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 3rd, 2009, at the University of Tokyo. The Call for Papers/Panels starts 3rd January and closes 28th 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
[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
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.
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>
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