International Law Prof Blog

Jessup Film Festival

The Jessup 2014 Film Festival is now open for video submissions. Create a two- to four-minute video about your team's Jessup experience to share with other teams from around the world. The video may be humorous or serious, focus on one challenging experience or document your team's journey throughout the entire competition. The theme -- "Your team's Jessup experience" -- is broad, so be creative! Visit the website of the International Law Students Association for more information.

(mew)

Australia Defeats Singapore to Win the Jessup Cup; Bhutan Wins Spirit of the Jessup

University of Queensland (Australia) has won the 2014 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition White and Case International Rounds. They argued the Applicant side of this year's problem.

The runner up was the Singapore Management School of Law (Singapore).

The winner of the award for "Spirit of the Jessup" was the team from the Royal Institute of Law in Thimphu, Bhutan, a country that competed this year for the first time in the Jessup Competition.  That team is selected by a vote of all teams attending the G0-National Dress Ball held on Thursday evening.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is organized by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). This year's competition had approximately 600 teams register from around the world, with approximately 569 teams actually competing (some teams drop out for various reasons).

Before the White and Case Rounds, there were 64 national and regional competitions held around the world, including rounds in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Jamaica.  Teams advanced to the international rounds from those national rounds. 

124 teams representing 83 countries competed this week in Washington, D.C.  Some teams could not make the journey this year, including teams from Ethiopia, Lesotho, Costa Rica, and Peru.

Persons wishing to support the Jessup Competition can click here to visit the website of the International Law Students Association.

The International Law Students Association also organizes activities for international law societies at law schools around the world.  An international conference will next be held September 5-6, 2014 in London at the University of Law.

(mew)

Related articles

Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Jessup Go-National Dress Ball

Jessup Results: Which Countries Are Advancing in the International Rounds?

Jessup Results for the U.S. Southern Regional Competition

Suspicious Jessup Photo

A Marriage Made in Jessup

OK, so what can happen when you work really closely with a teammate for many months? And if you're so good at it, you go on to win the world moot court championship in 2012?

Well, you might get married.

And that's what happened here -- as you can tell from two shirts that give a whole new meaning to "Applicant" and "Respondent." This now happily married Jessup couple from Moscow returned this year as coaches of their team, which was among the 32 teams competing in the advance rounds.

Click here for a photo of the team from their win in 2012.

(mew)

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Suspicious Jessup Photo

Jessup Results: Which Countries Are Advancing in the International Rounds?

Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Will Danilo Türk Run for U.N. Secretary General?

Danilo Türk, the former President of Slovenia, was the speaker at last night's Gala Dinner at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, D.C.

After he failed to win re-election in Slovenia, there was talk of him pursing other options in the international field. The Slovenian Government Communications Office has now reportedly confirmed that the Slovenian government would back the former President as a candidate for U.N. Secretary General (from the East European Group, which has never had any representative in the post of Secretary General).

The current Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, is in his second five-year term, which expires at the end of 2016 (and no Secretary General has ever yet had a third term). So if Ban Ki-moon does not seek a third term (which he might do, who knows really), then Mr. Türk may be a candidate for a five-year term as U.N. Secretary-General starting in 2017.

(mew)

Jessup Final Round: Australia v. Singapore

The University of Queensland (Australia) and Singapore Management University School of Law (Singapore) are the two teams competing on Saturday in the final round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

If you're in DC, the round will be at 2 p.m. at the Capital Hilton, Second Floor, open to the public.

(mew)

Female Judges Make History at ICJ

Yesterday, the Women in International Law Interest Group at the American Society of International Law honored the three female judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by presenting each of them with an award for being prominent women in international law.  It is the first time in history that the ICJ has had three female sitting judges.  From left to right, the judges are Xue Hanqin (China), Joan Donoghue (U.S.), and Julia Sebutinde (Uganda). Joining them on the far right is former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner.  Each is an inspiration in her own right.

Other than women appointed by parties as ad hoc judges in particular cases before the court, the first and only female judge on the ICJ previously was Rosalyn Higgins of the United Kingdom.

(cgb)

Jessup Go-National Dress Ball

One of the best traditions of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the Go-National Dress Ball where students are encouraged to come dressed in traditional national costume or in creative attire.  And ok, we had a lot of fun at this party. It's when the students who have been preparing the Jessup problem for months have a chance to relax and make friends with other students from around the world.

Pictured here (dressed as a pretzel) is the team from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg (Germany).

A great party, and a definite highlight of the Jessup Competition.

(mew)

Teams Competing in the Jessup Quarterfinals

The following countries will be represented in the Jessup Quarterfinals on Friday morning:

Argentina 
Australia
Singapore
Slovenia
United Kingdom (2)
United States (2)

Rounds are open to the public (but no scouting).  The Quarterfinals are at 10:00 a.m. and the Semifinals are at 2:30 p.m.  The semifinal rounds will include at least one former judge of the International Court of Justice.

The final rounds will be on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. All rounds are at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C.

(mew)

Jessup Results: Which Countries Are Advancing in the International Rounds?

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition, with more than 550 teams competing from law schools all across the world.  This year, for example, the Kingdom of Bhutan participated.  The international final rounds, known as the White & Case Rounds, are being held this week in Washington, D.C.  Last night, 32 teams from the following countries were announced as those advancing further in the competition:

Argentina
Australia 
Austria 
Canada 
China
Croatia 
France 
Greece 
Hong Kong 
Hungary 
India (2)
Indonesia (2)
Ireland 
Israel 
Jamaica 
Malaysia 
New Zealand 
Philippines 
Russia (3)
Singapore 
Slovenia 
United Kingdom (2)
United States (5)

Rounds are open to the public (just no scouting for other teams), so if you are near the Capital Hilton in Washington DC stop in to see a round.  The finals are on Saturday afternoon, being judged by two judges of the Internaitonal Court of Justice and Professor Cherif Bassiouni of DePaul University College of Law.

(mew)

Related articles

Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Jessup Results for the U.S. Southern Regional Competition

Suspicious Jessup Photo

India Wins the 2013 Jessup World Championship!

ASIL-ILA Joint Meeting Opens in DC

The American Society of International Law holds its 108th annual meeting this year. For the first time, it is a joint meeting with another organization.  ASIL is partnering with the American Branch of the International Law Association (ILA) to combine each organization's major conference for 2014 into a single, joint event. This unprecedented ASIL Annual Meeting and ILA Biennial Conference will represent a unique and historic gathering of the international law community.

The featured speaker at the Joint Conference Opening Plenary last night was Mary McLeod, Acting Legal Advisor for the U.S. Department of State (pictured above left).

Also speaking was Lord Mance (Executive Chair of the International Law Association), Professor Ruth Wedgwood (President of the American Branch of the International Law Association), Marcel Brus (Director of Studies for the Intenational Law Association), and Donald Francis Donovan (President of the American Society of International Law).

Musical entertainment--by the way the best way to open an international law conference--was provided by four women singers in the group called Women of the World. I hope to see them at many more international conferences -- they were fantastic.

The conference continues until Saturday, April 12, 2014 and is being held at the Ronald Reagan Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW in Washington, D.C.  The conference facility is a fantastic venue for this conference.

(mew)

Related articles

ASIL / ILA meeting program now online

Preparing for the 2014 ASIL/ILA annual meeting

ASIL-Midwest Vice Chair is Milena Sterio

The American Society of International Law announced that the new ASIL-Midwest Vice Chair is Prof. Milena Sterio of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

(mew)

IACHR Concludes Its 150th Session

On Friday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded its 150th session.  The IACHR is celebrating 55 years of work since its creation. 

During the 150th session, the Commission held meetings with high-level authorities from States, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Missions to the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and civil society organizations, among others involved in the inter-American human rights system. 

According to its press release, "The session included 55 public hearings with the participation of delegations from 20 OAS Member States, as well as 30 working meetings on petitions, cases, and precautionary measures. The Commission approved reports on individual cases and petitions and made progress in friendly settlement proceedings. During the session, the IACHR presented two Commission reports, one on guarantees for the independence of justice operators and the other on the use of pretrial detention in the Americas."

The IACHR noted that significant progress was made in various working meetings with representatives of States and petitioners from Argentina, Colombia, the United States, Honduras, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Peru with respect to the implementation of precautionary measures in effect. These meetings make it possible "to reach agreements and overcome hurdles in order to ensure greater protection in the face of grave and urgent situations that pose a risk of irreparable harm to people."

The IACHR also was encouraged by friendly settlement proceedings and increased compliance with previous reached agreements, shown by the parties in 17 working meetings on petitions and cases from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Suriname.

The press release also stated that: "For this session, the IACHR received 61 requests to hold working meetings and 220 to hold hearings, including 12 requests from Member States. The Commission notes in particular the initiative by nearly one third of the OAS Member States to request a hearing on the issue of the death penalty in the Americas, a step toward identifying ways to work toward the abolition of the death penalty in the region. The participating States were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, with the Permanent Observer Mission of France to the OAS and Amnesty International also joining in. In addition, a significant number of civil society organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay requested a hearing to address an emerging issue and one that the Inter-American Commission will be following: the adverse impact of repressive anti-drug policies on the exercise of the human rights of major sectors of the population, with a disproportionate impact on children and adolescents, women, poor people, people of African descent, and campesinos, among other groups."

According to the IACHR, "The active participation of States and civil society in these mechanisms and the constant increase in the requests received are indicators of these mechanisms’ effectiveness, as well as an acknowledgment of the credibility and legitimacy of the inter-American human rights system as a whole. . . The IACHR views as extremely positive the growing interest of people of the Americas to be informed about the human rights situation in the region and the inter-American human rights system’s mechanisms to protect and promote fundamental rights so that they are respected and guaranteed."

The IACHR press release also listed "some of the structural human rights problems that persist in the region. These have to do with respect for the right to life and humane treatment; guarantees of due process and judicial protection; judicial independence; justice and reparation for grave human rights violations of the past; the exercise of economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to freedom of expression; discrimination based on race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity; and the situation concerning the rights of children, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, persons of African descent, women, persons deprived of liberty, and persons with disabilities, among other matters. The Commission also addressed emerging issues such as corporate responsibility as regards the impact of extractive industries on the observance of human rights, especially the impact on certain groups such as Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples. In one hearing to follow up on recommendations from the report “Juvenile Justice and Human Rights in the Americas,” the IACHR received troubling information indicating a regressive trend in this area in several countries in the region, including the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility and an increase in penalties, in a context of poor incarceration conditions and scant socio-educational measures."

With respect to violence against women, "The Commission examined the implementation status of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará,” 20 years after the treaty’s adoption. Violence against women and structural gender-based discrimination continue to be profound and widespread problems in the region, and the response from States continues to be inadequate, in terms of both prevention and investigation and punishment. An unacceptable percentage of killings and other violent attacks on women continue to go unpunished, while human rights defenders—particularly those who defend the rights of women—are victims of attacks, the criminalization of their activities, public defamation campaigns, and the excessive use of police force against them, among other grave problems. The IACHR urges the States to make significant and urgent advances in implementing public policies that give effect to the standards established in the Convention of Belém do Pará, particularly through measures that dismantle the structural discrimination underlying violence against women."

For more information, especially with respect to the human rights records of specific states, visit the OAS website. 

(cgb)

Revised WTO Government Procurement Agreeement Takes Effect

The new and improved Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) took effect yesterday, April 6, 2014.   The new Agreement's text has been streamlined and modernized to include, inter alia, standards  related to the use of electronic procurement tools and a new  provision relating to the prevention of corrupt practices in the parties’  procurement systems. The revised GPA also reinforces the provisions of the original  Agreement aimed at promoting the conservation of natural resources and protecting the  environment through the application of appropriate technical specifications.

The parties to the revised Agreement expect to see market gains of US$80-100 billion annually for their businesses.  These gains will result from numerous government entities (ministries and  agencies) being added to the scope of the GPA and from new services and other  areas of public procurement activities being included in its expanded coverage.

(cgb)

Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

The International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition take place this week in Washington D.C.  The Jessup Competition, which started in 1960 as the "International Law Moot," has grown into the world's largest moot court competition. It is named after the Honorable Philip C. Jessup, a former ambassador and a judge on the International Court of Justice.

Teams competing this year come from the following jurisdictions:

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Bahrain
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bhutan
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Chinese Taipei
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Crotia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Dominic Republic
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Finland
• France
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Guatemala
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Latvia
• Lesotho
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Nepal
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Palestine
• Panama
• Peru
• The Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turkey
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Zimbabwe

Competing for the first time this year is the team from the Kingdom of Bhutan (pictured above, from the Jessup Parade of Nations at this afternoon's opening session). Congratulations to all of the participants and thank you to the judges, bailiffs, Jessup staff, board members of the International Law Students Association, and the many supporters -- large and small -- of the Jessup Competition, especially the law firm of White & Case which is a major financial supporter of the competition.

If you're a past competition in Jessup, you know what a great experience it is. Visit the website of the International Law Students Association to see how you can support the Jessup Competition and its magnificent ability to bring international law to students around the world.

(mew)

Call for Proposals: International Law Weekend in New York (October 2014)

2014 International Law Weekend will be held from October 23-25, 2014 in New York City.  ILW is sponsored and organized by the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) and the International Law Students Association (ILSA). This annual conference attracts an audience of more than one thousand practitioners, academics, diplomats, and students. The theme for this year's meeting is “International Law in a Time of Chaos” and panel proposals (relating to that theme, or not) can be submitted online by April 23, 2014 by clicking here. 

Please provide a title, description, and the names and affiliations of the chair and proposed speakers as well as the proposal format (debate, roundtable, lecture, etc.). Formats should include presenters with diverse experiences and perspectives.

ILW 2014 will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Branch in Manhattan at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York at 42 West 44th Street on Thursday evening, October 23, and at the Fordham Law School at Lincoln Center on October 24-25, 2014. We expect an audience that will include practitioners, professors, UN diplomats, business leaders, federal and state government officials, NGO leaders, writers, journalists, and interested citizens. This year, we plan to have a broad array of public international law topics, but will also have dedicated tracks of private international law topics in each program slot. Questions regarding ILW 2014 can be directed to [email protected]. 

Members of the ILW 2014 Program Committee are:

• Tamara Cummings-John (Legal Officer, United Nations Office of Legal Affairs);
• Davis Robinson (Former Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State);
• Stephen Shapiro (Managing Partner, BSR Investments);
• Vivian Shen (Programs Director, International Law Students Association);
• David Stewart (President-Elect, American Branch of the International Law Association); and
• Ruth Wedgwood (President, American Branch of the International Law Association).

Unfortunately ILW conflicts this year with the Fall Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law, which will meet in Buenos Aires. But if you're not planning on going to Argentina, the ILW in New York will be well worth the investment of your time.

(mew)

Jessup International Rounds Being Held This Week in Washington D.C.

The White and Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competiton take place this week in Washington, D.C.  Teams arriving from around the world check in today and rounds start tomorrow.  Visit www.ilsa.org for more information about the Jessup Competition.

(mew)

 

Strong Election Turnout a Victory for Democracy in Afghanistan

 As voters across Afghanistan braved inclement weather and security threats to cast their ballots in Saturday's presidential and provincial council elections, the top United Nations official there congratulated them for participating in this "historic moment" for the country.  "We are receiving reports that many people are showing their wish to vote; they are queuing in places all around the country," the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, told journalists while on a visit to a polling centre in the capital, Kabul.

Afghans thronged to polling stations, which opened their doors at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, to cast their ballots for a successor to President Hamid Karzai and members of 34 provincial councils. The polls will result in the first transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another in the country.

According to Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC), polling took place in 6,212 polling centres across the country, while a further 250 polling centres -- that were originally scheduled to be kept open -- were closed down due to the failure to dispatch necessary polling materials in light of adverse security developments. 

"I am hopeful for the future -- I have lots of children and I vote for the future of my children," said 70-year-old Haji Awlia Qul, in the north-eastern province of Kunduz. "It doesn't matter even if I die for this. The important thing is the bright future of my children. I vote for their better future and for the well-being of my grandchildren."

Unlike the countries previous elections, which were conducted jointly by the Afghan authorities and the UN, the world body does not formally have a role in these polls, leaving Afghan authorities to organize and manage the entire electoral process. 

The UN -- primarily through the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) -- ¬has been advising on election-related matters and providing capacity building and technical support. "I hope that everything will work well," said Mr. Kubiš, who is also head of UNAMA. "I hope that people will come and will vote for their candidates -- whoever that is, and candidates for the provincial council -- in good numbers. And I hope that at the end of the day, we will be able to say this is really a historic moment, opening a totally new chapter for the country."

(adapted from a UN press release)

ABA Conference in New York

The sessions have just ended at the Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law Conference in New York, where more than 1,600 lawyers from around the world gathered to discuss the latest developments in international law.

In addition to the substantive knowledge, you meet interesting people that you wouldn't otherwise meet. I'm pictured here with the Honorable Justice Abdulai Sheikh Fofanah of the High Court of Sierra Leone -- one of the many distinguished participants in the conference.

Congratulations, ABA Section of International Law, Section Chair Gabrielle Buckley, Section Staff, and the organizers of the Spring Meeting.

(mew)

ABA Section of International Law Meeting in New York

The 2014 Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law continues in New York. Panels are well attended, as you can see from the photograph of this panel on the topic of Humanitarian Intervention and the International Criminal Court's Crime of Aggression. That program was sponsored by the International Courts Committee, the International Criminal Law Committee, and the International Human Rights Committee and included speakers such as Roger Clark of Rutgers-Camden, Jennifer Trahan of New York University, David Crane of Syracuse University, and Ambassador Christian Wenaweser of the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations. 

You also know it's a good conference when the first question from the audience comes from Ambassador Hans Corell, former Legal Counsel of the United Nations.

The conference panels continue today and the conference itself concludes tomorrow with the ABA Section Council Meeting.

(mew)

Related articles

ABA Section of International Law is an Official Co-Sponsor of the Global Legal Skills Conference in Verona, Italy (May 2014)

ABA Section of International Law Meets in New York

Human Rights Research Methods - Summer School in the United Kingdom

The Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex is holding a summer school on Human Rights Research Methods at its Colchester (United Kingdom) campus from 30 June to 5 July 2014. 

Methodology has a direct bearing on the strength, persuasiveness and legitimacy of human rights research findings and their impact on policy and practice.  Strong methodology is also a central requirement in order to secure funding.  Yet, we often focus on the substance of human rights without sufficient attention to the methods used.  This summer school will seek to fill that gap by providing the core methods and skills needed to carry out human rights research whether documenting human rights violations, drafting human rights reports and articles or preparing funding bids.  Participants will learn everything from interviewing victims to researching in repressive societies to becoming ‘quantitatively literate’ in human rights research.  The teaching team includes anthropologists, lawyers, political scientists, psychologists and sociologists, three current and former UN Special Rapporteurs, a member of the UN Committee against Torture, the Interim Director of Law and Policy at Amnesty International and donors, all with significant experience on the theory and practice of human rights.  It is an ideal course for human rights professionals working in NGOs, international organisations and government, academics and postgraduate students. Click here for more information.

Hat tip to Lorna McGregor Co-Chair, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and Director, Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex

(mew)