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ACIL Newsletter April 2019
ACIL Newsletter April 2019
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Featured research
Human trafficking and labour exploitation
Human trafficking and labour exploitation
Together with ABN Amro bank and the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, Jill Coster van Voorhout (ACIL & Criminal Law) developed algorithms to detect human trafficking on the basis of bank data. The algorimths were launched at an event at Amsterdam Law School. Following the launch, here has been widespread attention for the project in Dutch media.

Visit the overview of the project milestones on the UvA website.
Looking back on selected ACIL events
In his guest lecture on 6 February, Clive Baldwin (Human Rights Watch) discussed the allegations, investigations and court cases regarding the allegations of UK war crimes in Iraq, including the preliminary examinations by the International Criminal Court. We interviewed him after his lecture about his background and his wider work in Human Rights.
Following his ACIL guest lecture on the 'Widening use of the state of emergency,' we interviewed Mark Klamberg (Stockholm University) about Roman model dictators versus current use of emergency powers and the wider context of his guest lecture.
What is the most consequential access to civil justice problem in the world today? Maya Steinitz (Iowa School of Law) answers this question in an interview after her guest lecture at ACIL. She also tells us what she is doing to address this problem.
On the occasion of the publication of the Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review 2019 the War Reparations Centre of the University of Amsterdam hosted a debate on the key findings of the report. The report highlights how universal jurisdiction is increasingly used all around the world to ensure accountability and justice for victims of serious international crimes. Read an account of the event on the ACIL website.

On 28 February and 1 March 2019, ACIL researchers Stephan Schill and Michail Risvas hosted the two-day workshop 'Engaging with Domestic Law in International Adjudication Factfinding or Transnational Law-Making?'. Participants from all continents discussed the ‘judicialisation’ of international law as a result of the proliferation of international courts and tribunals and how emphasis has been put on how international courts and tribunals actively make international law. What is often neglected, is that international courts and tribunals regularly engage with domestic law. Within this context the workshop focused on the approach(es) adopted by international courts and tribunals in dealing with issues of domestic law.

During his ACIL-ICL guest lecture James Lin (International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims & ACIL PhD researcher) explored the changing face of torture and the increasing reliance on forensic evidence in torture investigation. He also discussed the challenges of working with traumatised victims.

On 7 March 2019, T.M.C. Asser Institute, ACIL, MILC and Oxford University Press hosted a launch event on the particularities of the professional identity of international institutional lawyers. International institutional law has a binary character, being at the same time a domain of international law, but also a technical, splintered and pragmatic practice, fine-tuned to the managerial exigencies of international bureaucratic life. The event was chaired by Catherine Brölmann.
 
In his ACIL-ICL guest lecture entitled ‘A forensic perspective on digital data: digital investigations and digital evidence,’ Prof Zeno Geradts discussed methods in digital forensics, ranging from analysis of digital devices and extracting memories, to the handling of huge amounts of data in a forensic investigation.
Welcomes
On 1 February 2019, Sergey Vasiliev joined ACIL and the Department of Criminal Law as an assistant professor. He previously worked as an assistant professor of public international law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University.
Vessela Terzieva joined the War Reparations Centre as external PhD researcher. She will conduct research on the topic of ‘Victims of International Crimes in Domestic Proceedings: a Study on the Rights to Justice, Reparation, and Truth.’
Craig Martin is a Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law and Co-Director of the Washburn Law International and Comparative Law Center. While visiting ACIL he will be conducting research on certain legal issues arising at the intersection of climate change, state responsibility, and international peace and security. He will stay at ACIL as a visiting fellow until the summer of 2019.
Mark B Taylor from the University of Oslo has joined ACIL as a visiting fellow until the summer break 2019. During his stay at the Amsterdam Center for International Law, Mark will be pursuing postdoctoral research on human rights and climate litigation as part of attempts to regulate corporate sustainability.
Hemi Mistry (University of Nottingham) joined ACIL as short-term visiting fellow from March to April 2019. During her stay she has been working on a paper that explores how insights from social and ritual theory may sharpen our understanding of the practice of dissent by international judges. The visiting fellowship enabled her to draw upon the experience and expertise at ACIL, to share ideas and gain valuable feedback on her work as well as developing academic friendships.
Of note
Yvonne Donders has been appointed by the Dutch government as Commissioner at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (NHRI). As of 1 July she will combine her new task with her work as ACIL researcher, Professor of International Human Rights and Cultural Diversity and Head of the Department of International and European Public Law at Amsterdam Law School.

Catherine Brölmann and Rosanne van Alebeek were appointed members of the Advisory Committee on Issues of Public International Law (CAVV) – an independent body that advises the government, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Netherlands on international law issues.

Janne Nijman, ACIL professor and Academic Director at T.M.C. Asser Instituut, has become a member of the International Gender Champions Hub in The Hague.

Kevin Jon Heller has been appointed to the four-person Advisory Board of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales, the international human rights arm of the English and Welsh Bar.

The team of UvA’s students – Diana Carolina Realpe, William Alexander Smith-Burnand, Shahine Rezaei Kalantari, and Gintarė Matonytė – reached 5th place (among 44 participating teams) in this year’s Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court (FIAMC) competition. This is the best result that the UvA ever achieved in this competition, and a further improvement from last year’s result.

The ACIL/Amsterdam Law School team qualified for the final rounds of the John H. Jackson WTO Moot Court competition. The team will now be competing with teams from all over the world, at the WTO headquarters in Geneva.
Events
On Wednesday, 22 May 2019 ACIL will be hosting its Annual Research Day. The first part of the day will be an internal get-together. It is an occasion for ACIL members to reflect on the past year and make plans for the coming year.

The ACIL Research Day will be concluded by a public guest lecture by Karen J. Alter on 'The Future of International Law in an Age of Nationalist Populism.' Please register by 15 May 2019, if you would like to attend Karen Alter's lecture.
Calender
Apr
24
ACIL-ICL Lecture: Judging Cybercrime: not business as usual
In his guest lecture entitled ‘Judging Cybercrime: not business as usual,’ Christiaan Baardman (Senior Judge at the Court of Appeal The Hague) will provide background information on the Expertise Center on Cybercrime and touch upon the way cybercrime and digital evidence have influenced the judiciary. Read more.

Apr
29
ACIL luncheon: Defending Humanity from Threats to the Atmosphere: Climate Change and Jus ad Bellum
During the ACIL luncheon to be held on 29 April, visiting fellow Prof. Craig Martin will give a talk entitled 'Defending Humanity from Threats to the Atmosphere: Climate Change and Jus ad Bellum’. Read more.

May
6
ACIL luncheon: Violence, Economic Opportunity and War - A Brief History of Norms in Law
In his luncheon lecture, ACIL visiting fellow Mark B. Taylor (University of Oslo, Fafo Research Foundation) will examine the development of relevant international law norms in interaction with the demise of plunder-based systems of warfare in Europe, colonial systems of exploitation, the rise of industry capacity as the basis of modern war economies, wars of national liberation and the (re)turn to 'New Wars’. Read more.

May
16
Inaugural lecture Ingo Venzke
On 16 May 2019 at 16.00 hrs, ACIL director and Professor for International Law and Social Justice will deliver his inaugural lecture entitled 'International Law and the Spectre of Inequality.' Read more.

May
21
PhD defense Kathryn Greenman
On 21 May at 10.00 hrs ACIL PhD researcher Kathryn Greenman will defend her PhD thesis entitled 'The History and Legacy of State Responsibility for Rebels 1839-1930: Protecting Trade and Investment against Revolution in the Decolonised World.' Read more.

May
22
ACIL Annual Research Day 2019
The ACIL Annual Research Day 2019 will take place on 22 May. Karen J. Alter will give a lecture as part of the Research Day. She is Professor of Political Science and Law at Northwestern University and a permanent visiting professor at the iCourts Center for Excellence, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law.

May
22
ACIL Lecture: The Future of International Law in an Age of Nationalist Populism
During this lecture Karen J. Alter (Northwestern University) will interrogate what might happen to international law should America turn its back on the international liberal order. She argues that most substantive international law will also remain unchanged and unaffected. But that there are also new questions we never asked regarding how variations in social commitments affect the way that international law operates around the world. The current moment makes these questions increasingly urgent. Read more & register.

Research output
Latest SSRN
Brölmann, C.
‘Capturing the Juridical Will of International Organisations’, in: Sufyan Droubi and Jean d’Aspremont (eds), International Organizations and Non-State Actors in the Formation of Customary International Law, Melland Schill Perspectives on International Law (Manchester University Press, 2019) , Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2019-09, Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2019-02
Articles
Foster, A. and Lumley, P. (eds.)
‘Legal Obstacles to Housing, Land and Property Rights in Syria,’ 6 March 2019, policy brief, Pax, Utrecht.

Brölmann, C. and Nijman, J.E.
'Personality', in J d’Aspremont & S Singh (Eds), Concepts for International Law ‐ Contributions to Disciplinary Thought (2019), Edgar Elgar, London.

Fahner, J.H.
‘Déjà Vu in The Hague – the relevance of the Chagos arbitral award to the proceedings before the ICJ’ (31 January 2019), Questions of International Law, Naples

Heri, C.
‘Aktuelle Rechtsprechung des EGMR mit Bezug auf minderjährige Migranten,’ (2018). In P. Jaffé, N. Hitz, J. Zermatten, N. Langenegger Roux, Ö. Lakatos, C. Nanchen, P. Riva Gapany, ... Z. Moody (Eds.), Actes du 8e Colloque printanier du Centre interfacultaire en droits de l’enfant (CIDE) de l’Université de Genève et de l’Institut international des droits de l’enfant (IDE) Sion, CH.

Schill, S.W.
‘Lack of Independence and Impartiality of Arbitrators’, (March 2019), working paper of Working Group 6 for the Academic Forum on ISDS, Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement, Geneva (together with Jeffrey Dunoff, Chiara Giorgetti, Shotaro Hamamoto, Luke Nottage, Steven Ratner, Michael Waibel)

Schill, S.W. and Djanic, V.
‘Internationales Investitionsschutzrecht und Gemeinwohlinteressen’ (2018) 57(4) Der Staat 563-600

Schill, S.W.
'From Investor-State Dispute Settlement to a Multilateral Investment Court? Evaluating Options from an EU Law Perspective' in European Parliament (ed), EU Investment Protection after the ECJ Opinion on Singapore: Question of Competence and Coherence (European Union 2019) p.31-60 

Schill, S.W. and Vidigal, G.
'Investment Dispute Settlement à la carte within a Multilateral Institution: A Path Forward for the UNCITRAL Process? 248 Columbia FDI Perspectives (25 March 2019)
Book chapters & papers
Wilt, H. van der
‘Breaking the Cycle of Collective Violence: International Criminal Law’s Contribution,’ in: 'Breaking the Cycle of Mass Atrocities: Criminological and Socio-Legal Approaches in International Criminal Law' Edited by Marina Aksenova, Elies van Sliedregt and Stephan Parmentier, Oxford: Hart Publishing 2019
Presentations and societal impact
Brölmann, C.
Organizer of OXIO Talk ‘Two Souls In One Breast: The International Institutional Lawyer As Scholar And As Practitioner’ (discussion of theme with Gabrielle Marceau and Niels Blokker); 7 March 2019, TMC Asser Institute, The Hague.

Brölmann, C.
Co-organiser and moderator of the workshop ‘An Ambivalent Engagement: International Organisations and the International Rule of Law’ (3 April) as part of the European Society of International Law’s Interest Group on International Organisations, ESIL Research Forum 2019, 3-5 April 2019, Institut für Völkerrecht und Europarecht, Georg-August Universität Göttingen

Brölmann, C.
Appointed as vice-president of the Advisory Committee for Public International Law of the Government of the Netherlands (CAVV)

Donders, Y.
Presentation ‘Science as a human right: why, what and for whom?’, Human Rights Lecture Series, Maastricht University, Faculty of Law

Kjos, H.E.
Committee member for the PHD defense of Kabir Duggal on 'Principles of Evidence in Investor-State Arbitration, Burden, Standards, Presumptions, & Inferences', 28 February 2019, Leiden University.

Nijman, J.E.
Moderator of the ‘Closing Plenary: International Law as an Instrument for Development’ with panellists Ulrik Knudsen, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, and Martijn Snoep. 30 March 2019, Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, Washington D.C.

Nijman, J.E.
Discussant of papers by Karin Loevy (NYU) and Valentina Vadi (Lancaster Univ.) at the ASIL International Legal Theory Interest Group meeting, 29 March 2019, Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, Washington D.C.

Nijman, J.E.
Presention of ‘The Urban Pushback: international law as an instrument of cities’ at the Panel ‘Federalism strikes back: Is the One-Voice Doctrine in Decline?’ 28 March 2019, Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, Washington D.C.

Nijman, J.E.
Co-organiser of the conference ‘Cities and international law in the Urban Age’, 14-15 March 2019, T.M.C. Asser Instituut. Event organised together with Helmut Aust (Freie Universität Berlin) and Miha Marcenko (Asser Institute).

Prislan, V.
Coach of the ACIL team at the Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court, 4-9 March 2019, Frankfurt

Prislan, V.
Presentation on ‘Regulating Digital Business Models as a Source of (future) Investment Disputes’ at the Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop 2019: International Investment Law in the Age of Digitalization, which took place on 8 and 9 March 2019 in Frankfurt

Schill, S.W.
Die Achmea Entscheidung des EuGH und ihre Rezeption in der Investitionsschiedsgerichtsbarkeit, 11th Meeting of the 'Krickenbeck Circle' on International Investment Law, Cologne, 19-20 January 2018

Schill, S.W.
Investment Dispute Settlement à la Carte within a Multilateral Institution, Reforming International Investment Arbitration, PluriCourts, Oslo, 1-2 February 2019

Schill, S.W.
‘The Permanent Investment Court System Is the Solution to the Concerns over Investor State Dispute Settlement’ – An Oxford Style Debate, ISDS Reform Conference: Mapping the Way Forward, Department of Justice of Hong Kong SAR / Asian Academy of International Law, Hong Kong, 13 February 2019

Schill, S.W.
From Investor-State Dispute Settlement to a Multilateral Investment Court? Evaluating Options from an EU Law Perspective, Workshop: EU Investment Protection after the ECJ Opinion on Singapore: Questions of Competence and Coherence, European Parliament, Committee on International Trade, Brussels, 20 February 2019

Schill, S.W.
Organiser of the two-day workshop ‘Engaging with Domestic Law in International Adjudication: Fact-Finding or Transnational Law-Making?’, Amsterdam Center for International Law, 28 February – 1 March 2019

Schill, S.W.
Introduction and Concluding Remarks at the two-day workshop ‘Engaging with Domestic Law in International Adjudication: Fact-Finding or Transnational Law-Making?’, Amsterdam Center for International Law, 28 February – 1 March 2019

Schill, S.W.
Human Rights and Arbitration, 2nd Annual Global Arbitration Review Live, Zurich, Switzerland, 7 March 2019

Schill, S.W.
International Investment Law in the Age of Digitalization: An Introduction, Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop, Goethe-University Frankfurt, 8 March 2019

Schill, S.W.
Conference co-chair (together with Mélida Hodgson): ‘State Parties in Contract-Based Arbitration: The Theory and Practice of Private-Public Arbitration, Institute for Transnational Arbitration,’ American Society of International Law Conference, Washington, DC, 27 March 2019

Schill, S.W.
The Legal Framework of Private-Public Arbitration: At the Crossroads Between Public Law, Commercial Arbitration, and International (Investment) Law – Introduction and Moderation, State Parties in Contract-Based Arbitration: The Theory and Practice of Private-Public Arbitration, Institute for Transnational Arbitration – American Society of International Law Conference, Washington, DC, 27 March 2019

Vlaming, F. de
Participant in the international workshop ‘Human Rights and Legal Transnational Activism: Limits and Potential’, with a particular focus on the European Court of Human Rights, the situation in Turkey, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories. 8-9 February 2019, Institut für Ethnologie, Ludwig Maximillians Universität, Munich.

Vlaming, F. de
Participant in the seminar ‘Holding Multinational Corporations and Governments to Account in a Developing World’, organised by WRC Academic Director Prof Liesbeth Zegveld. 14 March 2019. Office of Prakken d’ Oliviera Human Rights Lawyers, Amsterdam.
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