International and Comparative Law Group

News item 1

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott presented a paper entitled "Marine Scientific Research and Geoengineering" at a conference on the Impacts of Climate Change on the Oceans organised by the Korean Maritime Institute on the island of Jeju in South Korea (30 April - 2 May 2015). Karen's paper explored the extent to which geoengineering for climate change purposes can be regulated through the rules relating to marine scientific research and whether a regime which focuses on the promotion and management of science has the tools to manage the various ethical and policy issues associated with geoengineering. Karen contrasted the rules adopted recently by the parties to the 1996 London Protocol in respect of ocean fertilisation with the more general regime for managing scientific research under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and 1991 Environmental Protocol. Karen's attendance at the conference was generously supported by the Korean Maritime Institute.

News item 2

ICLG member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot (Accounting and Information Systems) is the co-author of a recently published article in the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law: Masselot, A. and A. Maymont, (2015) ‘Gendering economic and financial governance through positive action measures: Compatibility of the French real equality measure under the European Union framework’, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 22(1), 57-80. The article considers the measures taken by the European Union and France to tackle the very low number of female directors on the boards of large listed companies and the slow progress towards equal participation and representation of women and men on company boards. In the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis, the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards has become less justifiable. This article compares and contrasts the methods used in France and the EU to achieve a better gender balance on company boards. It questions the applicability of the French measures within the EU and suggests that the French approach is compatible with EU law and is also wide reaching in its coverage of executive as well as non-executive directors. It arguably underpins a shift from gender equality to a broader approach of democratic legitimacy for entities that affect citizens’ life. As such, the article argues that the French approach goes further than the proposed EU directive and it has the potential to be used as a model within the EU.

News item 3

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott presented a paper entitled "Aquaculture: The New Zealand Experience" at a workshop on Aquaculture Law and Policy: Global, Regional and National Perspectives in Oslo 20 - 22 April 2015. The workshop, which was sponsored by the KG Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, explored international and comparative approaches to aquaculture, the world's fastest growing agricultural sector. Karen's paper focused on the regulatory experience in New Zealand in light of the numerous legislative reforms adopted since 2004 and recent case law, in particular, the decisions of the Supreme Court in Environmental Defence Society Inc. v. New Zealand King Salmon Company [2014] NZSC 38 and Sustain our Sounds Inc. v. New Zealand King Salmon Company [2014] NZSC 40.

ICLG Member and visiting academic Christopher Frey has published a book chapter in a volume on the law of the energy transition. The book is a joint publication by Professor Thilo Rensmann (University of Dresden, Germany) and Professor Stefan Storr (Graz University, Austria). In his contribution, Christopher analyses the relevance of international trade law for energy exchanges between the European Union (EU) and neighbouring countries. The application of world trade (WTO) and investment law to international disputes in the energy sector has been receiving an increased recognition owing to several high profile international energy disputes in recent years. Among those are WTO complaints of the EU and Japan against Canadian support measures for renewable energy, which were found to be violations of the WTO Agreements by the Appellate Body, and an alleged violation of the investment provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) brought about by the German legislator’s decision to phase out nuclear energy in Germany until 2022. Christopher is a Ph.D. student at the University of Dresden and currently visiting the School of Law to work on his dissertation on International Energy Trade and WTO Law. He has studied International and European Law at several European universities, receiving an LL.B. from the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and an LL.M. from the Europa-Institut, of Saarland University in Germany. After graduation Christopher worked in the European Parliament in Brussels before deciding to pursue a Ph.D. His research is about the intersections of international trade law with environmental and energy law.

News item 4

ICLG member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot (Accounting and Information Systems) is the co-editor of a new book: Björkdahl A., N. Chaban, J. Leslie and A. Masselot (eds.), Importing EU Norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Findings, Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2015, ISBN 978-3-319-13739-1. http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/political+science/book/978-3-319-13739-1 The book is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration. It questions how European Union (EU) norms are adopted, adapted, resisted or rejected by states, whether they are EU member states, European and non-European states. The book is based on empirical research regarding the differences in willingness to adopt or adapt norms between various actors in the recipient state. This book’s focus on norm-takers highlights that norm diffusion has implications for the EU itself as a norm exporter. The identity of the EU is changing according to how the norms are received by other countries. The book brings together collaborators from across the world and within the University of Canterbury. In particular, Chapter 8 on ‘Exporting Hard Law Through Soft Norms: New Zealand’s Reception of European Standards’ is authored by ICLG member, Associate Professor, W. John Hopkins and Henrietta S. McNeill. Chapter 12 on ‘The Value of Gender Equality in the EU-Asian Trade Policy: an assessment of the EU’s ability to implement its own legal obligations’ is written by Annick Masselot and Maria Garcia.

News item 5

The ICLG is delighted to announce the publication of Volume 11 of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law (2013). The latest edition of the Yearbook contains articles on: creative solutions for decolonisation during the Third Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2011 – 2020) (Elisabeth Perham); an exploration of human rights and indigenous rights in relation to the extraction of resources in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (Andrew Erueti and Joshua Pietras); a humanitarian analysis of the implementation of the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty in New Zealand (Susan O’Connor); and an evaluation of whether the UK’s nuclear deterrence policy is lawful under international law (Brian Drummond). The research articles are complemented by scholarly commentaries on recent events including the judgment of the ICJ in the Whaling Case (Australia v. Japan; New Zealand intervening) (Elana Geddis and Penelope Ridings) and the Arab Spring and its implications for the application of international humanitarian law (Claire Breen). The Yearbook maintains its regional focus on the Pacific with updates on the Pacific Island Forum and the Pacific Islands Law Officers’ Network in 2013 (Tony Angelo and Kerryn Kwan respectively) and a TWAIL analysis of New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (Ema Hao’uli). This edition of the Yearbook concludes with its annual review of New Zealand practice and international law in the areas of International Economic Law, International Environmental Law, Law of the Sea and Fisheries, the Antarctic Treaty System, international criminal law and international humanitarian law. The Yearbook is edited by ICLG Member Natalie Baird with the assistance of ICLG Member Angela Woodward as Associate Editor.

News item 6

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott was invited to contribute to a symposium entitled The Arctic and Antarctica: Differing Currents of Change organised by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs on 27 February 2015 in Wellington.  Karen presented a paper in the final session of the symposium devoted to an assessment of the Polar regions in 100 years’ time.  In her paper, entitled “Looking Back to Look Forward: Trends, Challenges and Scenarios for the Antarctic Treaty System in 2115” Karen presented two scenarios for future Antarctic governance: a ‘weak’ Antarctic Treaty System and a ‘strong’ Antarctic Treaty System.  The scenario for the ‘weak’ Antarctic Treaty System is underpinned by the trend of Antarctic issues (such as managing mineral, biological and scientific resources) being increasingly addressed in other international fora at the expense of the Antarctic Treaty and, potentially, its core values.  The scenario for the ‘strong’ Antarctic Treaty System on the other hand is predicated on the assumption that the Treaty develops new and strengthens existing institutional infrastructure capable of demonstrating leadership on resource and security issues internationally and able to engage with external institutions on issues of mutual significance (such as shipping and research).  The terms ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ are not intended to represent ‘bad’ and ‘good’ models of governance but rather, demonstrate the potential for the locus of Antarctic governance to shift in real terms from a regional model based on the idea of ‘Antarctic exceptionalism’ to a diffuse range of international institutions according to a more functional division of responsibilities, representing a more genuine form of ‘international’ governance but based on values that may differ from those which have traditionally underpinned the Antarctic Treaty.  Karen concluded her paper by noting that decisions taken by diplomats and policy-makers in the short to medium-term future in relation to the management of resources and the maintenance of sovereign claims will ultimately determine the future of the Antarctic Treaty System in 2115.

News item 7

ICLG Member Dr Christian Riffel organised the 1st Moot Court Competition on WTO Law in cooperation with the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), which was held on 20 February 2015. Two Canterbury teams competed against each other: Nikita Mitskevitch, Hugh Goodwin and Kian Looi for the complainant and Mate Hegedus-Gaspar and Cyrus Campbell for the respondent. The Panel boasted three experts in the field of international trade: Sarah Salmond (Russell McVeagh) as chairperson, Daniel Kalderimis (Chapman Tripp) and Christopher Frey (University of Dresden). The moot problem dealt with the potential conflict between environmental protection and international trade. WTO Members have considerable discretion to protect the environment. However, in doing so, they must not favour domestic producers over foreign traders. This time, the bench decided in favour of the complaining party. Cyrus Campbell won the Best Mooter Prize and Russell McVeagh offered a prize to the winning team. The performance of the students is deserving of the highest praise as they sacrificed part of their summer holiday to prepare for the competition.

News item 8

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott was invited to contribute to a panel on Global Oceans Governance at the 56th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) held in New Orleans, USA, 18 - 21 February 2015. Karen's paper was entitled "Integrating Oceans Management in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction". Integrated Oceans Management (IOM) is increasingly regarded as the dominant modern approach to oceans governance in areas under the jurisdiction of states and it supports an ecosystem approach to environmental protection rather than an approach based on maritime zones or individual sectoral activities. Its application in areas beyond national jurisdiction is however, limited. In her paper Karen deconstructed the concept of IOM into six core principles or management approaches: ecosystem based management; the precautionary approach; environmental impact assessment; marine protected areas; marine spatial planning; and institutional integration. She assessed the current application of each principle to areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and concluded that whilst the first three were relatively widely applied in ABNJ the latter three were not. Nevertheless, prospects for developing at least a modified version of IOM in areas beyond national jurisdiction were good. A modified version of her paper will be published as a book chapter entitled "Integrated Oceans Management: A New Frontier in Marine Environmental Protection" in Donald R Rothwell, Alex Oude Elferink, Karen N Scott and Tim Stephens (ends), Handbook on the Law of the Sea (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2015). Karen also contributed to the Distinguished Scholar Roundtable at the ISA honouring Professor John King Gamble.

News item 1

ICLG Members Associate Professor Annick Masselot in collaboration Dr Katharine Vadura (National Centre Research on Europe) and Associate Professor Malakai Koloamatangi (Massey University) have jointly organised a Pacific Human Rights conference, followed by a business breakfast in Auckland, 8-10 December 2014. The conference, attended by over 100 participants: researchers and practitioners from across sectors – including universities and research centres, NGOs, community groups, business, international organisations and government agencies; as well as Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita of Tonga; His Excellency, Ambassador Rob Zaagman from the Netherlands and a representant of the Embassy of the United States of America. Both ICLG Member Nathalie Baird and Leuatea Iosefa PhD student at UC Law School presented a paper on their respective recent research. Please refer to the Conference Booklet. 
The business breakfast, sponsored by the University of Canterbury School of Business and Economics brought together over 70 businesses leaders and policy makers with commercial and social entrepreneurship interests in the Pacific. They reported and exchanged on examples of best practice relating to economic development, in order to foster further investment in the region with sustainable development in mind. Urgency around climate change in the Pacific, means that people with business interests in the region are realising business continuity across sectors is only possible through pragmatic decision-making surrounding sustainable development strategies. A fast growing number of investors in the region look to increase the safety of their return through incorporating human rights and sustainable practices. Examples include safeguarding the intellectual property of Pacific Island traditional knowledge, and the rethinking of sustainable land management to serve tourism while protecting the environment.

News item 2

ICLG Members Associate Professor Annick Masselot and Dr. John Hopkins are lead researchers in the NZ European Union Centres Network (EUCN) project which was recently approved by the European Commission. The project which brings together academics at all eight New Zealand Universities is an extension of the existing EUCN co-operation. During the period of the project (2014-16) work will focus on the three agreed themes of Europe as a normative power, comparative transnational integration, and EU monetary and financial integration. The grant which is worth NZ$250,000 will provide research support, post-graduate research scholarship and educational outreach across NZ in these fields.

News item 3

ICLG Member, Professor Karen Scott, contributed to the The Big Issue Debate as part of the Christchurch 2014 Icefest on Saturday 27 September.  The Big Issue in question was Antarctic Treaty politics and Karen presented a paper exploring the relationship between the Antarctic Treaty and broader international issues.  In her paper she explored the issues of Japanese so-called scientific whaling and the proposed designation of the Ross Sea marine protected area (MPA).  She argued that Antarctic Treaty politics should not be assessed in isolation of other international events and developments in other arenas can have a significant impact on the operation of the Antarctic Treaty System.  At the same session papers were presented by Dr Neil Gilbert (on the operation of the Antarctic Treaty), Melissa Idiens (on the politics of Treaty meetings) and Professor Anne-Marie Brady (on China and Antarctic Treaty politics).

News item 4

ICLG Member Associate Professor Annick Masselot (together with Dr Katharine Vadura, National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE), and Dr Genevieve Taylor, UC alumni) have been awarded one of the RISK Award Best Project Proposal for Disaster Prevention in 2014 by Global Risk Forum Davos, ISDR and the Munich Re Foundation from Knowledge to Action, for their project “Mainstreaming, Methodology and Human Rights in Disaster Risk Management: European Union and the Pacific”. The project was funded by the European Commission Life Long learning Jean Monnet Programme for the period of 2013-2014.

The RISK Award Best Project Proposal supports innovative projects for disaster prevention. Seventy-seven organisations from forty-four countries applied for the second RISK Award. It was awarded to eleven projects by Global Risk Forum Davos, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Munich Re Foundation for Disaster Prevention.

A follow up to the project is planned in the form of a conference on Human Rights in the Pacific: Priorities, Practice and Sustainability. 8 – 10 December, 2014, Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand

News item 5

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott attended the first international multidisciplinary conference on climate engineering in Berlin from 18 - 21 August 2014 .  Karen participated in two sessions focusing on the application of international law to climate engineering activities and presented a paper entitled The Precautionary Principle and Climate Engineering.  In her paper, Karen explored how the precautionary principle can be used to manage climate engineering and how it should be defined in this context.  The conference coincided with European Maritime Week and Karen was invited to give a paper on the relationship between the law of the sea and climate change at an event entitled Traversing the Ocean-Climate Divide in International Law and Policy organised by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

News item 6

ICLG Member Josephine Toop (Phd Candidate) was recently invited to present at the Fifth International Four Societies Conference in Canberra, Australia. This conference was held from 1-2 July and brought together select members of the international law societies of Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the United States of America (the 'Four Societies'). The conference theme was “Experts, Networks and International law,” reflecting upon the work of Anne-Marie Slaughter and examining how her vision based upon transnational networks and disaggregated governance has held up over the past ten years since her book: A New World Order was published. It involved presentation of 10,000 word papers which will be published as an edited volume later in the year. Josie presented on “Networks, Experts and Multilateral Environmental Agreements” within the panel on Networked Environmental Governance. Her paper examined a wide selection of MEAs, identifying instances of networking and examining the role of expertise in MEA governance. The paper drew on her wider PhD research which investigates the existence and operation of transparency, participation, impartiality, reason-giving and review in 30 MEA regimes and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, and connections to effectiveness and legitimacy.

News item 7

ICLG member Chris Riffel was awarded his PhD this month. The focus of his doctoral thesis was competition law and international trade. In particular, he examined how the world trading system could be used to effectively safeguard core labour standards and to protect traditional knowledge from exploitation. Chris undertook his PhD at the University of Bern, Switzerland, under the supervision of Prof Thomas Cottier, the Director of the World Trade Institute, and Prof Reto Hilty, the Director of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, Germany. Both are worldwide renowned authorities in the areas of international trade and competition law. During his PhD, Chris conducted research at the University of Edinburgh and the Max Planck Institute in Munich. Congratulations, Chris!

News item 8

On 10 May 2014 ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott presented a paper at a conference entitled Global Governance, Global Commons & Global Public Goods: The State of Play sponsored by the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies and the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Her paper focused on the oceans as both the global commons and a global public good, and explored the extent to which the law of the sea has historically responded to the ‘public’ and the ‘commons’ aspect of the oceans through the development of principles such as freedom of navigation, due regard for other users and, more recently, the common heritage of mankind (with respect to the deep ocean bed and its mineral resources). Karen went on to identify a range of modern challenges to oceans governance from the perspective of public goods, including: access to and sharing of biological resources (including bioprospecting); managing conflicting activities – particularly where those activities involve multiple commons areas and multiple public goods – such as ocean geoengineering for climate change mitigation purposes; and environmental management of the oceans more generally. Karen concluded her paper with a discussion of marine protected areas (MPA), a tool which directly responds to the public good aspect of the oceans commons and highlighted the progress and prospects of MPA designation in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

News item 9

On 2 May, the Global Economic Law Network (GELN) was inaugurated with a symposium in Melbourne. ICLG member Chris Riffel was invited to speak about new developments in international trade law at the symposium. GELN is a consortium of trade and investment lawyers funded by the Australian government and based at Melbourne Law School.

In his presentation, Chris focussed on the scope of the TRIPS Agreement which extends to particular provisions from select WIPO conventions. The technique by which those WIPO provisions are incorporated is by way of reference. The question as to which extent they are covered is not only of academic interest as the recent tobacco plain packaging case against Australia shows. In this dispute, one of the issues is whether Australia effectively protects against unfair competition. What is special about this kind of claim is that it is based solely upon one provision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Article 10bis), and not combined with another TRIPS norm. This, however, is how one view reads the respective reference norm in the TRIPS Agreement. In the Havana Club case, the Appellate Body observed that the obligations of the WTO Members under the Paris regime are not conditioned by TRIPS. With this in mind, Chris made out a case for an independent application of the Paris provisions in the TRIPS system.

News item 10

ICLG Member, LLM (International Law and Politics) student Amy Laird has published a short article in the most recent volume of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law (volume 10, 2012), which reviewed the three legal justifications that France provided after it intervened in the armed conflict that was taking place in Mali in January 2013. The article examines the three legal justifications France provided for the intervention, namely, the request for assistance from the Interim President of the Republic of Mali, collective self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and Security Council Resolution 2085. Amy concludes that the French intervention was lawful under international law, based on two of the three justifications. Amy is now in the process of conducting research for her next paper which looks at the problem of statelessness from an international and New Zealand perspective. (For further details of her article see Amy Laird, “Mali: A Legally Justifiable Intervention by France?” 10 (2012) New Zealand Yearbook of International Law 123 – 137. Further details on the Yearbook can be found here.)

News item 11

ICLG Members and Editors (Natalie Baird and Angela Woodward) of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law are delighted to announce the publication of volume 10 of the Yearbook covering the year 2012. Volume 10 includes scholarly articles on the “law enforcement exception” in the Chemical Weapons Convention, the relationship between the UNFCCC regime and the World Heritage Convention, transparency and secrecy in trade negotiations, and an analysis of the visits of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to New Zealand. Volume 10 also includes a review of New Zealand state conduct during 2012. Further details on the content of Volume 10 can be found here and subscription information can be found here.

News item 12

ICLG Member, PhD student Josephine Toop (whose senior supervisor is Professor Karen Scott), has recently returned from a very successful 3 month internship at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, with the Secretariat of the United Nations-affiliated 1998 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention). The Aarhus Convention focuses upon domestic access to the principles in the Convention’s title, and also upon the promotion of those principles in international environmental decision-making processes. Josie’s doctoral research connects strongly with the latter. She is investigating the existence and operation of the ‘global administrative law’ principles of transparency, participation, impartiality, reason-giving and review in thirty regimes (comprising regional fisheries management organisations and multilateral environmental agreements, including the Aarhus Convention), and is considering whether these principles help with effectiveness and legitimacy. As a result, Josie was well placed to assist the Secretariat and she received a glowing reference at the end of her internship. The internship focused largely on the work of the compliance committee. Among other things, she provided support to the 43rd meeting of the compliance committee, assisted with legal analyses of Parties’ domestic legislation with their obligations under the Convention, and updated the background analysis for the infographics of the compliance committee. She also assisted with other tasks for the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol on Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, including the preparation of outreach materials and servicing the global roundtable on PRTRs as well as the 3rd meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Protocol on PRTRs. Through the internship Josie was also able to bolster her own research, in particular, by enriching her understanding of the work that has been undertaken within the Aarhus regime to promote Aarhus Convention principles in MEA and RFMO contexts, and gaining insight into the operation of this regime in practice. Josie would like to thank the UC School of Law, the Australian New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL), Rotary Christchurch South, and Operation Peace through Unity for their support.

News item 13

ICLG Member Natalie Baird attended the Human Rights Teachers’ Workshop at the University of Melbourne, Australia on 21 February 2014. Natalie presented a paper looking at the use of Wikipedia as a Tool for Teaching and Learning about Human Rights. Natalie has recently introduced a new form of assessment for her undergraduate International Human Rights Law course whereby students are required to write and upload an article for Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. Feedback from students on this innovative form of assessment has been extremely positive. One student noted that the assessment “brings a new appreciation to a resource that all students use at some stage!” Another commented that s/he enjoyed “being able to contribute to an existing knowledge pool (one I already use a lot!).” Natalie’s presentation in Melbourne explored the advantages and disadvantages of Wikipedia as a tool to support student learning, and identified how engagement with Wikipedia might be expanded to further enhance student learning.

News item 14

ICLG Member Associate Professor Annick Masselot co-organised (with Associate Professor Natalia Chaban and Dr Katharine Vadur, National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE)) an International Symposium entitled Normative Power Europe?: EU External Outreach and International Identity on 28 February 2014, at the University of Canterbury. The symposium addressed the widely debated concept of ‘Normative Power Europe’, which argues that the European Union (EU) is committed to placing universal norms and principles at the centre of its relations with the world. The Symposium aimed to critically assess the success of the EU’s current external relations policy with its neighbours and the wider world – relations informed by, and conditional on, a catalogue of norms. The symposium was co-funded by a Jean Monnet Chair and Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Symposium.

Annick presented a paper at this Symposium with Dr Maria Garcia, University of Bath, UK, entitled “EU-Asia Free Trade Agreements as tools for social norm/legislation transfer?” In their paper they argued that the European Union’s failure to push forward social issues in Free Trade Agreements, especially with its partners in Asia, ultimately casts serious doubts about the European Union as a serious actor in the area of social rights.

News item 15

ICLG Member, Associate Professor Dr. John Hopkins gave a Public Lecture on the 18 February 2013 entitled ‘Executive Governance and Disaster Recovery’ at the Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary where he is currently working as the MUNDUS-MAPP visiting scholar. The lecture examined the rationale behind the assumption that exceptional executive power needed to be exercised in disaster situations and argued that after a very short period 'emergency' powers are not appropriate. Contrary to popular belief, disasters are largely about recovery, and recovery is a policy process and,as such, it should be in the hands of the democratic policy process. As well as teaching Comparative Multi-Level governance and Administrative Law across a number of courses at the Central European University, John has been conducting research into latest developments in European Public Law and Hungarian cakes. His research into the latter has been conducted particularly diligently!

News item 16

ICLG Member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot has recently published an article (co-authored with Eugenia Caracciolo Di Torella, School of Law, University of Leicester, UK) on the topic of discrimination, pregnancy, parenthood and work life balance. The article is based on a recent report she wrote for the European Commission in 2012, which is entitled ‘Fighting Discrimination on the Grounds of Pregnancy, Maternity and Parenthood: The application of EU and national law in practice in 33 European countries’. The report unveiled evidence of a high level of discrimination and difficulties that parents, in particular, mothers, continue to experience across Europe. In the article, Eugenia Caracciolo Di Torella and Annick discuss further some of the main findings of the report. The article seeks to shed some light on the reasons behind this widespread discrimination, and argues that the cost of reproduction and care-giving across Europe today remains very high. The article concludes with suggested ways forward, based on a number of good practices. See further: Caracciolo Di Torella, E. And Masselot A., ‘Work and Family Life Balance in the EU law and policy 40 years on: still balancing, still struggling’ (2013) European Gender Equality Law Review 2, 6-14 (ISSN 2212-5914).

Available online: 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/genderquality/files/law_reviews/egelr_2013_2_final_web_en.pdf

News item 17

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott has recently published a chapter focusing on the exploitation of the oceans for climate change mitigation. The chapter examines recent ocean fertilization activities in the Southern Ocean and explores the extent to which they are compatible with international law, in particular, with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the London Dumping Regime. She identifies three principal governance challenges to the management of ocean fertilization. First, the application of the precautionary principle to fertilization activities and the problem of applying the principle in the context of risks posed by both ocean fertilization and by the broader effects of climate change on the oceans. Second, whether the London Dumping Regime constitutes the appropriate regulatory body to manage ocean fertilization given that fertilization activities fall beyond its original mandate. Third, the extent to which management of fertilization activities can be integrated with broader environmental management and, in particular, the relationship between the law of the sea and the climate change regime. This book chapter continues Karen’s on-going research into geoengineering and international law. See Karen N. Scott, “Exploiting the Oceans for Climate Change Mitigation: Case Study on Ocean Fertilization” in Clive Schofield, Seokwoo Lee and Moon-Sang Kwon (eds), The Limits of Maritime Jurisdiction. A Law of the Sea Institute Publication (Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 2014) 653 – 677.

News item 1

ICLG member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot (Accounting and Information Systems) recently co-organised (with Dr Katharine Vadura and Genevieve Taylor (National Centre for Research on Europe)) a conference at the University of Canterbury on Managing Risks for Vulnerable Groups Following Disasters in the Pacific (3-5 December 2013). The conference brought together over 30 participants from the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and included experts from universities, donors, practitioners, non-government organisations active in humanitarian projects, policy making, business and community groups. The conference was part of a larger project lead by Dr Katharine Vadura on mainstreaming rights in disaster risk management funded by the Jean Monnet Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) of the European Union.

The project aims to establish a research platform from which to further develop and evaluate integrated approaches to disaster risk management for vulnerable Pacific groups. Invited speakers discussed ways to respond to disasters that are best suited to people within the region and which focussed on rights-based and interdisciplinary approaches for vulnerable groups such as women, children, minorities, elderly people and those with disabilities in the Pacific region.

Annick Masselot presented a paper at the conference, which critically explored the concept of gender mainstreaming. A second interdisciplinary paper co-authored by Annick Masselot (and presented at the conference by Racheal Worstley) focused on “The social, legal and economic implications of the Canterbury Earthquake on the Christchurch sex industry” (Masselot, A.; Morrish, S.; Meriuoto, L.; Worstley, R. Webb, R.; Abbel, G.).

News item 2

ICLG Member, Chris Riffel, attended the Beeby Colloquium, a seminar for academics, government lawyers and practitioners organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in Wellington on 15 November 2013. He gave a short presentation on the recent import licensing dispute which has arisen between New Zealand and Indonesia. The 2013 Trade Policy Review of Indonesia highlighted that traders in agricultural products have to make an application to the Indonesian authorities for a permit to import agricultural products into Indonesia. This increases their fixed costs considerably. Because Indonesia is New Zealand’s closest Asian market, the NZ Government requested consultation with Indonesia on this matter before the WTO. There is not much case law on the Import Licensing Agreement at the moment, which is why this dispute is so interesting. One of the key issues in the case is whether self-sufficiency is a legitimate policy goal that can justify an import licensing system for agricultural products despite the fact the Agricultural Agreement obliges the WTO Member States to convert their quantitative restrictions into tariffs.

In the preparation of this case, Chris was supported by a team of students at UC, the WTO Interest Group, consisting of Evelyn Dyer, Kian Looi and Mate Hegedus-Gaspar. The WTO Interest Group gives undergraduate students the chance to do research in international trade and deal with pressing trade topics.
On the margins of the Colloquium, Chris met with other academics, trade lawyers and government officials to sound out new possibilities of cooperation with a view to raising the profile of international trade law at NZ universities. One idea floated was to have a national moot court in international trade and organise a guest speaker series.

News item 3

ICLG member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot, gave a public lecture at the University of Canterbury on 13 November 2013. The lecture was entitled “What if… Men could give birth?” and explored her research on the issue of work-life balance as well as the large gap between the letter of the law and its practice. Annick questioned how, despite extensive gender neutral legislation, pregnant women and new parents (especially mothers) continue to experience high levels of discrimination and difficulties at work. She looked at cultural gendered stereotypes and changes in the law. In her conclusions she examined the role of the law in shaping the value of reproduction and production in societies.
Annick’s lecture was widely picked up by the New Zealand media. She appeared on the breakfast show (http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/men-can-mothers-gender-expert-video-5708623), on RDU 98.5FM radio and was featured as one of the top ten media discussions in New Zealand’s newspapers on 11 November 2013.

News item 4

Dr. John Hopkins, Associate Professor in the Law School and member of the ICLG has been awarded the 2014 MUNDUS-MAPP visiting Professorship to Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. The post, which is sponsored by the European Community, brings leading global experts to teach on the trans-European Public Policy Masters Programme offered jointly by the University of York (UK), Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (Spain), Erasmus University Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and CEU (Hungary). During his time at the CEU, Dr. Hopkins will be teaching a course of Comparative Federalism and advancing his research into the power of soft-law and standards regulation in Global Governance. 
Details of the programme can be found here: http://www.mundusmapp.org/

News item 5

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott gave the Fifth Annual Douglas M. Johnston Oceans Governance Lecture on the 30th October 2013 at the Marine and Environmental Law Institute and Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. In her lecture, entitled "International Law and the 'Mis-anthropocene': Responding to the Geoengineering Challenge", Karen explored the extent to which international environmental law currently constrains geoengineering - the large-scale deliberate manipulation of the environment for climate change mitigation purporses. Karen's latest publication on geoengineering is out this month and focuses on the evolving regime for ocean fertilization under the London Dumping Regime. See Karen N. Scott, "Regulating Ocean Fertilization under International Law: The Risks" (2013) Carbon and Climate Law Review 108 - 116. Karen is in Canada based at the University of Dalhousie working on her comparative oceans governance project, which is funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation.

News item 6

ICLG Member Associate Professor Annick Masselot is currently based at the University of Oxford in the UK having been awarded a 2013 University of Canterbury Erskine Bequest Fellowship. Whilst in the UK she was invited to talk about her research by the University of Sheffield Women Network, the Centre for European Law and Legal Studies at Law, Leeds University, the Centre of European Studies of Nottingham Trent University, Oxford Brooks University and the School of Law, University of Leicester. Annick’s papers focused on issues relating to pregnancy, maternity and motherhood and the challenges of reconciling work and family life, the cost of social reproduction and the lack of gender equality in the EU-Asian Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Annick’s final invitation is to speak at the International Round Table on EU & Gender, at the University of Surrey on 22 October 2013. This round table is held under the joint auspices of CRonEM, the School of Politics and an ESRC project on gender led Dr Roberta Guerrina. The discussion will relate to gender studies/gender-informed accounts of the EU, with an additional focus on the ‘real world’ condition of EU gender politics, policy and law. Further details on Annick’s recent papers can be found on her Researcher Profile

News item 7

ICLG member, Professor Karen Scott recently presented a paper entitled "Managing Technical Solutions to Climate Change in an Ethical-Legal Framework" at a conference on the Ethics of Climate Change in Lake Como, Italy (26 - 27 September 2013). Karen's paper focused on geoengineering as a climate change mitigation measure and explored whether some of the broad ethical questions associated with geoengineering can be effectively managed within the current international legal framework. The questions she focused on for the purpose of this paper comprised: the morality of geoengineering as a climate change mitigation measure; the relationship between geoengineering and other mitigation measures such as emissions reductions; ethical challenges associated with the regulation of scientific research; democracy and decision-making in respect of geoengineering; and the role of the geoengineering philanthropist or entrepreneur. The conference brought together academics interested in climate change ethics from a range of disciplines including law, philosophy, political science, political geography and economics.

News item 8

ICLG Member, Associate Professor Annick Masselot in collaboration with Dr Maria Garcia (University of Nottingham) recently presented a paper entitled “The Value of Gender Equality in EU-Asian Trade Policy: an assessment of the EU’s ability to implement its own legal obligations” at the 43rd annual conference of the academic association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) held at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom (2-4 September 2013). Annick explored the tensions and contradictions that exist between the European Union’s internal and international legal obligations to achieve gender equality in all its activities, and its engagement in the global competitive economy. The context of the economic relations negotiations between the EU and the Asian region provides an excellent vantage point to highlight the significant difficulties in diffusing gender norms through the medium of trade and the consequences of not doing so. The paper argues that the lack of reflexivity has implications for the EU’s external actions and its own internal order. This paper is part of a chapter that Annick for a book which she is also editing on the EU as an exporter of norms and values.

News item 9

ICLG Member Dr. John Hopkins has recently published a chapter exploring the difficulties of addressing non-territorial identities in the current international legal order. The chapter, entitled "Soft Identities and Hard Realities: The Limits of Governance and Non-Territorial Identity" was published as part of a international cross-disciplinary project exploring the role of religion in 21st Century Governance. The project was coordinated by Jim Jose and Rob Imre at the University of Newcastle, NSW, who also edited the final volume entitled "Not So Strange Bedfellows: The Nexus of Politics and Religion in the 21st Century". It is published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Further details are available here: http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/Not-So-Strange-Bedfellows--The-Nexus-of-Politics-and-Religion-in-the-21st-Century1-4438-4800-X.htm

News item 10

ICLG Member Angela Woodward has explored questions relating to the implementation of arms control systems in a recent book chapter.

How do States ensure that materials and technologies that could be misused to manufacture weapons of mass destruction aren't shipped to nefarious actors? By establishing robust international export control systems, backed up with stringent national implementing legislation and enforcement measures. Angela Woodward, Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Law School, has co-authored a book chapter with her VERTIC colleague Andreas Persbo, outlining the challenges in enforcing export controls relating to biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and outlining certain legal and policy mechanisms that could help shore up the export control elements of multilateral nonproliferation regimes ("Detection, deterrence and confidence-building: Improving multilateral technology controls"). The book, titled Technology Transfers and Non-proliferation: Between Control and Cooperation, is a primer on export controls, intended for tertiary students, policy-makers and diplomats, published by Routledge as part of its Global Security Studies
Series. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415535809/

News item 11

The Asia –Pacific Model United Nations Conference (MUN) was held in Wellington in July this year and three students from the University of Canterbury’s Law School participated. MUN brings together like-minded individuals to discuss pertinent and current issues that the international community has faced difficulty in addressing. In MUN, groups of people form “delegations” and go on to represent various international actors. Within the delegation of nine from the University of Canterbury, the three Law students, Jasveet Sandhu, Kate Macfarlane and Laura Stills have a particular interest in public international law. Each student was assigned to sit in differing UN committees and addressed issues which ranged from matters of health and human rights to legal issues involving international law. Kate Macfarlane said that “This was an exciting opportunity which was both a highly informative and educational experience as well as a great occasion to network with like-minded people from all over the region who share similar interests.” The three Law students received support from the International Law Group Trust for attendance at this event. View students report

News item 12

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott explores the practice of establishing marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean in a chapter in a new book on The Law of the Sea and Polar Regions published by Martinus Nijhoff this week. In her chapter (Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean) Karen investigates national and international practice relating to the creation of marine protected areas. In particular, she focuses on the relationship between the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and the 1980 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the role they might play in the future in establishing joint multi-functional MPAs designed to protect the fragile environment from a variety of threats such as fishing and tourism. See Karen N. Scott, “Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean” in Erik J. Molenaar, Alex G. Oude Elferink and Donald R. Rothwell (eds), The Law of the Sea and the Polar Regions. Interactions between Global and Regional Regimes (Leiden/ Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013) 113 – 137.

News item 13

Annick Masselot, Associate Professor and member of the ICLG recently was, together with NCRE lecturer, Dr Katharine Vadura, Genevieve Taylor (NCRE PhD candidates) and Sarah Christie (Otago University PhD candidates) recently awarded €28,000 by the European Commission’s Jean Monnet grant awards for their research project - “Human Rights and Disaster Risk Management in the Pacific”. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach with a commitment to innovation and mainstreaming of human rights in disaster risk management and development. It focuses on vulnerable groups in disaster management and development cycles in the Pacific region including: Women; Children; Elderly; Disabled; Indigenous and minorities.

News item 14

Dr. John Hopkins, Associate Professor and member of the ICLG recently presented a paper examining the New Zealand approach to recovery after the Canterbury earthquake. The paper, which formed part of a UC panel examining the earthquake's legal aftermath, was presented at the joint Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Law and Societies Conference at UBC, Vancouver, Canada. The presentation, which builds on work undertaken as part of Dr. Hopkins' Fulbright Professorship to the Unviersity of Georgetown in 2012 questioned the adoption in New Zealand of a legislative framework which avoided principles of Administrative Law in the name of efficiency. Dr. Hopkins argued that such an approach leads to poor decision making and fails to recognise the political nature of recovery. A report of the panel was published on the University of Alberta's Blog:
http://ualbertalaw.typepad.com/faculty/2013/07/natural-disaster-recovery-and-the-law.html

News item 15

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott recently presented a paper entitled "Accountability and the Global Environment: Non-compliance mechanisms under Multilateral Environmental Agreements" at the 21st Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) on Accountability and International Law held at the ANU in Canberra, Australia (4 - 6 July 2013). Karen's paper explored non-compliance mechanisms (NCPs), which comprise institutions and processes established under treaties designed to promote state compliance with obligations under environmental treaties such as the climate change convention. NCPs, which increasingly provide an alternative option to traditional dispute resolution, tend to be persuasive rather than punitive and support the so-called managerial approach to compliance with international law. Karen concluded her paper with an analysis of the relationship between NCPs and the more traditional approaches to compliance and dispute resolution. Her paper forms part of a book chapter she is currently working on looking at NCPs and biodiversity treaties to be published by Edward Elgar in the Research Handbook on Biodiversity and Law (editors, Bowman, Davies and Goodwin). The ANZSIL annual conference provides an opportunity for scholars, practitioners and government officials working in the field of international law to engage and exchange ideas over two and a half days. Other ICLG members attending ANZSIL this year included Chris Riffel (Lecturer) and Josie Toop (PhD candidate). Karen is the Vice-President of ANZSIL.

News item 16

Josephine Toop, PhD Candidate, was recently invited to present her research at the postgraduate workshop of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) annual conference, held in Canberra, Australia (3 - 6 July 2013). Her presentation was entitled “Improving the Effectiveness and Legitimacy of International Environmental Regimes: can Application of Principles derived from Global Administrative Law help?” She explained the nature of global administrative law, provided some background on how modern environmental treaties operate, and outlined some of the challenges they face, before addressing the potential effectiveness and legitimacy benefits that may be associated with the application of global administrative law. Josie then turned to her regime selection and method of conducting her research, before discussing her findings relating to participation and transparency. Josie’s presentation was well received, and the questions and discussion following the presentation were useful. Following the workshop, Josie attended the ANZSIL conference and found the Year in Review session (which covered international law developments in New Zealand and Australia over the past year), the plenary session on climate change law and the policy debate, and the panel on accountability and the environment of particular interest. Josie also enjoyed the opportunity to meet and talk with other academics and postgraduates working in the international law field. She would like to thank both ANZSIL and the Law School at the University of Canterbury for providing funding to facilitate her attendance at this conference.

News item 17

CLG member and Associate Dean of Law, Dr. John Hopkins has been elected to the International Academy of Comparative Law. This International Institution is one of the oldest legal academic organisations in the world, dating as it does to 1924. The IACL is most well know for its organisation of the four yearly International Congress of Comparative Law. Dr. Hopkins attended the 2010 Congress in Washington DC, as part of the New Zealand/Aotearoa delegation. In 2014 he is attending as the New Zealand rapporteur on Constitutional Law. Congratulations John!

News item 18

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott has commented in the media this week on the failure to adopt the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area at the special meeting of the Commission for the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) on 16 July 2013. Karen commented that Russia's legal objections appeared unfounded and noted that Russia had in fact supported the designation of the South Orkney Islands MPA in 2009 and a general framework conservation measure on MPAs in the CCAMLR area in 2011. The press release can be found here: (link to attached comment). Karen was featured on Morning Report, TV1, TV3, RDU 98.5 FM and Newstalk ZB.

See also:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1307/S00203/ross-sea-protected-area-proposal-fails-but-not-all-lost.htm 
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/election/a/-/18027150/ross-sea-protected-area-proposal-fails-but-not-all-lost/ 
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2562365/blocks-on-attempt-to-protect-ross-sea 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-07/17/c_132548925.htm

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott was invited to present a paper entitled “Marine Living Resources Security Beyond National Jurisdiction in International Law” at the Plenary Conference on Jurisdiction and Control at Sea held at the Italian Research Council in Rome on 6 June 2013. Her paper explored the role that marine protected areas can play in achieving conservation goals on the high seas and highlighted some of the current legal challenges to the creation of high seas MPAs. Her paper drew partially on work she previously published in the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (volume 27, 2012, 349 – 857) special edition commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Karen was also asked to make a separate intervention on marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean with a particular emphasis on the proposed Ross Sea MPA. The conference was part of a wider European Union funded project which brings together a NETwork of experts on the legal aspects of MARitime SAFEty and security (known as MARSAFENET). MARSAFENET is sponsored by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) and focuses on four main issues: shipping and marine environmental protection; new developments of economic activities at sea, maritime international security and border surveillance; and protection of fragile and semi-enclosed seas. MARSAFET comprises primarily European-based researchers but a small number of researchers from non-European states have also been invited to participate. Karen has been invited to participate in the network representing New Zealand. More information about MARSAFENET and its activities can be found here: http://www.marsafenet.org/

News item 19

ICLG member Natalie Baird recently worked with a group of six undergraduate LLB students to coordinate a submission to the UN Human Rights Council for New Zealand’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review. The submission focuses on the human rights impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes. The students met with over 20 Christchurch community groups to hear first-hand about the ongoing human rights impacts of the earthquakes. The resulting submission focuses on five rights – the right to housing, the right to political participation, the right to health, the right to work and the right to education. A major theme of the submission is that the human rights impacts of the earthquakes demonstrate some of the shortcomings in New Zealand’s overall human rights framework such as weak constitutional protection for economic, social and cultural rights. The submission, which was endorsed by 26 local and national NGOs and community organisations, was sent to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva on 17 June. It will be used by that Office as a background document for the preparation of the “Stakeholder Summary” for New Zealand’s review, scheduled for January 2014. A copy of the submission is available here

News item 20

PhD student Josephine Toop (whose senior supervisor is Professor Karen Scott) is thrilled to have been accepted for a three month internship with the Secretariat of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention). The internship will be based at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, and runs from November 2013 until February 2014. Josie has also been awarded the competitive Australian New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) intern funding, which will provide some financial support during the internship. The Aarhus Convention focuses upon domestic access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, and also encourages the promotion of these principles in international environmental decision-making processes. Josie’s doctoral research connects strongly with the latter. She is investigating the existence and operation of the ‘global administrative law’ principles of transparency, participation, impartiality, reason-giving and review in thirty regimes, and is considering whether these principles help with effectiveness and legitimacy. Her study sample comprises regional fisheries management organisations (RFMO) and multilateral environmental agreements (MEA), and includes the Aarhus Convention. As a result, Josie is well placed to be of assistance to the Secretariat. In return, Josie hopes to bolster her own research, in particular, to enrich her understanding of the work that has been undertaken within the Aarhus regime to promote Aarhus Convention principles in MEA and RFMO contexts. Josie additionally hopes to gain insight into the operation of MEA regimes in practice.

News item 21

Two members of the International and Comparative Law Group were recently invited to speak at the EUSAAP International Conference at the University of Macau. The conference, organised by the EU Studies Association Asia Pacific, brought together academics from across the Asia Pacific region and the European Union to discuss the theme of Reassessing the EU-Asia Pacific Relationship in the context of the EU crisis. Associate Professors Annick Masselot and John Hopkins presented papers on "Exporting Gender Equality in EU-Asia Cooperation and Development" and "The EU as a regional model: Does it still have lessons to teach?". Selected papers from the conference will be published in a forthcoming edition of the Asia-Pacific Journal of EU studies. For more information please contact Dr. Hopkins

News item 22

The ICLG is delighted to welcome two new members. Christian Riffel joined the Law School as a Lecturer in April and recently completed his PhD at the University of Bern under the supervision of Prof Cottier. His research interests focus on international trade. Being blessed with a global family that lives on four continents, it is his personal endeavour to bring people with different backgrounds together and to champion understanding among the cultures. It is therefore no wonder that he is intrigued by the integrative force of international law, which is most developed in the area of trade. Chris holds a Masters degree from the Europa-Institut of Saarland University in European Integration. Prior to that, he read German, French, Anglo-American law as well as Environmental Studies at the University of Heidelberg. He has practised law in Latin America and lectured on WTO law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Chehani (Che) Ekaratne also joined the Law School in April, as an Assistant Lecturer. She obtained her law degree from Harvard Law School in the USA, followed by an LLM in commercial law at the University of Bristol in the UK. Her initial US undergraduate education was undertaken at Yale University in the US. Before joining the University of Canterbury, Che was an attorney at a law firm in Washington DC, where she worked on several cross-national and constitutional matters, including submissions to the US Supreme Court. These multinational experiences have led to Che’s research interest in comparative law. She has done comparative research involving American, South African and English legal issues, and looks forward to future comparative work including New Zealand law.

News item 23

ICLG member Professor Karen Scott explores the regulatory framework for geoengineering and climate change in an article recently published in the Michigan Journal of International Law. In her article, entitled “International Law in the Anthropocene: Responding to the Geoengineering Challenge” she argues that international environmental law as a coherent discipline provides a basic regulatory framework within which geoengineering – the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the environment – can be managed. However, this framework provides only a starting point for regulation, and in her conclusion she argues for the creation of a framework protocol under the auspices the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to manage geoengineering research and deployment. The full text of Karen’s article (34 (2013) Michigan Journal of International Law 309 – 358) can be found here http://mjilonline.org/?p=600

News item 24

ICLG members John Hopkins, Annick Masselot and Natalie Baird are pleased to announce the publication recently of a Special Issue of the Canterbury Law Review focusing on regional integration and identity building in Europe and the Pacific. The publication follows on from a colloquium held at the University of Canterbury in December 2011 which looked at the same topic. This was part of a wider project on Comparative Regionalism in the Pacific funded by the European Commission. While the Special Issue is concerned with the law, it also cuts across disciplines and provides a platform for scholars to share their research on the broad issue of the role of identify in developing cross-border governance. The range of articles is diverse and includes consideration of who is leading the Pacific Islands as a region, the threat of small arms on regional security in the Pacific and gender equality and identity building in Europe.

News item 25

ICLG member Professor Karen Scott explores the concepts of fragmentation and globalization in the context of international environmental law in a new book chapter published this month. She examines a common challenge to environmental governance posed by both fragmentation and globalisation: how to manage the interaction between environmental regimes so as to minimise unnecessary conflation of, and conflict between, their regulatory mandates. In her chapter, Karen critically analyses one emerging strategy to deal with this challenge – the creation of institutional and other formal connections and linkages between multilateral environmental agreements. She examines the extent to which these connections enhance the effectiveness of environmental treaties such as the 1992 Biodiversity Convention and the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) but also explores the potential risks of closer cooperation, particularly in relation to the actual or perceived legitimacy of these regimes. See Karen N. Scott, “Managing Fragmentation Through Governance: International Environmental Law in a Globalised World” in Andrew Byrnes, Mika Hayashi and Christopher Michaelson (eds) International Law in the New Age of Globalization (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013) 207 – 238. The book is the outcome of the Third Four Societies Conference held in Awaji, Japan in 2010 and is a collaborative project of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL), the Japanese Society of International Law (JSIL) and the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL).

News item 26

The editors (Karen N. Scott and Natalie Baird) of the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law are delighted to announce the publication of volume 9 of the Yearbook covering the year 2011. The Yearbook includes scholarly articles on military intervention, the responsibility of private military and security companies during armed conflict, trafficking of women and children and Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. It also includes a review of New Zealand state conduct during the year 2011. Further details on the content of volume 9 can be found here and the table of contents and purchase information can be found here

News item 27

ICLG Member Professor Karen Scott contributes to Radio New Zealand Insight (Sunday 31 March 2013) on the topic of New Zealand’s status in Antarctica.

Link to the Radio New Zealand Insight: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2550515/insight-for-31-march-2013

ICLG member, Professor Karen Scott comments on the recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Institute of Cetacean Research and another v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society released on 25 February 2013 and argues that the Court went too far in characterising Sea Shepherd as pirates. Full article

Links to Karens media coverage: 

NZ Herald, International Whale Protection Organisation

News item 28

Annick Masselot’s recent report on “Fighting Discrimination on the Grounds of Pregnancy, Maternity and Parenthood” has received a wide publicity in the press in New Zealand. The report which was presented on 26 November 2012 at a European Commission legal seminar in Brussels, point out that in many parts of the world women continue to be discriminated against by employers, despite the existence of comprehensive legal protection. The large gap between the letter of the law and its practice is the result of gender cultural stereotypes, which are still very much alive across most industrialised countries. Women are still perceived as the main carers and therefore not primarily as workers with full employment rights. Some solutions outlined in the report include systematic monitoring of employers treatment of pregnant employees and a societal shift to include effectively fathers into domestic care giving.

Links to Annick’s media coverage: Radio New Zealand Interview, Stuff, NewsTalk, Herald

News item 29

ICLG member and UC law school graduate Angela Woodward attended the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention Meeting of States Parties in Geneva, Switzerland during 10-14 December 2012. She works for VERTIC, a London-based non-governmental organisation which provides legislative assistance to States to help them to adhere to treaties concerning arms control and disarmament. Her team also help States to draft implementing legislation for these treaties. Cameroon and the Marshall Islands recently joined the Biological Weapons Convention following outreach by VERTIC and partners in the British and United States' governments, which are both depositaries for the Convention, bringing the total number of States Parties to 167.