CALL FOR PAPERS AS PART OF PANEL PROPOSAL (PDF VERSION HERE)

ESIL 5^THResearch Forum, Amsterdam, 23^rd-25^th May 2013

‘International Environmental Lawyers Situated: Between Natural Scientific Knowledge and Economic Constraints’

DEADLINE: Sunday 11^th November 2012

1. THE THEME

The ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law is currently preparing a Panel Proposal for the 5^th ESIL Research Forum, to be held in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) on 23^rd-25^th May 2013.  In line with the general topic of the Research Forum – ‘International Law as a Profession’ – and building on the themes already explored in 2009 at the Helsinki Research Forum on ‘International Law and Science’, this Panel will undertake a closer examination of how the different roles exercised by international environmental lawyers are affected by their constant and necessary interaction with both natural scientists and economists.

The normative and institutional boom of international environmental law (IEL) in the past decades is undoubtedly one of the most visible illustrations of the evolution of the international legal order, and a prominent example of the constitution of sub-specialized epistemic communities within the discipline. One of the most prominent characteristics of this new ‘regime’ is that it is highly dependent on both science and economics. Scientific findings on the current and future state of the ‘global environmental crisis’ nurture the legitimacy of the field.  Scientifically asserted causal relationships determined the adoption of the principles of historical responsibilities and common but differentiated responsibilities which structure State Parties obligations under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Warnings about the urgent need for international action are also capital for building political momentum in support of the development of new rules of international environmental law. Equally, scientific findings may determine whether a breach of obligation has occurred before an international court or tribunal (for instance, by upholding the application of the precautionary approach). Meanwhile, economic ‘cost-benefit’ considerations are central to the creation of institutional and financial mechanisms and often underpin the operation of general principles of the regime. Unsurprisingly, they are often a source of political controversy and bear a strong impact on the overall effectiveness of the regime.

For these and other reasons, international environmental lawyers, scientists and economists encounter one another, all carrying their own disciplinary mindsets, scientific paradigms and normative agendas. This Panel will explore how this encounter may affect the formation, implementation, systematization, interpretation and application of international environmental law. Papers may address, inter alia, any of the following questions:

-  What impact has scientific data – or the lack thereof – had on international legal discourse? How may the legal framing of social facts be informed and reified by scientific and economic findings? To what extent are international environmental law’s normative commitments constrained by particular economic theories?

- What role, if any, is there left for the professional lawyer in law-making processes given the growing importance of science and economics? What role do private economic stakeholders play in the enforcement of international environmental standards? How can these economic operators be held to account?

- What is the role of scientific experts before international courts and tribunals? What impact does scientific expertise have on the judges/arbitrators’ evaluation of facts and on their interpretation of substantive rules of international law?  What role does/should science play in the testing of evidence and the burden of proof in environmental cases?

2.       SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

The ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law is calling for submission of abstracts to be included in this Panel Proposal. Abstracts must not exceed 600 words, in English or French. Abstracts must set out the author’s argument and its implications for the general theme of the Research Forum. In addition, the following information must be provided:

- A short biography including relevant publications;

- The context in which the research is being conducted (e.g. for a forthcoming book, thesis, or article);

- The proposed language to be used (English or French);

- Indication whether the author is an ESIL member.

Abstracts should be sent to Alejandra Torres Camprubí (atorrescamprubi@yahoo.es) and Mario Prost (m.prost@law.keele.ac.uk) in PDF or Word (97-2003) format. The deadline for submission of abstracts for this Panel Proposal is Sunday 11^th November 2012.

3. SELECTION PROCEDURE

Abstracts for this Panel Proposal will be selected on the basis of the scientific quality of the research proposed and coherence will the overall theme of the Panel. Upon selection of the abstracts, the full Panel Proposal will be submitted to the 5^th Research Forum organizers on 15^th November 2012.

- If this Panel is selected to be part of the Research Forum’s main programme, selected speakers will receive  a fee waiver;

- If the Panel Proposal is not selected as part of the main programme, the Panel will be hosted independently and as a side-event by the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law, the afternoon before the Conference opening. Selected speakers will however not receive the fee waiver.

The deadline for submission of abstracts for the Joint Event on ‘The United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development: Appraisals and Prospects of a Paradigmatic Concept’, which will take place the night before the opening of the Valencia Conference (Wednesday 12th September, from 6-8pm), has been extended to May 7th 2012.

You may download the call for papers of the Joint Event from the websites of both organising groups:

- IG on International Environmental Law: http://esiligiel.wordpress.com/ ; and

- IG on International Economic Law: http://ejie2.ugr.es/esil-sedi-iel/index.php/9-news/10-call-of-papers

Please do not doubt to contact us should you have more questions about the Joint Event.

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

We are pleased to announce that the Interest Group on International Environmental Law will host a joint workshop with the Interest Group on International Economic Law as part of ESIL’s 2012 Biennial Conference in Valencia, Spain. The theme of the workshop is ‘The United Nations ‘Rio+20’ Conference on Sustainable Development: Appraisal and Prospects of a Paradigmatic Concept‘. The workshop will take place on Wednesday 12 Sept. 2012 from 6-8pm.

The call for papers for this joint workshop can be downloaded here. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Monday 23 April 2012.

The first official workshop of the Interest Group on International Environmental Law took place in Cambridge (2-4 Sept. 2010) as part of the European Society of International Law’s fourth biennial conference. We are very glad to report that the workshop was a real success, with more than forty persons attending the two panels.

A report has been prepared by Lorna Davey from the University of Cambridge and can be downloaded here. Many thanks to Lorna for her help before, during and after the workshop.

We hope to publish a selection of papers from the Cambridge workshop before the end of 2011. More information will follow shortly.

A few participants from the 2010 Cambridge Workshop. From left to right: Jaye Ellis (McGill University), Harro van Asselt (Oxford University), Alejandra Torres Camprubi (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Kishan Kohday (UNDP), Usha Natarajan (American University in Cairo), Susana Borras (Rovira i Virgili University), Rosa Maria Fernandez-Egea (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)

Fairness in International Environmental Law

Cambridge, 2 Sept. 2010

Faculty of Law – Room LG17

Final Program

Opening (9h30-9h45)

Panel 1: Theory, Practice and Discourse on Fairness in International Environmental Law (9h45-11h00)

Chair: Mario Prost

- Natasha Affolder (University of British Columbia):
“‘International’, ‘Environmental’, ‘Law’: Lessons in Scholarly Boundary Drawing and Marginalization”

- Susana Borràs (Rovira i Virgili University):
“The Tribunals for Environmental Justice”

- Jaye Ellis (McGill University):
“Unilateral Exercises in Public Authority: Addressing Issues of Fairness”

- Kishan Khoday (UNDP) and Usha Natarajan (Centre for International Sustainable Development Law)
“Sustainable Development in the Third World or How Much Should a Person Consume”

Coffee Break (11h00-11h15)

Panel 2: Making Fairness a Reality in the International Regime on Climate Change (11h15-12h20)

Chair: Alejandra Torres Camprubi

- Jorge Vinuales (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies – Geneva)
“Balancing Fairness and Effectiveness in the Redesign of the Climate Change Regime”

- Aurora Mateos (Consultant, Legal advisor of the Republic of Timor Leste at COP-15)
“Climate Change at Copenhagen and afterwards: reasons of a limited progress and prospects for Mexico (COP-16)”

- Rosa Maria Fernandez-Egea (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)
“Economic Mechanisms to Fight Climate Change: a Critical View of their Legitimization”

- Jerneja Penca (European University Institute)
“Fitting REDD within the Green Agenda: An Appraisal of Fairness in the Emerging Forestry Mechanism”

CLOSING REMARKS: 12h20-12h30

The Interest Group on International Environmental Law is pleased to announce that its first workshop will be held during the Fourth Biennial Conference of the European Society of International Law in Cambridge (2-4 Sept. 2010;  see conference website here).

The theme of the workshop is: Fairness in International Environmental Law.

The call for papers has just been released and can be found here.

I wanted to draw your attention to a major study that the European Commission has recently issued terms of reference for, as I thought it might be of interest to a number of your members. It is intended to support the work of Professor John Ruggie, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Business and Human Rights, by exploring the current environmental and human rights obligations of EU-domiciled companies in their overseas operations under EU, national, and international law, with a view to developing policy proposals at the EU level. The EC is going to announce the successful tenderer very soon – the link to the winning team once that announcement is made will be posted then. Meanwhile, the tender can be found here:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=3334

Besides, Professor Ruggie gave a speech last this month at an EU Presidency conference held in Stockholm on extraterritorial jurisdiction. The speech refers to some comparative work we are undertaking, including in the area of the environment. The speech can be found here.

Finally, I would like to draw your attention on a joint EU Presidency statement from the meeting of the Swedish and Spanish governments on the role of the EU in promoting and importantly regulating CSR,  including implementing Professor Ruggie’s ”Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. The joint statement can be found here.

For those who may be interested, John Ruggie’s web portal is available at:

http://www.business-humanrights.org/SpecialRepPortal/Home

Rachel Davis (Legal advisor to Professor John Ruggie, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights)

As we gear up for the ESIL/ASIL research forum in Helsinki, I thought I would inaugurate this new webpage on a light note by bringing your attention to a blog written by my friend and colleague Frédéric Mégret of McGill University.

In The Nomadic Academic Mégret reflects on what it means to be a scholar in our globalised digital age. Whilst the blog is primarily interested in new technologies, and how they affect our research and teaching, it also offers some provocative thoughts on the ‘environmentally sustainable academic’.

Should we really travel half way round the world for a 10 minute presentation? Should conferences be grouped in time and space or should we resort more systematically to web conferencing? Do the benefits of academic conferencing always offset the carbon footprint of those attending? Should we go paper-free and convert to e-publishing? How can we change things in a system where we, as professionals, are partly judged on how many conferences we go to?

These are challenging, if not irritating, questions. We like to believe that we are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Besides, most of us spend a considerable amount of time teaching and writing on environmental problems. Can we not just enjoy our free drink?

Mégret’s Nomadic Academic may be a bit of a party pooper. Still, these are questions worth thinking about as we hop on a plane en route to our next academic gathering.

Mario Prost.