Research Colloquium: "Global Transformations: The international System at a Crossroads?"

25. Oct - 26. Oct

at Leuphana University Lüneburg

Together with the Working Group "Young UN Research" (link) of the German United Nations Association (DGVN), the Joachim Herz Doctoral School of Law is organising a research colloquium on "Global Transformations: The International System at a Crossroads?" on 25-26 October 2024.

The event is aimed at young researchers and students from all disciplines and offers them the opportunity to discuss and present current research, bachelor/master theses and seminar papers.

TOPIC

Current transformations pose substantial challenges to the international system in general, but also – more specifically – to the United Nations.

A wide range of transformations are taking place at national and global level, and systems at both stages must adapt to new realities. Worldviews and perspectives are being adapted, key factors (e.g. the climate) are changing, and new developments require re-evaluations of traditional conceptions. None of these changes takes place in a societal, legal, or political vacuum. They are always embedded in larger contexts, and societies respond by adopting and changing. In a globalised world, most (important) changes also have an impact beyond national borders and often result in global consequences (also at UN level). In other words, transformations usually have extensive effects, as national changes can induce (or, at least, influence) developments on the global stage and vice versa. All this poses great challenges to both national societies and the international community.

This year's Research Colloquium will therefore focus on topics related to current processes of change and transformation (at all levels) that have a global impact and are likely to challenge our (previously) prevailing views and beliefs. To name just a few examples:

  • Wars and their re-occurrence in Europe (incl. the widespread ignorance of wars in other world regions),
  • Digitalisation (e.g., regarding the increased importance of stable and safe communication in economic, legal, and social terms),
  • The growing importance of universal cooperation in solving global problems (e.g., in tackling climate change),
  • The increased influence of the Global South (closely associated with the need for a revaluation of North-South relations),
  • Ideas and concepts discussed at the Summit of the Future,
  • The role of international judicial bodies in transformations, in particular through the clear definition of obligations (e.g., in the small islands cases before the ICJ and ITLOS, or the preliminary procedures under the Genocide Convention between South Africa and Israel).

PROGRAMME

25 OCTOBER 2024

  • 15:00 - 15:30: Welcome and Introduction
  • 15:30 - 16:30: Keynote by Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz (Leuphana University Lüneburg)
  • 16:30 - 16:45: Break
  • 16:45 - 17:45: Panel 1: Environment
    • Chad Patrick Osorio (Wageningen University) - Global crime, local consequences: Analyzing the UNTOC’s proposed third additional protocol and unequal access to wildlife resources
    • Philipp Rehm (Humboldt University Berlin) - Reconstructing the Relationship between Humans and Non-Humans: the “Common Heritage of Kin-Kind” and its Consequences for the LOCAL
  • 17:45 - 18:00: Break
  • 18:00 - 19:00: Panel 2: Digital & Investment
    • Claudia Pharaon (Leiden University) - Global Transformations and Reinvention of the International Investment Law System'
    • Gülce Kormaz (Leuphana University Lüneburg) - How Can the EU's DMA and DSA contribute to the objectives of the UN's Global Digital Compact?
  •  19:00: Dinner

26 OCTOBER 2024

  • 10:00 - 11:00: Panel 3: Global Structures I
    • Amon Elpídio da Silva, Thiago Ferreira Almeida (beide: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) - From Margins to Center: The Global South's Role in Global Climate Transformations
    • Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarin (Geneva Graduate Institute) - Challenging the Global Herrenhaus: The Unending Quest to Democratize International Relations within, and beyond, the United Nations
  • 11:00 - 11:15: Break
  • 11:15 - 12:15: Panel 4: Global Structures II
    • Maddalena Cogorno (University of Florence) - It is now or never: the protection of cultural heritage in the UN Pact for the Future
    • Michał Byczyński (University of Lodz) - Navigating a Multilayered World: The Role of WHO’s Human Rights Indicators in Global Health Governance
  • 12:15 - 13:15: Lunch Break
  • 13:15 - 14:15: Panel 5: Peacekeeping
    • Yasemin Altintop (University Gießen) - (Non)Managing ethnic conflicts: The United Nations and the case of Türkiye’s Kurds
    • Kirsten Hartmann (Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Foundation) - Into the Blue? – The future(s) of UN peace operations in a changing environment
  • 14:15 - 14:30: Break
  • 14:30 - 15:30: Panel 6: The International Court of Justice I
    • Gaelle Foucault (Université de Montréal) - The Aim of Modernizing the United Nations at the Summit of the Future: The critical absence of the international court of justice in the discussions
    • Hendrik Matthis Drößler (Groningen University) - Keeping Score: The ICJ's overlooked Role in post-judgment Compliance
  • 15:30 - 15:45: Break
  • 15:45 - 16:45: Panel 7: The International Court of Justice II
    • Maren Solmecke, Johannes Ipsen (beide: Leuphana University Lüneburg) - Advisory Opinions in International Law
    • Julia Sochacka (University of Warsaw) - Transformation catalyzed by judicial inaction: the immunity of central banks in the ICJ’s Certain Iranian Assets case
  • 16:45 - 17:30: Wrap-Up & Closing Session

REGISTRATION AS PARTICIPANTS

For a binding registration as a participant, please send us an e-mail (including your full name, your status (student, doctoral candidate, etc.), and your institutional affiliation) to info@uno-forschung.de  by 30 September 2024.   

For questions and registration please contact us at any time.