CFP: International Law and Global Justice, Oxford

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?

Confirmed keynote speakers
Prof. Allen Buchanan (Duke University)
Prof. Terry Nardin (University of Singapore)

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 29th 2009.Updated information will shortly be available on the Conference Website.