WORKSHOP: 'International Humanitarian Law: Expanding its History(ies), Prospects and Challenges' (Zurich: University of Zurich, 28-29 NOV 2024) [HYBRID]

 

With the generous support of UZH GRC Grants

International Humanitarian Law:

Expanding its History (ies), Prospects and Challenges

 

November 28-29

University of Zurich, KO2-F-152 EV, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4

 

The Workshop Program:

Thursday November 28:

10.00-10.15	Welcome & Registration
10.15-10.30   10.30-11.00	Welcome by Prof. Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina   Opening Note by Bruno Demeyere Chief Editor of the International Review of the Red Cross
11.00- 12.30	Panel 1: From the Origins to Reinterpretations of International Humanitarian Law   Raphael Schäfer, Max-Planck-Institut, Heidelberg "Humanity as a Vehicle - A New History for the Laws of War"   Alexa Stiller, Zürich University “Between Decolonization and the End of the Cold War: Reinterpretations and Applications of International Humanitarian Law, 1970s to 1990s”   Moderator: Prof. Benjamin Straumann, Zurich University
12.45-14.00	Lunch UZH Mensa
14.00- 15.00	Panel 2: The archives, and the case of the ICRC in Northern Ireland   Hellen Kinsella, University of Minnesota Giovanni Mantilla, Cambridge University "Politics, Law, and Power in Detention Visits: the Case of the ICRC in Northern Ireland’s 'Troubles'”   Moderator: Prof. Elisabetta Fioochi Malaspina
Thursday November 28:
15.00-16.15	Panel 3: Art & Emotions in the History of International Humanitarian Law
	Giacomo Pace Gravina, University of Messina “Colonialist Emotions. The 'Nobility of Defeat' in Late 19th-Century Paintings”   Tania Atilano, Zurich University, “The exchange of Belgian prisoners” in the painting of Francisco de Paula Mendoza Escobedo, Mexico, 1881   Moderator: Prof. Bardo Fassbender University of St. Gallen
18.00-19.30	Guided Walking Tour: Colonial Legacy in Zurich
20.00	Dinner Restaurant Zum Grünen Glas
Friday November 29:
09.00-10.30	Panel 4: Latin American Engagements with the Laws of War   Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, LSE, London “Recentering Quechua and Aymara Revolution in the History of Latin American International Law” Liliana Obregón “Racial Hierarchies in Early Latin American Military Codes” Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia   Moderator: Tania Ixchel Atilano
10.30-10.45	Coffee Break
Friday November 29:
10.45- 12.15	Panel 5: New Insights on Non-State Actors   Samuel White, Adelaide University, Australia “War Without Limits - A Historical Critique of Sharp War Theory through Forgotten Histories”   Roberta Arnold, Zurich University, “Terrorism and War: A New «Partnership»?”   Moderator: Prof. Daniel Marc Segesser University of Bern
12.30- 14.00	Lunch at the ETH Dozentenfoyer
14.00 - 15.30	Roundtable How to expand the history (ies) of IHL? Challenges and Future Perspectives Next steps and publication of special issue in the IRRC
15.30	Farewell

 

 

Location:

University of Zurich, KO2-F-152 EV, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4

Streaming

https://uzh.zoom.us/j/8751685913?pwd=V25DZUlVL1E4MTlBZ2s5SEF3UHhVZz09

ID meeting: 875 168 5913

Password: 359670

Contact details

Elisabetta Fiocchi:  Elisabetta.fiocchi@ius.uzh.ch

Tania Atilano: tania.atilanocamacho@uzh.ch

CONFERENCE: Legal Unification through Case Law? (Regensburg: University of Regensburg, Institute for East European Law, 21 - 22 NOV 2024)

 

 

Conference program:

21. November 2024 (2 p.m.)

Introduction (Martin Löhnig)

Legal harmonisation between Austria and Germany before the amendments to the ABGB (Kamila Staudigl-Ciechowicz)

The ABGB in the case law of the VIII. Civil Senate of the German Reichsgericht 1939 - 1945 (Martin Löhnig)

The British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (David Schorr)

22. November 2024 (9 a.m)

The Role of the Hungarian Royal Curia in the Unification of Private Law between the Two World Wars  (László Ádám Joó)

The Supreme Court for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the unification of judicial practice (Mehmed Becic)

The Supreme Court of the Second Polish Republicon Civil Status Records: A Case Law Review (Bartosz Kamil Truszkowski)

Registration:

rechtskultur@ur.de

Organized by:

Prof. Dr. Martin Löhnig (University of Regensburg)

Conference venue:

Institut für Ostrecht/Institute for East European Law
Landshuter Str. 4
D-93047 Regensburg

Find more information here.

BOOK: Andreas HERRMANN, Bereicherungsverbot und Gewalthaberhaftung [Forschungen zum Römischen Recht; 65] (Köln: Böhlau, 2024), 375 p., ISBN 978-3-412-53046-4

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Das römische Recht kennt Ersatzklagen eines Geschädigten nicht allein gegen dessen Schädiger, sondern in zahlreichen Fällen auch gegen Dritte, an die infolge der Schädigung ein Vorteil gelangt ist. Insbesondere wenn sich der Schädiger nicht mit Erfolg belangen lässt, richten die römischen Juristen die im Verhältnis zwischen dem Geschädigten und seinem Schädiger bestehende Klage gegen den Dritterwerber, soweit dieser etwas erlangt hat. Die dafür gängige Bezeichnung als „prätorische Bereicherungsklagen“ ist indes irreführend: Die Konstruktion, mit der sich eine Klage in den Grenzen des Erlangten auf den Dritterwerber erstrecken ließ, geht nicht auf den Prätor, sondern bereits das republikanische Repetundenrecht zurück. Die Bezeichnung als Bereicherungsklagen geht fehl, weil vorrangig Schadensersatz bezweckt ist.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andreas Herrmann ist Lehrbeauftragter der Juristischen Fakultät der Universität Tübingen und Rechtsreferendar am Landgericht Tübingen. 

 

Read more here.

 

BOOK: Stephan MEDER (ed.), Geschichte und Zukunft des Urheberrechts IV [Beiträge zu Grundfragen des Rechts; 43] (Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2024), 310 p., ISBN 978-3-8471-1714-8

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The contributions in this volume deal with the broad spectrum of historical and current problems of copyright law. They range from text adaptations in works by the humanist Conrad Lagus to the censorship policy in Gerhart Hauptmann's social drama “The Weavers” (“Die Weber”) and to the question of whether a patron can force an artist to create a work. In addition, insights are provided into the early history of IT law as well as findings on the licensing of platform software and the copyright law for press publishers. The volume makes it clear that the conflict of interests between creator, exploiter and user, which has always existed, cannot be resolved with ready-made templates.

ABOUT THE EDITOR:

Prof. Dr. Stephan Meder has been teaching civil law and legal history at the Faculty of Law at the University of Hanover since 1998.

Read more here.

 

BOOK: Julian SCHWARZE, Westeigentum in der DDR [Jenaer Schriften zum DDR Recht; 2] (Köln: Böhlau, 2024), 388 p., ISBN 978-3-412-52990-1

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Die Gründung der DDR zerriss nicht nur zahllose Familien, in hunderttausenden Fällen trennte sie auch Grundstücke auf unabsehbare Zeit von ihren Eigentümern. Insbesondere das Vermögen von Republikflüchtlingen, Ausreisenden, BRD-Bürgern und Ausländern befand sich für die Eigentümer durch die deutsche Teilung unerreichbar jenseits des „Eisernen Vorhangs“. In der DDR wurde dieses Westeigentum Gegenstand einer streng geheimen staatlichen Enteignungsmaschinerie. Unbemerkt von der Öffentlichkeit wurden unzählige Vermögenswerte westlicher Eigentümer systematisch erfasst, überschuldet und anschließend in Volkseigentum überführt. Auf der Grundlage umfangreicher Archivbestände schildert Julian Schwarze den Umgang mit dem Westvermögen in der DDR von 1949 bis 1990. Die Darstellung verortet das Westvermögen in einem Spannungsfeld zwischen Ideologie, Politik und Recht. Hierdurch wird deutlich, dass das Westvermögen schon in der DDR längst nicht nur ein juristisches Problem war. Erstmalig liegt damit eine umfassende Untersuchung jener Vermögensschädigungen vor, deren Rückabwicklung unter dem Schlagwort der offenen Vermögensfragen zu den umstrittensten Fragen der Wiedervereinigung zählte.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julian Schwarze ist derzeit Rechtsreferendar am Landgericht Heidelberg. Nach seinem Studium der Rechtswissenschaft in Heidelberg, Lille (Frankreich) und Leipzig promovierte er an der Universität Jena im Bereich der DDR-Rechtsgeschichte. 

 

Read more here.

SYMPOSIUM: Diritto, cultura e impegno civile nel percorso intellettuale di Francesco Ruffini (1863-1934) (Pavia: Collegio Ghisleri, 14 NOV 2024)

 (Source: Storia del diritto)

CALL FOR PAPERS: Workshop 'Freedom of the seas and freedom of the individual: a historical appraisal' (London: School of Oriental and African Studies University of London, 7 FEB 2025) [DEADLINE 20 NOV 2024]

Call for papers

Freedom of the seas is a time-honoured principle of international law and the dogma of old and new maritime powers. Traditionally associated with Western-dominated legal doctrine and imperialist mindset, freedom of the seas allowed European states to expand and engage in direct trade with East and West, eventually leading to imperialism and colonisation. Conceptually, its genesis is generally attributed to the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius and his advocacy in favour of Dutch trade interests in the Indian Ocean in the early XVII century. However, this narrative entirely overlooks forms of State practice and customs developed in other regions of the world, let alone other contemporary or pre-existing scholars.

Generally portrayed in a positive light and recognised as an inherent right of states, freedom of the seas has also benefitted peoples and individuals. Many people oppressed on land have turned to the sea in an effort to leave war and discrimination and to seek refuge and a better future. Starting with Aeneas escaping by ship from the burning Troy, down to the pilgrims of the Mayflower and the thousands of people who have used maritime routes for migration, the free seas have always been the means for trying to reach safety and protection and a way to be able to freely pursue one’s opinions and beliefs, ultimately furthering societal change and visions of a fairer world. 

However, freedom of the seas has also its dark side. The principle has underpinned colonial domination and allowed the slave trade in the Atlantic Ocean and other seas. These lesser known aspects have remained unresearched for many decades. Only recently did they start coming to the forefront, with scholars drawing parallels between old and new state practices to limit free use of the seas by individuals, while allowing slavery and forced labour.

Starting from these premises, the research project on freedom of the seas and protection of human rights, funded by the British Academy and led by Professor Irini Papanicolopulu at SOAS, organises a Workshop, bringing together leading experts and emerging young scholars to debate the relationship between freedom of the seas and individual freedom in a historical perspective. The workshop will take place at SOAS, University of London (UK) on 7 February 2025.

This call for papers invites young scholars to explore various aspects of the relationship between freedom of the seas and individual freedom in a historical perspective, focusing on the XV-XIX centuries. Thematically, we invite participants to deal with aspects relating but not limited to the following topics:

- Historically, who could benefit from the freedom of the seas? And to what purpose? 

- What consequences did this produce upon the determination of the rights (and the duties) that states and individuals had at sea and over the sea? 

- How does the freedom of the seas reflect the deeply entrenched patterns of domination that characterise much of early international law? 

- To what extent (if any) could it be considered to embody also different values? 

- What legal tools were developed to allow some actors to freely use the seas while limiting the freedom of others? 

- Which actors were most relevant at sea, and how does the private/public divide factor into this?

- Why were some empires/State powers particularly proactive in attempting to legally defend their arguments?

Papers may focus on a specific jurist, geographic area, school of thought, historical period, or may address more transversal aspects across the identified timeframe and regions, and may do so from a variety of approaches. We particularly encourage papers from young scholars based in the Global South.

Abstracts of 800-1000 words, addressing the theme and methodology of the proposed paper, and accompanied by an academic CV are to be submitted to al77@soas.ac.uk and ip14@soas.ac.uk by Wednesday 20 November 2024. Selected candidates will be informed by Wednesday 27 November 2024 and must submitted a 7000-8000 words paper by 6 January 2025. The draft papers will be then distributed to the discussants and will be presented and discussed in the course of the Workshop of 7 February 2025. 

Selected participants may be offered a scholarship to cover their travel and accommodation expenses for participating in the workshop. Scholars from the Global South, at early career stage, or belonging to underrepresented groups in Higher Education will be prioritised for the scholarship.

Key Dates 

20 November 2024: deadline for the submission of abstracts

27 November 2024: communication of selection outcome

6 January 2025: deadline for the submission of draft papers

7 February 2025: workshop

For further information please contact Dr Andrea Longo at al77@soas.ac.uk 

REMINDER: Van Caenegem Prize 2025 (articles published or accepted in 2023, 2024)

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) President and Executive Council are pleased to present the ESCLH Van Caenegem Prize competition. The prize will be awarded to a young legal historian deemed to have written the best article published in Comparative Legal History, the ESCLH journal, in 2022; 2023 and 2024 or on comparative legal history in another journal in the same two calendar years. Articles published or accepted for publication in 2022; 2023 or 2024 are eligible to compete. In the case of acceptance, a letter from the journal is required.

Art. 1: Name of the prize

The Van Caenegem prize is named in honour of Raoul Charles Van Caenegem, a pioneering author in the field of comparative legal history.

Art. 2: The best article in the field of comparative legal history

(1)           The Van Caenegem prize is awarded to the young legal historian(s) in the meaning of Art. 3 who wrote the best article in the field of comparative legal history.

(2)          Every article by a young legal historian published in the Society's journal (Comparative Legal History) in the two calendar years preceding the year in which the Society's Conference is held at which the prize is to be awarded will automatically be considered for the prize.

(3)           The Van Caenegem Prize Committee may consider articles in the field of comparative legal history which are published in the same years in other journals in the English language for the prize.

(4)           Authors and third parties may submit articles in the meaning of paragraph (3) to be considered for the prize. Submission should be made by 1 January of the year in which the Society’s Conference is held at which the prize is to be awarded. The submission must be made by email to the President of the ESCLH. The submission must include a pdf of the published article and a statement indicating that the author fulfils the requirements of Art. 3.

Art. 3: Young legal historian(s)

(1)   A legal historian is regarded to be a young legal historian in the meaning of these rules if he or she is in his or her early career. Accordingly, a legal historian is eligible for the prize if on 1 January of the year of the award ceremony he or she is still within eight years after completing his or her PhD; the Prize Committee can, in exceptional cases and on application, grant an extension of this period. Normally, a legal historian fulfilling the requirement of sentences 1 and 2 will not be eligible if he or she is already a full professor.

(2)   A legal historian who has previously received the prize is not eligible to receive the prize a

second time.

(3)   In case of co-authorship all co-authors must fulfil the requirements set out in Art. 3(1) and (2). Co-authors share the prize.

Art. 4: Van Caenegem Prize Committee

(1)           The Society awards the prize to the winner as determined by the Van Caenegem Prize Committee.

(2)           The Committee shall be appointed by the Society’s Executive Council in the year before the award ceremony. The Committee consists of a president and four further members:

(a)           At least two members (including the president of the committee) shall belong to the Society's Advisory Board.

(b)           Two members shall be chosen from the organisers of the Young Legal Historians Forum which took place within two years of the appointment of the Prize Committee. These two members should not currently be supervised for doctoral work by any other member of the committee. If the Young Legal Historians Forum did not have a conference in the two years period or if it ceases to exist or if for any other reason it is not possible to appoint two members from the organisers of the Young Legal Historians Forum, the Executive Council must chose two members who are themselves young legal historians within the meaning of

Art. 3(1).

(c)            The last member of the Committee shall be chosen from the international community of scholars in comparative legal history.

(d)           No member may be affiliated to the same institution as another member. No member’s institution may be in the same country as another member’s institution. 

(5)  The Society's president can, by appointment, fill a vacancy on the Prize Committee.

(6)  After reviewing the articles, a majority of votes determines the winner. The committee may decide that the prize is shared between two authors.

(7)  A member cannot vote if the vote concerns a relative within the fifth degree, a co-author of a publication or co-applicant of a project or the author is or has been an employee or grantholder at the same institution.

Art. 5: The award of the prize

The prize is awarded by the Society's president at the Society's Conference. The winner will be announced in the issue of the Comparative Legal History following the conference.

Art. 6: Prize money and certificate

The prize consists of a sum to be determined by the Executive Council and a certificate. The Prize Committee will write a one page report, detailing the academic qualities and importance of the article. The president and the further members of the Committee cannot communicate with those outside the Committee in any other way about their decision.

Art. 7: Dispute resolution

Any dispute in respect of a Van Caenegem Prize must be submitted to the president of the Society whose determination is final. 

Potential authors should consult the submission information on Comparative Legal History.

Past winners
2014 (Macerata Conference)

Bram Delbecke (KULeuven) for his article "The Political Offence and the Safeguarding of the Nation State: Constitutional Ideals, French Legal Standards and Belgian Legal Practice, 1830–70", Comparative Legal History I (2013), 45-74 (article link)

2016 (Gdańsk Conference)

Frederik Dhondt (VUB/UGent) for his article "‘Inter ruinas publicas scriptum’: Ernest Nys, a legal historian in defence of Belgian tax payers during the Great War", Comparative Legal History III (2015), 131-151 (article link)

2018 (Paris conference)

Shavana Musa (Manchester) for her article "Victims of maritime conflict, compensation claims and the role of the admiralty court in the early modern period", Comparative Legal History V (2017), 125-141 (article link)

2020 (Lisbon conference/postponed)

Nadeera Rupesinghe (Sri Lanka National Archives) for her article "Do you know the ninth commandment? Tensions of the oath in Dutch colonial Sri Lanka", Comparative Legal History VII (2019), 37-66 (article link)

2022 (Lisbon conference)

Paolo Astorri (Copenhagen) for his article “ Can a judge rely on his private knowledge? Early modern Lutherans and Catholics compared”, Comparative Legal History IX (2021), 56-88 (article link)

BOOK: Lena HAASE, Strafverfolgungspraxis im Schein-Rechtsstaat des „Dritten Reiches“ [Gestapo – Herrschaft – Terror; 2] (Köln: Böhlau, 2023), 625 p, ISBN 978-3-412-52863-8

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Die Geheime Staatspolizei ist längst zum Sinnbild der Strafverfolgung in der NS-Zeit geworden. Sie gilt – gemeinsam mit den Sondergerichten und dem Volksgerichtshof – als Inbegriff nationalsozialistischer Rechtsbeugung im Kontext von Terror und Willkür. Nur selten werden hingegen auch die ordentlichen Gerichte auf regionaler Ebene sowie die übrigen Polizeibehörden berücksichtigt. Die Studie beleuchtet an einem regionalen Beispiel, wie sich in der alltäglichen Arbeitspraxis die Zusammenarbeit von Polizei, Gerichten und Staatsanwaltschaft gestaltete. Dabei rückt sie zentrale Tätigkeitsfelder der Regionalbehörden in den Fokus, um die Entwicklung der nationalsozialistischen Strafverfolgungspraxis nachzuzeichnen und mit einem akteurszentrierten Ansatz die Bedeutung von Juristen für das NS-Regime herauszuarbeiten.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lena Haase ist seit April 2018 Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin im DFG-Projekt "Gestapo: NS-Terror vor Ort. Die Staatspolizeistelle in der südlichen Rheinprovinz". 

 

Read more here.