Yunqing LIU

Thesis title: Legal Positivist Approach to International Law

Biography

Background

Yunqing LIU is a Ph.D. researcher at  Edinburgh Law School, working on a (Hartian) legal positivist approach to international law. She is also a visiting researcher at the School of Law, University of Geneva.

Previously, she earned a Ph.D in Law from the Renmin University of China,  focusing on the immunity of state officials especially those accused of international crimes. She was the convenor for Edinburgh Legal Theory Research Group from 2023-2024. She was the editor of Renmin University Law Review (CSSCI) from 2019-2022. She worked as a full-time judge assistant in the Intermediate Court of Shanghai from 2018-2019.

She has authored numerous articles published in, such as the Chinese Journal of International Law, EJIL: TALK, etc. She has presented her work in multiple international forums, such as the American Society of International Law, the Asian Society of International Law, etc. She has participated, coached, and judged in several moot court competitions, including Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court, Foreign Direct Investment Arbitration Moot Court, Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court, Price Media Law Moot Court, etc.

Research summary

Her research interests include：

  • Public international law 
    • Sources of international law and beyond (customary international law, general principles of law, jus cogens, obligation erga omnes)
    • Jurisdiction (traditional jurisdiction, universal jurisdiction) 
    • Immunity (state immunity, immunity of state officials, diplomatic immunity) from international/domestic jurisdiction
    • Territorial disputes
    • Law of the sea
    • International dispute settlement etc
  • International legal Theory
    • Legal positivism
    • Legal pluralism
    • Critical legal study
    • as well as other approaches to  international law

Current research interests

Her current research project concerns the the clarification and potentials of a (Hartian) legal positivist approach to the validity of international law. It analyzes: (1) Why it is generally held in paradigmatic international legal disource that legal positivism (to validity of international law) necessarily goes hand in hand with voluntarism (to the basis of obligation of international law)? It analyzes how such conflation comes about by examining the intellectual history. (2) What are the impacts of this conflation on international law? It analyzes impacts from both the inside discussions (debates surrounding sources of international law), as well as the outside critique (critical legal study)? (3) How international legal theory would benefit from a legal positivist, but not necessarily voluntarist, approach? It analyzes the payoff of such a clarified picture of legal postivism.

Past research interests

One of her previous research project concerns immunity of state officals, especially those accused of international crimes. The project focuses on certain controversial issues in this legal regime, including: (1) Whether there are exceptions to the immunity of state officials who are accused of international crimes, and what is the rationale behind? (2) Whether state officials of non-state parties to Rome Statute are entitled to invoke immunity when arrested by state parties?

Invited speaker

2024.11

Presenter

2024 American Society of International Law Mid-year Meeting

2023.10

Main speaker

Edinburgh Legal Theory Research Group, School of Law, University of Edinburgh

Topic: 'One Myth about Legal Positivism in International Law: What and Why?' 

2023.07

Main speaker

Topic 'Do States Party to the International Criminal Court Statute have the Obligation to Arrest Vladimir Putin?: Immunity of State Officials of Non-Party States in the Enforcement Proceedings of the International Criminal Court'

2023.03

Discussant

School of Law, University of Edinburgh

Workshop 'Two Kinds of Legal Formalism'

2022.08

Main speaker

School of Law, Shantou University

Topic 'Identification of Customary International Law and the Validity of International Law'

2022.07

Presenter

2022 Asian Society of International Law Annual Meeting

2022.06

Presenter

2022 Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference, School of Law, University of Edinburgh

2022.05

Presenter

School of Law, Renmin University of China, Academic Forum

2022.04

Presenter

Manchester International Law Centre, University of Manchester (UK)

Workshop 'Thinking the Unthinkable: Beyond International Law's Imaginaries'

2019.12

Presenter

2019 Beijing Society of International Law Annual Meeting

Organiser

2023-2024 Convenor for Edinburgh Legal Theory Research Group

2024

Yawen Zheng, Qing Cai, Yunqing Liu, 'Governing Investments on Mars: Why A “Host State” is Needed', Florida Journal of International Law (English) (forthcoming)

2024.03

Yunqing Liu, 'Revisiting Customary International Law Avenue: Immunity of State Officials of Non-Party States in the Enforcement Proceedings of the International Criminal Court', 23 Chinese Journal of International Law 123-149 (English)(SSCI) 

<https://doi.org/10.1093/chinesejil/jmae011>

2023.04

Yunqing Liu, 'Do States Party to the International Criminal Court Statute have the Obligation to Arrest Vladimir Putin?', Blog of European Journal of International Law (EJIL: TALK)  (English)

<https://www.ejiltalk.org/do-states-party-to-international-criminal-court-statute-have-the-obligation-to-arrest-vladimir-putin/>

2021.09

Yunqing Liu, ‘Submission of Evidence and the Obligation to Cooperate in International Court of Justice’, (2021) Journal of International Law 101-126. (Chinese)

《国际法院证据提交问题中的争端当事国合作义务》，载《国际法学刊》 2021年第3期

2021.08

Zhang Haiwen, Yu Mincai, Liu Yunqing, Li Xiuxia eds., Selected Documents and Materials of China’s Position and Statements on the South China Sea Arbitration, Wells-Hein, 2021. (English)

2021.06

Yunqing Liu, ‘Chain of Evidence in Sino-Japan Diaoyu Islands Territorial Dispute’, (2021) 3 Nanjing University Law Journal 22-40. (Chinese)(CSSCI) 

《领土争端中证据链的价值与应用》，载《南大法学》2021年第3期（CSSCI），人大复印资料《法学文摘》2021年4期转载

*This paper was awarded the First Prize in 2020 Annual Meeting of Beijing Society of International law.

 2020.07

Yunqing Liu, 'The Analysis on the Precautionary Principle's Status as Customary International Law', (2020) 4 Chinese Review of International Law 69-93. (Chinese)(CSSCI)

《预防原则的习惯国际法地位分析》，载《国际法研究》2020年第4期（CSSCI），人大复印资料《国际法学》2021年1期转载

Academic Prizes

2024.09

2024 David D. Caron Fellow of American Society of International Law

2021.12

2021 First Prize Paper of Annual Meeting of Beijing Society of International law

2020.12

2020 First Prize Paper of Annual Meeting of Beijing Society of International law

 

Academic Activities

2022.02/2023.02

Judge in Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court (Chinese National Round)

2022.12

Judge in Price Media Law Moot Court (Chinese National Round)

2021.01

Participant in Hague Academy of International Law

 2019.07

Participant in Xiamen Academy of International Law

2017.08

Participant in Foreign Direct Investment Arbitration Moot Court (Asia-Pacific round): Best Memorial

2017.05 

Participant in Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court (National round): Championship/Best Oralist

2017.02 

Participant in Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court (National round): Runner-up

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