26th Annual SLS-BIICL Workshop on Theory In International Law
26th Annual SLS-BIICL Workshop
on Theory In International Law
Wednesday 3rd May 2017, 14:00-19:00
British Institute of International and Comparative Law,
Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5JP
Call for Papers
Inside the mind of international decision-makers
The 2017 Conference on Theory and International Law seeks to understand better the behaviour of those who shape international law - international and domestic judges, arbitrators, and state officials. Inspired by ground-breaking research that opens the “black box” of international decision-making, this Conference invites participants to theorise, experiment and speculate.
Some of the questions we will explore are: Do decision-makers behave rationally? Do they behave predictably?What factors may influence their decision-making? What are the roles of cognitive skills, intuition, and background, including education and political persuasion? What are the implications of these insights for choosing a method of dispute settlement for a particular case or designing a dispute settlement mechanism for future disputes? What are the implications for the conduct and procedures of international negotiations?
We are pleased to announce that the keynote address will be delivered by Professor Anne van Aaken, Professor of Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law and European Law at the University of St. Gallen and Vice-President of the European Society of International Law. She has co-authored an article, Inside the Arbitrator's Mind, which is the first-ever experimentally conducted psychological study of international arbitrators.
Download the full Call for Papers
Application process
Submission of abstracts is open to academics, including graduate students, and to legal practitioners.
Please submit an abstract in Word or PDF of no more than one page to the email addresses below:
Dr Philippa Webb (philippa.webb@kcl.ac.uk)
Professor Christian Henderson (C.M.Henderson@sussex.ac.uk)
The following information should also be provided with each abstract:
• The author's name and affiliation
• The author's CV, including a list of relevant publications
• The author's contact details, including email address and phone number
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 20th March 2017. Applicants will be informed no later than 31st March 2017.
Regrettably, we are unable to provide funding for travel to and attendance at the conference, but there will be a reception at the end of the conference.
Philippa Webb
Christian Henderson