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Julian Arato

@aratojulian.bsky.social
2.6K followers 418 following 84 posts

Professor of Law, University of Michigan International law, trade, investment, contracts, corporations, etc

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Reposted by Julian Arato
Michigan Law @umichlaw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Michigan Law #MorningRead The Institutions of Exceptions: Justification in Trade and Investment Treaties By Professor @aratojulian.bsky.social in the Michigan Journal of International Law repository.law.umich.edu/mjil/vol47/i...
Abstract
International economic law binds states in the interest of liberalizing markets, including in cross-border trade in goods and services (trade) and capital (investment). The treaty regimes for both trade and investment do this by disciplining states through legal rules, while preserving a modicum of governmental authority over domestic policy. The preservation of policy space in these regimes usually involves a process of exceptions-based justification – through formal exceptions clauses in most trade treaties and some investment agreements, and also through informal exceptions-style reasoning by adjudicators in the investment treaty regime more generally. This “exceptions paradigm” of justification has worked well in the trade regime, especially in the WTO where it has been key to securing a justifiable and legitimate balance between market disciplines and regulatory autonomy. But ex post justification has been less successful at striking a tolerable balance in the investment regime, even when formally codified in an exceptions clause. This article seeks to explain why that is, by focusing on the institutions within which exceptionsbased justification is embedded. Key institutional differences between these regimes help explain the varied success of the exceptions paradigm in trade and investment, in particular: the right of action (private vs public); the degree of judicial centralization (ad hoc arbitration vs court system); and the available remedies (retrospective compensation vs prospective injunctive relief). I argue that it is trade law’s public-oriented institutions that have made the exceptions clause workable – not the other way around. By contrast, investment law’s private-oriented institutions make that system particularly inhospitable to exceptions-style justification.
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Reposted by Julian Arato
Michigan Law @umichlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Michigan Law #MorningRead Introduction to the Symposium on Africa’s International Law of Democracy. Professor @aratojulian.bsky.social in @ajil.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Introduction to the Symposium on Africa’s International Law of Democracy | American Journal of International Law | Cambridge Core
Introduction to the Symposium on Africa’s International Law of Democracy - Volume 119
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Reposted by Julian Arato
Michigan Law @umichlaw.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Michigan Law #MorningRead Professor @aratojulian.bsky.social in the Michigan Journal of International Law: “The Institutions of Exceptions: Justification in Trade and Investment Treaties.” repository.law.umich.edu/mjil/vol47/i...
Abstract
International economic law binds states in the interest of liberalizing markets, including in cross-border trade in goods and services (trade) and capital (investment). The treaty regimes for both trade and investment do this by disciplining states through legal rules, while preserving a modicum of governmental authority over domestic policy. The preservation of policy space in these regimes usually involves a process of exceptions-based justification – through formal exceptions clauses in most trade treaties and some investment agreements, and also through informal exceptions-style reasoning by adjudicators in the investment treaty regime more generally. This “exceptions paradigm” of justification has worked well in the trade regime, especially in the WTO where it has been key to securing a justifiable and legitimate balance between market disciplines and regulatory autonomy. But ex post justification has been less successful at striking a tolerable balance in the investment regime, even when formally codified in an exceptions clause. This article seeks to explain why that is, by focusing on the institutions within which exceptionsbased justification is embedded. Key institutional differences between these regimes help explain the varied success of the exceptions paradigm in trade and investment, in particular: the right of action (private vs public); the degree of judicial centralization (ad hoc arbitration vs court system); and the available remedies (retrospective compensation vs prospective injunctive relief). I argue that it is trade law’s public-oriented institutions that have made the exceptions clause workable – not the other way around. By contrast, investment law’s private-oriented institutions make that system particularly inhospitable to exceptions-style justification.
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Reposted by Julian Arato
EJIL: Talk! @ejiltalk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A Reckoning in the Emperor’s Court: Jamaica’s Reparations Petition to the Privy Council | by Britta Redwood
ejiltalk.org
A Reckoning in the Emperor’s Court: Jamaica’s Reparations Petition to the Privy Council
On 7 September 2026, Jamaica, which remains a Commonwealth Country with King Charles III as its head of state, will formally present a petition to the King with three questions about the legality of transatlantic chattel slavery and the UK’s responsibility to make reparations. Jamaica’s petition is part of a decade-long coordinated campaign of Caribbean […]
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Reposted by Julian Arato
Jeremiah May @jeremiahmay.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
@gregorycshaffer.bsky.social and I show how the proposed tariff rates in USTR's forced-labor Section 301 report track whether or not a country has cut a deal with the U.S. administration, and not its policing of forced-labor imports for @justsecurity.org
justsecurity.org
The Cynicism Behind the Administration’s Proposed Forced Labor Tariffs
The USTR's proposed Section 301 tariffs are intended more to pressure countries to sign and implement deals than to protect labor.
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Reposted by Julian Arato
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 17/06/2026
On the Trump administration's proposed forced labor tariffs: "If the United States is serious about the moral outrage of forced labor, it should address practices at home and work with foreign countries, including through technical assistance to developing countries in need of enforcement capacity"
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Soumaya Keynes @soumayakeynes.ft.com · 03/06/2026
Most of Trump's current tariffs are only temporary, expiring in July. Last night we got more details of how the USTR is planning to replace them. The Trump administration is accusing 54 economies of failing to ban imports made with forced labour...
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
This analysis of the Declaration by @profveronika.bsky.social & Mikael Rask Madsen is both extremely informed and, not gonna lie, pretty therapeutic at this point: verfassungsblog.de/shopping-lis...
verfassungsblog.de
Shopping Lists and Steppingstones
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Orban concedes. Supermajority (constitutional amending power) within reach for Tisza opposition. A chance that must not be squandered.
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mathieu gallard @mathieugallard.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
🗳️ Le média en ligne d'opposition Partizan annonce que Viktor Orban a félicité Péter Magyar.
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mathieu gallard @mathieugallard.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
🇭🇺🗳️ Sur 45,7% des bulletins dépouillés, le parti d'opposition TISZA de Péter Magyar dépasse la majorité des deux tiers au Parlement hongrois : 🔵Tisza (P. Magyar, conservateur) : 52%, 135 élus ⚫️Fidesz (V. Orban, droite populiste) : 39,4%, 57 élus ⚫️MH (extrême-droite) : 6,1%, 7 élus
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mathieu gallard @mathieugallard.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
🇭🇺🗳️Résultats sur 37% des bulletins dépouillés 🔵Tisza (Magyar, conservateur) : 51,2%, 132 élus ⚫️Fidesz (Orban, droite populiste) : 40,1%, 59 élus ⚫️MH (extrême-droite) : 6,1%, 8 élus 🟣DK (social-libéral) : 1,2% 🟡MKKP (satirique) : 0,7% Le Fidesz ↘️ constamment, et la majorité des 2/3 est à 133 sièges.
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mathieu gallard @mathieugallard.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
🗳️ Résultats sur 21,5% des bulletins dépouillés : 🔵Tisza (P. Magyar, conservateur) : 49,4%, 128 élus ⚫️Fidesz (V. Orban, droite populiste) : 42%, 62 élus ⚫️MH (extrême-droite) : 6,1%, 8 élus 🟣DK (social-libéral) : 1,2% 🟡MKKP (satirique) : 0,7% ➡️ Majorité des 2/3 ou pas ?
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
SCOTUS strikes down Trumps Tariffs. “Based on two words … in 1702(a)(1)(B) of IEEPA—“regulate” and “importation”—the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time. Those words cannot bear such weight”
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Reposted by Julian Arato
Melissa Stewart @melissastewart.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
My article, "Birthright Citizenship, Denaturalization, and the Specter of Statelessness" was published yesterday in the UCLA Law Review Discourse - just in time for all of the amicus briefs dropping. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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sanjukta paul @sanjukta.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
This is so amazing and beautiful!
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Just Security @justsecurity.org · 14/01/2026
Prof. Chiara Giorgetti and Amb. Franz Perrez introduce a Joint Symposium on Negotiating a Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity, a collaboration with our friends at @ejiltalk.bsky.social: www.justsecurity.org/128702/negot...
justsecurity.org
Negotiating a Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity – Introduction to the Joint Symposium
A symposium of expert analyses on advancing the draft International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity.
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EJIL: Talk! @ejiltalk.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Expropriation, Oil and the Prohibition on the Use of Force: Justification Narratives and the Effectiveness of International Law in the Venezuela Crisis | by Julian Scheu
ejiltalk.org
Expropriation, Oil and the Prohibition on the Use of Force: Justification Narratives and the Effectiveness of International Law in the Venezuela Crisis
The US military intervention in Venezuela amounts to a manifest breach of the prohibition on the use of force under international law. Neither self-defence nor authorization by the UN Security Council...
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Justina Uriburu @justinauriburu.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Ahora disponible en español. Este artículo, escrito junto a @aratojulian.bsky.social, analiza el ataque de Estados Unidos contra Venezuela y sus consecuencias a la luz del derecho internacional. lacritica.ar/post/ataque-...
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My latest together with @justinauriburu.bsky.social No love lost for Maduro, and no apologies made for his regime. But the attack on Venezuela was plainly illegal. States can either say so clearly, or parse their way into a law of boundless exceptions and self-judgment.
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sanjukta paul @sanjukta.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
I found this blog post (co-authored by my colleague julian arato) very clear and helpful, fyi www.ejiltalk.org/trumps-illeg...
ejiltalk.org
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
One of most remarkable US presentations at UN Security Council I've ever seen. - No reference to UN Charter legal justification - Claims Panama as precedent (which the UN condemned) - Energy reserves ⤵️ as justification is illegal - Sharp contrast with US Ambassador Pickering presentation in 1989
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blayneydeborah.bsky.social @blayneydeborah.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
NB Superb analysis by @justinauriburu.bsky.social @aratojulian.bsky.social: 'The attack on Panama, like this weekend’s attack on Venezuela, was simply illegal. In fact, several of these historical arguments have since become textbook examples of impermissible justifications under the jus ad bellum.'
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"The Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement [121 member States] categorically condemns the act of aggression perpetrated by the United States . against . Venezuela ... which included armed attacks against civilian and military locations"
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"the military aggression of January 3rd against targets in the territory of Venezuela [was] in clear violation of article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations" "These actions must not be allowed" "It is for sovereign peoples to decide their destiny"
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"Brazil categorically and firmly rejects the armed intervention in Venezuelan territory in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law" "an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community"
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"Chile would like to express our deep concern and firm condemnation of the unilateral military action taken by the United States in the territory of . Venezuela." "Chile does not recognize the Maduro regime. But serious violations of human rights faced by Venezuela do not have a military solution."
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"The unilateral military strikes carried out by the United States . wantonly violates the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Venezuela" "Any enforcement of domestic law, including arrest, by one State within the territory of another . is an unlawful violation of sovereignty"
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Mathias Hong @hongmathias.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Justina Uriburu @justinauriburu.bsky.social and Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social: "Trump’s Illegal Attack on Venezuela and Its Consequences" The attack "was plainly illegal" - "a flagrant and grave violation" of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, "and a severe breach of US law". 1/12
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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
"The military operation ... runs counter to the principle of non-use of force" "The proliferation of violations of the [UN] Charter ... by States vested with responsibility as permanent members of the Security Council chips away at the very foundation of the international order"
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Justina Uriburu @justinauriburu.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
US attacks on Venezuela and the abduction of Nicolás Maduro raise profound legal and geopolitical concerns, with implications well beyond Venezuela itself. In a new post co-authored with Julian Arato, we examine the attack and its broader consequences under international law.
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My latest together with @justinauriburu.bsky.social No love lost for Maduro, and no apologies made for his regime. But the attack on Venezuela was plainly illegal. States can either say so clearly, or parse their way into a law of boundless exceptions and self-judgment.
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EJIL: Talk! @ejiltalk.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Trump’s Illegal Attack on Venezuela and Its Consequences | by @justinauriburu.bsky.social and @aratojulian.bsky.social
ejiltalk.org
Trump’s Illegal Attack on Venezuela and Its Consequences
Early on Saturday morning, 3 January, the United States attacked Venezuela. Aerial strikes were carried out in Caracas, Miranda, La Guaira, and Aragua, alongside covert operations conducted by special...
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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 01/01/2026
Some absurdly high anti-dumping tariffs (92%!) on pasta are being scaled back to just normal high levels (2 - 14%). Food price reality wins out (mostly) over protectionist instincts this time.
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
If you are so inclined, you can read about the philosophy of these free, case-based teaching materials at the beginning of Unit 1 - along with a note about what’s new in the 2025 update. I’ll have a longer post about all this in the New Year. For now, merry Christmas and happy holidays all!
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
We have posted a new edition of Weiler, Arato, Cho, and Claussen, International Trade Law Through the Cases (2025): jeanmonnetprogram.org/resources/th... The update refreshes things throughout, and adds new units on Security Exceptions, Trade Remedies, and the “America First” trade policy.
jeanmonnetprogram.org
Teaching Materials
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
We have posted a new edition of Weiler, Arato, Cho, and Claussen, International Trade Law Through the Cases (2025): jeanmonnetprogram.org/resources/th... The update refreshes things throughout, and adds new units on Security Exceptions, Trade Remedies, and the “America First” trade policy.
jeanmonnetprogram.org
Teaching Materials
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EJIL: Talk! @ejiltalk.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Dear authors, EJIL: Talk! is now closed for the holiday season. We are not accepting new submissions from 20 December 2025 to 5 January 2026. Have a lovely break! With all best wishes, The Editors
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AJIL and AJIL Unbound @ajil.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
All of our AJIL Explainer webinars are now available to watch on YouTube. Below we’ve linked each video and its corresponding CPUS story featured in our October special issue. 🧵1/11
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AJIL and AJIL Unbound @ajil.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
3/11: “Trump 2.0: An AJIL Debate on U.S. Law and International Trade” w/ @aratojulian.bsky.social , @timlmeyer.bsky.social ▶️: tinyurl.com/575tzkxs 🔖: “The 'America First Trade Policy' in Practice” by Julian Arato, Kathleen Claussen, & Tim Meyer: tinyurl.com/57kvez2x
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Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
The University of Minnesota Law School is thrilled to announce @hsanderson.bsky.social will join the faculty in fall 2026 as an associate professor of law. Welcome, Professor Anderson! z.umn.edu/ax7d
Haley S. Anderson, Associate Professor of Law; maroon block M
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Michigan Law @umichlaw.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
This Friday, featuring Professor @aratojulian.bsky.social
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AJIL and AJIL Unbound @ajil.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Register for Friday's AJIL Webinar where @aratojulian.bsky.social and @timlmeyer.bsky.social will debate on whether Trump's trade policies violate U.S. law: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Congratulations Haley and Minnesota!
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
For the students out there: This is very good advice for how to approach an issue spotter. We all have our own quirks in grading, but if you approach things this way you’ll be off to a very solid start.
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
It’s too often said that int’l law demands little of states re: democracy at home. For years, African continental institutions have developed and fought for robust international democratic norms. This symposium examines the trajectory, promise, and perils of Africa’s International Law of democracy.
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Julian Arato @aratojulian.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
This is one of the most important issues that AJIL has put out in recent years. The elongated section on “Contemporary Practice of the US” represents an effort by the AJIL Board to set out and critically examine the US approach to intl law at our current moment, through a series of focused essays.
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