Following on from the success of our ‘International Law as a Profession’ series in 2016, this has been a very busy and exciting semester for the International Law research group. We have organised and hosted a number of events, welcoming experts from across the globe, who have offered valuable insight into key issues in the field. Each event enjoyed a large turnout, with participation from students and staff from throughout the school, the university and beyond, and each presentation was followed by lively discussion, with numerous questions from the audience. Our 2017 events programme was kicked off with a visit from Dr Michael Waibel of the University of Cambridge and the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, who gave a very interesting talk about his research on Boilerplate Treaties.
On Valentine’s Day, we were delighted to welcome back Professor Matthew Happold (University of Luxembourg), who presented an incisive and comprehensive paper on developments in Western Sahara and the European Court of Justice.
Our third event of the year saw our visiting scholar Dr Wataru Kondo present his research on “Self-Defence against Terrorists: Subject and Content of “Armed Attack” in Article 51 of the UN Charter”, about which, following the completion of his doctorate at Yokohama National University, Wataru had previously spoken at the annual conference of the Japanese Society of International Law. An especially large and diverse audience provided a fitting conclusion to Wataru’s time with us, prior to his return to Japan to take up a teaching position at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
In March, an excellent presentation, entitled ‘Energy Installations at sea: Jurisdictional considerations’, was given by the esteemed Professor Maria Gavouneli, Associate Professor of International Law at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Law and Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.
Our final event of the semester takes place this Thursday, 23rd March (5pm, Rm 207, No 10 The Square), with the launch of University of Glasgow Lecturer in Law, Dr James Devaney’s book, ‘Fact Finding Before the International Court of Justice,’ with Professor Dino Kritsiotis as discussant. It promises to be a very interesting evening.
~ Joanna Wilson
Joanna Wilson is a doctoral candidate and graduate teaching assistant in the International Law, Conflict and Security research group at the School of Law.