economic Law” was voted Best Project of 2008. Without doubt that effort reflects the very hard and excellent work of the Founding Committee and Founding Executive Council, as well as the ongoing work of the SIEL Executive Committee.

For more information, see http://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/news/tdmnewsdigest.htm

V. IEL Academic Programs

We are considering posting information on IEL programs (LLM, certificates, etc) on our website. If you would like information posted please let us know. Most likely we will have minimal information but with a hyperlink to the homepage of the IEL program itself.

VI. Other SIEL Services

Please also consider reviewing or posting IEL employment or study positions on offer or positions sought at the SIEL webpage at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=113495 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=113495>

Please also note the other special publisher discount offers for SIEL members at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=107157 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=107157>

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin Picker & Andrew Lang

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

AIELN Call for Papers

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:07:13 GMT

Call for papers for the upcoming AIELN conference:

AIELN Call for Papers

For more information on the AIELN Inaugural Conference, please visit its official site:

http://aieln1.web.fc2.com

December 2008 E-Newsletter

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:13:15 GMT

December 2008 SIEL E-Newsletter

As we move forward in the creation of this organization we will try and keep you informed of all SIEL-related developments as they happen in a monthly e-newsletter (with this as the second such newsletter, the first may be found at the SIEL website - www.sielnet.org).

This newsletter includes:

I. The Second SIEL Conference: Call for Venue Proposals

II. SIEL Related Events

A. Asian International Economic Law Network & its Inaugural Conference

B. North America Events

C. Sponsorship of the FDI International Moot Competition

III. Member Benefit & Notice from SIEL Supporter: Oxford University Press

IV. Development Law Journal

V. Other SIEL Services

* * *

I. The Second SIEL Conference: Call for Venue Proposals

The Society of International Economic Law invites expressions of interest from institutions willing to host its second biennial global conference in 2010.

The Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) is a new organization aimed at academics and academically-minded practitioners and officials in the field of IEL, in all parts of the world. More information may be found at www.sielnet.org.The SIEL’s inaugural conference was hosted by the Centre on Trade and Economic Integration, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, July 15-17, 2008. It attracted over 250 of the discipline’s leading figures, representing more than thirty countries from all over the world. The conference program can be found at

http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=108611 while a selection of the conference papers may be found at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=160208.

Proposals from interested institutions should by submitted by March 15, 2008 to SIEL’s Executive Vice-Presidents (Andrew Lang (A.Lang@lse.ac.uk) and Colin Picker (pickerc@umkc.edu)). They should address, among other, the following issues:

1. Estimation of the venue’s financial contribution to the costs of running the conference;

2. Availability of organisational assistance, including local coordinator as well as students or others to assist in the lead up to and the running of the conference;

3. Availability, at the venue’s cost, of medium and large size lecture and seminar rooms that are suitable for panel sessions (bearing in mind the previous conference venue provided space for up to four concurrent sessions);

4. Availability, at the venue’s cost, of a large lecture facility able to accommodate up to 400 people for plenary sessions;

5. Availability of accommodation – from student dorms to high end hotels, either on-site or in the near neighborhood;

6. Audiovisual facilities;

7. Availability of on-site catering facilities;

8. Suggested timing during 2010;

9. Transportation connections to the venue, both local and global; and

10. Other issues as relevant.

Should you wish to discuss the proposal before submitting an official application, please contact Colin Picker or Andrew Lang. Proposals should be addressed to Colin Picker and Andrew Lang.

[Submitted by the SIEL Executive Committee]

II. SIEL Related Events

A. Asian International Economic Law Network & its Inaugural Conference

The AIELN is a new regional IEL group. After its inaugural conference in July 2008, the SIEL Executive Committee has been encouraging its members to establish IEL regional groups where none presently exist. Accordingly, some of the Asian members of the SIEL decided to establish the AIELN. The AIELN is an international non-partisan, non-profit and non-governmental organization with the following objectives:

To promote, research, education and practice of international economic law by serving as a center of activities among scholars, practitioners, governments and international organizations focusing on international economic law in Asia and elsewhere;

To foster and encourage Asian perspectives of international economic law;

To promote public awareness of international economic law in Asia.

To improve the capacity of international economic law in Asia.

To these ends, with the support and encouragement of the SIEL, the functions of AIELN will include, among other things:

Organizing conferences, regional and subregional seminars, workshops and other meetings;

Undertaking publication for AIELN, including the proceedings of the conference organized by AIELN; and

Collecting and disseminating information relating to research and educational activities and other developments relevant to Asia in the field of international economic law.

Accordingly, the AIELN will be holding its Inaugural Conference “Multilateralism and Regionalism in Global Economic Governance: Trade, Investment & Finance” August 3^rd, 2009, at the University of Tokyo. The Call for Papers/Panels starts 3^rd January and closes 28^th February, 2009.

[Submitted by Junji Nakagawa]

B. North America Events

In North America, the SIEL co-sponsored the biennial conference of the American Society of International Law's International Economic Law Interest Group held at George Washington University in Washington DC, on the theme of "The Politics of International Economic Law", with 50 speakers from the US and around the world.

The interest group's future activities include:

A workshop at the University of Washington School of Law on "International Law and Regulatory Change: New Models for Japan and China", on February 16, 2009 (with Profs. Saadia Pekkanen, Henry Gao, Ichiro Araki and Amy Porges, among others); and

An "outside the beltway" research colloquium to be held at UCLA in Los Angeles on February 13, 2009, hosted by Prof. Richard Steinberg.

[Submitted by Tomer Broude]

C. Sponsorship of the Inaugural FDI Moot Competition

The SIEL co-sponsored the Inaugural Foreign Direct Investment International Moot Competition, which took place on 2 November 2008 at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. More information about this (and forthcoming!) competitions can be found on http://www.fdimoot.org/. Below are some extracts from that website.

“Aims of the FDI Moot

Increasing international investment, the proliferation of Bi- and Multilateral Investment Treaties, national investment promotion legislation, and ‘internationalised’ investment contracts have contributed to the rapid development of a new field of international law that defines obligations between ‘host States’ and foreign investors and creates procedures for resolving related disputes, e.g. through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

These investment disputes involve not only vast sums, but also probe the panoply of rights, duties, and shifting objectives at the juncture of national and international law and policy. Through the FDI Moot law students -- future practitioners, academics and policy makers -- may attain a practical understanding of these issues. At the same time, the case and the hearings offer a forum of different dynamics for current academics and practitioners from the around the world to discuss the latest developments - and assess emerging talents - in these fields.

Structure of the Competition

The FDI Moot involves a hypothetical case in connection with an investment by a private investor in a foreign host state. The FDI Moot spans a period of approximately six months each year and has two phases: the writing of memoranda for claimant and respondent and the hearing of oral argument based upon the memoranda.”

“Inaugural FDI Moot Competition

On 2 November 2008, Murdoch School of Law edged out Pepperdine School of Law to win the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Trophy in a close final. The final was judged by Prof. Alexander Lorz of Düsseldorf University, Tim Nelson of Skadden and Hew Dundas, Immediate Past President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The teams from Belgrade University and New York University took 3rd place. The organisers and arbitrators were consistently impressed by the high quality of the participants. Congratulations!”

Thomas Waelde Advocacy Award for Best Oralist

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden death of Prof. Thomas Waelde in France on 11 October. Prof. Waelde played an important role in bringing the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy into the FDI Moot. Some of his broader achievements are reported at CEPMLP. With regard to the FDI Moot, it was only days before his death that together with Ian Laird, he launched an appeal to support teams' participation in the FDI Moot. From the beginning of his involvement with the FDI Moot Prof. Waelde was always ready with good advice and hands on assistance. We will miss him.”

“The Waelde family has permitted the FDI Moot to name its prize for the best advocate in honour of Prof. Waelde. The prize will be known as the Thomas Waelde Advocacy Award for Best Oralist. It will be awarded to the best individual advocate of the Oral Hearings (determined by adding the scores awarded to that oralist in two Preliminary Rounds in which he/she argued).” Gunjan Sharma, of New York University School of Law, was the recipient of the 2008 Thomas Waelde Advocacy Award for Best Oralist.

[submitted by Colin Picker]

III. Member Benefit & Notice from SIEL Supporter: Oxford University Press

Journal of International Economic Law – 50% discount! The Journal of International Economic Law is dedicated to encouraging thoughtful and scholarly attention to a very broad range of subjects that concern the relation of law to international economic activity.

The journal’s emphasis is on fundamental, long-term, systemic problems and possible solutions, in the light of empirical observations and experience, as well as theoretical and multi-disciplinary approaches. Members of the Society of International Economic Law can subscribe to this journal for just £33.00 per year.

To take advantage of this special offer, visit: www.oxfordjournals.org/jielaw/access_purchase/price_list

To find out more about the journal, visit:

www.jiel.oxfordjournals.org

Law Books from Oxford University Press

The Oxford Handbook of International Trade Law

Edited by Daniel Bethlehem, Donald McRae, Rodney Neufeld, and Isabelle Van Damme

This Handbook places international trade law within its broader context, providing comment and critique on contemporary thinking on a range of questions related to the discipline of international trade law. January 2009 | 856 pages | 978-0-19-923192-8 | £85.00 | Hardback

The Oxford Handbook of International Investment Law

Edited by Peter Muchlinski, Federico Ortino, and Christoph Schreuer

The Oxford Handbook of International Investment Law provides the first truly exhaustive account of the current state and future development of this important and topical field of international law. June 2008 | 1008 pages | 978-0-19-923138-6 | £120.00 | Hardback

The Future of International Economic Law

Edited by John Jackson and William J. Davey

This book comprises fifteen specially commissioned contributions from the Editorial Board of the Oxford Journal of International Economic Law in celebration of the Journal's tenth anniversary. The contributions examine various issues confronting the international economic regime today, and cover a wide range of international economic institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO. May 2008 | 336 pages | 978-0-19-955113-2 | £19.99 | Paperback

To order your copy of one of the books listed above, please contact Oxford University Press Customer Services:

Telephone: +44 (0) 1536 741727

Fax: +44 (0) 01536 746337

Email: bookorders.uk@oup.com

Address: Oxford University Press, Saxon Way West, Corby, Northants, NN18 9ES

[Submitted by Oxford University Press]

IV. Development Law Journal

Professor Yong-Shik Lee (Y.S. Lee), a member of the SIEL's founding executive council, is launching a new international academic journal on law and development, The Law and Development Review (LDR). The LDR is the first international journal devoted to the impact of the law and legal institutions on economic and social development. Law and development is a major area of concern for developing countries, and for the economic future and security of developed countries. The journal brings perspectives from both the developing and the developed world to examine the ways that legal orders, domestic and international, help or hinder economic development, and how global agreements and negotiations, including those in international trade, in particular affect developing countries. With editors and an editorial board that represent leading scholars and professionals of unprecedented diversity, the Law and Development Review will be of interest to a wide range of academics, researchers and, policy makers, NGOs, and international bodies interested in the legal aspects of economic development. The LDR is published by the Berkeley Electronic Press (Bepress), and the Journal's website is www.bepress.com/ldr

[Submitted by Y.S. Lee]

V. Other SIEL Services

Please also note the other special publisher discount offers for SIEL members at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=107157 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=107157>

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

November 2008 E-Newsletter

Colin Picker — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:06:24 GMT

November 2008 SIEL E-Newsletter

As we move forward in the creation of this organization we will try and keep you informed of all developments as they happen in a monthly e-newsletter (with this as the first).

I. Officers and Executive Council

As an initial matter, the first part of the governance structure has been completed, and we have in place an enthusiastic SIEL Executive Council and Officers.

They are as follows:

Officers

President: Donald McRae, University of Ottawa

Executive Vice-President: Andrew Lang, London School of Economics

Executive Vice-President: Colin Picker, University of Missouri Kansas City

Treasurer: Galina Zukova, ICC International Court of Arbitration

SIEL Co-Secretary: Meredith Kolsky Lewis, Victoria Univ. Wellington

SIEL Co-Secretary: Michelle Ratton Sanchez, Escola de Direito de Sao Paulo da Fundacao Getulio Vargas (DIREITOGV)

Executive Council

Lorand Bartels, University of Cambridge

Tomer Broude, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Isabella Bunn, Regent's Park College, Oxford

Bhupinder Chimni, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Melaku Desta, Dundee University

Holger Hestermeyer, Max Planck Institute

Locknie Hsu, Singapore Management University

Gabrielle Marceau, WTO Secretariat

Bryan Mercurio, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Junji Nakagawa, University of Tokyo

Federico Ortino, King's College London

Chantal Thomas, Cornell University

Isabelle Van Damme, University of Cambridge

Heng Wang, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing

Todd Grierson Weiler, Naftaclaims.com

We are grateful that Sidley Austin LLP continues to serve as our pro-bono legal counsel.

We also remain indebted to Simon Lester, at WorldTradeLaw.net, who is continuing to assist with many aspects of SIEL’s activities.

We hope in the next few months to announce the members of the SIEL Nominating Committee and the specific procedures for the nomination of the future SIEL governance.

We will, of course, continue to turn to our Founding Executive Counsel for their advice and support. A full list of those members may be found at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=76178 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=76178>

II. SIEL Events

It has been decided that the next global SIEL conference will take place in 2010. A Request for Proposals (“RFPs”) to host the event will be going out in the New Year. That RFP will provide the specific criteria we would want to see in any such proposals.

For 2009 we have decided to focus on regional events. You will hear more about those events in the coming months (locations, formats, call for papers, etc).

As an example of such regional events, last week the SIEL was a co-sponsor of the American Society of International Economic Law’s IEL Interest Group’s bi-annual conference. More details can be found at http://www.asil.org/files/ielconferenceprogram.pdf

III. Other IEL Events

Please consider reviewing or posting forthcoming IEL events and calls for papers at the SIEL website at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=113492 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=113492>

But, specifically, we want to note two recent conference Call for Papers.

The first by the IPFW Institute for Human Rights entitled The World Trade Organization: Its Record and Prospects Third Conference of Institute for Human Rights on the Campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 18-20, 2009 can be found at http://www.ipfw.edu/hri/index.html

The other by the ASIL IEL Interest Group Research Colloquium - UCLA, Feb. 13, 2009 can be found at http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2008/11/call-for-papers---asil-iel-interest-group-research-colloquium---ucla-feb-13-2009.html

IV. Other SIEL Services

Please consider reviewing or posting IEL employment or study positions on offer or positions sought at the SIEL webpage at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=113495 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=113495>

Please also note the special publisher discount offers for SIEL members at http://www.sielnet.org/Default.aspx?pageId=107157 <http://www.sielnet.org/Content/../Default.aspx?pageId=107157>

As a member focused organization, please consider been in touch with us with specific ideas for SIEL projects and services. We do not promise to handle and deal with them all in the short term, but we are committed to expanding the SIEL activities and services wherever appropriate - be it alone or in partnership with other IEL organizations around the world. Indeed, at the moment we are in the process of developing new projects and services. Once they are finalized we will let you know.

Thanks for your support and interest.

Colin & Andrew

Executive Vice-Presidents, SIEL

SIEL on SSRN

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:30:03 GMT

In cooperation with the SIEL, the Legal Scholarship Network (LSN) is pleased to announce the SIEL Inaugural Conference Online Proceedings. These proceedings are available to all users at no charge and contain abstracts of the meeting's papers with links to the full text within the SSRN eLibrary. The proceedings have been made possible by the support of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (http://www.law.umkc.edu).

Papers from the SIEL Inaugural Conference focus on building links and networks between and among International Economic Law (IEL) academics and academically-minded practitioners and officials, fostering the development of local IEL expertise and IEL organizations where needed, representing the discipline of international economic law as appropriate in global, regional, and national fora, and encouraging research, practice, service, and teaching in the field of IEL.

You can browse all SIEL Inaugural Conference abstracts in the SSRN database by clicking on the following link. There are currently more than 50 such papers in the system. You may wish to bookmark it in your browser.

View papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/SIEL-Inaugural-Conference.html
Conference URL: http://www.sielnet.org

ESIL International Economic Law Interest Group - Call for Papers

Andrew Lang — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:57:06 GMT

At this year's 3rd Biennial Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) the International Economic Law Interest Group (IELIG) will be holding its first meeting. This will take the form of a workshop that immediately precedes the main Conference.

Workshop Theme: We live in an increasingly heterogeneous world. Principles, norms and standards of international economic law are generated in multiple international venues, using a variety of techniques, which range from formal treaty-making processes and national legislation to the development of soft law norms and progressive interpretation in dispute settlement. New interactions and linkages are formed between state, institutions and other non-state actors. New demands are placed on regulators, lawyers and scholars. In light of these developments the IELIG workshop will explore some current Issues of Heterogeneity in International Economic Law, focusing on three sub-themes for which three separate panels will be formed:

Panel I: Regulatory autonomy in the WTO and the EC: domestic measures, ñlike productsî and Cassis de Dijonî reconsidered

Panel II: EC liability for non-compliance with WTO law

Panel III: Changing notions of MFN in trade, investment and tax regimes

Submission process: Anyone wishing to speak on a subject within one of the three workshop sub-themes should submit a short abstract (350-400 words) of their proposed presentation, together with a brief C.V. or biodata by Monday, 21st April 2008. The abstract should provide an outline of the proposed paper and should identify the thesis to be advanced and the major issues to be addressed. The submission should indicate the authorÍs name, institutional affiliation and contact details. Only one abstract per person may be submitted.

Workshop papers will be selected exclusively on the basis of scholarly merit, based on the abstract submitted. The IELIG invites all scholars of international economic law to participate in the Call for Papers irrespective of their age, gender, language or geographical location.

The deadline for submission is Monday, 21st April 2008 at 17.00 GMT to one of the following e-mail addresses: pstoll@gwdg.de; Mary.Footer@nottingham.ac.uk; or carlos.esposito@uam.es. The outcome of the selection process will be notified to all applicants by Friday, 16th May. Following selection, each presenter must produce by Friday, 15th August 2008 a draft paper of 3,000-5,000 words for circulation among the workshop participants.

SIEL Papers

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:27:41 GMT

Dear Friends of SIEL,

We have made the selections for the papers to be presented at the inaugural SIEL conference. Notices have been sent by email to those who submitted papers, indicating whether they were selected/rejected. However, it has come to our attention that some people who submitted papers did not receive the notice. If you submitted a paper but did not receive a notice, please contact Colin Picker (PickerC@umkc.edu) or Simon Lester (administrator@worldtradelaw.net).