International law

Description:

Part two addresses which international tribunals are available to individuals only. Individuals cannot bring a claim before the ICJ, WTOThe World Trade Organisation is an international organisation whose main aim is to promote free trade of goods, services and intellectual property around the world. or the ICC, but they may be able to bring a complaint before one of the United Nations Human Rights Committees.

Read the full guide to International Courts and Tribunals - International tribunals available to individuals.

Description:

Part one addresses which courts and tribunals are available to states only, specifically the ICJ, the WTOThe World Trade Organisation is an international organisation whose main aim is to promote free trade of goods, services and intellectual property around the world., the ICC, the ICTY, the ICTR, Hybrid Courts, and universal jurisdiction of national courts.

Read the full guide to International Courts and Tribunals - Courts and tribunals available to states only.

Stephen is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Technologies at the Open University and a Fellow of the Judge Business School and a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Program for Sustainability Leadership. Stephen has nearly 20 years professional experience as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London; as an analyst at the International Energy Agency; and as a official with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

For more information about our Knowledge Groups and how to attend, please visit our website at a4id.org/knowledge-groups

14 November 2011, London: The charity Advocates for International Development (A4ID) today released a new report that considers how the new UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights should be implemented by law firms.

Recommendations in the report include:

• The need for law firms to integrate high level human rights policy commitments into corporate governance structures.

• The need to fill gaps in law firms’ human rights due diligence processes.

Documents: 

A4ID and PILnet Clearinghouse Manual.pdf

This report draws on the experience of both A4ID and PILnet in responding to the need for a larger global network of clearinghouses by encouraging more programmes to be set up across Europe as well as Africa, Asia and South America.

The Manual provides practical advice to law societies and other organisations looking to set up pro bono clearinghouses. It outlines the procedure for setting up and running a clearinghouse, advises on communication with clients and law firms, and gives guidance on ensuring financial sustainability. 

16 November 2011, Berlin: Advocates for International Development (A4ID) and PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law (PILnet) today released their joint publication, ‘Pro Bono Clearinghouse Manual: Resources for developing pro bono legal services.’

Launched at the 2011 European Pro Bono Forum, the publication provides practical guidance to local and regional law societies and organisations to set up pro bono clearinghouses in their own countries.

Documents: 

A4ID Paper Law Firms Implementation of Guiding Principles Nov 2011.pdf

As businesses, law firms have the responsibility to “know and show” that they are respecting human rights.  This is a core component of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recently endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council.

This report provides an overview of discussions conducted by leading law firms in London in September 2011. This meeting marked the first collective effort by law firms to understand what the Guiding Principles means for them—as business enterprises—to avoid infringing on human rights.  

According to a recent survey by the European Union, 20 per cent of the population of the EU believe that climate change is the single greatest problem facing the world, while over half think it is one of the most serious problems, second only to poverty.

Food insecurity affects one billion people in the world today. Declining agricultural outputs, thought to have been exacerbated at least in part by climate change, have led to a spike in the price of food.

With increasing numbers of vulnerable communities unable to feed themselves, protect their livelihoods, or being forced to migrate, the potential for social unrest and conflict in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries is ever more pressing.

Date: Tuesday 8th November 2011
Time: 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Venue: Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2HS

Speaker: Dr Stephen Peake, Fellow in Management Science, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Technologies, Open University.