Regime Interaction in International Law: Programme

16:00 - 17:00

 : 

Registration, Lauterpacht Centre

17:00

 : 

Welcome by Professor James Crawford, Whewell Professor International Law, University of Cambridge; Director, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law

17:00 - 18:30

 : 

Panel 1: Regimes in Domestic and International Perspective

Introduction   

 : 

The historical and sociological phenomenon of functional specialisation has led to the creation of regimes.  This panel will discuss the interface between domestic and international practice in the conceptualisation of regimes, from differing perspectives of legal pluralism and constitutionalism.  The benefits and limitations of a domestic analogy to international policy coordination will also be considered.

Chair/discussant

 : 

Professor Sol Picciotto, Professor, Lancaster University Law School

Papers

 : 

Two Kinds of Legal Pluralism: Collision of Transnational Regimes in the Double Fragmentation of World Society
by Professor Gunther Teubner, Professor of Private Law and Legal Sociology, University of Frankfurt/Main;

The Interaction between International Regimes and Domestic Arrangements
by Professor Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne;

Regime Interaction in Creating, Implementing and Enforcing International Law
by Dr Margaret Young, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne;

Panel 1 : Abstracts and Biographies »

19:00 onwards

 : 

Conference Reception and Dinner, Pembroke College

09:00 - 10:45

 : 

Panel 2: Interaction Through Knowledge and Understanding

Introduction   

 : 

The fragmented nature of international law leads to gaps in information, and there is limited understanding within regimes about the substance and operation of other regimes. A range of actors seek to promote inter‐regime understanding through information‐sharing, the provision of expertise and the coordination of resources. Panellists will explore the legal principles and processes that shape inter‐regime understanding and allocate relevance to such knowledge at differing stages of international law‐making and dispute settlement. Multiple ‘interacting’ regimes, including humanitarian law, human rights law, international trade law and climate change, will inform the discussion of practice and theory.

Chair/discussant

 : 

Professor David Kennedy, Vice-President of International Affairs, Brown University; Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

Papers

 : 

Legal Regimes and Professional Knowledges
by Dr Andrew Lang, Lecturer in Law, London School of Economics and Political Science;

The Functional Role of Inter-Regime Misunderstanding
by Dr Stephen Humphreys, Research Director, International Council on Human Rights Policy;

Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law - a Problem Being Solved by the Bottom-Up
by Professor Francoise Hampson, Professor of Law, University of Essex;

Panel 2 : Abstracts and Biographies »

11:15 - 13:00

 : 

Panel 3: Interaction Through Normative Guidance

Introduction   

 : 

Some international regimes draw on other regimes for normative guidance through benchmarking, conditionality, interpretation and the use of standards. For example, regimes that are considered to have limited regulatory objectives, such as regimes to liberalise international trade or allocate development assistance, apply standards from other regimes, where norms have been developed in different contexts and rule‐making conditions. There may be several reasons to limit the legal dimension across which legal regimes interact, especially for states that are not party to the guiding regimes, or because of other strategic aspects. Panellists will discuss emerging principles and institutional processes and the theoretical implications for the “system” of international law.

Chair/discussant

 : 

Professor Joanne Scott, Professor of European Law, University College London

Papers

 : 

Norm Interpretation Across International Regimes: Competences and Legitimacy
by Dr Nele Matz-Lück, Senior Research Fellow, Max-Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg;

Nomos without Narrative
by Professor Jeffrey Dunoff, Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law, Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School;

Hegemonic Regimes
by Professor Martti Koskenniemi, Goodhart Professor of Legal Science, University of Cambridge; Director, Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki;

Panel 3 : Abstracts and Biographies »

14:15 - 16:00

 : 

Panel 4: Interaction Through Seeking Control

Introduction   

 : 

At times, international law‐makers incorporate “savings” clauses to preserve countries’ rights and obligations under other regimes, thus asserting a normative hierarchy. At other times, disputes may be framed within a particular regime because of relative powers of enforcement vis‐à‐vis other regimes. In these cases, courts and tribunals may be asked to apply, adjudicate upon or interpret norms from two or more regimes, which may give rise to questions of comity and the use of precedent, the staying of proceedings, the use of custom‐ or treaty‐based interpretative methods and other principles and procedures. In considering the “trumping” of one regime by another, speakers will base discussion on personal and professional experience in international and supranational courts and tribunals.

Chair/discussant

 : 

Professor Georges Abi-Saab, former Appellate Body Member of the World Trade Organization

Papers

 : 

Relations between International Courts and Tribunals
by Professor James Crawford, Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge;

Learning from Others? An Advocate General's Reflection on 'Borrowing' from Other International Regimes
by Eleanor Sharpston QC, Advocate General at the European Court of Justice;

Importing Other International Regimes into WTO Litigation
by James Flett, Legal Advisor, European Commission;

Panel 4 : Abstracts and Biographies »

16:30 - 18:00

 : 

Concluding Panel: Overview of Regime Interaction

Conclusions   

 : 

The discussants from each panel will lead reflections upon the legal processes that constrain or promote regime interaction. Particular themes selected for discussion are (a) integration or diversity; (b) hard or soft law; (c) the inclusion or exclusion of particular actors; and (d) structures based on the consent of states or broader systemic norms.

18:00

 : 

Close of Conference by Dr Margaret Young, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne