Both of publishing plans submitted by Prof. Cai Congyan, who is in charge of International Law Innovation Team, have been accepted by foreign publishing companies recently, which means International Law Innovation Team continued to make progress in having a say in international academic circles.
The first plan is to publish the symposium BRICS and New International Legal Order on Investment on AJIL Unbound. With consensus in editorial department and approval by AJIL’s chief editor, the plan was accepted by AJIL Unbound. One of AJIL’s editors was assigned to assist Prof. Cai to coordinate scholars from China, Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Singapore, and Australia with their symposiums, as well as with evaluation and edit. AJIL Unbound is run by American Society of International Law (ASIL) and published by Cambridge University Press. Unlike long papers on AJIL, AJIL Unbound is filled with original essays yet in early research phase, and therefore can raise attention and discussion in academic circles.
The second one is to apply to Brill Press for publishing the symposium BRICS and New International Legal Order on Investment. Brill is a prestigious publishing company established since 1683, well known for international law publications. Having been assessed by both external peer experts and Brill itself, the application was also approved. This symposium’s authors include international law scholars, diplomats, and lawyers from China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, and German.
International investment law is experiencing significant reforms, and what role BRICS can play in new circumstances has been given wide attention. Some BRICS countries are or have taken measures to boost those reforms. International investment law is one of the vital fields where Chinese government attempts to gain influence and have a say in it. Given that China’s researches in that field are far from sufficing, it can be seen that those two publishing plans will generate positive effects.
International Law Innovation Team was established in 2016 with three goals: improving theoretical innovation, legal service, and international dialogue. The team continued to achieve those goals by attending international academic conferences, publishing research findings, and conducting academic visiting as senior scholars.
A breakthrough International Law Innovation Team made this time is that the team ran those two academic activities as “organizer” and “director” instead of “invitee” or “participant”.
Translated by Zhao Chengming
