CfP: States of Emergency in the MENA Region and COVID-19

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Expert Workshop on the State of Emergency and COVID-19 in the MENA Region

Organizers: Prof. Francesco Biagi (University of Bologna), Mr. Islam Khalifa (Central European University), Mr. Siraj Khan (University of Tübingen)

Moderators: Prof. Nathan Brown (George Washington University) and Prof. Clark Lombardi (University of Washington)

Download Call For Abstracts in PDF: Call for Abstracts_State of Emergency and COVID 18052020

Background:

COVID-19 has revealed that in some jurisdictions, States of Emergency are fast becoming the rule, not an exception. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused States to enact various legal and procedural measures to respond to the numerous crises that have resulted from the effects of the pandemic. In the MENA region especially, with its particular geo-political context, resort to States of Emergency has also been varied, although in the vast majority of cases it seems that the principles of constitutionalism have not been strictly followed.

The MENALegalNetwork.org is hosting an Expert Workshop to analyse the legal and constitutional framework that regulates the State of Emergency in a selected number of countries in the MENA region. The Workshop will provide a forum for Experts to share insights and provide contextual and critical analyses on the State of Emergency in general, and on the current crisis in particular.

The Workshop will take place online via video-conference over two consecutive days. The output from the Expert Workshop will be published in an edited volume with an international publisher or a special issue in a journal.

Details for submission of abstracts for the Online Expert Workshop can be found below.

Abstracts:

The MENALegalNetwork.org invites academics, scholars and practitioners to submit an abstract analyzing the state of emergency and COVID-19 measures in a specific jurisdiction (country-specific analysis) from the following list: Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Israel, Tunisia, Palestine, Turkey, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen.

The abstract should highlight the scope of the presentation, taking into account the relevant aspects that will contribute to the publication, as detailed below:

(1) The presentation and the final contribution for publication should define the state of emergency in the jurisdiction according to the law, state practice, and caselaw. (2) The submissions should explain the procedures for declaring the state of emergency in the selected jurisdiction. (3) Authors are expected to discuss the emergency measures that can be taken and the particular measures that are forbidden in law, state practice, and caselaw (e.g. dissolution of parliament). (4) Moreover, the submission should cover the length of the state of emergency and the conditions for extending it in the jurisdiction. (5) Submissions should discuss the role of the judiciary in the operation of the state of emergency in the specific jurisdiction. (6) Lastly, the submissions should provide an analysis of the COVID-19 measures and the extent to which they are consistent with the general framework of the State of Emergency in the selected jurisdiction.

Applicants should send an abstract (max. 1,000 words), identifying their chosen jurisdiction from the list above, along with a CV to abstract@menalegalnetwork.org The deadline for receiving abstracts is: Sunday 31 May 2020. Successful abstracts will be notified by Monday 8 June 2020.

Expert Workshop:

Presenters will be given 15 minutes to deliver their presentations, followed by a discussion with other participants, at an invite-only workshop. Presentations should provide a legal analysis of the State of Emergency and COVID-19 measures in the chosen jurisdiction. The Workshop is expected to take place over two consecutive afternoons, in early July 2020 (exact dates tbc).

Publication:

Following the workshop, selected presenters will be invited to submit a full chapter on their contribution as soon as possible. Submissions will range between 7000-15000 words and will be subject to a peer-review process, for publication in an edited volume with an international publisher or in a special-issue of a journal.

Key Dates:

Deadline for Abstracts:                 Sunday 31 May 2020

Response to Abstracts:                  Monday 8 June 2020

Expert Workshop:                           Early July 2020 (tbc)

Publication of contributions:      December 2020 (tbc)

Visit the MENA Legal Network website for updates.