The 2018 edition (volume 24) of the Asian Yearbook of International Law has special feature articles on the practice of Asian states from the perspective of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and is followed by two main articles; legal materials including a listing of the participation of Asian states in multilateral treaties and a description of the state practice of Asian states in the field of international law; along with a literature section featuring a book review and a bibliographic survey of materials dealing with international law in Asia; and finally a summary of the activities undertaken by the Foundation for the Development of International Law in Asia (DILA) in the year 2018.
I Articles
The special feature articles were drawn from papers that were presented at the 2019 DILA-Korea International Conference on Asian State Practice in International Law from the Perspective of TWAIL held in Seoul, Korea from November 7 to 9, 2019. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the issues related to the global South and assess how the dynamics of international politics and transnational interactions have influenced and redefined international law.
The first article provides a historical case study in “The Centenary of the League of Nations: Colonial India and the Making of International Law” by Amritha V. Shenoy of Kathmandu School of Law. Next, Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan of Griffith College follows with a look at the sources of international law, in particular customary international law in “Breaking Bad Customs: Involving the Idea of Opinio Juris Communis in Asian State Practice.” After, Ravi Prakash Vyas and Rachit Murarka, both of Kathmandu School of Law, provide a TWAIL perspective of human rights in “Understanding Human Rights from an Eastern Perspective: A Discourse.” Jay Ramasubramanyam from Carleton University then examines the refugee issue in “Subcontinental Defiance to the Global Refugee Regime: Global Leadership or Regional Exceptionalism?” Next, Dwayne Leonardo Fernandes and Devahuti Pathak examine “Harmonizing UNCITRAL Model Law: A TWAIL Analysis of Cross Border Insolvency Law.” This is followed by the “Use of Force as Self Defence against Non-State Actors and TWAIL considerations: A Critical Analysis of India’s State Practice” authored by Srinivas Burra of South Asian University. The last special feature article is a look at the issue of international dispute resolution in “The ‘ASEAN Way’: A Sore Thumb for ASEAN Solidarity in the Face of an Ailing Global Trade System?” by Noel Chow Zher Ming of Tradewin Asia.
The special feature section is followed by the first main article entitled, “A Legal Critique of the Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in the Matter of the South China Sea Arbitration” by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. Next, Yudan Tan examines “Prosecuting Crimes against Humanity before International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh: A Nexus with an Armed Conflict.”
II Legal Materials
The Yearbook from its inception was committed to providing scholars, practitioners, and students with a report on Asian state practice as its contribution to provide an understanding of how Asian states act within the international system and how international law is applied in their domestic legal systems. The Yearbook does this in two ways. First, it records the participation of Asian states in multilateral treaties; and second, it reports on the state practice of Asian states. A number of diligent scholars have provided the Yearbook with reports on the 2018 state practice of their respective countries.
1 Participation in Multilateral Treaties
Karin Arts of the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague, The Netherlands has compiled and edited the participation of Asian states in multilateral treaties for the 2018 calendar year.
2 State Practice of Asian States in the Field of International Law
The state practice section is intended to offer readers of the Yearbook an outline and summary of the activities undertaken by Asian states that have a direct bearing on international law. The national correspondents, listed in the table of contents, have undertaken the responsibility to report on the state practice of their respective countries during the 2018 calendar year. Their submissions describe how these states are applying international law in their domestic legal systems and in their foreign relations.
III Literature
1 Book Review
For this edition of the Yearbook, Seokwoo Lee, of the Board of Editors, gives his review of History and International Law: An Intertwined Relationship published in 2019 by Edward Elgar Publishing.
2 Bibliographic Survey
Soyeon Moon of Handong International Law School in Pohang, Korea prepared the bibliography for 2018 which provides information on books, articles, notes, and other materials dealing with international law in Asia.
IV DILA Activities
The 2018 edition of the Yearbook concludes with a report on the activities undertaken by DILA in the year 2018, namely the annual DILA International Conference and DILA Academy and Workshop that was held on April 21 to 22, 2018 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia at the Islamic University of Indonesia.
Seokwoo Lee
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Hee Eun Lee
Co-Editor-in-Chief