The Italian Yearbook of International Law

Volume XXVIII of The Italian Yearbook of International Law opens with a Symposium on search and rescue (SAR) operations. The Symposium addresses: i) the conflicting interpretations by States and NGOs of SAR obligations in the context of migration at sea; ii) the rules governing the identification of a place of safety; iii) the (alleged) obligation to disembark people rescued at sea; iv) EU regional disembarkation arrangements; v) the responsibility of shipmasters and States involved in SAR disasters; vi) the Vatican City State’s refusal to grant its flag to SAR vessels. The Volume further contains articles on the interplay between investment law and the duty of non-recognition in situations of contested sovereignty; on the compatibility with human rights law of Italy’s 2019 budget; on the effects of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on final decisions issued by Italian courts; and on government transparency and the right of access to information in the Italian legal order. It also features timely contributions on Italian treaty practice relating to the management of migratory flows; the role of Facebook in the persecution of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar; the responsibility of European States for American drone strikes; the provisions on climate change in the 2019 Aachen Treaty between France and Germany. As in every volume the following sections are included: Practice of International Courts and Tribunals and Italian Practice Relating to International Law. The remaining part of the Volume contains a bibliographical index of Italian contributions to international law scholarship published in 2018, a book review section, and an analytical index for easy consultation and reference to materials cited in the Yearbook.