Newsletter N°32
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No. 32 C 2004 fondée en 1909 Editor’s Greetings Dear Members of the IVR, In August 2003, I took, by appointment of IVR President Professor Aleksander TER Peczenik, from the former Editor-in-Chief, Professor Ricardo Guibourg, the honour and responsibility of publishing IVR Newsletter. At the beginning of a new year, it is customary to make a series of promises which, however, are kept rather seldom. Th erefore, I decided to start the new IVR-year 2004 by substituting promises with gratitude and (truly Kantian) good will. Th us, I would like to thank Professor Guibourg, very warmly, for his kindness in making me acquainted with the minutiae of editing a newspaper. It is my fi rm intention to follow his advice, and I am looking forward to collaborating with the various national sections of IVR, in a way that shall be both fruitful and pleasant! Uta Bindreiter TABLE OF CONTENTS Section One: IVR Announcements Section Two: National Section Records, News, Announcements, Internationale Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie (IVR), Vereinigung gegründetInternationale 1909 founded in 1909 Association of Law and Social Philosophy International for Philosophy, etAssociation de Philosophie de PhilosophieSociale, du Droit Internationale NEWSLET Recent Publications and On-going Obituary: Prof. Norberto Bobbio ................ 2 Research (optional) st Refl ections on the 21 IVR World Congress Argentina 5 Italy 15 in Lund ........................................................2 Australia 6 Japan 18 Next Meetings .............................................3 Canada 6 Poland 19 Chile 8 Slovakia 20 IVR Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence, Legal Th eory and Philosophy of Law ....................4 Colombia 8 Slovenia 21 France 2 9 Sweden 21 Germany 10 Switzerland 22 Greece 10 Ukrania 23 Hungary 13 United Kingdom 24 IVR CONSTITUTION ......................25 IVR EDITOR: Uta Bindreiter IVR Newsletter is published twice a year (in March and IVR WEB MASTER: Christoffer Wong August), to be distributed in March and August respec- tively. Material to be published should be sent to the ADDRESSES Editor by 15 January for the fi rst issue and by 15 July for Editor: the second. Law Faculty, University of Lund, Box 207, IVR Newsletter is available on the Internet (http://www. SE-221 00 Lund, SWEDEN cirfi d.unibo.it/ivr/) where also previous issues can be Tel. +46 46 222 1140, consulted. Email: [email protected]. Web Master: christoff [email protected] IRV Newsletter No. 32 August 2003 - January 2004 IVR Announcements Obituary: Norberto Bobbio There were 23 plenary lectures, ca. 75 special workshop sessions, more than 60 working group sessions, more than With regret, we must inform you about the death of Nor- 10.000 cups of coffee. The weather was good, the atmos- berto Bobbio, our IVR Honorary President. He was born phere friendly. Everyone appeared to be pleased. We on 18 October 1909. He died on 9 January 2004. received, among other things, the following comments: Bobbio played a great role in creation of Italian analytical a very successful congress; a very pleasant experience; an legal positivism, attempting to integrate logical positivism enjoyable and instructive occasion; everything worked out and Hans Kelsen’s pure theory of law. He shared Kelsen’s perfectly and run smoothly; scientific content highly over opinion that many problems, unsolvable by analyzing the average. Modesty prohibits from quoting more such single legal rules, can be successfully addressed by elabo- comments. rating a theory of legal systems. However, Bobbio derived What did the congress give us as researchers? It is a com- further consequences from this insight. He acknowledged plex question but I would like to emphasize the follow- the existence of different types of legal rules, thus refusing ing. Very different people could communicate with each Kelsen’s reduction of all legal norms to duty- or sanction- other. For example, proponents of minimalist description imposing rules. Since the mid-1960s, Bobbio become of particular legal problems could talk with people who more critical to Kelsens theory. He argued against its alluded to “coherent theory of everything”. Analyti- value-free, scientific ambitions and emphasized that it cal philosophers could talk with post-modern thinkers. actually was an expression of normative convictions. Later Lawyers could talk with philosophers. Liberals could talk on, Bobbio wrote important works about social functions with communitarians. Researchers from very different of law. He also defended welfare-state liberalism. countries could talk with each other. Not the least, the participation of specialised disciplines, such as law-and- Bobbio was not only a great scholar but also played a great economics, cognition research and artificial intelligence role in Italian culture and politics. At the end of his long in the law, was unusually great and very inspiring. Com- life, he served many years as a member of Italian Senate. munication was real, not only drinking coffee together but IVR members remember his excellent lecture, opening the also attempting to understand each other. Especially, law- 17th World Congress in Bologna. and-economics was a success. Richard Posner’s lecture got He was one of the greatest personalities of legal theory. the biggest audience. Not without some worry, I could We will miss him deeply. count 12 empty seats at this lecture; the Town Hall has Aleksander Peczenik capacity of 450 persons. The success of special workshops must also be mentioned. st For example, workshops on artificial intelligence in the Reflections about the 21 IVR World Congress in law, cognitive science, law-and-economics and criminal Lund responsibility were very successful, though they are not It was a rather big congress with ca. 550 participants. usual at IVR congresses. Most of them came from Europe but there was a big We are happy to state that the “Young researcher grant” participation from all continents. The biggest representa- was a success. Almost 70 young people participated in the tion was from UK, more than 50 participants. A signifi- congress because of the grant. They will take care of the cant number of persons came of course from the US. The future of legal philosophy. participation from Japan was very good, more than 20 The success was possible because of a highly motivated persons. Polish participation, too, was above the average, staff of “yellow badges”, efficient support from the Faculty again more than 20 persons. All in all, people came from of Law in Lund and, not the least because of generous Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, sponsors: the Swedish Research Council; the Bank of Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colom- Sweden Tercentenary Foundation; Torsten and Ragnar bia, Denmark, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Finland, France, Söderberg Foundations; the Crafoord Foundation; the Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Island, Israel, Swedish Institute; Emil Heijne’s Foundation for Legal Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Research; the Gyllenstiernska Krapperup Foundation; Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation; Erik and Gurli Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Hultengren’s Foundation for Philosophy and the Euro- Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine and pean Commission High-level Scientific Conferences. USA. IVR Newsletter No. 32 4 2004 4 2 IVR Announcements There were also some worries. Participation of African j Three volumes published by Ratio, Kraków 2004, countries was minimal. The same can be said about the namely on philosophical problems concerning EU Indian sub-continent and the Islamic countries. One Citizenship and Law and Technology (editor Ola reason for this consists in well-known economic problems Zetterquist); on Form and Substance in Contemporary and visa problems. In addition to it, the IVR obviously Constitutionalism (editors Joakim Nergelius, Pasquale meets difficulties to cross various barriers between differ- Policastro and Kenji Urata) and on Stressing of Legal ent legal and philosophical cultures. This is a challenge Decisions (editors Krzysztof Pałecki and Christoffer which must be met in future. Another worry was some Wong). decline of the interest from a number of previously suc- Finally, let me mention a pre-publication of plenary cessful national sections. To my knowledge, not a single lectures in Associations, Journal for Legal and Social Theory, Swiss participant showed up at the congress. There are Volume 7, July 2003, Number 1. also other European examples of this kind. The reasons of such failures are difficult to guess. Perhaps we failed to Aleksander Peczenik provide satisfactory information. Perhaps the interest for philosophy of law decreases in some countries. Perhaps it Next Meetings is just a coincidence. But the lesson is that the IVR must The 22nd IVR World Congress will be held in Granada, be on the alert. Nothing can be taken for granted in the Spain, in May 24-29, 2005. Prof. Nicolás López Calera modern, dynamic and complex world. I must confess hav- leads its organization. Please visit the web site: http:// ing some nightmares before the congress about terrorists, www.ugr.es/~ivr2005/ wars, epidemics, various kinds of panic and so on. * * * The Proceedings of 21st IVR World Congress includes 4 Beihefte of the ARSP (editors Aleksander Peczenik, The yearly EC meeting will take place in Alicante, Spain, Zenon Bankowski, Svein Eng and Kenneth Himma). In May 20-22, 2004.