Erga Omnes – The SCIL Blog

Australia and East Timor start conciliation talks in The Hague this week in an effort to resolve their bitter legal dispute over maritime boundaries – and $40 billion of petroleum rights.
Professor Ben Saul writes about the international legal issues in today’s Guardian newspaper:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/29/on-timor-australia-looks-like-its-denying-an-impoverished-neighbour-its-birthright

My new book, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: International and Regional Jurisprudence (Bloomsbury, 2016), is now available:
http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/indigenous-peoples-and-human-rights-9781901362404/
A 20% discount is available on checkout by entering the code “CV7”.

Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights explores how general human rights standards have enabled, empowered and constrained indigenous peoples in claiming and defending their essential economic, social, cultural, civil and political interests. The book examines the jurisprudence of United Nations treaty committees and regional human rights bodies (in Africa, the Americas and Europe) that have interpreted and applied human rights standards to the special circumstances and experiences of indigenous peoples. It focuses particularly on how human rights laws since the 1960s have been drawn upon by indigenous activists and victims to protect their interests in ancestral lands, natural resources, culture and language.
It further explores the right to indigenous self-determination; civil and political rights; economic, social and cultural rights (including labour rights); family and children’s rights; violence and discrimination against indigenous peoples; and access to justice and remedies for violations. The book also discusses international and regional efforts to define who is ‘indigenous’ and who is a ‘minority’, and the legal relationship between indigenous individuals and their communities.
The jurisprudence considered in this book significantly shaped the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007, which particularises and adapts general human rights standards for indigenous peoples. The book concludes by exploring future normative and implementation challenges in the light of the standard setting and consolidation, and political momentum, surrounding the UN Declaration and associated UN human rights mechanisms.

News broke last week that the Australian Government would not nominate Kevin Rudd for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations – a piece on the Conversation by Co-Director of SCIL, Dr Emily Crawford, looks at the process of being put forward for the top job: https://theconversation.com/no-kevin-17-turnbull-opts-not-to-back-rudd-for-the-uns-top-job-63252

A number of SCIL members, including Professor Ben Saul, Professor Chester Brown, Professor Mary Crock, Ms Irene Baghoomians, Dr Malcolm Jorgensen, and Dr Emily Crawford, as well as other Sydney Law School colleagues such as Associate Professor Ed Couzens, participated in the 24th Annual ANZSIL Conference. SCIL members Professor Tim Stephens and Professor Vivienne Bath were also involved, in their capacities as ANZSIL President and Conference Panel Chair respectively – the program can be found here: https://law.anu.edu.au/events/anu-college-law/24th-anzsil-conference-international-law-everyday-fieldwork-friction-and-fair

Professor Ben Saul, our prolific Challis Professor of International Law, has written some great commentary for the Sydney Morning Herald in the lead up to the Federal election – definitely worth a read:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/human-rights-failures-say-a-lot-about-our-government-20160622-gpozn6.html

This Sunday we’ll see the final of Season 6 of Game of Thrones.
One of Sydney Law School’s international law students, Sam Murray, wrote a thoughtful piece for the Sydney Uni student newspaper, Honi Soit last year, about whether Robb Stark’s secession from Westeros was lawful under international law – have a read: http://honisoit.com/2015/04/game-of-thrones-and-the-law/.
Sam was a member of the superstar team of students who won the Jessup Cup in 2015. Maybe Daenerys Targaryen should put him on retainer…

International investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) are in the news again, notably in Australia and India, which are negotiating a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP or “ASEAN+6” FTA). The possibility is emerging of a shift from US-style to contemporary EU-style treaty drafting in the broader Asian region, as a new compromise between the interests of foreign investors and host states.

Continue reading “US vs EU vs Other Models for Investment Treaties in the Asian Region”

Welcome to the new blog for the Sydney Centre for International Law – you will find updates on SCIL events and research, and commentary on developments in international law. We look forward to sharing our work with you!
Emily Crawford and Jacqui Mowbray – Centre Directors