On the 20th and 21st of May 2009, The Global Justice Network, with the
support of the Centre for the Study of Social Justice and the Centre for
International Studies at the University of Oxford, will host a two-day
interdisciplinary workshop on 'International Law and Global Justice'.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Debates on international law and on global justice have for the most part
proceeded separately. Only very few theorists have suggested that the
project of designing principles of international/global justice is closely
related to that of designing principles of international law. Taking the
lead from this often underappreciated suggestion, in this workshop we aim to
explore the connections between international law and global justice. In
particular, we welcome papers - both legal and philosophical - discussing
the following topics:
*The relation between coercion, law and (global) justice
An increasing number of political theorists have argued that obligations of
justice only apply within political communities by virtue of the existence
of a coercive legal system. What are the implications of this view for the
question of global justice? Can we plausibly claim that international law is
coercive in the same way in which domestic law is? If not, does this mean
that principles of justice should not apply to it?
*The effectiveness of international law as a means to realising global
justice
If international law is one of the most powerful instruments at our disposal
to bring about a morally better world, what sort of reforms of the current
international legal system would be necessary to move closer to the goal of
global justice? Given the sui generis nature of the international legal
system, how can such reforms be most fruitfully brought about?
*Global justice, international law and state sovereignty
Is the principle of the sovereign equality of states itself a principle of
international/global justice or a hindrance to the quest for global justice?
Would a world inhabited by states which are genuinely - as opposed to merely
formally - equally sovereign be a just world? Or does the realisation of a
just world require us to transcend the very idea of state sovereignty,
moving from a system of international law to a global legal system?
Keynote speakers
Prof. David Armstrong (University of Exeter)
Prof. Allen Buchanan (Duke University)
Prof. Terry Nardin (National University of Singapore)
Dr Amanda Perreau-Saussine (University of Cambridge)
Submission instructions
If you wish to present a paper, please email a 600 word proposal and a short
biographical note to the workshop convenors at
globaljustice@politics.ox.ac.uk by February 28th 2009.
Updated information is available on the Conference Website
http://social-justice.politics.ox.ac.uk/events/intlawglobaljustice/index.asp
