In This Edition
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BIICL 60+ Appeal
Research Activity
Climate Change
Cultural Heritage
Illegal Migration Bill
Responsibilities of multinational companies engaged in the tourism sector in Cuba
Private International Law in National Adjudication
Pandemic Treaty Workshop
Rule of Law
APPG meetings
Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice
Independent Commission on UK Public Health Emergency Powers
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Training
Publications
ICLQ April 2023
BIICL Blogs
Events
Round up of recent events
Upcoming Events
Membership
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The Institute is dependent on donations and research grant funding to continue its work.
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of those making a gift to the BIICL 60+ Appeal, we have been able to develop important areas of our work including on climate change, artificial intelligence and also the education young people on the rule of law and their rights. Read more about our work in our BIICL 60+ Appeal Brochure.
We are so very grateful to everyone who has made a gift to the BIICL 60+ Appeal, without their support this work would not have been possible.
It is our supporters, as well as those from the profession, the judiciary and academia who give their time and expertise so generously that makes BIICL one of the leading independent research centres in the world. Please consider making a donation to our appeal by visiting BIICL 60+ Appeal.
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Climate Change
 Recently UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution that seeks the opinion of the ICJ on States’ obligations in addressing climate change, including their human rights obligations. The resolution, which was initiated by Vanuatu, was hailed as a milestone. For those interested in learning more about the legal background and next steps, we put together a Report of our recent webinar on
Promoting Climate Justice through International Law: Climate Litigation & Climate Advisory Opinions, which is available here. The event sought to address several key questions: What is the legal significance of recent advisory opinion initiatives to seek redress for the most vulnerable nations? What is the jurisdiction of ITLOS and the ICJ in administering or influencing climate justice through advisory opinions? What interests other states might have in supporting these initiatives? And what should we expect going forward?
Protecting Cultural Heritage from Armed Conflicts in Ukraine and Beyond
Research team members from BIICL contributed to a Report on Protecting cultural heritage from armed conflicts in Ukraine and beyond for the European Parliament, which was published in March. Many stakeholders were interviewed to identify good practices and gaps in the ways cultural heritage is being protected in Ukraine. In addition to detailing the legal and policy frameworks applicable to the protection of cultural heritage from armed conflicts, the Report also looks back at past conflicts to provide some lessons learnt in terms of what works and what does not work, in particular in post-conflict transitional contexts.
Illegal Migration Bill
As part of our work in the area of refugee and migration law Dr Jean-Pierre Gauci was invited to give evidence to the Joint committee on human rights along with experts from the Free Movement site, the British Red Cross and the Refugee Council.
In his evidence he highlighted the various UK international obligations that the Bill contravenes and noted that domestic law cannot provide justification for violating those obligations. He mentioned specific concerns, such as the removal of individual assessments of asylum, modern slavery and human rights claims, as well as the risk that people will be pushed into situations of prolonged detention and destitution, heightening their vulnerability to exploitation and modern slavery whilst strengthening the hand of traffickers.
Responsibilities of multinational companies engaged in the tourism sector in Cuba
During the spring BIICL completed the second phase of our project examining the obligations of States and the responsibilities of companies to combat labour exploitation and related human rights abuses in the Cuban tourism and hospitality context. It included a workshop with relevant stakeholders, presentations, briefing notes on research outputs, the publication of a blog post and other measures to build awareness of the findings of the research, including engaging with stakeholders in the Americas and Europe.
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Private International Law in National Adjudication
The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of International Law, held an online International Conference on "Private International Law in National Adjudication" at the end of April.
BIICL President, Lord Neuberger, welcomed the speakers and participants of the Conference. Tetyana Antsupova, British Academy Research Fellow at BIICL moderated the opening session and Barbara Dohmann, KC Blackstone Chambers, moderated the session – “Development of private international law in conditions of war: main challenges, consequences and forecasts”.
Other issues under consideration and discussion at the conference included: “Jurisdictional immunities of the state and its property: traditional approaches and modern challenges” and “Features of the modern development of the international private law”.
View a recording of the conference below
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Private International Law in National Adjudication
24th April 2023
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Pandemic Treaty Workshop
Member States of the WHO are currently negotiating a treaty intended to address the global failures in outbreak prevention, preparedness and response witnessed during COVID-19. In light of issues such as the inequitable distribution of vaccines and medicines to developing countries, there is broad agreement among negotiating parties that achieving equity must be an objective of the new treaty.
BIICL research fellow Anthony Wenton was invited to speak at a workshop recently organised by Dr Mark Eccleston-Turner and Dr Stephanie Switzer at King’s College London which resulted in a policy brief to inform the ongoing negotiations of a new pandemic treaty.
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APPG News: Retained EU Law Bill and Hansard Society review of delegated legislation
The APPG on the Rule of Law held two meetings during the first quarter of 2023 at which parliamentarians discussed with external speakers how the legislative branch could address current challenges to the Rule of Law:
21st February: A panel discussion on the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. Experts from academia and legal practice discussed with the APPG the Rule of Law problems with the Bill, and potential amendments which could be made in the House of Lords to improve some of its most problematic aspects. Challenging parts of the Bill include a sunset clause affecting thousands of pieces of retained EU law, ministerial powers to legislate in place of such legislation, complex directions to courts and tensions with the “level playing field” requirements in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
A full report of the meeting is available here, and readers may also be interested in a parliamentary evidence submission on the Bill, co-authored last year by the Bingham Centre’s Dr Oliver Garner.
20th March 2023 A meeting co-organised with the Hansard Society to discuss their delegated legislation review. This major review has examined pervasive problems with current parliamentary approaches to delegated legislation, including the granting of excessively broad powers (by ‘skeleton bills’, in extreme cases), and an inadequate set of parliamentary processes for scrutinising statutory instruments that are made when delegated powers are exercised. The meeting facilitated a discussion of these issues between MPs, peers and expert panellists, which may inform the Hansard Society’s final recommendations for reform.
Full details of the activities of the APPG can be found here
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Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice
At the end of March, the Commission held an international roundtable, evidence sessions and a plenary meeting focused on the use of digital technologies and financing, and also examined the use of proscription (‘banning’) measures.
The Commission heard from senior officials from the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, Europol, as well as experts from international banks, civil society organisations, prosecutors and defence lawyers. The plenary session, hosted by the Aga Khan University, was attended by Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, who spoke to the Commissioners and took questions.
Find out more about the work of the commission
Independent Commission on UK Public Health Emergency Powers
During March 2023 our Independent Commission on UK Public Health Emergency Powers chaired by the former Court of Appeal judge the Rt Hon Sir Jack Beatson FBA, commenced its UK-based research examining the legislation governing public health emergency powers and parliamentary oversight. Members of the Commission also heard evidence from experts at the end of April on a number of related topics, such as the role of human rights organisations during a public health emergency. The Commission continues hearing evidence from experts concerning parliamentary oversight of emergency public health powers in the UK, and the communication of Government decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic to the UK and Scottish Parliaments, the Senedd Cymru and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Find out more about the commission
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Modern Slavery PEC Impact Report
The Modern Slavery PEC has published its first ever Impact Report, setting out what the Centre has done and achieved since it was set up in 2019 until the end of 2022.
The report presents the PEC’s impact in areas such as the impact on policy, laws and practice, research, building partnerships and survivor inclusion. It’s published in two versions: a shorter accessible one, and a longer, which goes into more detail, including on the Centre’s approach to monitoring and evaluation.
Ways to improve the identification of adults with lived experiences of modern slavery in the UK
A research project funded by the Modern Slavery PEC and led by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), in collaboration with the Human Trafficking Foundation, is investigating potential ways to improve the identification of adults with lived experiences of modern slavery in the UK. The project pays particular attention to training that is currently in place for First Responder Organisations (FROs) - with a view to assessing its content and effectiveness.
Find out more about the project
Other news
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During the spring we have run courses in public international law, climate change law, law of the sea, aviation law, WTO Law, Business and Human Rights and our new course War in Ukraine in Context: History, Politics and Law.
The courses for the remainder of 2023 are open for bookings and include the following:
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ICLQ April 2023
Volume 72 (2) of the ICLQ is now available online, featuring an insightful discussion into the right to liberty enshrined in Article 5 ECHR, an examination of the objectives of public participation in international environmental decision-making, and two articles examining the law of neutrality in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, among other interesting topics.
Open access articles are indicated below with a hyperlink to read them. All other content can be accessed by those who subscribe to the ICLQ or via your institutional library. For more information on joining BIICL, which comes with ICLQ access included, please click here.
Articles
Liberty and its Exceptions - Lewis Graham
Arbitration Agreements and the Winding Up Process: Reconciling Competing Values - Sean Matos
Objectives of Public Participation in International Environmental Decision-Making - Nicola Sharman
Neutral Rights and Collective Countermeasures for Erga Omnes Violations - Chin Leng Lim and Ryan Mitchell
Net Zero and Free Trade Agreements: Efforts at Integrating Climate Goals by the United Kingdom and Australia - Margaret Young and Georgina Clough
Mandatory Binding Dispute Resolution in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Two Pillar Solution - Chris Noonan and Victoria Plekhanova
Aligning participation and Protection in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda - Aisling Swaine and Catherine Turner
Short Articles
Sense and Separability - Simon Camilleri
Neutral Arms Transfers and The Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Pearce Clancy
Applicational Ambiguity? Taiwan’s Status in International Sales Law - Ben Kohler
Book Reviews
Islands and International Law by DONALD R ROTHWELL [Hart, 2022, ISBN: 978-1-50995-542-8, 328, £85.00, h/bk] - Reece Lewis
Investment Arbitration and State-Driven Reform by WOLFGANG ALSCHNER [Oxford University Press, 2022, ISBN: 9780197644386, 352pp, £ 64.00 (h/bk)] - Fabian Eichberger
Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests by Agathe Demarais [Columbia University Press, 2022, ISBN: 978-0-231-19990-9, 292 pp, £18.99, hardcover] - Benjamin Letzler
To keep up to date with the latest ICLQ news, and for free access to highlighted articles, follow @iclq_jnl on Twitter.
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Below is a summary of our recent events. For upcoming events go to our events homepage
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LawGPT?: Using AI to Modernize Judicial Systems, Legal Practices and the Future of Legal Work
26 May 2023
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Corporate Climate Litigation: Lessons Learned, Comparative Perspectives and Future Pathways
11 May 2023
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Rapid Response Webinar: Analysing the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty
19 April 2023
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ICLQ Annual Lecture 2023: Sovereignty Fictions in the United Kingdom's Trade Agenda
14 March 2023
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Membership of BIICL is open to all and enables you to become part of a diverse community including practitioners, scholars and many others with an interest in international and comparative law, and the rule of law. Individuals who become members of BIICL benefit from a range of attractive discounts and have an opportunity to network with those who work in the institute as well as the many partner organisations which BIICL is linked to.
Members are kept informed on BIICL's latest research and developments, with many opportunities to engage in debate and discussion through our programme of topical events, conferences and training courses.
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