August 4-6, 2011
University College Utrecht, The Netherlands
The International Law Students Association (ILSA), a student association
promoting the practice and research of international law, along with the partner
universities of the Transnational Law Program, a program involving the exchange
of students and scholars among Washington University in St. Louis (USA), Utrecht
University (The Netherlands), Queen's University Belfast (Northern Ireland)
Catholic University of Portugal (Portugal) and University of Trento (Italy) are
delighted to announce the 2011 ILSA International Conference: “Public Liability of
Private Corporations”.
In our ever-globalizing world, corporations now play a much larger role in every
facet of international law. Private corporations benefit the international
community by opening up numerous opportunities that would not have been
possible but for their exploration, research, and entrepreneurship. But
corporations also have the potential to cause great harm. The search for profit
takes corporations into armed conflict (whether for obtaining goods or for
providing pseudo-military services), the realm of human rights, and increasingly,
the area of environmental law. With these new “markets” come new
responsibilities. But how should we hold these corporations to international
standards, norms and laws? Do we leave enforcement to shareholders or consumers,
University College Utrecht, The Netherlands
The International Law Students Association (ILSA), a student association
promoting the practice and research of international law, along with the partner
universities of the Transnational Law Program, a program involving the exchange
of students and scholars among Washington University in St. Louis (USA), Utrecht
University (The Netherlands), Queen's University Belfast (Northern Ireland)
Catholic University of Portugal (Portugal) and University of Trento (Italy) are
delighted to announce the 2011 ILSA International Conference: “Public Liability of
Private Corporations”.
In our ever-globalizing world, corporations now play a much larger role in every
facet of international law. Private corporations benefit the international
community by opening up numerous opportunities that would not have been
possible but for their exploration, research, and entrepreneurship. But
corporations also have the potential to cause great harm. The search for profit
takes corporations into armed conflict (whether for obtaining goods or for
providing pseudo-military services), the realm of human rights, and increasingly,
the area of environmental law. With these new “markets” come new
responsibilities. But how should we hold these corporations to international
standards, norms and laws? Do we leave enforcement to shareholders or consumers,
or does the law have a role to play in ensuring that corporations behave ethically?
The purpose of this Conference is to find potential answers to these questions
through analysis of international and comparative law. In particular, we seek
insightful and thoughtful works on:
How do we hold corporations accountable?
The ability to hold corporations accountable for human rights violations via class
action litigation has been severely diminished in light of the recent United States
Court of Appeals decisions in the Second and Ninth Circuits on the application of
the Alien Tort Statute to corporations. And there is much debate over whether or
not human rights law, designed to create a system of obligations and rights
between a State and its citizens, can properly claim jurisdiction over corporations.
What kinds of corporations do we hold accountable?
Are oil companies the only corporations that are affected by human rights law and
litigation? The question of responsibility of other types of corporations, such as
private military corporations has been increasingly litigated and discussed since
their international presence increased ten years ago. To what extent are these
corporations bound to respect the laws of war, and what category should they be
given under the Geneva Conventions? Are they armed forces? Are they
mercenaries? Are they civilians?
Whom do we hold accountable?
The corporation is a constructed legal entity, not a natural person, whose
decisions are made through complex internal processes involving many different
actors. Should a corporation itself be held responsible for acts that its directors
committed? Or should a more individualized approach be utilized?
For what do we hold corporations accountable?
What is the limit of corporate responsibility? Should they only be held responsible
for the laws of their nationality, or wherever they might be incorporated, or does
international law apply to them as well?
Students of Corporate Law, International Law, and Comparative Law are invited to
submit an extended abstract of the proposal (up to 6 pages single spaced)
describing results and original research work along with a brief cover letter
providing details of the program of study in which they are engaged.
The conference committee will select 25 proposals for inclusion in the conference.
The conference will consist of three full days of panel session from Thursday, 4th
August to Saturday, 6th August. The campus of University College will be the
location for the majority of the conference, with a closing reception at the
Academiegebouw, located in the historic center of Utrecht. Participants should
plan to arrive on Wednesday, 3 August, and depart on Sunday, 7 August.
The deadline for proposal submission is 18 April 2011.
The program committee co-chairs will inform participants of their acceptance by
30 April 2011.
Participants submitting abstracts will be expected to provide complete copies of
their papers (in the range of 7,000 to 8,000 words) in electronic form by 20 May
2011.
Please submit the proposals, and any questions, to committee members at:
ilsaconference2011@gmail.com
