International Law Prof Blog

Podcast Interview with a Lawyer Advising the Iraqi High Tribunal

Eric Blinderman took a leave of absence from his job at Proskauer Rose to serve in Iraq.  He worked first as Associate General Counsel for the Coalition Provisional Authority, and later as Chief Litigation Counsel and Associate Deputy to the Regime Crimes Liaison's Office.  Eric advised the Iraqi High Tribunal as it prosecuted members of the former regime, including Saddam Hussein. 

One of our blog readers and fellow blogger, Professor Meredith R. Miller at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, shared with us an podcast interview with Eric about his experiences there.  Click here.  It's on her blog, The Slippery Slope.  She's also a contributing editor on the Contracts Law Prof Blog.

Hat tip to Meredith Miller.

(mew)

Call for Book Reviews: Women and the Law

Proposals due September 25, 2008

The editors of Pace Law Review invite proposals from scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals for contributions to a special book review issue to be published in Winter 2008. We seeks proposals for reviews of any book published in 2008, 2007 or 2006 that contributes to the understanding of women’s experiences with the law.

Pace Law School has a longstanding commitment to both the study of women and the law and the development of women as lawyers and leaders. The Pace Women’s Justice Center was founded in 1991 as the first academic legal center in the country devoted to training attorneys and others in the community about domestic violence issues. Pace is a vibrant and intellectual community that contains several nationally-recognized scholars of women’s, children’s and LGBT rights.

A law review volume devoted to books concerning women and the law promotes an ongoing discourse on women and the law, justice and feminist jurisprudence.

Please submit book review proposals of no more than 500 words by attachment to [email protected] by September 25, 2008. Proposals should include (a) the intended reviewer’s name, title, institutional affiliation and contact information; (b) the title and publication date of the book proposed for review; (c) a description of the importance of the book to the general topic; and (d) any other information relevant to the book or proposed review (e.g., the proposed reviewer’s expertise or any relationship with the author). Authors are welcome, but not required, to submit a CV as well. The editors expect to make publication offers by October 1, 2008.

Complete manuscripts from authors of accepted proposals will be due November 1, 2008. Completed book reviews should not exceed 8,500 words.

Hat tip to Bridget Crawford

(cgb)

International Posters Sought for AALS Annual Meeting

Twelve sections of the Association of American Law Schools are seeking proposals from individuals for poster presentations for the 2009 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

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The AALS Section on International Law and the AALS Section on International Human Rights Law are two of the sections seeking poster submissions.  Here's the whole list:

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· Clinical Legal Education
· Education Law
· Evidence
· Legal Writing, Reasoning and Research
· Insurance Law
· International Law
· International Human Rights
· Law & the Social Sciences
· Mass Communication Law
· Professional Responsibility
· Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues
· Teaching Methods

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Click here for more information

Download aals_posters.pdf .

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(mew)

ICTY: Update on Karadzic Trial

Judge Iain Bonomy of Scotland will be one of the judges at the trial of Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  Karadzic has said that he will act as his own lawyer (as Milosevic did before him).

(mew)

New UN Reports (CRC and CESCSR)

There are new UN reports from the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

1. The report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (A/63/41) also summarizes the meetings of the committee and includes the committee's "General Comments" on topics within the scope of the Convention (A/RES/44/25).
2. The report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/2008/22 - E/C.12/2007/3) summarizes the meetings held, including the review of states parties' reports to the committee.

Click here for links to both reports.

Hat tip to the Law Librarian Blog.  (You can always count on your law librarians!)

(mew)

UN Will Launch a Video Library on International Law

The United Nations is preparing to launch the Audiovisual Library of International Law that promises to be an incredible resource.  It will include an Historic Archives section with original film and audio on important treaties and on international organizations.  Here's a description:
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The Audiovisual library will consist of

1. A Lecture Series containing lectures by eminent international law scholars and practitioners from different countries on virtually all subjects of international law;
2. The Historic Archives containing introductory notes by leading experts on legal instruments adopted under the auspices of the United Nations as well as archival film, audio and photos of the negotiation and adoption of these instruments (e.g., the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Genocide Convention); and
3. The Research Library containing treaties, jurisprudence, United Nations materials and scholarly writings.

This innovative teaching and research tool will be available to all institutions and individuals around the globe free of charge.  It will be launched on October 28, 2008.  To view the Pilot Project, click here. 

Hat tip to Virginia Morris.

(mew)

UNIDROIT Intermediated Securities Convention

A Diplomatic Conference will be held in Geneva starting September 1, 2008 regarding adoption of an Intermediated Securities Convention.

Click here for more information on the draft Convention.

Hat tip to Houston Putnam Lowry

(mew)

Call for Papers - Canada-U.S.

Gateway to Canada: Scholarship Bridges and Boundaries

Conference to be held in St. Louis

Nov. 7-9, 2008

Since the First Nations settlement and the first European exploration, the upper Midwest has been central to the emergence and development of Canada and the United States.  The limitless border of the Midwestern frontier offered challenges and experiences that are uniquely Canadian and American.  The biennial MWACS conference continues this tradition of exploration and discovery through presentation of contemporary research in North American history, culture, art, communications, geography, politics, economy, and society. 

Conference location – The 2008 MWACS conference will be held at the Hilton at the Ballpark in downtown St. Louis, November 7-9, 2008.  The meeting will be jointly held with the International Studies Association-Midwest. 

Conference papers are welcome on all topics related to Canada and Canadian Studies across all fields and disciplines.  Research papers pertaining to the conference theme are particularly encouraged.  Participant contact information, paper title and abstract of no more than 200 words should be sent to: James Endersby and Carol Weis, University of Missouri, Department of Political Science, 113 Professional Building, Columbia, MO 65211.  Click here for the email.  The deadline has passed already (sorry about that), but hey, you never know.  If nothing else, you'll be first in line for next year's conference!  You should, of course, also plan to attend the conference in November.

MWACS has limited travel funds to support graduate students and new scholars to help offset conference lodging and travel.  Contact the conference organizers or review the MWACS web site.  Click here.

To subscribe to the MWACS listserv, click here. 

The Midwest Association for Canadian Studies (MWACS) is an interdisciplinary regional organization of scholars and professionals.  MWACS, like the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, encourages creative and scholarly activity in Canadian studies, facilitates the exchange of ideas among Canadianists in the U.S., Canada, and other countries, enhances the teaching of Canada in the U.S., and promotes Canada as an area of academic inquiry.

Hat tip to Colleen Duke at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago

(mew) 

Council on Foreign Relations

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) invites professors and students to participate in its biweekly Academic Conference Call Series. Each call features a short presentation by a CFR expert or Foreign Affairs author, followed by a question-and-answer session for students. To encourage an interactive dialogue, CFR is asking that professors convene students in a group to participate. Click here to request more information or to RSVP.

(mew)

U.S. Court of International Trade - DiCarlo Lecture

The Honorable Richard K. Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade will be the speaker on November 6, 2008 at the seventh annual Dominick L. DiCarlo Lecture Series on the U.S. Court of International Trade.  The lecture will be held at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

(mew)

U.S. is Cuba's Fifth Largest Trading Partner

The U.S. began selling food to Cuba in 2002 under an exception to the U.S. embargo of Cuba.  Data for 2007 on the website of Cuba's National Statistic Office now reportedly puts the U.S. at $484 million for 2006 and $582 million for 2007, making the U.S. Cuba's fifth largest trading partner.  The U.S. embargo of Cuba began in 1962.

(mew)

Fred Herzog Memorial Lecture

Fred Herzog, a former judge from Austria and later dean of both Chicago-Kent College of Law and The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, is honored by a memorial lecture series.  The next lecture in the series will be by Professor Kenneth Waltzer, Director of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University.  It will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 12:30 p.m., at The John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois.  He will speak on "Opening the Red Cross International Tracing Service Archive."

(mew)

Five Years Ago, A Bombing in Iraq

Here are photos from the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The plaque commemorates the UN workers and officials who were killed in Baghdad on August 19, 2003.  (Click on a photo to enlarge it).

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International Humanitarian Law Dialogs

The American Society of International Law will cosponsor The Second Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs for current and past prosecutors of international criminal tribunals on August 25-26, 2008. The conference will take place at The Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. Contact ASIL for more information.

(mew)

A Possible Appointee to Ontario's Human Rights Tribunal Says Journalism Should Be Subject to Human Rights Laws

On August 18, 2008, during an interview for the position of Vice-Chair of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, an Ontario lawyer took an interesting position (that may cost him the appointment). A candidate for one of the top jobs at the new Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario told a government committee yesterday he thinks print journalism should be subject to racial discrimination complaints.  In answer to a question, he responded ""... if there is some sort of discrimination that comes out in the reporting that is arguably contrary to the code, then I would also feel that it would be open to a complainant to challenge the reporting as being discriminatory on the grounds of race,...

Lisa MacLeod, who led the Tory (Conservatives) questioning, said in an interview she has been inspired by the recent failed human rights case against Ezra Levant and the Western Standard for publishing the Danish Muhammad cartoons."

This is an interesting development in the area of freedom of the press.  I hope this will lead to an active discussion of the merits of restricting journalistic freedom to write or editors to print what would be viewed by more than just the politically correct to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, or hateful.

Canada's Supreme Court Judge Ian Binnie Promotes Corporate Social Responsibility

At the Corporate Counsel Association Annual Meeting in Quebec City, Supreme Court of Canada Judge Ian Binnie issued a call for Canadian multi-national corporations to pay more attention to human rights abuses in Third World countries where they operate.  This speech was a humble one and with heartfelt words, a challenge was given.  Judge Binnie urged lawyers with the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association to persuade their employers to show a greater sense of global responsibility.

Some of the sound bites include:

• “Why it is that, although the economic aspects of globalization - trade aspects, labour aspects, the investment aspects, the commercial arbitration aspects - are well looked after, human rights lag as an object of corporate attention?”

• “I believe there is an important role here for corporate Canada-and I hope a lot of you will do your best to get your clients to put their shoulder to the wheel,”

• “The interaction between the economies of the first world and the economies of the third world are growing. Your people have their act together. The legal system doesn't. Progress is made in a patchwork kind of way. There is no coherent legal structure.”

• “It is an enormous web of corporate activity across the globe which is not matched by any legal structure. The global economy is divided into all these national jurisdictions that sometimes have a great deal of trouble - and control is required.”

• “These countries compete ferociously for investment, they compete for jobs, they compete for ways to improve their standard of living, and they are in no mood to bring down the hammer on companies which carry on in those jurisdictions differently than they do at home”

• “There are people in the country who are fully supportive, because they are looking for jobs or economic improvement. But if you area mine or a pipeline, people are going to be displaced - and they are unlikely to get much compensation. So you have internal conflict which, the country inviting in the multinational sometimes represses with more violence than I'm sure the multinational in general regards as acceptable.”

These words from a Supreme Court judge are important.  I am proud that a Canadian Supreme Court judge stood up and gave this speech.   The question is whether corporate counsel can undertake this enormous task.

Cyndee Todgham Cherniak

International Chamber of Commerce: Conference on Bridging the Cultural Gap in International Arbitration

The ICC International Court of Arbitration will host the Third Annual New York Conference on "ICC Arbitration Today: Bridging the Cultural Gap in International Arbitration."  The event will be at the Hilton New York on Monday, September 15, 2008.

(mew)

The Trial of Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor, the former President of LIberia, refused to appear at his trial yesterday before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  The New York Times reported that he was protesting new security rules that require him to be blindfolded and chained while traveling between prison and the court.  Taylor's trial began in January and was to have resumed yesterday after a one-month recess.

(mew)

Thank You, International Justice Tribune

We are sorry to report that the International Justice Tribune is shutting down its operations permanently.  Here is a message just received from them, explaining the reasons.  We thank the IJT for the years in which it flourished, and we are sorry to see them go.

(mew)

Dear readers and subscribers,

This past May, International Justice Tribune (IJT) had to suspend publication due to health difficulties its editor was experiencing. In early July, this suspension had to be extended. Unfortunately, despite his continued improvement, it has become clear that Thierry Cruvellier will no longer be able to perform his duties as editor.

On August 10, 2008 in Paris, a general meeting of the journal was held. After three months of suspending IJT which resulted in insolvency, a decision was made to stop publishing the journal and dissolve its publishing company, Justice Memo. It is with much regret and sadness that we therefore announce the definitive closing of the International Justice Tribune.

Since its creation in 2004, IJT has truly functioned thanks to the non-paid work of its publisher, Franck Petit, and its editor. Valuing its independence, IJT was only financed through its sales and subscriptions. The continual increase in these funds made it possible for us to cover the costs of the journal’s 30 correspondents around the world, the translation and the web site. However, it was never enough to make it possible to pay its two primary organizers. IJT was therefore always a fragile enterprise, founded on the commitment and passion of its two executive leaders and the support of the small group of shareholders of Justice Memo. In the face of these unexpected events, this fragility proved to be fatal, as the journal is unable to recruit a competent editor in such a specialized field, in which so few journalists have invested, especially without being able to offer pay.

We are obviously heartbroken and disappointed to have to draw to a close this journal, through which we hoped to provide a critical and analytical, global perspective that was both specialized and clear regarding the legal and paralegal initiatives engaged in the world against crimes against humanity and war crimes.

We would like to sincerely thank you for your unparalleled faithfulness over the years that gave IJT a subscription renewal rate of more than 80%. We would also like to express our deep gratitude for the many messages of support we received after our unexpected suspension. We are currently looking at how the IJT archives, which were ceded to the association Réseau Intermedia, might will remain available to you permanently and convenientlyat the best price. We will, of course, keep you updated regarding the solution that we find to this issue.

Thank you again for your understanding and your support.

With our deepest regret and kindest regards,


Franck Petit
Publisher

Thierry Cruvellier
Editor

International Justice TRIBUNE
Justice Memo SARL
94 rue de Lévis
75017 Paris - France

AALS Section on International Human Rights Law

The Association of American Law Schools Section on International Human Rights Law will repeat its wildly popular program, “New Voices in Human Rights.”  The program is for faculty members and other scholars who have not previously had an opportunity to present a scholarly paper at an AALS annual meeting.   It will be held during a prime time slot at the AALS conference -- Wednesday January 7, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You do NOT have to submit a paper, only an abstract of no more than two pages.  Send the abstract by September 1, 2008 to Section Chair-Elect, Christiana Ochoa, at the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington.  Click here for her email address.  Abstracts will be reviewed and selections made during September 2008.

If you have questions about this program, you may contact the current section chair, Robert Blitt at the University of Tennessee.

Prof. Mark E. Wojcik
The John Marshall Law School - Chicago
Immediate Past Chair, AALS Section on International Human Rights Law