ESIL Newsletter – Winter 2025
Editor: Ana Salinas (Universidad de Málaga)
In this issue
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- Message of the President
- Guest Editorial by Olga Martin-Ortega: The EU CSDDD began to articulate the state-business nexus in supply chains, let’s not lose the progress
- Meet an ESIL member – Antoine De Spiegeleir
- What’s Going On?
- ESIL Strategic Consultative Panel Report
- ESIL Code of Conduct
- ESIL Reflections
- News from Interest Groups
- ESIL Membership Renewal
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1. Message of the President
Dear ESIL Members,
On behalf of all the members of the Board, I wish you all a wonderful new year. Our field, international law, has been in full swing in recent months, not only with important events, but also with political and governmental changes that are already leading to considerable policy and legal reorientations.
In my last Newsletter entry, I informed our members of the latest developments concerning our strategic consultation for the year 2023-2024. The final report is now published on the Society’s website; we invite all our members to read it and share their observations with us. The future of ESIL is a collective effort, and all initiatives are welcome. In January 2025 we welcomed a new Interest Group, specialising in critical approaches to international law. I want to congratulate the moderators of this new Interest Group for their initiative, and I am pleased to announce that their first event will be organised at our forthcoming Annual Conference in Berlin.
Our learned society is a community of researchers, teachers, and professionals. We are bound together by our academic endeavours, certainly, but also through our professional interactions within our epistemic community. I do not believe that the role of ESIL is to lead such discussions: to my mind, that is the role for all of us as individual members. Instead, I see ESIL’s role to safeguard and to provide a forum, a space in which our debates and activities can be conducted. This is why I am pleased to announce the adoption of our Code of Conduct, which was adopted by the Board at the end of 2024. This Code reflects ESIL’s core values of academic freedom and the participation of all members in an environment where mutual respect is encouraged. I am convinced that the well-being of a community is reflected in the way it treats its individual members, especially those who find themselves in less advantageous situations. Although ESIL cannot demolish academic and social hierarchies on its own, we can aspire to dismantle barriers to participation in its internal functioning. On behalf of the Board, I warmly thank the members of our Diversity Advisory Body for their constructive initiatives and for their close collaboration throughout the adoption process.
2025 looks promising for ESIL: beyond our core activities, namely the Catania Research Forum and our annual conference in Berlin, we are strengthening our ties with international institutions based in Europe. Furthermore, ESIL is ensuring that it participates more actively in global debates and has launched discussions with non-European partners in order to promote initiatives with our colleagues who are located outside the European region. On both these fronts, and more, I hope to be able to announce concrete initiatives soon. As always, I am most grateful to all the members of the Board, our dedicated Secretariat, the Conveners of our Interest Groups, as well as all of our members who contribute to the dynamic and welcoming atmosphere of the Society.
Yours faithfully,
Gleider Hernández
ESIL President
2. Guest Editorial by Olga Martin-Ortega: The EU CSDDD began to articulate the state-business nexus in supply chains, let’s not lose the progress
As the new European Commission prepares to publish its annual work programme for 2025 next month civil society, trade unions and business alike are expectantly waiting to see what the impact on human rights and environmental corporate accountability measures of the New European Competitiveness Deal may be. An ‘omnibus simplification package’ has been announced to reduce regulatory burdens on European companies, eliciting justified fears from civil society and trade unions that the process of amalgamating the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD) Directives leads to the watering down of the corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations in supply chains which they have fought so hard to articulate. The extent of the changes the ‘simplification’ process may bring is not known and von der Leyen has declared that it is not the intention to change the content of the laws. Whilst many eyes will be, rightly, focused on the main corporate obligations, my fear is that a little talked about provision in the CSDDD will be forgotten and the great progress towards policy coherence and the articulation of the state-business nexus through due diligence in public procurement which article 31 has made will be lost.
Article 31 is the last substantive article of the Directive, part of its monitoring and implementation provisions. It establishes the link between the new corporate obligations and the EU Public Procurement regulatory framework by requiring Member States to ensure that compliance with due diligence obligations qualify as environmental or social aspects that public sector bodies can demand from their suppliers when they contract the provision of goods and services. Article 31 is part of a paradigm shift in public procurement which has been demanded by practitioners and scholars during the decade in which the current procurement regime has been in force and which has been propelled, to some extent, by the EU Green Deal. It also reflects the increasing central role of the state business nexus in the context of corporate accountability and the progress -albeit slow- towards policy coherence between the obligations of companies and those of the state with regards to human rights in global supply chains.
The link between public procurement and state international human rights obligations, including their obligations to regulate corporate actors, was articulated by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), through the proposition of the so-called state-business nexus. When the state when it acts an economic actor, performing economic transactions, which include public procurement, retains its international obligation to protect human rights from third parties. This includes regulating businesses and demanding human rights due diligence from them. As I have argued elsewhere, public procurement lies at the intersection of the state duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect, making it a unique legal and economic tool in the business and human rights dynamic. As the largest global consumers, states can exercise leverage over their suppliers and down their supply chain through inserting due diligence obligations to lead markets towards sustainable production and consumption, generating demand for sustainably produced goods and responsibly delivered services, and demanding and incentivising responsible business conduct. However, the current EU public procurement regime, nestled in the principles of international trade law, makes it challenging for public buyers to do so. Article 31 CSDDD is key in continuing the development towards sustainable public procurement, making is easier for public buyers to insert due diligence requirements in their procurement process without fear of breaking their legal obligations.
The reform of the EU public procurement regime during the mandate of the new Commission is also on the cards. This must consolidate and advance the transformation in the nature and role of public procurement: the purchasing the goods, services and works that the state needs to deliver its functions must guaranteed not only efficiency, value for money and open competition but also respect and protection of human rights and the environment as inherently part of the process. The announced simplification omnibus must not jeopardize this significant development, on the contrary, it should take the opportunity to influence the public procurement regime reform to guarantee that the synergies between corporate accountability and state obligations are maximised and support better conditions in the supply chain of the goods and services the state purchases and we all enjoy.
Dr. Olga Martin-Ortega is Professor of International Law at the University of Greenwich, UK, where she leads the Business, Human Rights and the Environment Research Group (www.bhre.org).
3. Meet an ESIL member – Antoine De Spiegeleir
You can find the video introducing Antoine De Spiegeleir, PhD researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, member of the ESIL Early-Career Network co-ordinating Committee and Assistant of the ESIL Strategic Consultative Panel, here.
4. What’s Going On?
2025 ESIL Annual Conference in Berlin – LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT!
Freie Universität Berlin, 10-13 September 2025
For the last decade, international law has gone through a period of turbulence. In response, it is time to move beyond crisis narratives and adopt a forward-looking approach. For such an undertaking, the year 2025 offers an appropriate context. It will mark the 80th birthday of the United Nations, the institutional centre of the international legal order. At the same time, 2025 is just five years away from 2030 when the future direction of the current blueprint for global social order, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will need to be decided.
Come to Berlin for the 2025 annual conference of ESIL. Please visit the conference website www.esil2025.de for more information. In addition to plenary events and six curated fora, the Call for Papers for the 12 agorae is still available – ten agorae with substantive themes and two slots reserved for submissions of ideas for a panel by ESIL interest groups. The deadline is approaching fast: make sure to submit your proposal by 31 January 2025 and be a part of our common endeavour to reconstruct international law. The registration for the conference will open on 15 February 2025.
2025 ESIL Research Forum in Catania – REGISTER NOW!
The 2024 ESIL Research Forum will take place on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 March 2025 and will be hosted by the Department of Law of the University of Catania. It addresses the topic: ‘International Law in the Age of Permacrisis’. The Call for Papers is now closed.
The programme will be available shortly. Further details are available on the research forum website.
Should you wish to attend, please register via this link. Please note that registration is reserved for current ESIL members.
Joint ESIL-Leuphana Early-Career Workshop on “International Courts and Tribunals Interactions and Challenges”
ESIL and Leuphana University are inviting ‘mini papers’ for a joint ESIL-Leuphana early-career workshop on ‘International Courts and Tribunals: Interactions and Challenges‘, to be held on 19-20 June 2025 in Lüneburg, Germany.
The workshop is aimed at early-career researchers (ECRs), with a focus on PhD candidates. It will offer ECRs a platform to present their work, to test arguments, and to benefit from constructive feedback in a supportive environment. To achieve these aims, the workshop will take the form of a small-group discussion focused on ECR work in a particular thematic area. Workshop sessions will be organised around the work of selected participants, which will be commented upon by more established academics and discussed with all workshop participants. All workshop participants are expected to participate actively in these discussions.
The workshop is organised by Leuphana University Lüneburg, with support by the European Society of International Law (ESIL) and input by members of ESIL’s early career network coordinating committee. Please find further details in the call for submissions. Submission Deadline: 30 January, 2025.
ESIL-supported IG joint conference on “Towards a Global Ecological-Economic Legal Framework”
The ESIL Interest Groups on International Environmental Law, on the European and International Rule of Law and on International Economic Law are jointly organising an ESIL-supported conference on “Towards a Global Ecological-Economic Legal Framework”.
The event will take place at École Normale Supérieure – Paris Sciences et Lettres (ENS-PSL) on 6-7 June 2025.
The Call for Papers is now available and is open until 28 February 2025. You can find further details here.
5. ESIL Strategic Consultative Panel Report
ESIL 20+10: A Decade of Opportunity, created by the ESIL Strategic Consultative Panel, commemorates the Society’s 20th anniversary and sets a forward-looking agenda for its third decade. This comprehensive document serves as both a reflection on ESIL’s achievements and a strategic guide to ensuring its continued growth and impact in the field of international law.
6. ESIL Code of Conduct
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) upholds a strong commitment to fostering a professional and academic environment that is inclusive, respectful, and free from discrimination and harassment. This Code of Conduct outlines the principles and expectations that guide ESIL’s dedication to ensuring a welcoming and safe space for all participants at its events and activities, both in-person and virtual. It reflects the Society’s core values, including the promotion of dignity, academic freedom, and equal opportunity, while recognizing the challenges posed by power dynamics and hierarchies in academic settings. Through this commitment, ESIL aims to create an atmosphere of mutual respect, empowering all individuals to engage fully and equitably in its scholarly and professional community.
7. ESIL Reflections
ESIL Reflections offer up-to-date reflections on current issues in international law. The Reflections cover a wide range of topics relating to current developments in international law and practice as well as theoretical reflections in a way that is relatively accessible to non-experts. The aim is to foster discussion between ESIL members and international law scholars and practitioners more generally – in Europe, but also beyond. ESIL Reflections are published on this website and distributed freely to ESIL members.
The editors are Patrycja Grzebyk (editor-in-chief), Lucas Lixinski, Alina Miron, Anne Saab and Peter-Tobias Stoll.
ESIL Members who have an interest in contributing are encouraged to do so. Please contact Patrycja Grzebyk (patrycja.grzebyk@uw.edu.pl) if you would like to contribute.
Latest publication:
- Geoengineering and the Climatic Sword of Damocles by Joachim Strzelecki
8. News from Interest Groups
ESIL Interest Groups are a vital part of the Society’s success and activities. A list of the groups is available on the ESIL website.
Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals
At the ESIL Annual Conference in Vilnius, the Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals ran a workshop on the topic of Parellelism before International Courts and Tribunals, including papers by Nina Mileva, Matilde Masetti Placci, Lan Nguyen and Danae Georgoula, Claudia Martin, and Matina Papadaki and James Devaney. The event was moderated by Cecily Rose.
In December, the Interest Group held an online event entitled Taking Stock—A Roundtable Discussion on the Public Hearing in the ICJ Climate Change Advisory Proceedings. Moderated by Mike Becker and Yusra Suedi, the webinar featured expert views from Caroline Foster, Danilo Garrido, and Corina Heri.
Also in December, Veronica Botticelli, James Devaney and Sarah (Sally) Thin were elected to the Interest Group’s Coordinating Committee, replacing departing members Cecily Rose and Stephan Wittich.
Interest Group on the International Law of Culture
The IG has recently organized two events. On 27 November 2024, in cooperation with the IGs on the Cultural Heritage and the Arts Interest Group (CHAIG) and on International and Comparative Disaster Law of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), it co-organized a webinar titled ‘Culture Heritage and International Disaster Law: Risk Reduction and Recovery’. The next joint event titled ‘The Legal Dimension of Provenance Research International, Comparative, Indigenous’, will take place on 25 February 2025. The IG is also organising an online workshop on ‘Cultural Heritage, Social Resilience and Crisis Response in International Law’, linked to the 2025 ESIL Research Forum.
Interest Group on International Business and Human Rights
The IG is convening a three-part webinar series exploring the various ways in which economic sanctions and human rights intersect. The webinars, bringing together practitioners and academics, will be held between 20 February and 20 March 2025. More details will be shared soon!
Interest Group on Social Sciences and International Law
The IG is happy to announce the ASIL/ESIL Spring 2025 International Law and Social Science Online Speakers Series:
• February 12, 2025. Lauge Skovgaard Poulsen (University College London), Compensation, Economic Hostages, and Market Access: Lump Sum Agreements since Westphalia.
• February 26, 2025. Veronika Fikfak (University College London) and Nicolo Ridi (King’s College London), The Human Rights Bar: Lawyers at the European Court of Human Rights.
• March 19, 2025. Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez (Texas A&M School of Law), The Other Secret Deals: Uncovering the Power of Non-Binding International Agreements.
• May 14, 2025. Janina Dill (Oxford University), Marnie Howlett (Oxford University), Carl Müller-Crepon (London School of Economics and Political Science), and Mara Revkin (Duke University), Fate or Choice? Attitudes Toward Collaboration and Redemption in Ukraine.
More information will be shared in due course.
9. ESIL Membership Renewal – Renew now for 2025 if you haven’t done so already!
The ESIL membership is for the calendar year, from January to December. If you are not a 5-year member or a lifetime member, or if you have not yet responded to the recent reminder emails, it is now time to pay your fees for 2024. You are strongly encouraged to do so as soon as possible in order to be included in our publications and in the 2024 ESIL Interest Group membership lists.
Paying the fee is quick and easy: access the online membership platform, select your preferred membership option, log in to your personal account and proceed to payment.
There are now 21 ESIL Interest Groups; make sure you have indicated all those you wish to join. You can join or leave any group at any time just by ticking the box next to the IG. You can also join the ESIL Early-Career Network by ticking the dedicated box.
Members who wish to make a commitment to 5-year or to a lifetime membership are very welcome to do so.
