The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions (RLEC) at the University of Haifa, Faculty of Law and the Geography and Environmental Studies Department, invite submissions for participation in the fourth young researchers workshop on “Terrorism and Belligerency”. The workshop will be held at the Minerva Center, University of Haifa.

1. Subject-Matter of Workshop

Armed conflicts have always had a significant effect on persons, whether as active participants, providers of relief and military support, or of course as victims. Other stakeholders, such as decision-makers (e.g., political leaders), and post-conflict investigators and judges, may raise different perspectives and questions, such as of accountability or the legal moral consequences of actions taken during armed conflicts.

While some aspects of the human dimension, such as protection of civilians during armed conflicts, have been the subject of significant research, there are many aspects of that human dimension that have not been sufficiently addressed. Some of these aspects are long standing ones, such as questions about the right to life of combatants, and the impact of just war theory on the justification of the combatants from the unjust side to the conflict to bear arms. Other aspects include the effects of new technology and even AI on persons on the battlefield – both combatants (own combatants and adversary combatants) and civilians.

The workshop will focus on “Human Dimension in Warfare” from legal, moral, technological, comparative, and doctrinal perspectives.

A non-exhaustive list of possible subjects includes:

• International law aspects of the human dimension in warfare – current aspects and upcoming/potential developments.
• The interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
• Ethical considerations related to human dimension of warfare
• Technological developments that could affect the human dimension of warfare.
• Protection of civilians in conflict related environment.
• Direct and indirect implications of armed conflict and terrorism over the human dimension.

2. Purpose of Workshop

The purpose of this workshop is to convene a group of scholars for a high-level discussion on enduring and emerging questions on law and policy related to the human dimension in terrorism / belligerency. This workshop will offer participants a balanced combination of rigorous scholarly discussion and more relaxed social interaction.

3. Structure of Workshop

This workshop will feature up to twelve papers selected through this call. The expected formation will include researchers both from Israel and abroad. The workshop will be held over a 12 day period; participants from abroad will be offered residency in the university dormitories.

Workshop Sessions: The participants will convene 2-3 time a week for full day sessions of presentations and discussions. During each session, selected participants will present their papers to the workshop group (apx. 20-30 minutes). Senior researchers and practitioners will be invited to the sessions to provide feedback, as well as a weekly keynote presentation. Following each presentation there will be an open discussion among the workshop participants.

Field trip: The participants will be invited for field trips which include, inter alia, planned visits to relevant locations and institutions (such as the Israeli Supreme Court, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ofer Military Court, the Northern border, and the security wall) where they will meet with experts and practitioners dealing with issues related to terrorism and belligerency.

4. Respondents and Guest speakers

Each young researcher admitted to the workshop will be paired with a senior respondent. The respondent will provide the young researcher with a thorough and productive feedback following the presentation of the paper. The organizing committee is putting a lot of effort in finding the most suitable respondents to the specific presentations.

5. Eligibility

Submissions are invited from young researchers, namely PhD candidates, Post-Doctoral fellows, and scholars up to 5 years since the completion of their PhD.

6. Submission Instructions

Interested scholars should email an abstract of up to 500 words along with current CV by Monday, June 26, 2023 to the following address: minervaextreme@univ.haifa.ac.il. Researchers asking for support for travel expenses (see article 9 for details) should also submit a letter of request. Abstracts should reflect papers that have not been published. Researchers should identify their submission with the following subject line: “Minerva Center— Terrorism and Belligerency Workshop 2023.”

7. Notification and Participation Requirements

Successful applicants will be selected by a Symposium Organizing Committee and notified no later than Tuesday, August 1, 2023

8. Conditions

An invitation to participate in this Symposium will be issued to a participant on the following conditions:

(1) The participant agrees to submit an original, unpublished paper between 8,000 words and 12,000 words consistent with submission guidelines issued by the workshop conveners;

(2) The participant agrees to submit a full pre-workshop draft by Monday, October 2, 2023

(3) The participant agrees to submit a full post-symposium final draft by March 5, 2024; and

(4) The participant agrees to acknowledge in future publication of his or her relevant paper, “the Minerva Center for RLEC at the Faculty of Law and the Geography and Environmental Studies Department, the University of Haifa“.

9. Costs

There is no cost to participate in the Workshop. Successful applicants are responsible for securing their own funding for travel and other incidental expenses, in accordance with the following information:

Travel: In order to enable submissions from young researchers coming from developing countries, distant locations or in unique circumstances, the Minerva Center will provide partial assistance to cover travel expenses. A request letter should be included in the submission.

Accommodation: Researchers from outside of Israel are expected to stay in Haifa during the workshop. The cost of accommodations at the dormitories for this period will be covered by the Minerva Center. Researchers who choose to extend their stay or to arrange for their own accommodations will be required to secure their own funding.

Food: Light refreshments, lunch and dinner will be available at the Minerva Center on the workshop sessions dates.

10. Streaming

In accordance with the ongoing practice of the Minerva RLEC, all of the young researchers workshop sessions will be live streamed and recorded online. We believe that almost any academic event should be live streamed, recorded, and available to the public. However, this is not a mandatory requirement and every speaker can chose to opt-out from this option for his or her own presentation. For previous recordings please visit the Minerva RLEC YouTube page.

11. Questions

Please direct inquiries in connection with this Workshop to Adv. Ido Rosenzweig by email at ido.rose@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +972-(0)-525516596.

Please circulate this call widely

12. Workshop Organizing Committee

• Eli M. Salzberger, The Director of the Minerva Center RLEC
• Amnon Reichman, Principal Investigator, Minerva Center RLEC
• Deborah Shmueli, Principal Investigator, Minerva Center RLEC
• Sandy Kedar. Principal Investigator, Minerva Center RLEC
• Itamar Mann, Principal Investigator, Minerva Center RLEC
• Michal Ben Gal, Research coordinator, Minerva Center for RLEC
• Ido Rosenzweig, Director of Research (Cyber, Terrorism & Belligerency) Minerva Center RLEC

13. About The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions

 The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa Faculty of Law and the Geography and Environmental Studies Department, is an international venue and transnational forum – together with the University of Hamburg, for study, research, training, education and publication.  It fosters multifaceted empirical and theoretical research in the study of the rule of law as a social sphere during belligerencies, natural disasters and socio-economic acute crises. Challenges to the rule of law under extreme conditions may vary under different constitutional and political regimes. The Center concentrates on democracies. The analyses examine institutional, cultural, socioeconomic and policy dimensions. Its mission includes encouraging scholars, young scientists, and students to develop data and cultivate an interactive dialogue for research and training around these issues. The Center fosters dialogue with students, scholars, experts, policy and decision makers through symposia, colloquia, seminars, conferences and a series of publications based on its research and findings. For more, please visit: http://minervaxtremelaw.haifa.ac.il