News and Developments in International Law and Legal Education

Published as an information resource for the ASIL membership, the ASIL Academic Bulletin reports on program developments at ASIL 2008 Academic Partner institutions.

January 2008
 
 

American University
International Legal Studies Program January 2008 Updates: Global Network Newsletter. ILSP is proud to announce that it recently released an updated color version of its semi-annual alumni newsletter.

ILSP recently welcomed its new Spring 2008 students. See our incoming class distribution in the chart below:

This spring semester, the Washington College of Law will host its Annual Founders' Celebration. The Founders' Celebration offers numerous events and conferences which highlight a diverse array of legal issues in today’s world. The following events may be of interest to international lawyers:
  • January 30th: Challenges for Data Privacy in Transatlantic and Global Perspective
  • February 11-12th: Rethinking the Future: The Next 5 Years in Iraq
  • March 19th: 2nd Annual Conference in Honor of the US-Israeli Civil Liberties Fellowship Program
  • March 27th: Climate Change and Claiming the Arctic Circle
  • April 9th: Tenth Annual Grotius Lecture: Speaker HRH Prince Zeid Ra’ad, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
  • April 14th: International Commercial Arbitration in the Americas: A Look Ahead
  • March 31st: The Role of Law Schools in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
  • April 8th: Prosecuting Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes in the ICC: Translating Promises into Reality
  • May 18th-23rd: 13th Annual Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Washington College of Law offers 7 international and domestic Summer Programs to our WCL students and anyone who wishes to enroll. Programs vary from studying human rights and international commercial arbitration, to learning trade law in Chile and rule of law in Turkey.
  • The Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: May 27th – June 13th
  • International Commercial Arbitration: May 27th – June 13th
  • Environmental Law: May 27th – June 13th
  • The Comparative Law Summer Program in Europe (The Paris-Geneva Program): May 25th – June 21st
  • Summer Law Program in Chile: May 25th- June 25th
  • Summer Law Program in Turkey: May 25th – June 21st
  • Summer Legal English Institute: 3 Week course: July 28th – August 14th;Intensive 4 Day Course: May 19th - 22nd



Incoming spring 2008 class
53 students from 27 countries
Gender distribution
28 women, 25 men
Regional distribution
10 from Africa
10 from East Asia
2 from South Asia
2 from Eastern Europe
10 from Western Europe
1 from the Middle East
9 from North America
7 from South America
2 from Central America
International Legal Studies Program
American University Washington College of Law
4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Suite 309A - Washington, DC 20016-8189 - USA
Phone: (202) 274-4110 - Fax: (202) 274-4116 - Email: llminfo@wcl.american.edu




Case Western Reserve University School of Law

The "Case Global" program at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the 15th best international law program in the nation, is composed of the Canada-U.S. Law Institute (est. 1976), the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center (endowed in 1991), the Cox Center War Crimes Research Office (est. 2002), the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy (est. 2004), and the Summer Institute for Global Justice in the Netherlands (est. 2005).


BREAKING NEWS: Iraqi Anfal Trial Judges to Speak at Case Western Reserve University School of Law website first to post English translation of Anfal Trial Judgment

Six months ago, the Iraqi High Tribunal handed down its decision in the Anfal Campaign trial, convicting "Chemical Ali" (Ali Hassan al-Majid) and five other former Iraqi military leaders of genocide and other international crimes related to their role in a 1980s crackdown against northern Iraqi Kurds. The IHT recently provided Case Western Reserve University School of Law the English Translation of the Anfal Judgment, which is now available for the first time on the award-winning "Grotian Moment" website: http://law.case.edu/grotian-moment-blog .

On January 29, 2008 (4:00-5:30 pm), Case Western Reserve University will host a live presentation by the five IHT judges who presided over the Anfal Campaign trial, as well as other officers of the Tribunal, who are making their first public appearance outside Iraq. A transcript of the session will be posted on the Grotian Moment website after the event.

This program is part of Case Western Reserve University School of Law's year-long series commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, which included a day-long symposium on September 28, featuring a keynote address by Robert Petit, Chief Prosecutor of the Cambodian Genocide Tribunal; the October 16 Cox Center Humanitarian Award Lecture by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; and the January 15 Klatsky Human Rights Lecture by Yale Law Professor W. Michael Reisman.



The program has been organized by Professor Henry King, one of the Nuremberg Trial prosecutors, and Professor Michael Scharf, who has trained the judges of the Iraqi High Tribunal and several other war crimes tribunals. Twelve Case Western Reserve University students have interned at the five international war crimes tribunals this past year, including one who is currently the intern-law clerk to the SCSL judges presiding over the Charles Taylor Trial in The Hague. The Cox Center War Crimes Research Office has provided more than 180 research memos to five international war crimes tribunals. These memos are available at the War Crimes Research Portal: http://law.case.edu/war-crimes-research-portal



Upcoming "Case Global" Events:
  • March 18: The Cox Center presents Larry Johnson, Deputy Legal Counsel of the United Nations.
  • April 10-12: Institute for Global Security Law and Policy hosts the "World Conference on Combating Terrorist Financing," a preparatory colloquium of the International Association of Penal Law.
  • April 17-19: Canada-US Law Institute hosts its annual Conference, "The World's Longest Undefended Border: Gateway or Checkpoint?"




Columbia University School of Law

Comparative and International Law

From Francis Lieber, whose work formed the basis of the modern laws of war, to Professor Louis Henkin, the widely regarded father of modern international human rights law, Columbia Law School's faculty have long been on the cutting edge of comparative and international legal scholarship. Columbia Law School was among the first law schools to offer courses in foreign law and comparative legislation, to create joint-degree programs with law schools overseas, and to encourage the enrollment of foreign students.

Today, Columbia Law School's commitment to comparative and international law is primarily reflected in the breadth and depth of its permanent faculty and visiting professors who every year deliver the widest selection of international and comparative law offerings of any law school in the United States and possibly the world. These offerings now include over 70 courses, specialized clinics, inter-disciplinary seminars and innumerable conferences that focus on some of the world's most pressing legal issues. Indeed, most Columbia Law School professors, and not merely those who are acknowledged leaders in the fields of international or comparative law, engage in the transnational dimensions of what they teach and the result is a truly cosmopolitan approach to legal education. Columbia Law school professors are particularly noted for integrating transnational insights into even those subjects that are usually considered to be purely "national" in scope, such as family law or corporate law. At Columbia, the entire curriculum, including first year subjects, is attuned to the legal dimensions of globalization.

New Faculty

In the 2007-2008 academic year, Columbia Law School welcomed several new faculty members. Among the distinguished scholars adding further breadth and depth to our Comparative and International Law Program are:

Philip Bobbitt, a leading constitutional theorist and scholar of international security law and the history of strategy, joins us from the University of Texas. He served on the senior staff of the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the National Security Council.

Christina Burnett is an expert on international aspects of U.S. constitutional law whose scholarship has focused on the U.S.-Puerto Rico relationship. She served as law clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer and for Judge José A. Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Sarah Cleveland, an expert on international human rights and constitutional law, she is the co-director the Human Rights Institute and the Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights. A Rhodes Scholar and former law clerk for Justice Harry A. Blackmun, she joins us from the University of Texas.

Matthew Waxman, an expert in the domestic and international legal aspects of fighting terrorism, has held senior positions at the U.S. State Department, Department of Defense, and National Security Council. He is a former clerk for Justice David H. Souter.
Exchange Programs

In 1994, Columbia was the first U.S. law school to establish a double degree program providing its participants with both a U.S. Juris Doctor and a foreign law degree, in this instance the French Maitrise en Droit. Columbia has since expanded its foreign double degree programs to include a four-year J.D./LL.B from Columbia and the University of London, and a three-year J.D./LL.M., also with the University of London, a three-year J.D./Masters in Global Business Law with the Institut d'etudes politiques and the Universite de Paris I - Pantheon Sorbonne and a J.D./LL.M. with the Institute for Law and Finance, University of Frankfurt.

In addition, Columbia Law School offers the broadest array of semester abroad programs of any U.S. law school; currently 13 semester study abroad programs in 11 countries are available to its J.D. students. Under the American Bar Association Student-Initiated Study Abroad Guidelines, Columbia also encourages students to create their own study abroad programs. Today, Columbia Law School students are participating in law school-sponsored or independent study programs in over twenty countries on six continents.

European Legal Studies Center

The European Legal Studies Center, under the direction of Professor George A. Bermann, has an outstanding reputation for training students to take on leadership roles in international public affairs and the global economy. An international focus is the cornerstone of its teaching, research and student community. Faculty members are world leaders in their fields and students represent Europe and many other countries. Located in New York City, home to the United Nations, global corporations, embassies, and international cultural centers, the Center provides students with unique opportunities for diverse research and hands-on experience. Additionally, Columbia Law School sponsors a Faculty Research Exchange program with the European University Institute (EUI) of Florence.

Center for Chinese Legal Studies

A leader in Chinese legal studies for more than thirty years, Columbia Law School is a global center for the study of today's changing Chinese legal system. Established in 1983, the Center for Chinese Legal Studies serves as the focal point for China-related curricular, extracurricular, and exchange activities that attract students and scholars from all over the world to Columbia Law School. The Center hosts one of the largest concentrations, outside Asia, of students and scholars studying the law of China. A dedicated faculty teaches the most expansive range of courses on Chinese law available in the United States. They are joined by many other Columbia Law faculty members who have turned their research toward China. This cross-fertilization of expertise leads to dynamic collaborations and innovative research including the study of Chinese capital market litigation and the impact of the Internet on Chinese Courts.

Columbia Law School is a leader in working with law schools and practitioners in China to further the development of clinical legal education and public interest law in China. Each year, the Law School hosts public interest lawyers from China and each summer many Columbia Law School students travel to China to engage in original research or public interest work.

Center for Japanese Legal Studies

Columbia Law School was the first law school in the United States to offer courses in Japanese law. The Center for Japanese Legal Studies, directed by Professor Curtis J. Milhaupt, actively promotes research on Japanese law, aided by the country's premier collection of Japanese legal materials housed in the Law School's Toshiba Library for Japanese Legal Research. Holding one of the largest collections of Japanese legal materials outside Japan, the Toshiba Library contains approximately 23,000 books and bound periodicals, of which more than 90 percent is in Japanese.

The Center's current activities reflect the dynamic process of legal reform underway in Japan, reforms which touch upon virtually every aspect of Japanese society. The Center also maintains extensive ties with Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Business School's Center on Japanese Economy and Business.

Center for Korean Legal Studies

With the establishment of the Center for Korean Legal Studies, Columbia Law School became the first American law school to have a center dedicated to the study of Korean law and the only center devoted entirely to the study of both the South and North Korean legal systems. The Center, directed by Jeong-Ho Roh, was established in 1994 with grants from Hankook Tire Group and the Korea Foundation. Serving as the focal point of research and teaching on Korean law and the Korean legal system, the Center has dedicated itself to building the most comprehensive depository of Korean legal materials outside the Koreas.

The Center brings together students, scholars, judges and other professionals from the private and public sector to research and address a broad range of critical issues such as North Korea's nuclear capabilities and the economic growth of South Korea. The Center offers a visiting scholar program and hosts a variety of events each year, including the Annual Trade Law Seminar.

Center for Global Legal Problems

The initiatives of the Center for Global Legal Problems flow naturally from Columbia Law School's rich curriculum. The Law School offers, as part of its regular curriculum, perhaps the largest number of courses and seminars of any U.S. law school focusing on the challenges emerging from the transnational movement of goods, capital, people or ideas. Seminars and courses dealing with the degradation of the global commons, transitional justice in the wake of mass atrocity, international crime and terrorism, the regulation of the multinational enterprise and transnational capital, immigration and human rights form the backbone of the Law School's international and comparative law curriculum.

Under the direction of Professor Jose E. Alvarez, the Center addresses the legal dimensions of globalization through diverse interdisciplinary research and scholarship. It participates in joint programs with international organizations such as the United Nations and promotes collaborative research with other schools of Columbia University, including the schools of business, journalism, public health, and international and public affairs. On public policy related projects, it partners with other preeminent Law School and University centers including the Human Rights Institute, the Columbia Program on International Investment, the Earth Institute and the Center for International Organizations.

Each year, the Center hosts a numbers of lectures, conferences and roundtables that bring together scholars, practitioners and professionals from international public policy and other disciplines. International guests in the Center's fall speaker series include Jan Wouters, Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies; Joanna Mossop, Victoria University of Wellington; and Jean-Marc Coicaud, United Nations University.




Duke University School of Law



The Center for International & Comparative Law
The Center for International and Comparative Law was established in 2006, under the inaugural directorship of Professor Curtis Bradley, to organize and support programs, resources, and events relating to international and comparative law at Duke University School of Law. The current director is Professor Ralf Michaels. More information at the website.

Studying at Duke

The Law School offers select JD candidates the opportunity to pursue a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in international and comparative law contemporaneously with their study for the JD degree. Students accepted to this JD/LLM joint degree program commence their studies in the summer before regular matriculation and spend their 1L summer in one of the Law School's summer institutes in Geneva and Hong Kong.

The LLM program at Duke Law School is designed to introduce foreign law graduates to the legal system of the United States and to provide the opportunity to take advanced courses in specialized areas of the law. The program of study is normally completed in one academic year, which begins for all new students in late August.

The Global Law Workshop

The Global Law Workshop is the Center's speaker series in international and comparative law. Five or six speakers each semester present their latest work to Duke faculty and students.

Speakers Spring 2008
  • Martin Shapiro, UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Gregory S. Alexander, Cornell University Law School
  • Amalia D. Kessler, Stanford Law School
  • Russel A. Miller, Washington and Lee University Law School
  • Eric A. Feldman, University of Pennsylvania Law School
  • Frank Upham, NYU School of Law
Upcoming Conferences

Data Privacy in Transatlantic Perspective: Conflict or Cooperation?

January 28, 2008: Conference bringing together leading legal scholars, privacy professionals, and government officials from the United States and Europe to discuss the future of data privacy.
In collaboration with Duke University Center for European Studies

The New European Choice-of-Law Revolution: Lessons for the United States?

February 9, 2008: All but dormant in the United States, Choice of Law is now thriving in Europe. Should the United States look to Europe for inspiration, as the Europeans were inspired by the US choice-of-law revolution before? This conference brings together leading scholars from both the United States and Europe to engage in debate and comparative examination of approaches taken in Europe with an eye towards rekindling interest here in the United States.
In collaboration with Tulane Law Review.

International Tribunals and the United States' Judicial System

February 15, 2008: A conference with leading experts in the fields of international law, federal courts, constitutional law, international trade, and alternative dispute resolution.
In collaboration with Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law.

Combating Terrorism: Charting the Course for a New Administration

April 10-11, 2008: This conference will examine specific issues in confronting terrorism in the United States and abroad and how these issues might be addressed by the incoming administration.
In collaboration with Center on Law, Ethics and National Security




Fordham Law

The Leitner Center for International Law and Justice Marks Launch

September 2007 marked the launch of the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice as well as the 10th anniversary of the Crowley Program in International Human Rights. Professors Martin Flaherty and Tracy Higgins founded the program in 1997, creating what remains a unique fieldwork-centered model of human rights scholarship and education. Since that time, the program has trained scores of students, sponsored well over one hundred events, including many panels, film screenings, conferences, and symposia, and greatly expanding opportunities for students to work in the field of human rights. The new Leitner Center, named in recognition of long-time supporters Jim and Sandra Leitner, who have made possible the extensive expansion of the program, houses the Crowley Program as well as many new initiatives.
Jim and Sandra Leitner with Fordham Faculty, Dean Bill Treanor and Daphne Gondwe, President of the Coalition of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Ms. Gondwe accepted the first annual Leitner Center Human Rights Prize.

The mission of the Leitner Center is to contribute to the promotion of social justice around the world by encouraging knowledge of and respect for international law and international human rights standards in particular. The Center furthers this goal by sponsoring education, scholarship, and human rights advocacy, and facilitating collaboration among law students, scholars, and human rights defenders in the United States and abroad.

We Will Still Live: Confronting Stigma and Discrimination Against Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi


Crowley Scholars interview members of the Coalition of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi, May 2007. 		In May 2007, the Leitner Center traveled to Malawi to document stigma and discrimination against HIV+ women, who comprise 58% of those infected with HIV/AIDS in Malawi. The project resulted in a human rights report (We Will Still Live) and 33 minute documentary (The Face of AIDS: The Feminization of HIV/AIDS in Malawi). The documentary screened on national TV in Malawi on World AIDS Day (12/1/07). Copies of both the report and the DVD are available upon request. Please contact Libby Mooers at mooers@law.fordham.edu for more information.


Master of Laws in International Law and Justice

Fordham Law now offers an LL.M. Program in International Law and Justice, in which lawyers gain an advanced understanding of human rights protection and promotion at the international, regional and domestic levels, from its historical evolution to the forefront of cutting-edge scholarship and debate. The new LL.M. Program seeks to enroll international students, particularly from Asia, Africa and Latin America, in the hopes that the Program may contribute to diversity in the student-body and enrich all students' classroom experiences. In order to facilitate the participation of students from the developing world, the Law School administration waives the tuition of two of the five students admitted annually. The Leitner Center also provides those two students with cost-of-living stipends.

Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic

The Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic was launched in the fall of 2007. The Clinic aims to train a new generation of human rights lawyers and to inspire results-oriented, practical human rights work throughout the world. For information on past and present projects, please visit the Clinic's webpage.

Sustainable Development Legal Initiative

Professor Paolo Galizzi has developed a new initiative to serve as a focal point within the Law School for activities in the field of sustainable development. Among other things, the SDLI oversees a Police Training Workshop in Ghana to provide formal legal training to 100 police officers every summer, helps the Law Faculty at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana develop an expanded international human rights and development curriculum, and sponsors forums, conferences and a lecture series on sustainable development.

For further information about SDLI, please contact the program's current Levinson Fellow, Alena Herklotz. She can be reached at herklotz@law.fordham.edu or 212.636.7534.

For further information on the Leitner Center's programs, you are encouraged to visit to our website or contact our Executive Director, Jeanmarie Fenrich (jfenrich@law.fordham.edu or 212.363.7533).





George Washington University School of Law

GW Law is pleased to announce its two study abroad programs for the summer of 2008:

• 14th Annual GW/Oxford Program in International Human Rights Law

The Program in International Human Rights Law is offered jointly by the University of Oxford and The George Washington University Law School and is held in Oxford. It is intended to prepare students to contribute to the improvement of human rights conditions in their homelands and around the world. During the program's four-week session, an internationally-recognized faculty offers courses on the philosophy, history, doctrine, and practice of international human rights law. The program emphasizes advocacy and dissemination skills, as well as formal knowledge of human rights law, the means of its enforcement, and its status in a contentious world. Professor Ralph G. Steinhardt of the Law School faculty is co-director of the program.

The program begins on Sunday, July 6 and concludes on Wednesday, August 6. For more information on the program, please visit: http://www.gwu.edu/~specprog/abroad/oxford.html

• Munich Intellectual Property Law Summer Program

As a complement to its leading intellectual property program in Washington, DC, GW Law offers a four-week intellectual property law program at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) in Munich, Germany, a vibrant city less than an hour from the Alps, known as Europe's "Intellectual Property Capital." The MIPLC is a joint project involving GW Law School, the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, the Technische Universität München, and the University of Augsburg. The ABA-accredited program offers eight one-credit courses of which students can choose up to four, as well as special lectures and visits to local IP institutions such as the European Patent Office.

In the summer of 2008, the program will run from July 7 to August 2. For more information on the program, please click here.



Upcoming Events at GW Law

Enrichment Lecture: 4 p.m., January 30, 2008: former United States Trade Representative Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, WilmerHale

Symposium: Nanogovernance 2008, February 12, 2008: international experts examine issues relating to a comprehensive environmental governance regime for nanotechnology

International and Comparative Law Colloquium: noon, February 4, 2008: Professor Christopher Borgen, St. Johns University Law School; noon, March 10, 2008: Professor Paolo Carozza, Notre Dame University Law School

Roundtable: Comparative Law Constitutional Law Roundtable, March 7, 2008

Conference: April 7 and 8, 2008: GW Law and the University of Oslo co-host "Transnational Corporate Responsibility for the 21st Century"

Roundtable: Second Annual Potomac Foreign Relations Law Roundtable, May 2, 2008



Recent Scholarship by GW Law International & Comparative Law Faculty Members

Professor Sean D. Murphy and Professors Thomas M. Franck and Michael J. Glennon have published FOREIGN RELATIONS AND NATIONAL SECURITY LAW: CASES, MATERIALS AND SIMULATIONS (Thompson/West 2008).

Thompson/West recently published Professor Greg Magg's 2007 Supplement to TERRORISM AND THE LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS.

Professor Peter Raven-Hansen's NATIONAL SECURITY LAW (Aspen 2007) is now in its 4th edition.

Professor John A. Spanogle co-authored GLOBAL ISSUES IN CONTRACT LAW (West Group 2007).

Professor Dinah Shelton wrote International Human Rights Law: Principled, Double, or Absent Standards?, which appeared in 25 LAW & INEQ. J. 467 (2007).

Professor Michael Matheson's The Fifty-Eighth Session of the International Law Commission appeared in 101 AM. J. INT'L L. (2007).

Professor Steve Charnovitz penned The WTO's Environmental Progress in 10 J. INT'L EC. L. 685 (2007).

GW Law's French Collection GW Law's Library recently offered a viewing of its French Collection to the European Society of International Law-American Society of International Law leadership retreat.


GW Law Librarian Dean Scott Pagel discusses the collection with ESIL President Héléne Ruiz Fabri and ASIL President-Elect Lucy Reed.

For more information on these and other events, please visit: http://www.law.gwu.edu/News/




Georgetown University
Law Center



Georgetown University Law Center offers one of the largest transnational and international legal education programs in the world. Located in the nation's capital and with a campus of major new buildings that include an international and comparative law library, Georgetown Law is one of the leading global law schools.

The array of courses dealing with transnational, international, and comparative law is extraordinarily comprehensive, numbering more than 150. This curriculum is generated and sustained by a full-time faculty of 110, including more than 30 currently focused on transnational and international curriculum subjects. They are joined by more than 90 distinguished Washington, D.C., practitioners from inside and outside the government. Several foreign law professors also visit each year, some as part of faculty exchanges. From among the faculty, Georgetown wants especially to congratulate Professor John H. Jackson. ASIL is awarding him the Hudson Medal for his contributions to "scholarship and achievement in international law."

In spring 2006, the faculty added to the curriculum, "Week One: Law in a Global Context." Week One introduces all first-year J.D. students at the start of their second semester to a transnational legal problem that builds upon the American law they have studied and adds elements of foreign law, a foreign court or international dispute resolution system, and role playing.

About 300 foreign students from more than 70 countries are a part of the student body. Each year, Georgetown offers Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) programs for about 190 students who received their legal training outside of the United States.

www.law.georgetown.edu/graduate/

The transnational and international academic programs also include:
  • A Semester Abroad program that placed nearly 40 Georgetown J.D. students at nine world-class, foreign law schools this academic year, with further growth planned for next year;
  • More than 100 international internships during the summer;
  • A Summer Program in London;
  • Global Law Scholars chosen from the J.D. students;
  • Joint degree programs;
  • Visiting Scholars and Visiting Researchers;
  • Institutes and specialized programs, such as the Human Rights Institute, Institute of . International Economic Law, Center for Transnational Business and the Law, Center for the Advancement of the Rule of Law in the Americas, Asian Law and Policy Studies, Center on National Security Law, and the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law;
  • Clinics addressing international human rights and political refugees;
  • Several law journals, including the Georgetown Journal of International Law
For further information on Georgetown Law's programs, you are encouraged to visit: www.law.georgetown.edu/oitp/




Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington

Symposium of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

 On March 19-21, 2008, the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies will host a symposium entitled "Operationalizing Global Governance" at the Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington. Global governance scholarship has thus far remained in the realm of ideas, identifying new lawmaking authorities and networks of enforcement while analyzing the ramifications for democracy and the rule of law. This conference strives to advance that line of scholarship by identifying patterns in the ways that various actors - states, corporations, civil society, and resulting networks - are confronting complex problems resulting from globalization. The aim is to discover more effective solutions for such problems, including, for instance, poverty, environmental degradation and terrorism, and to explore common principles that may cut across substantive contexts.

The symposium panels will be organized around specific actors and instances where we see these networks first-hand. The panelists will emphasize actual case studies from specific situations (such as counterinsurgency, USAID efforts, constitution-making, or post-conflict humanitarian interventions) that press scholars of law and others toward solutions. Together, we will analyze the intersections of law and government, civil society, corporations and business practices - ultimately imagining governance principles that promote the common good and preserve the rule of law and democratic representation. Hannah Buxbaum, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, and Louis F. Niezer Faculty Fellow at Indiana Law, is chairing the conference committee.

Conference on Customary International Law

On April 3-5, 2008, the Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington will host a conference entitled "The Individual and Customary International Law Formation" at the law school in Bloomington, Indiana. The conference will explore the current disjuncture in customary international law that results in individuals being subjects of this category of law, but not legitimate participants in its formation.

During a classical moment in international law, states were believed to have a monopoly on customary international law formation. This position was acceptable and accepted given the status states enjoy as the sole subjects of international law. The end of the twentieth century, however, was a period in which legal personhood was extended to a wider range of actors, including individuals. During this same period, individuals came to participate meaningfully in treaty-making in some key areas of international law, including human rights. Unlike in the area of treaty law, however, there remains no recognized opening in traditional customary international law doctrine for individuals to participate in the law-making process.

Uncomfortable with this state of affairs, we plan to bring together some of the foremost scholars of customary international law to investigate whether the participation of individuals in the formation of this realm of law is desirable and practicable. The conference will call upon scholars in a range of fields related to this question. We are pleased to announce that Jordan J. Paust, the Mike and Teresa Baker Law Center Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, will be giving the keynote address. Associate Professor of Law Christiana Ochoa is chairing the conference committee.





Luiss Guido Carli University

Description of the Masters in Legal Advanced World Studies Programme

Director of the Master in L.A.W.S. (Legal Advanced World Studies)- Prof. Angela Del Vecchio
Law Faculty- Luiss Guido Carli University
Via Parenzo, 11 Rome 00198
Tel. (39) 06 85 2251

Our Master Programme is particularly designed for managers, experts and counsels who have a university degree in Law, Political Science, or Economics. The programme aims at providing participants with an in depth knowledge of the rules, problems and processes which are modifying the European Union and the contemporary international community. The Masters programme, availing itself with lecturers of the highest level that are well-known in the international community, aims to form qualified professional figures that can readily join international organizations, multinational companies and public administrations.

Our Masters programme offers the following professional opportunities: a) managers and experts for European Union and other international organizations; b) managers for national and multinational companies; c) diplomats and researchers in the international juridical matters; d) legal advisers in Italy and abroad.

The Masters programme is one year and offers approximately 400 hours of lectures. January and February are dedicated to general Courses. Spring and autumn are dedicated to the Modules A, B, C. Module D is an elective course that can hold up to 15 students. General Courses and Modules A, B, C can be taken from Thursday to Saturday, while Module D from Monday to Wednesday. The curriculum consists of 60 EC.

General Courses (January - February)
  • International Criminal Law (William Schabas)
  • International Affairs (Guenther Heydemann)
Module A - International Economic Law (March - April)
  • International Trade Law (Hanns Ullrich)
  • International Investment Arbitration (Raul Emilio Vinuesa)
  • Management of Natural Resources (Hugo Caminos)
Module B - European Union Law (May - June)
  • The Law of the European Union (Luigi Daniele)
  • European Competition Law (Marc Jaeger and Enzo Moavero Milanesi)
  • Banking and Capital Markets (Martijn van Empel)
Module C - International Criminal Jurisdiction and Human Rights (September - November)
  • Human Rights (Riccardo Pisillo Mazzeschi)
  • The Law of International Conflicts and Humanitarian Law (Michel Bothe)
Module D - Course for Italian diplomat career (March - June) Conferences and Seminars on topics and issues linked to the General Courses and Modules are also included as part of the programme.




Northwestern University School of Law

With a substantive focus on two areas, international human rights and the globalization of business, Northwestern University School of Law prepares both domestic and international students for practice in the changing world. Our distinguished faculty informs leading public policy decisions and debates regarding international law and teaches outstanding courses in public international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, international trade law, comparative law, conflict of laws, and other specialized areas of the discipline.

Center for International Human Rights

The Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law conducts academic and practical work in support of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. With a full-time faculty of five led by Professor David Scheffer (a former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues), the center offers students clinical opportunities to engage in the work of the international criminal tribunals, human rights organizations, and death penalty, arbitrary detention, and Alien Tort Statute litigation, as well as the study of corporate human rights responsibility, the responsibility to protect (R2P), and other emerging fields of international human rights and criminal law. The center supervises a web site (www.cambodiatribunal.org) dedicated to covering the trials of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. During 2007-2008, the center has hosted conferences on corporate human rights responsibility (co-sponsored with the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium), R2P and the International Criminal Court, R2P and Non-Governmental Organizations, the annual Atrocity Crimes Litigation Year-in-Review, and the Alien Tort Statute. The center's web site is http://www.law.northwestern.edu/humanrights/.

International LLM Programs

With expanded degree program offerings at Northwestern Law, international students now make up more than 20 percent of our student body in Chicago. In 2007-2008, we enrolled 117 LLM students representing 24 different countries. More information about our LLM programs is available at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/graduate/llm.

LLM in International Human Rights Law

The LLM program provides practicing lawyers with a solid foundation of practical knowledge to apply in the field upon graduation. The curriculum includes survey courses in international human rights law and international criminal law and specialized courses focusing on human rights in transitional societies, comparative case law in the regional human rights courts, trial advocacy skills, and clinical projects. The LLM (International Human Rights) is open to American JD graduates and to foreign lawyers. Full course offerings can be found at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/graduate/llm_ihr.html.

Joint JD-/LLM (International Human Rights) Degree Program

Students admitted to the JD program at Northwestern Law may apply for a uniquely-offered joint JD-LLM (International Human Rights) degree earned over a four-year period. The student takes the LLM curriculum in addition to the JD courses, and must spend one semester abroad at one of the designated institutions for international externships.

International Externships

JD students may earn academic credit for summer, fall or spring clerkships with designated international and hybrid criminal tribunals, foreign supreme courts, and international organizations, all supervised by the Center for International Human Rights. Details are at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/humanrights/externships.html.

MSL in International Human Rights Law

Non-lawyers (American or foreign) with significant academic and/or work experience in the fields of international human rights or criminal law or humanitarian operations or with international or regional organizations (including the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and Organization of American States) may apply for a Masters of Legal Studies in International Human Rights Law, the curriculum for which mirrors that of the LLM in International Human Rights Law.

International Team Project

International Team Project (ITP) courses offer second and third year JD students a unique opportunity to travel to and study the legal and business environments of foreign countries. ITP students develop their own course curriculum and research projects and then work in teams to conduct extensive research about their chosen countries. Over spring break, students travel abroad to do field research and meet with judges, lawyers, government officials, NGO representatives, and business leaders. The course concludes with a team research project. Details are at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/itp/.

Journals

Recognizing the importance of international legal problems, Northwestern Law has two journals that reflect the school's continuing commitment to excellence in the study of international law: the Journal of International Human Rights (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/jihr/) and the Journal of International Law and Business (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/jilb/).





Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law

Penn State University opens School of International Affairs

The Penn State University's School of International Affairs (SIA), first approved by Penn State's Board of Trustees in January 2007 and officially launched on July 1, 2007, will shortly begin accepting applications for its inaugural class in fall 2008. The SIA offers a professional master's degree in international affairs with several specialty concentrations. Its mission is to prepare exceptional students for careers and leadership positions in both the private and public sectors in the US and internationally.

Housed administratively within Penn State's Dickinson School of Law, the SIA is designed as a modern and cosmopolitan community of students, faculty, scholars, and researchers, sharing the common goals of enhancing international understanding, knowledge, and discourse, as well as serving the public interest in an increasingly interdependent world. The SIA is headed by Professor Tiyanjana Maluwa, its inaugural director and the law school's H. Laddie Montague Chair in Law, and operates with a faculty governing council composed of leading faculty from some of Penn State's top graduate departments.

The master of international affairs degree program requires one-and-one half to two years of study and is open to students with a variety of academic backgrounds. The core of the program provides, inter alia, a solid academic grounding in the actors, institutions, and legal frameworks in international affairs; foundations of diplomacy and international relations theory; principles and practices of international economics; targeted study of the critical analytical tools used in multidimensional problem solving; exposure to the major theories of sociocultural interchange; and the professional skills necessary to begin working in the international milieu at any level and in any field.

Following successful completion of the core curriculum, students work with faculty advisers to choose elective courses and a capstone experience suitable to their thematic interests. The capstone experience is either an internship, which enables students to experience the integration of their curricular studies in an actual professional environment, or a master's paper, which allows students to explore in depth their areas of interest and may also involve original research.

The advanced digital audiovisual telecommunications capabilities of the law school's two new buildings, in which the University is undertaking a $110 million capital investment, will offer the SIA the ability to reach audiences and students throughout the world and to deliver lectures and programs originating outside to audiences and students within the school.

Candidates for the master of international affairs degree will join more than 5,000 other Penn State graduate and professional students as the intellectual leaders of a major research university at its flagship University Park campus. As graduate students, SIA students will be able to participate in student government, cross disciplinary intellectual activities, and numerous student organizations. University Park is home to several thousand international scholars, and many intercultural activities are available.

For more information about this exciting new program, visit the school's Web site at www.sia.psu.edu.




St. Thomas University School of Law

ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
GRADUATE PROGRAM
IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS

The Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights started in August 2001 with the LL.M. Program in Intercultural Human Rights. Today it has expanded into a powerful tool of education and scholarship consisting of the following components:

• MASTER OF LAWS (LL.M.) PROGRAM IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Globally unique LL.M. program offering in-depth instruction on the protection of human dignity across political, social, economic, and cultural lines; Faculty of worldwide distinction: top United Nations experts, chief legal advisors, judges, scholars and practitioners; Diversity and intercultural dialogue, with students and faculty from all over the globe; Doctoral studies available to graduates; Acquiesced in by the American Bar Association. The graduates of the LL.M. Program in Intercultural Human Rights have come from over 55 countries of the world, and from all over the U.S. They are our ambassadors in the struggle for protection of human dignity working with the United Nations Volunteers, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Council of Europe, International Organization for Migration, World Bank, OXFAM, the Red Cross etc.; successfully litigating cases in courts; working for governments and in academia; running their own NGOs and foundations. More information available at: www.stu.edu/humanrights.

• DOCTOR OF THE SCIENCE OF LAW (J.S.D.) PROGRAM IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS

In academic year 2005-2006 we proudly introduced our Charter J.S.D. Class, the crème de la crème of our graduates, who will be researching and seeking for solutions in the fields of international criminal law, corporations' social responsibility, indigenous peoples' rights, the governance of the internet, IMF conditionalities and human rights, human trafficking, the right to privacy, etc. More information available here.

• INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW

The Intercultural Human Rights Law Review is an annual journal committed to exploring new directions and perspectives in the struggle for human rights, justice, and equality. Striving to be a useful resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, the 2006 inaugural issue is dedicated to the fight against human trafficking and the elaboration of The Miami Declaration of Principles on Human Trafficking. Its third issue is to be published in June 2008. For more information about the law review and for submissions please visit here.

• SUSAN J. FERRELL INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION

In January 2005, St. Thomas University School of Law inaugurated the annual Susan J. Ferrell Intercultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition. The goal of this competition is to promote awareness of international law of human rights among law students; to provide practical experience arguing cases before the International Court of Justice; to provide a forum for fruitful dialog on cutting-edge issues. The Third Annual Competition will be held on January 26-27, 2008. This year's problem revolves around cultural rights as well as the exploitation of natural resources on traditional lands of indigenous peoples. More information available at: www.stu.edu/imc .

• DIPLOMACY MONITOR

The St. Thomas University School of Law through specially developed software monitors the global output of communiqués, official statements, press briefings, and news releases from hundreds of diplomacy-related websites in near real-time and channels it into a synthesized information stream for scholars, diplomats, journalists, researchers, students and others interested in the interaction among nations. More information at: www.diplomacymonitor.com .

• TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY SYMPOSIA

 St. Thomas University School of Law has organized symposia on issues of international law and policy regarding culture, rights and status of indigenous peoples since 1993, commonly as regional meetings of The American Society of International Law.
Our Eighth Tribal Sovereignty Symposium is entitled:

Indigenous and Minority Languages under Siege:
Finding Answers to a Global Threat


This event will be held on Friday, January 25th, 2008 in the St. Thomas University Law School's Moot Court Room, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm.

This year's symposium is designed to provide an academic analysis of the pressing issues raised by the alarming loss of languages across the planet. It also presents and evaluates solutions to the problem from both legal and practical perspectives. The symposium will address two primary threats to the global tapestry of cultures, whose vibrancy is inextricably tied to language as the key medium of communication.

Schedule of Events:
9:30am Registration
10:00am Welcome & Opening Ceremony
Rev. Msgr. Franklyn M. Casale, President, St. Thomas University
Dean Alfredo Garcia, St. Thomas University School of Law
10:30 am Indigenous Languages: Rights and Revival

Moderator: Professor Siegfried Wiessner, Director, Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights, St. Thomas University School of Law

Speakers: Professor Allison Dussias, New England School of Law;Professor Jon Allan Reyhner, Northern Arizona University;Kirke Kickingbird, Esq., Of Counsel, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker LLP, Oklahoma City
12:00 Noon Luncheon (Law School Breezeway)
1:15 pm Minority Languages: Threats in Comparative Perspective and Protective Regimes

Moderator: Gregory Chan, Ed.D., Provost & Chief Academic Officer, St. Thomas University

Speakers: Guiyou Huang, Ph.D., Dean of Biscayne College & Director, Institute for World Languages, St. Thomas University;Professor Douglas Kibbee, Director, School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, University of Illinois;A ntti Korkeakivi, LL.M., Head of the Secretariat on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Council of Europe (on leave); Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
2:45 pm Closing Remarks




Stanford Law School

The Stanford Program in International Law has undergone tremendous expansion in recent years to keep pace with the rapid growth of global interdependence. The program is founded on the premise that law is a living body of rules and norms that both reflects and shapes the behavior of people, governments, and organizations worldwide. At Stanford, we believe world-class legal scholarship and real-world developments must go hand in hand.

Our international law program blends the benefits of an accessible, dedicated intellectual community with the formidable resources of Stanford University, including interdisciplinary programs and research centers focused on an array of international issues. In addition to addressing the foundations of the international legal order, our comprehensive curriculum explores the dramatic changes in the transnational business environment, the evolving global lawmaking and international judicial process, and questions of global justice. Our faculty have produced cutting-edge research in a broad array of fields, including international trade, transnational crime, refugees, international criminal tribunals, human rights, comparative law, presidential powers in the struggle against terrorism, and the use of force. They bring in-depth experience to their groundbreaking, policy-shaping research and are deeply committed to mentoring students. And dozens of Stanford Law events every year bring together faculty, students, graduate fellows, lawyers, policymakers, leaders of multinational corporations, NGOs, and many others to explore key issues in international legal practice.

Because we believe that international legal education does not stop at the border's edge, Stanford allows our students to participate in semester-long externships at international and non-governmental organizations abroad for academic credit. Students also have the opportunity to study for a semester abroad at elite foreign law schools. We also operate an innovative International Human Rights Clinic in which our students travel to a developing country to deliver legal services on the ground, where the needs are greatest.

We also offer connections to a wide variety of academic centers and programs both within the Law School and in the broader University that bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation
www.law.stanford.edu/program/centers/scicn

Rule of Law Program
www.law.stanford.edu/program/centers/rolp

Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
http://pesd.stanford.edu

Program on Global Justice
http://globaljustice.stanford.edu/

Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law
http://cddrl.stanford.edu

Center for International Security and Cooperation
http://cisac.stanford.edu

Woods Institute for the Environment
http://environment.stanford.edu/woods/woods.html





University of Georgia School of Law

The Dean Rusk Center - International, Comparative and Graduate Legal Studies

Dean Rusk Center and SCIS to host former Secretaries of State

In 1990, Dean Rusk, former Secretary of State under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, took part in the 8th Annual Report of the Secretaries of State held in Athens, Ga. Eighteen years later, as part of the commemoration of the Dean Rusk Center's 30th Anniversary, a highly distinguished group of former secretaries of state will convene once again in Athens during late March for a round table discussion on U.S. foreign policy moderated by Terence Smith of the television program The Newshour.

The Annual Report of the Secretaries of State began in 1983 and developed into a series of Peabody Award-winning conferences hosted by the Southern Center for International Studies (SCIS) located in Atlanta. Dean Rusk was instrumental to the success of these early conferences, both through his participation as a former secretary of state in the first nine Annual Reports and through his support of the work of SCIS. Honoring this tradition, the Dean Rusk Center and SCIS will host the former secretaries of state - a group that will include Madeleine Albright, James Baker, Warren Christopher, and Henry Kissinger - on March 27 at the Classic Center in Athens, Ga.

"The Report of the Secretaries of State is precisely the type of conference that fits into the Rusk Center's mission of providing a forum for debate on international legal and policy issues," explains Rusk Center Director and former Ambassador C. Donald Johnson. "Here at the Center, we seek to gain insight from participants who have been directly involved in the shaping of law and policy. I can think of no better way to do that than by working with longtime friends of Dean Rusk at the Southern Center for International Studies to bring this group of distinguished former secretaries of state to Athens for an exciting roundtable discussion on foreign policy."

For more information about the upcoming conference, please contact Andre B. Barbic at abarbic@uga.edu or (706)542-5141. For more information about the Dean Rusk Center, please visit: www.uga.edu/ruskcenter

Study Abroad Programs

GEORGIA LAW SUMMER PROGRAM IN CHINA

In 2006, Georgia Law debuted an ABA-approved study abroad program in China. Partnering with Tsinghua University in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai, this learning experience provides a unique opportunity to study in China's two largest cities. The curriculum offers an introduction to the Chinese legal system, with an emphasis on commercial law and U.S.-China trade issues under the WTO. Several cultural tours and legal field trips are also included in the program.

For more information and application materials, please visit: www.uga.edu/ruskcenter/china/

BRUSSELS SEMINAR ON THE LAW AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

For more than three decades, Georgia Law has helped sponsor the Brussels Seminar on the Law and Institutions of the European Union, which now includes a three-week, ABA-approved course on EU law held at the Institut d'Études Européennes of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. It is taught by officials of the EU Commission and Council, judges of the European Community Court of Justice, leading practitioners of EU law and distinguished professors from European universities.

For more information and application materials, please visit: www.uga.edu/ruskcenter/brussels.html




University of Illinois College of Law

A PROUD HISTORY

Established in 1897, the University of Illinois College of Law has a century-old tradition of excellence, consistently regarded as one of the Top 10 public law schools in the United States. The College of Law is part of the University of Illinois, one of the premier institutions among 37 public land grant universities created after Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862. The College of Law has also been home to one of the world's oldest LL.M. programs and continues to offer its highly competitive LL.M. degree annually, admitting up to 50 foreign lawyers.

AN ACTIVE NETWORK

The College of Law boasts a globally-renowned faculty whose research output consistently places the University of Illinois College of Law among the most referenced and recognized law scholars around the world. The College of Law's 10,000 alumni hold leadership positions in private firms, non-profit organizations, government offices, and the academy. And, the College of Law's LL.M. alumni can claim senior managers in major global corporations, partners in global law firms, distinguished members of the academy, high officials in government and international organizations, and judges on the highest courts. The College of Law's global network of alumni from 64 countries provide a ready pool of potential mentors and employers.

GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

SPECIALITY TOPIC AREAS
  • Business and Commercial Law
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
  • Employment Law
  • Environmental Law
  • Intellectual Property Law
  • International and Comparative Law
  • Law and Economics
  • Public Interest Law
  • Taxation Law
  • Health Care Law

For more information about the University of Illinois College of Law, visit www.law.uiuc.edu.




University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law




The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law is dedicated to global legal education. Drawing on a multilingual student body and an exceptional faculty of world-leading expertise, the Quinney College's Global Initiative supports an exciting array of contributions to issues of conflict and security, climate change, justice reform, democracy and religion, new frontiers of family law, mediation, technology commercialization, globalizing philanthropy, and many other topics.

The Global Initiative's programs include:
  • A collaborative model for cross-training programs on the rule of law;
  • A student-supported research think tank called Global Justice through Research, which has conducted research for the U.N., the UNDP in Asia, the U.S. Institute for Peace, the Government of Rwanda, the World Trade Center (Utah), and many others;
  • An international summer externship program, including placements at the war crimes tribunals at the Hague, Bosnia, and Rwanda, and several clinics and semester-long externships in international humanitarian law, international environmental law, and the rule of law;
  • A book series, Law Across Borders (Aspen Publishers), designed to globalize basic U.S. and foreign law courses (with first volumes to appear in 2009);
  • Intense simulation methods for teaching leadership and decision-making, e.g., a seven-hour counterterrorism simulation on Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism;
  • An internationally experienced student body, in which two-thirds speak at least one foreign language fluently, and each class of 125 students reflects a mastery of 25-30 languages as a group; and
  • World-class faculty with expertise in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, including:
    • Hiram Chodosh (global justice reform, focus on Asia and Middle East)
    • Erika George (women's rights, education, and health care, focus on Africa)
    • Amos Guiora (former Lieutenant-Colonel IDF, counterterrorism expert)
    • James Holbrook (global mediation)
    • Ralph Mabey (former federal bankruptcy judge, international insolvency)
    • Chibli Mallat (Middle Eastern and Islamic Law, Jean Monnet Chair)
    • Wayne McCormack (counterterrorism and security)
    • Amb. Pierre Prosper (former Ambassador at Large for War Crimes)




Vanderbilt University Law School

The International Legal Studies Program at Vanderbilt University Law School prepares students to practice law in a global environment by combining classroom exposure to cutting-edge areas of international law with practical experience in their application through the International Law Practice Lab and summer and semester externships. The program's core faculty includes respected scholars with expertise in key areas of international law. Students interact with international legal practitioners and policymakers who come to Vanderbilt to participate in lectures and scholarly conferences.

The International Law Practice Lab is the most innovative aspect of the program. It exposes students to cutting-edge questions in international law and teaches essential lawyering skills. For example, students learn the psychology of treaty negotiations and then apply those insights during in-class negotiations using actual treaty proposals. Students work in groups on high-profile legal projects and serve the needs of real-world clients. Past clients have ranged from international organizations such as the International Bar Association and the United Nations Development Program, to non-governmental human rights organizations, to other governments, to branches of the U.S. government such as the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. Students have provided support to ongoing treaty negotiations and helped to shape pending legislation in foreign countries. Other recent projects have included providing support to the Iraqi High Tribunal, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Law Library of Congress, the ICTY, and the Sierra Leone Special Court. In some cases, students have continued to work in externships for clients that they first encountered in the Practice Lab.

During the Fall 2007 semester, Vanderbilt law students participated in the following externships:
  • The United States Mission to the United Nations
  • The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Office of the Prosecutor,
  • The Office of the Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone (Charles Taylor trial team)
  • The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Judicial Chambers
  • The International Criminal Court, Judicial Chambers,
  • Coalition for the International Criminal Court
  • Office of Legal Counsel, The United States Embassy in The Hague
During the Summer of 2007, Vanderbilt law students participated in the following externships:
  • British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, England
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of General Counsel, Washington, D.C.
  • International Association of Genocide Scholars annual conference in Krakow, Poland, and Sarajevo, Bosnia
  • International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, New York, NY
  • International Institute of International Humanitarian Law, San Remo, Italy
  • International and Operational Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, United States Army, Washington, D.C.
  • Irish Centre for Human Rights, Galway, Ireland
  • The Legal Aid Clinic of Kampala, Uganda
  • Legal Assistance Center, Windhoek, Namibia
  • Special Court for Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
  • United States Embassy, Rome, Italy
  • United States Mission to the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland




Washington and Lee University School of Law

News - Washington & Lee University, School of Law, Transnational Law Institute

Established in 2006, the Transnational Law Institute oversees pedagogical innovations, a speaker's series, externships, internships, and visiting faculty to help prepare students for the increasing globalization of legal practice. The Institute is committed to the integrated study of international and comparative law, as well as those aspects of U.S. law that involve cross-border issues.

The Institute has introduced an exciting International Law Practicum to the W&L curriculum. In the Practicum, a select number of upper-year students will have the opportunity to work directly with lawyers engaged in matters of international law in faculty supervised research, legal drafting, and client matters. The initial focus of the Practicum, taught by Professor Thomas Rice, will involve assisting the Defense Support Section of the Khmer Rouge Trials in Cambodia and implementing a public defender program in Liberia.

The Institute assists students in assuming internships involving international or comparative law matters in organizations of their choice. Through the Institute, students have worked with the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, the International Missing Children's Division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, legal counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee in Washington D.C., African and Mid-East Refugee Assistance (a not-for-profit association in Cairo, Egypt), and several students have served at the Human Rights Department of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. There are ongoing developments to place students in Kosovo.

The Institute also coordinates visiting faculty who come to W&L for short periods of time to teach intensive courses. So far, global scholars include Prof. Jose Marcos Domingues, from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who offers an intensive course on Latin American Law and Prof. Martin Matthews of Oxford University, who offers a course on comparative tort law. In 2006, Aneta Spaic, Associate Professor of Law in Montenegro, visited and undertook research, and a public lecture, on the doctrine of fundamental breach in international contract law.

Through the offices of Professor Russell Miller, the now Institute houses the German Law Journal, a leading academic periodical.

Through the Institute, leading scholars and policymakers come to campus in an invited lecture series. So far, lecturers have included two ASIL Presidents, Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter and Professor Jose Alvarez, along with Professors Cherif Bassiouni and David Crane (coming January 29, 2008), and Helena Cobban, a celebrated journalist and author (coming February 25, 2008).

Mark A. Drumbl, the Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law, serves as the Institute's Director. More information can be obtained from him at drumblm@wlu.edu.




Washington University in St. Louis School of Law


 ASIL Links


Home

Academic Partnership Program

Academic Bulletin Archive

Career Development Resouces


Events

In the summer of 2007, Washington University School of Law was pleased to announce the new leadership of its Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies. Leila Sadat, the Henry B. Oberschelp Professor of Law, will serve as the Director of the Harris Institute, and Michael Peil, Assistant Dean for International Programs, will serve as its Executive Director.

Washington University Law was also pleased to welcome three new international scholars to its faculty this year. Gerrit De Geest, formerly a professor of law and economics at Utrecht University, joins the faculty as a professor of law, specializing in comparative law and law and economics. Carl Minzner, an expert in Chinese law and politics, and Adam Rosenzweig, who researches and teaches in domestic and international tax law and policy, join the faculty as associate professors of law.

Washington University Law and the Harris Institute will host several major international and comparative law events in the Spring of 2008.

On January 18 and 19, the Harris Institute will host a Roundtable in Public International Criminal Law & Human Rights and Legal Theory. This Roundtable will bring together leading legal and philosophy scholars for two days of discussion of their latest work in the field.

On January 24, the Harris Institute will present its second World Peace Through Law Award to Judge Richard Goldstone, former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. This gala event will also feature the formal redesignation of the Harris Institute as the "Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute."

In February, the Law School will join the St. Louis business, trade and legal communities in welcoming H.E. Zhou Wenzhong, ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the United States, and Ambassador Alan Holmer, Special Envoy to the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue.

On May 8-9, Washington University Law will host a two-day conference celebrating the work and contributions of John O. Haley, professor of law and the immediate past Director of the Harris Institute. John is a pioneer in the comparative study of Japanese law, and the conference will bring together Japanese and Pacific-Rim comparative-law specialists from around the world.

Washington University Law students continue to study abroad in great numbers. In addition to our ongoing exchange relationships with Utrecht University (The Netherlands), University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Catolica Universidade Portuguese (Portugal), and National University of Singapore, the law school is pleased to announce new student and faculty exchange arrangements with Fudan University (China), Korea University, National Taiwan University, and the University of Pretoria (South Africa).

The Summer Institute for Global Justice (Utrecht), co-administered with Case Western Reserve University and Utrecht University, enters its fourth year this summer, featuring courses on atrocity law, comparative legal ethics, comparative employment law, international criminal law & procedure, the role of the judge in a comparative perspective, and the law of intervention. The program is taught by top international and comparative law scholars from the three partner institutions, as well as leading scholars and practitioners from throughout the United States and Europe. For more information, visit the Summer Institute website at http://law.wustl.edu/summer_institute/.

The Summer Institute in U.S. Law (St. Louis) begins its second year this summer. This two-week program brings undergraduate law students from around the world to St. Louis for an intensive introduction to U.S. law, U.S. legal education methods, and

For further information about these and other Washington University Law and the Harris Institute activities, visit our website at http://law.wustl.edu/international/.