Joris Larik: New handbook cornerstone for emerging field of comparative foreign relations law
On 13-14 October, Dr. Joris Larik, Assistant Professor for Comparative, EU, and International Law at LUC, took part in the Duke-Pretoria Conference on Comparative Foreign Relations Law. During these two days in the South African capital, draft chapters for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Comparative Foreign Relations Law were presented and discussed.
Foreign relations and national law
The conference, which was organized by Duke Law School and hosted by the University of Pretoria, brought together leading experts from around the world to compare and contrast how states, as well as the European Union, structure their decision-making about foreign affairs and how they incorporate international law within their domestic legal systems. These topics have become all the more relevant in recent times, highlighted for instance by U.S. President Trump’s threats to withdraw from NAFTA and the Iran Nuclear Deal, the difficulties the EU is experiencing in ratifying trade agreements such as CETA, and of course Brexit.
Emerging research field
Dr. Larik presented his chapter on "The EU and ASEAN at International Institutions", which contrasts supranational and intergovernmental modes of operation used by regional organizations to engage at the global level. The new handbook, research for which is funded by a Carnegie Fellowship obtained by Duke Professor Curtis A. Bradley, will serve as a cornerstone for the emerging field of Comparative Foreign Relations Law.
Curriculum Foreign Relations Law
Moreover, it will contribute to research-led teaching in Leiden and beyond For instance, a selection of its chapters will be included in the updated syllabus for the course Foreign Relations Law taught by Dr. Larik at LUC as well as the Duke-Leiden Summer Institute on Global and Transnational Law, which will be launched in 2018 and feature a course co-taught by Prof. Bradley and Dr. Larik.