BOOK: Luka BRENESELOVIC and Arnd KOCH (eds.), Die europäische Bedeutung der Internationalen Kriminalistischen Vereinigung (IKV) 1889–1919 [Grundlagen des Strafrechts; 16] (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag, 2026), 336 p. ISBN 978-3-7560-0794-3

 

(image source: InLibra)

Abstract:

Die Internationale kriminalistische Vereinigung war eine international erfolgreiche Vereinsgründung der Belle Époque. Initiiert von Franz v. Liszt, Adolphe Prins und G. A. van Hamel legte sie ihrer Tätigkeit die Prämisse zugrunde, dass Verbrechen und Strafe „ebenso sehr vom soziologischen wie vom juristischen Standpunkte aus ins Auge gefasst werden müssen“ (Art. 1, Satzung von 1889). Auf dieser Basis erhob die IKV kriminalpolitische Forderungen, die bis heute das moderne Bild des Strafrechts maßgeblich prägen. Der Band widmet sich aus einer vergleichenden Perspektive der Tätigkeit und legislatorischen Wirksamkeit der nationalen Landesgruppen der IKV und leistet so einen wichtigen Beitrag zur europäischen Geschichte des Strafrechts.

Contributors:

Mit Beiträgen von Prof. Dr. Attila Barna | Dr. Luka Breneselović, LL.M. | Prof. Dr. Yves Cartuyvels | Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Cyrille Fijnaut | Prof. Dr. José Franco-Chasán | Prof. Dr. Sabine Freitag | Dr. Urs Germann | Prof. Dr. Jørn Jacobsen | Mag. Dr. Nina Kaiser | Prof. Dr. Sylvia Kesper-Biermann | Prof. Dr. Arnd Koch | Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael Kubiciel | Prof. Dr. Dunja Milotić | Prof. Dr. Martin Sunnqvist | Dr. Richard Wetzell

Read more here: 10.5771/9783748915515. 

BOOK: Cátia P. ANTUNES, Alejandro GARCíA-MONTON, Elisabeth HEIJMANS et al., A Hydra of Business and Men: The Habsburg Asiento de Negros in Structuring the European Transatlantic Slave Trade [Library of Economic History, eds. Jeremy LAND, Tomoko SHIROYAMA & Jeroen TOUWEN; 21] (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025), ISBN 978-90-04-74509-4 [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image source: Brill)

Abstract:

This book offers a historical and historiographical analysis of the Spanish asiento de negros, a contract between the Spanish Monarchy and private parties to introduce specific number of enslaved Africans to Spanish America. As the Spanish American market was the largest single market for enslaved people prior to 1720, studying this colonial contract is essential for understanding the development of the most significant colonial contract of the long 17th century. The asiento framed the European transatlantic slave trade for nearly two centuries and shaped much of the political economy of the Spanish Atlantic empire. This book is unique in providing the first comprehensive study of the asiento since George Scelle’s 1906 work (La traite négrière aux Indes de Castille. Contracts et traités d’assiento, 2 vols.). Unlike Scelle, who focused on legal frameworks and presented the monarchy’s perspective, this book examines the asientistas themselves, offering insights into their business decisions and organizations. It concentrates on the period that gave rise to the idea of an asiento and the Habsburg-era asientos (1595–1713), preceding the so-called Bourbon reforms.

Discover the full book for free here: DOI 10.1163/9789004745094.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Beyond Development: Mapping Legal Entanglements between Africa and Europe (Vienna: Faculty of Law, 4-5 DEC 2025); DEADLINE 28 FEB 2025

  

The Department of Legal and Constitutional History and the African Law Association jointly invite scholars to participate in the interdisciplinary conference on the topic “Beyond Development: Mapping Legal Entanglements between Africa and Europe”, which will take place from 4 to 5 December 2025 at the Faculty of Law of the University of Vienna, Austria.

The event will also be the 49th Annual Conference of the African Law Association.

Outline of the Conference

The Portuguese colonies in Africa gained their independence 50 years ago. Although colonialism in Africa was by no means over in 1975, this date is regarded in global history as an important turning point for the political and legal independence of the African continent. The conference aims to mark this anniversary by reflecting on the past and considering the future from a legal perspective.

We invite contributions, firstly, about the relationships between the newly independent states and the former colonial empires at the intergovernmental (international law), diplomatic and economic levels, as well as in international organizations. The conference aims to provide a forum for discussing postcolonial criticism directed at outdated romanticization of development, on the one hand, and simplistic narratives of progress on the other. Which conclusions and assessments can be reached when using law as a criterion for analysis?

Secondly, the conference focuses on legal developments since independence and is interested in both grand narratives and micro-studies. The focus is on the topics of constitutional law and reform, regional inner-African legal integration, the regulation of the environment and the economy, human rights, and developments in private law in African countries, also in relation to non-state law.

Thirdly, we explicitly invite conceptual work; conventional descriptions and categories in these areas should be subjected to critical re-reading. The focus here is on interdependencies between Europe and Africa. This also includes the question of the extent to which legal developments on the African continent have triggered reforms in former colonial empires. We are particularly interested in the migration of ideas and people, the African diaspora in the former empires, and non-state networks as actors in the past and present of law.

Panels

When submitting your contribution, please indicate one or more of the following panels to which your topic should be assigned:

Panel 1: Legal entanglements between Africa and Europe

Panel 2: Postcolonial legal systems and non-state law

Panel 3: Regional integration, international organizations and international law

Panel 4: Constitution-making and constitutional reform

Panel 5: Environmental and economic regulation, human rights

Submission

Please submit your abstract in PDF format to lawinafrica.rechtsgeschichte@univie.ac.at and include the following:

 - Title of the submitted paper

 - Panel to which the paper should be assigned

- Abstract of 250–500 words

- Name(s) of the author(s)

- Affiliation(s) of the author(s)

Please note: The language for submitted contributions and of the conference is English. Manuscripts should be original contributions, and by submitting a paper, you accept that the organizers expect you to contribute a corresponding article to the conference proceedings!

The organizers will apply for funding to help cover travel and accommodation costs, especially for researchers from the Global South. However, we will only be able to confirm the extent of cost coverage at a later stage, so participants should be prepared in principle to cover their own costs.

Timeline

Abstract submission deadline 28 February 2025

Notification sent to participants 17 March 2025

(image: Juridicum, Vienna University)