International conference “The Role of the BRICS in Global Governance and International Law” (Brasília)

International conference “The Role of the BRICS in Global Governance and International Law” (Brasília)

Presented by
The Foundation for Law and International Affairs
Brazil-China Economic Development Association

September 17-18, 2019       Brasília, Brazil

The Theme

From November 13 to 14, 2019, the 11th BRICS Summit will be held in Brasília, Brazil. Topics will be discussed at the Summit include further cooperation in science, technology, and innovation, the digital economy, combating transnational illegal activities, and financing of production activities.

Over the past decade, the BRICS countries have become more proactive in their participation in world affairs and have formed a community in exploring their internal economic opportunities and promoting the reform of the current global governance system. Individually, BRICS countries are important actors in maintaining regional security and coping with economic challenges through regional mechanisms. As a whole, the BRICS are committed to promoting reform of the global governance system and collaborate for inclusive growth and shared prosperity among countries of both the global south and north.

As the BRICS are becoming more and more influential global actors, they face enormous challenges. In the context of the rise of global trade protectionism and the continuous expansion of the expansion of domestic law outside the country, it has become a common interest to policymakers, academics, and business communities in the BRICS countries in terms of how to expand the advantages of the BRICS in meeting these challenges through various means such as law and trade policy, how to create better internal and external environment for domestic development and foreign investment, how to protect the country's growing overseas interests, as well as how to promote the reform of global governance mechanisms in order to reflect their values and visions for the future world order.

The conference invites paper submissions on the subject “The Role of the BRICS in Global Governance and International Law.” We hope to bring ideas from across the globe, consider historical and comparative contexts, and foster interdisciplinary conversation. Papers from all disciplines and geographical areas are welcome.

The Panels and the Workshop

1. Panel: Trading with and Investing in the BRICS

The BRICS counties have emerged as important players in global trade and investment in the past ten decades. With the background of the current wave of anti-globalization, how the BRICS will continue to promote these two priority areas of cooperation could set an example for the world. This panel will address the challenges that the BRICS countries are having in creating a better internal and external environment for domestic development and foreign investment. It will discuss the legal risks of multinational enterprises’ activities overseas due to the lack of awareness of soft foreign law and the extraterritorial application of other countries’ domestic laws. It will also examine the development of the trade and investment dispute resolution mechanism among the BRICS.

2. Panel: Collaboration on Countering Transnational Crime among the BRICS

Combating transnational illegal activities has always been one of the BRICS’s great efforts and is listed as one of the main topics of the 11th BRICS Summit. This panel will discuss the countering transnational crime measures, including corruption and other organized crime in BRICS countries and lay the empirical foundations for the systematic and comparative study for further collaboration on countering transnational crime among BRICS, as well as the roles of government and enterprises in the process. 

3. Workshop: Inclusive Negotiations and Decision Making within the BRICS

Inclusive negotiation is a negotiation process of facilitating dialogues among different stakeholders, including a government, an enterprise, a local NGO, and an IGO, who intend to reach agreements on tensions or disputes involved in transnational projects under a framework that can be mutually respected. As a geopolitical bloc, BRICS plays a significant role in global governance. This panel will stimulate debates about whether "inclusive negotiation" will shape an innovative decision-making process as a new model of global governance.

There are four ways to attend the conference.

1. Present at one of two panels:

To attend one of the above panels, please submit a 250-500 word abstract, along with a copy of your resume, by Monday, June 17th, 2019. Submissions should be sent to contact@flia.org with the subject title “FLIA Fall 2019 Conference + the topic of the panel.”

2. Attend the Workshop

To attend the workshop, please submit a copy of your resume, by Monday, June 17th, 2019. Submissions should be sent to contact@flia.org with the subject title “FLIA Fall 2019 Conference + the Workshop.”

3. Organize a Workshop

We accept proposals for organizing a workshop at the conference on issues that are highly relevant to the main topic of the conference. We will invite participants to attend the workshop during the breaks of the panels. Each workshop will last 30-40 minutes. To organize a workshop, please submit a 250-500 word concept paper, along with a copy of your resume, by Monday, June 17th, 2019. Submissions of the proposals should be sent to contact@flia.org with the subject title “FLIA Fall 2019 Conference Workshop Proposal.”

4. Attend without presenting

We also accept applications to attend the conference without presenting. Applicants should send a copy of their resume and reserve an audience seat.

Publication

Final papers should be submitted by September 1, 2019. Selected papers may be published in an edited collection to be published in English.

To be considered for publication, completed papers should be about 8-10,000 words and in Western academic style offering analysis or production of knowledge with an eye to the existing literature.  Alternatively, papers can focus on rigorous policy analysis considering perspectives from leaders or academics in the field. The papers will be peer-reviewed.  

Expense

The registration fee to attend the conference is $80.[1] This fee may be waived for students, members of NGOs, and invited participants. Conference participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation expense. For those who need invitation letters for visa purposes, please clearly indicate your need when applying for participation.

Please feel free to contact us at contact@flia.org with any questions or concerns.