Call for Papers on...Lawfare

Call for Papers “Lawfare” & the Instrumentalization of Law Law plays an ambivalent role in modern societies. On the one hand, law is an instrument of suppression and violence that excludes and punishes, often helping the most powerful. On the other hand, it serves as an instrument of resistance. This simultaneous role of law, as an instrument of both violence and resistance, has been dubbed ‘lawfare’ in recent debates. From the beginning of the prior decade, scholars have been increasingly using the term lawfare as a means of explaining those situations in which law is used offensively. Commonly, 'lawfare' refers to the employment of law during warfare as a means of constraining and punishing the opponent. Put differently, law becomes another weapon by which actors are restrained and coerced. Thus, there have been some discussions about lawfare concerning the US and its armed actions both in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, this is not the only plausible manner in which lawfare can be conceptualized and circumscribed, and it is also interesting to consider the extent to which lawfare is relevant outwith specific conflict situations, both in discrete legal areas and as a consideration of the nature and function of law more generally; is lawfare intrinsic to the function and nature of law per se? That leads on to a consideration of whether there is a connection between the emergence of lawfare with the increasing juridification of the international sphere and the growing importance of human rights. Even at this early stage in the development of this notion, lawfare can be understood to have divergent conceptualizations in different – and even the same – contexts. As such, there is a multitude of approaches to, and perspectives on, the idea of lawfare, arising from all areas of legal scholarship, including international law, comparative law, legal theory and European law. The purpose of this Call for Papers is to shed light upon lawfare as an overall underdeveloped category. Below are some by no means exhaustive indicators of where contributors might wish to focus their efforts, but we welcome papers on all related topics: 

Possible legal theoretical issues concern how lawfare should be conceptualized, and its constituent elements, whether the notion is inherent to the concept and nature of law, as well as identification of the different uses of law which can be categorized as lawfare.

The way in which the concept is used might also be compared across different national legal traditions, between different legal orders (i.e. national, European and international), across different functional regimes and between different areas of law (consider, for example, the use of forum shopping in Private International Law). It may be useful in this regard to enquire whether such instrumental use of law is something immanent to particular legal families (for example the common law) or whether it is more widespread.

From an international perspective, the discussion of the notion of lawfare, prima facie, seems to be most within the context of the law of war and international humanitarian law – involving for instance European peacekeeping operations and counter-terrorism undertakings – as well as more general international law, international criminal law and human rights law issues relevant in areas of conflict.

Finally, from a European law perspective, one example of where the concept might be applied is by those at a disadvantage, for example, in respect of European competition law, and whether it can necessarily only be applied by those who are at a disadvantage (consider recent EU activity in relation to trade sanctions regarding Iran).

In bringing together papers examining the international, comparative, European and theoretical perspectives on the issue, the EJLS hopes to help map the topography of this emerging legal landscape. In addition to legal papers, we welcome submissions from other academic legal disciplines, in particular those with political or social science perspectives on law. Submissions should be addressed to submissions@ejls.eu or as per the instructions on our Website at www.ejls.eu. The deadline for receipt of submissions is 18 May 2012