NOW EXTENDED TO 31 JANUARY 2011: Call for papers: European Society of International Law International Economic Law Interest Group (IEL IG)

The panels aim to give a platform to original scholarship on two core themes of international economic law: financial governance through soft law and trade governance through sectoral, central and peripheral developments. The goal is to encourage any research effort at the interface of classic trade law, as promoted by the WTO and emerging areas of international economic law, in particular financial governance, due to its relevance in the evolution of the present economic turbulences and its potential for legal innovation. Proposals for papers may address any of the two topics (financial or trade governance) or any combination thereof. The panels will be complemented by a roundtable discussion, which will review the main findings of the Leiden University investment law conference of April 2011 and identify possible future research topics on linkage issues in international investment law.

Abstracts are invited for participation in the ESIL IEL IG panel discussions on the following topics:

I. Financial governance through soft law and insolvency problems (Chair: Claire Kelly, Brooklyn Law School and ASIL IEcLIG chair)

The harmonization of international financial law through soft law poses one of the most interesting problems at the heart of international law nowadays. This is because it impinges on crucial issues such as the legitimacy of international law-making, the problems arising from the lack of enforcement mechanisms and the difficulty in changing the attitude of free-rider states that benefit more from non-cooperation. The financial law round table will also deal with a second issue that we consider to be of great importance: the international mechanisms created to solve the problems posed by insolvency, both public and private, as the two seem to converge in the international context. This discussion might include contributions on the restructuring of public debt, the role of the rating agencies, and on the new initiatives of the EU on economic governance. Specific studies on the problems encountered recently by a particular European state are also welcomed if they place the question in its international context, and analyse the concrete application of international instruments in such a case.
 
II. Orchestrating New Trade Governance: sectoral, central and peripheral developments in IEL (Chair: Friedl Weiss, University of Vienna)

With the emergence of the G20, the BRIC countries, and the African and Arab groups, new actors are setting the agenda of WTO decision-making and accessions. This session is interested in discussing how these emerging coalitions and groups shape WTO rule-making and treaty interpretation. For example, how far can transparency requirements, domestic regulation and deeper disaggregation in sectoral services commitments, as well as new obligations, such as the right to trade be attributed to new coalitions in WTO Membership? What is the influence of recent coalitions, like the G20 or the African or Arab groups on the composition of the Appellate Body or the selection of panel members? Have new constellations in the WTO Secretariat and the Appellate Body shaped judicial, legislative and consultative space and outcomes in the WTO differently and to what extent has the new geography of power in the WTO allocated different weight to the so-called “trade…and” linkages issues? Has the influence of general principles of law or non-trade treaty law decreased or increased and have linkage issues, such as health, environment, and labour standards gained or lost visibility? What about the treatment by trade negotiators and the WTO judiciary of newer interfaces, such as finance, culture, migration, gender, and investment? Finally, one may wonder how far these new groupings advocate strategic sectoralism to replace the single undertaking in current and future rounds of trade negotiations and what new legal and negotiating challenges plurilateralization of services trade negotiations among others, may pose to WTO rule application, interpretation and the use of precedent.
 
III. Proposal Submission, Selection and Paper Publication

Abstracts of no more than 500 words must be submitted electronically by 15 January 2011 to marion.panizzon@wti.org. Abstracts should be attached in the form of a Word document which must not include the author’s name or any reference to an affiliation. Only the email shall contain the author’s name and full contact information. A panel committee will review and select the proposals. Decisions regarding inclusion in the conference programme will be sent by 10 February 2011.

Contributors of papers will be expected to provide full paper drafts by 6 May 2011. Papers should not be longer than 12,000 words and should be work that has not yet been published or accepted for publication. The submitted draft papers will be posted online as working papers prior to the conference to facilitate discussion at the Research Forum. The publication of selected papers is envisaged.

IV. Panel Committee

A panel committee will review and select proposals. Committee Members are:
ESIL International Economic Interest Group Co-Chairs:
Peter-Tobias Stoll, University of Göttingen
Luis M. Hinojosa-Martínez, University of Granada
Marion Panizzon, World Trade Institute, University of Bern
Claire Kelly, Brooklyn Law School & chair ASIL IEcLIG
Freya Baetens, Leiden University & member of the executive committee SIEL
Friedl Weiss, University of Vienna

We are pleased to note that the conference organisers intend to charge only a reduced conference registration fee for speakers at the Interest Group Workshops. Transport and accommodation costs, however, will have to be borne by the selected participants.