Tuesday, March 31, 2020
An Online Interview with ICJ Judge Joan Donoghue
The International Law Students Association (ILSA), the organization that normally brings you the International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, has kindly scheduled a broadcast of "A Conversation with Judge Joan Donoghue," moderated by Amir Farhadi of Dechert LLP.
The event will be held online on April 9, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. GMT/2:00 p.m. EDT on Vimeo and Facebook.
(mew)
March 31, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 30, 2020
Snapshot of the Covid-19 Pandemic (Mar. 30, 2020)
As of March 30, 2020, the World Health Organization reports:
As of March 30, 2020, the top 25 countries reporting cases of Covid-19 are:
- United States of America :122653 cases
- Italy :97689 cases
- China :82455 cases
- Spain :78797 cases
- Germany :57298 cases
- Iran (Islamic Republic of) :41495 cases
- France :39642 cases
- The United Kingdom :19526 cases
- Switzerland :14274 cases
- Netherlands :10866 cases
- Belgium :10836 cases
- Republic of Korea :9661 cases
- Turkey :9271 cases
- Austria :8813 cases
- Portugal :5962 cases
- Canada :5655 cases
- Israel :4247 cases
- Australia :4245 cases
- Norway :4102 cases
- Brazil :3904 cases
- Sweden :3700 cases
- Czechia :2829 cases
- Ireland :2615 cases
- Malaysia :2470 cases
- Denmark :2395 cases
March 30, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Law Library of Congress: Ask a Librarian is Available!
The website for the Law Library of Congress includes a feature called "Ask a Librarian." It's free, it's available to law professors, law students, and other researchers all around the globe. And it's open, even if the Law Library itself is closed. Click here to read more about it.
(mew)
March 30, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Snapshot of the Covid-19 Pandemic (Mar. 24, 2020)
Italy reported 608 coronavirus deaths yesterday, bringing its total to 5,476 fatalities. Spain extended its lockdown for another 15 days as the national death toll in Spain surged more than 25 percent. Spain now has more than 33,000 confirmed cases.
And Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India announced a stay-at-home order for 1.3 billion people to stay inside their homes for the next three weeks to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization reports that as of March 24, 2020 (6pm CET), there are:
(mew)
March 24, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Snapshot of the Covid-19 Pandemic
As of March 22, 2020, the World Health Organization reports that among the 187 countries, areas, or territories with cases of the novel caronavirus Covid-19, there are:
- 294,110 confirmed cases; and
- 12,944 confirmed deaths.
"Covid-19" is the acronym for Carona Virus Disease 2019.
Here are the recent daily numbers of cases reported to the World Health Organization:
- On March 19, 24,200 new cases were reported.
- On March 20, 32,900 new cases were reported.
- On March 21, 27,100 new cases were reported.
Here are the countries, areas, and territories reporting cases as of March 22, 2020. Updated numbers can be found on the WHO website.
(mew)
March 21, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, March 20, 2020
McGill Conference in Paris on International Aviation Liability, Insurance, and Finance Postpoined
The McGill Institute of Air and Space Law has announced that its 13th Annual McGill Conference on International Aviation Liability, Insurance, and Finance, scheduled to be held in Paris on June 15/16, will be rescheduled for a new date in the fall 2020. The organizers hope to keep the conference in Paris, and we can't blame them for that.
Hat tip to Brian F. Havel.
(mew)
March 20, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
International Contract Law: Force Majeure and the Covid-19 Pandemic
One of the legal issues for international businesses is whether contracts are enforceable in a pandemic. If a contract contains a force majeure clause, it probably doesn't specifically include a pandemic as a triggering event. Does the contract need to include pandemics specifically or will the general language of the clause include an unforeseeable and uncontrollable event such as a pandemic? Does force majeure excuse a simple inability to pay if the banking system is still functional (and the only problem is that the buyer has no money)? What exactly will excuse performance under force majeure under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 2-615, Article 79 of the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), or under another country's civil or commercial code? What notice must be given to invoke force majeure?
The topic is one arising repeatedly this week. It was the focus of the phone conference of the International Contracts Committee of the American Bar Association Section of International Law, and it will be the focus of a CLE program next week at the Chicago Bar Association.
Hat tip to William P. Johnson, Chair of the International Contracts Committee of the ABA Section of International Law and Dean of the Saint Louis University School of Law.
(mew)
March 20, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, March 19, 2020
"I Will Survive" - The Caronavirus Song for Professors
Dr. Michael Bruening is a Professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T).
His video about the anxiety of professors suddenly teaching online has, well, gone viral. You can enjoy it here, even if you're not a professor yourself.
Dr. Bruening is a historian of medieval and early modern Europe who specializes in the Reformation. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, in the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies. His first book, Calvinism's First Battleground, explores the origins of Calvinism in early modern Switzerland through the religious and political struggles between Catholics and Protestants in the region, as well as within Protestantism itself. In 2012, he published Epistolae Petri Vireti, a critical edition of the unedited correspondence of the Calvinist reformer Pierre Viret. He most recently published A Reformation Sourcebook: Documents from an Age of Debate, a reader for courses on the Reformation. At Missouri S&T, Dr. Bruening teaches early Western Civilization, as well as upper-level courses on pre-modern European history, from ancient Rome through the Reformation. He also teaches the history of Christianity and Islam. Before coming to Missouri S&T in 2007, Dr. Bruening taught at Concordia University, Irvine.
And somewhere along the way he also learned to sing.
Enjoy!
(mew)
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
ASIL Conference Postponed
The American Society of International Law (ASIL) has decided to postpone its 2020 Annual Meeting. The organization emphasizes that "this is only a postponement" and that it "remain[s] committed to holding an Annual Meeting in 2020 in some form, whether in person or virtually online."
Click here for more information.
(mew)
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
ACPIL Meeting Canceled
The U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL) annual meeting on Friday, April 17, 2020 has been canceled.
Hat tip to Houston Putnam Lowry.
(mew)
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
U.S. State Department Advises Against All International Travel
The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period.
U.S. citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel. Many countries are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and implementing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines, closing borders, and prohibiting non-citizens from entry with little advance notice.
Airlines have cancelled many international flights and several cruise operators have suspended operations or cancelled trips. If you choose to travel internationally, your travel plans may be severely disrupted, and you may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite timeframe.
On March 14, the Department of State authorized the departure of U.S. personnel and family members from any diplomatic or consular post in the world who have determined they are at higher risk of a poor outcome if exposed to COVID-19 or who have requested departure based on a commensurate justification. These departures may limit the ability of U.S. Embassies and consulates to provide services to U.S. citizens.
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
UNA-USA Cancels 2020 Leadership Summit
The United Nations Association for the United States (UNA-USA) announced that it is canceling its 2020 Global Leadership Summit, previously scheduled to take place June 7-9 in Washington, DC. The organization had also previously canceled its 2020 Global Engagement Summit that had been scheduled to take place on Friday, March 27 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
(mew)
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
ABA Section of International Law Annual Meeting in New York is Canceled
The American Bar Association Section of International Law has canceled its 2020 Annual Meeting in New York, which was to have been held from April 21-24, 2020.
(mew)
March 19, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
U.S. News Rankings for International Law Programs
The magazine U.S. News and World Report released the rankings we love to hate: its list of the "Best International Law Programs" for 2021. This year's winners are:
- (1) New York University
- (2) Harvard University
- (3) Georgetown University
- (Tie for 4) American University Washington College of Law
- (Tie for 4) Columbia University
- (Tie for 4) Yale University
- (7) University of Michigan
- (8) George Washington University
- (Tie for 9) Duke University
- (Tie for 9) Stanford University
- (Tie for 11) University of California at Berkeley
- (Tie for 11) University of Virginia
Click here to see the 2021 rankings for Legal Writing Programs.
(mew)
March 17, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, March 12, 2020
75th Anniversary of the United Nations
March 12, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, March 5, 2020
UNA-USA Cancels 2020 Global Engagement Summit
The United Nations Association for the United States (UNA-USA) announced that it is canceling its 2020 Global Engagement Summit, previously scheduled to take place on Friday, March 27 at United Nations Headquarters. COVID-19 has presented too great a challenge to bringing together over 1,500 Americans in the UN General Assembly Hall, particularly as other large UN gatherings have been canceled and U.S. and global guidance is changing daily related to the COVID-19 virus.
(mew)
UPDATE: The UNA-USA has also decided to cancel its 2020 Global Leadership Summit, previously scheduled to take place June 7-9 in Washington, DC.
March 5, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Guidance for Student Foreign Travel
The Centers for Disease Control has issued guidance for Institutes of Higher Education with students participating in foreign exchange or study abroad programs.
Consider postponing or canceling student foreign exchange programs
Given the global outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) institutes of higher education (IHE) should consider postponing or canceling upcoming student foreign exchange programs. IHE should consider asking current program participants to return to their home country. Those overseeing student foreign exchange programs should be aware that students may face unpredictable circumstances, travel restrictions, challenges in returning home or accessing health care while abroad.
IHEs should consider asking students participating in study abroad programs to return to the United States. IHEs should work with state and local public health officials to determine the best approach for when and how (e.g., chartered transportation for countries or areas assessed as high-risk for exposure) their study abroad students might return. All plans for returning study abroad students should be designed to protect participants from stigma and discrimination.
The COVID-19 situation is dynamic. Given the speed of spread and the number of countries experiencing human-to-human transmission, IHEs should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to maintain programs abroad and take the appropriate proactive measures. IHEs that continue to maintain programs abroad should monitor cdc.gov/COVID-19 for additional information.
(mew)
March 5, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Global Legal Skills Conference in Bari is Rescheduled
March 3, 2020 | Permalink | Comments (0)
