‘The EU and International Law’: Bangor hosts Professor James Crawford for the Annual Law Lecture 2014

This year, the 2014 Welsh Law Schools Annual Law Lecture was organised by Bangor Law School’s Professor Suzannah Linton. Bangor was immensely honoured to host Professor James Crawford, A.C., S.C., F.B.A. Professor Crawford has been the Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge since 1992, and is one of the most distinguished international lawyers in the world. He has been nominated by Australia for election to the International Court of Justice, and is a highly sought-after counsel and arbitrator in international disputes. In recent months, he has appeared before the International Court of Justice in East Timor v. Australia, the Croatia-Serbia genocide case, and was involved in the recent victory for Australia in the Whaling case. Professor Crawford is a member of the Institut de droit international, a barrister at Matrix Chambers, London, and has received many honours for his outstanding contribution to the field of International Law.

The 2014 lecture is the third Annual Law Lecture. The lectures are organised by a different Welsh law school each year, and are sponsored by all the law schools and the Welsh Centre for International Affairs. Held at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff on Monday 7 April 2014, this year’s lecture drew a full house of attendees, including academics, practitioners and students from across Wales. Several students and staff travelled down from Bangor for the event.

The Counsel General of Wales, Theodore Huckle QC, introduces Professor Crawford (from left to right: Prof Linton, Prof Crawford, Sir Emyr, Prof Khaliq)

Professor Suzannah Linton chaired the meeting. The Counsel General of Wales, the eminent QC Theodore Huckle, introduced Professor Crawford and his stellar achievements in International Law, and the discussant, Professor Urfan Khaliq, Professor of Public International and European Laws, an Advocate of the Punjab High Court, and a member of the Cardiff University Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for European Law and Governance.

Professor Crawford gave a masterful lecture on the 'The EU and International Law', examining the inter-linkage between EU law and public international law. He did this by using three interactions. The first considered EU law and investment treaty law with focus on bilateral investment treaties that are between EU member states, and those concluded with states outside the EU. Professor Crawford also examined a 2013 regulation that establishes transitional arrangements between EU member states and third countries. The second category of interaction assessed the EU’s expansive jurisdictional regime and the law of the sea, focusing on proceedings against the EU brought by Denmark on behalf of the Faroe Islands, a non-self governing Danish territory that is not part of the EU but has the status of a third country enjoying preferential status with the EU. This dispute concerns countermeasures taken by the EU against the Faroes in a dispute over Atlanto-Scandian herring in the Faroes’ Exclusive Economic Zone. Finally, Professor Crawford considered EU law and statehood, and drew in the ongoing debate over Scottish independence. In practice, he found, International Law was used when it was helpful and rejected when it was not. It was clear that the EU has become an important legal actor, evolving from the original typical international organisation to a relatively integrated autonomous legal order that necessarily interacts and sometimes clashes with public international law. Professor Crawford noted how the legal solutions to problems could vary instance by instance, particularly when the viewer positions him- or herself within or outside the EU. In either case, he concluded, the final image would inevitably be pointilliste, composed of bits and pieces.

Professor Khaliq ably drew from Professor Crawford’s three illustrations of the EU-International Law relationship to demonstrate how academic international lawyers had initially been interested in the European institutions and the core European treaties. But this did not last, and international lawyers generally lost interest as European law developed along its own trajectory. Even so, Professor Khaliq observed how international lawyers seemed to be finding Europe interesting again.  He added to the three examples given by Professor Crawford, and reflected on the well-known Kadi litigation concerning the Security Council’s terrorist listings after the 9/11 attacks and the EU’s response.

A lively question-and-answer session followed, with questions ranging from Scottish independence to sovereignty to human rights and bilateral investment treaties to the expansive jurisdiction of the European institutions to secession in International Law.Professor Suzannah Linton with Professor James Crawford

The event was drawn to a close by the President of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, the distinguished former diplomat Sir Emyr Jones Parry, who warmly thanked the speakers. Sir Emyr reflected on the nature of law and what the public can reasonably expect. He too drew on the Kadi case to illustrate the EU’s emphasis on Rule of Law. Sir Emyr spoke of the debate about Europe in the UK, and the immense challenges ahead for the UK, Scotland and Europe should the Scottish referendum yield a majority in favour of independence.

As the organiser and chair, Professor Linton observed that “it was such a pleasure for Bangor to have been able to organise this outstanding event in Cardiff, and an enormous honour to host Professor Crawford. It was truly enriching to listen to such an exceptional speaker and a legendary international lawyer”. She thanked the Welsh Centre for International Affairs for helping to make the event such a success. Professor Dermot Cahill, Head of Bangor Law School, noted that “Professor Crawford raised fascinating issues which demonstrate that EU and International lawyers need to look over the fence at each other more often, as he demonstrated how some major issues are coming up for resolution which affect the EU single market yet which seem to fall within the purview of International law rather than of EU law. He demonstrated how the expansive jurisdiction of the EU legal framework is impressive, but also how recently some issues have arisen, such as those involving bilateral investment treaties, and Faroe Island fishing rights, which are both in inside and outside the EU judicature's grasp at the same time, thereby demonstrating some very interesting dilemmas arising for EU and Public International lawyers to attempt to resolve. His observations that the EU's commitment to the rule of law was most pertinent, and served to compare its institutional actions most favourably in comparison to the actions or inaction of other international institutions such as the UN.”

Publication date: 14 April 2014