On February 26, 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its long-awaited decision in the case concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro. The decision examines various issues, including a detailed analysis of the elements of genocide under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ concluded that the acts committed at Srebrenica in July 1995 constituted genocide. While the ICJ determined that Serbia had not committed or conspired to commit genocide nor was complicit in genocide, it found that Serbia had violated its obligations to prevent genocide in respect to the Srebrenica massacre and in its failure to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This conversation brings together noted scholars and advocates to discuss the ICJ’s decision and to reflect on its broader implications for the future of international criminal law.
Moderator: Judge Theodor Meron, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Panelists: Leila Nadya Sadat, Washington University School of Law; Brigitte Stern, University of Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne; Tibor Varady, Emory Law School
The Supreme Court and the War on Terrorism
The Supreme Court’s June 2006 decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld is extraordinarily rich in its assessment of U.S. foreign affairs powers in time of war and its use of international law as a check on executive power. The immediate effect of the decision was to preclude trials before the U.S. administration’s specially-created military commissions, but the broader ramifications of the Court’s decision are still evolving. This panel of experts representing governments, non-governmental organizations, and the legal academy with divergent views on the Hamdan decision examines the decision, subsequent developments, and the longer-term implications for the inter-branch balance of power in time of war or national crisis.
Moderator: Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Panelists: John B. Bellinger III, U.S. Department of State; Franklin Berman, Essex Court Chambers; Sean Murphy, George Washington University School of Law; Jide Nzelibe, Northwestern University School of Law; Dinah PoKempner, Human Rights Watch
Roundtable on the News Media and International Law
In a global information society, the media plays an ever-increasing role in identifying, clarifying and analyzing the relevance of international law to current affairs. This discussion with leading members of the media explores how journalists cover international legal developments, the role they perceive international law to play in current events, the obstacles they face in explaining international law to their audiences, and how international lawyers might help journalists increase the public's understanding and appreciation of international law.
Moderator: Bruce Stokes, National Journal
Panelists: Roy Gutman, McClatchy Newspapers; Jim Landers, Dallas Morning News; Moisés Naím, Foreign Policy; Ari Shapiro, National Public Radio
Plenary Corporate Counsel Forum: The Impact of International Law on Multinational Corporations
This panel addresses the increasing role that international law plays in the work of corporate counsel, the significance and impact that it has on companies and the opportunities that it provides for them. The panel also addresses the future role of international law for corporations. The panel consists of high-ranking corporate legal officers, including current and former general counsel and deputy general counsel for international litigation.
Moderator: Lucinda Low, Steptoe and Johnson LLP
Panelists: Thomas Gottschalk, General Motors; Alberto Mora; Walmart; Paul Wright, ExxonMobil
To order audio of other 2007 Annual Meeting panels and speeches, click here
With a century of tradition and experience behind it, ASIL's Annual Meeting has become the most important gathering in the field of international law. More than 1,000 practitioners, academics, and students travel to Washington, D.C. each spring from all over the world to debate and discuss the latest developments in their field. ASIL's 101st Annual Meeting, will reflect on the theme "The Future of International Law".
