International Law Prof Blog

AALS International Human Rights Award

The Association of American Law Schools' Section on International Human Rights Law announced that the winner of its Nelson Mandela Award is Gay McDougall of the Fordham University School of Law.

Gay McDougall previously received a MacArthur Genius Award for her work in pursuit of global human rights. In 2015 the Government of South Africa bestowed on her their national medal of honor for non-citizens, the Order of O.R. Tambo Medal for her extraordinary contributions to ending apartheid.

She currently serves as a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. She was the first U.N. Independent Expert on Minority Issues and for 14 years she was executive director of Global Rights, which worked with human rights advocates in 10 countries around the world to develop their strategies for justice. Prior to that she played a special role in securing the release of thousands of political prisoners in South Africa and Namibia. She was then appointed to the electoral commission that in 1994 ran the first democratic elections in South Africa that ended apartheid and installed Nelson Mandela as president.

McDougall is a distinguished scholar in residence at Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, Fordham University School of Law. She earned a J.D. at Yale Law School, an LL.M. in public international law at the London School of Economics and Politics, and a B.A. in social science at Bennington College.  She has honorary Doctor of Law degrees from six universities including the University to Witwatersrand (South Africa).

The AALS Award will be presented to her next month at the AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

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Egyptian Expats Can Import Personal Cars Without Customs Duties

The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress informs us that Egyptian President Abu al-Fatah al-Sisi ratified Law No. 161 of 2022 regulating the import of personal vehicles by Egyptian expats. The new law, which the Law Library of Congress tells us is the first of its kind in Egypt and will remain in effect for only four months, will allow Egyptian expats to bring their personal vehicles back to Egypt upon their return from abroad without paying any customs duties and taxes.

The new law provides that Egyptian expats who wish to import their personal vehicles may, in lieu of paying tax and customs duties, deposit a cash amount in foreign currency (U.S. dollars or euros) in a certificate of deposit in an Egyptian bank for five years, after which the expats can recover their cash deposit in Egyptian domestic currency. This foreign currency cash deposit will be equivalent to the value of all taxes and fees that had to be paid to import a car into Egypt.

Click here to read more from the Law Library of Congress.

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Nominations Sought for Tushnet Prize Best Article in Comparative Law

AALS Section on Comparative Law 

Mark Tushnet Prize in Comparative Law 

Call for Nominations

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Comparative Law seeks nominations of scholarly articles for the “Mark Tushnet Prize” to recognize scholarly excellence in any subject of comparative law by an untenured scholar at an AALS Member School.

The Prize will be given to the author(s) of a scholarly article judged to have made an important contribution in the field of comparative law. This article must have been published in an academic journal between July 2021 and November 2022.

The Prize was awarded for the first time at the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting. All untenured scholars—including but not limited to tenure-track professors, visiting assistant professors, lecturers, academic fellows, doctoral candidates—are eligible.

Nominations for the 2023 Tushnet Prize should be sent by email to Professor Mark E. Wojcik at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law [[email protected]] no later than November 30, 2022. Nominations should include the full name, institutional affiliation, and contact information for the nominated scholar, as well as a citation for the article. A PDF version of the published article would also be appreciated. Self-nominations are welcomed.

For all questions, please contact Professor Mark Wojcik, Chair of the AALS Section on Comparative Law.

About Mark Tushnet 

Mark Tushnet, a former president of the Association of American Law Schools, is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A former law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall, Tushnet is an authoritative voice in constitutional law and theory. His scholarship spans all areas of public law, including comparative constitutional law, a field in which he has co-authored a leading casebook. A respected teacher, a devoted mentor, and an influential scholar, he retired from the Harvard faculty in June 2020.

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The Effect of International Judges' Personal Characteristics on their Judging

The Leiden Journal of International Law has organized an open access symposium that makes a relevant and timely contribution to the studies of international judging. The symposium issue is edited by Gregor Maučec & Shai Dothan and examines – from legal, sociological and political science perspectives - the role and impact of international judges’ personal backgrounds on their decision-making and reasoning. Contents include:

Gregor Maučec & Shai Dothan, “The Effects of International Judges’ Personal Characteristics on Their Judging”

Lee Epstein & Jack Knight, “How Social Identity and Social Diversity Affect Judging”

Loveday Hodson, “Gender and the International Judge: Towards a Transformative Equality Approach”

Salvatore Caserta & Mikael Rask Madsen, “The situated and bounded rationality of international courts: A structuralist approach to international adjudicative practices”

Gregor Maučec & Shai Dothan, “Judicial Dissent at the International Criminal Court: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis”

Happy reading!

(cgb) 

Prominent Women in International Law Award 2023 Nomination Deadline Approaching

The Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) invites nominations for the Prominent Women in International Law Award 2023.  This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the award! 

The Prominent Women in International Law Award honors those who have advanced women, gender, and women’s rights in international law.

The diverse accomplishments of previous awardees (list available here and here) demonstrate the multiple ways in which honorees achieve this recognition.  Past awardees include judges of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Tribunals, founders of women’s rights NGOs, business leaders, government officials, and scholars.  Some of these women have broken glass ceilings in the field, others have worked tirelessly to promote women and women’s voices in international law, and still others have contributed substantively to advancing, researching, or advocating for women’s rights. 

Please submit nominations for a Prominent Woman in International Law who meets some or all of the following criteria:

• Employs international law to advance women and women’s rights -- awardees need not be attorneys, though most are;
• Breaks through glass ceilings for women in international law;
• Promotes women and women’s voices in the field;
• Contributes substantively to advancing, researching, advocating for, or promoting women’s rights and/or gender justice;
• Is considered prominent in the field of international law – or has accomplishments that merit further recognition through this prestigious award.

Letters of nomination should be addressed to WILIG’s Prominent Woman in International Law (PWIL) Committee, and should be submitted by October 15, 2022 to Professor Cindy Buys at [email protected]. Please submit nomination information in one PDF document titled with the nominee’s name and “PWIL Award.” Letters or supporting materials should not exceed 5 pages total per nominee.

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Nuremberg Forum 2022 “The International Criminal Court 2002–2022: A Court in Practice”

The International Nuremberg Principles Academy is organizing its annual high-level international conference Nuremberg Forum from 13 to 15 October 2022. The Nuremberg Forum 2022 will be held as a hybrid event. The speakers and a limited number of participants will gather at Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. An interactive online platform will allow broad attendance including interactive engagement and discussion. Prior registration is required.

The conference will examine the achievements of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its first two decades. High-level experts will analyze its work and will reflect on its set-up and achievements in light of the Nuremberg Principles and the Nuremberg legacy. Six panels which will identify the ICC’s strengths and weaknesses in its fight against impunity:

• Panel I: The ICC’s Major Achievements 
• Panel II: Goal Setting: How Deterrent is the ICC in Reality?
• Panel III: Complementarity: Universal Aspirations Versus Tangible Results 
• Panel IV: Justice is Interconnected and Does not End with a Sentencing: Reflecting on the Experiences of Victims, Witnesses and the Accused Before the ICC
• Panel V: Whose Outreach and to Whom?

The leading questions at the heart of this conference are: “What have been the achievements of the ICC, especially in terms of its own goal setting and wider universal aspirations and what challenges does it still face?” and “How did the ICC strengthen, over the years, its contribution to the international legal order, and how can its contributions be improved?”

The Nuremberg Forum will bring together leading and distinguished practitioners, academics and other scholars from across the international criminal justice field and related domains. The keynote addresses will be delivered by H. E. Christian Wenaweser (Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations), Luis Moreno-Ocampo (former Prosecutor of the ICC), Fatou Bensouda (High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, The Gambia and former Prosecutor of the ICC) and Brigid Inder OBE (Former Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice).

The program and registration is available here.

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Michigan State is Hiring

Michigan State Law invites applications from entry-level and lateral candidates a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in health care law and policy with an emphasis on inequities in public and private health care systems. They seek applicants with a commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarly achievement. 

Please email application materials or nominations to Professor Tiffani Darden, Co-Chair of Faculty Appointments Committee, [email protected]. More information about the Law College can be found at www.law.msu.edu.

Hat tip to Catherine M. Grosso.

(mew)

 

 

Germany Intervenes in Ukraine's Genocide Case Against the Russian Federation

The Federal Republic of Germany, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation).

Germany joins several other countries that have also filed declarations of intervention, including Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Pursuant to Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, whenever the construction of a convention to which
States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, each of these States has the
right to intervene in the proceedings. In this case, the construction given by the judgment of the Court
will be equally binding upon them.

To avail itself of the right of intervention conferred by Article 63 of the Statute, Germany relies on its status as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”). In its declaration of intervention, Germany emphasizes that the case “raises important issues concerning the Genocide Convention”, adding that “[t]he Court has found that the provisions of the Convention impose erga omnes partes obligations on Contracting Parties . . . and that the prohibition against genocide is a jus cogens norm in international law”. Germany is of the view that, “given its own past, [it] has a specific interest in the Court exercising its jurisdiction in the case”.

In accordance with Article 83 of the Rules of Court, Ukraine and the Russian Federation have
been invited to furnish written observations on Germany’s declaration of intervention.
Germany’s declaration of intervention will be available on the Court’s website.

Adapted from an ICJ Press Release.

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UIC is Hiring Adjunct Faculty

The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Chicago’s only public law school, seeks candidates for adjunct faculty positions to teach classes in the Law School’s Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degree programs.

 

These are part-time positions with modest compensation. While adjunct faculty may not be eligible for many benefits, such as health care, they may still be eligible to participate in the State Universities Retirement System.

 

Typically, adjunct professors teach one course per academic year. Specific classes and programs for which the Law School anticipates hiring adjunct faculty in the near future are posted at https://go.uic.edu/lawadjuncts.

 

Adjuncts generally teach experiential classes (including Lawyering Skills and Trial Advocacy) or advanced doctrinal classes in specialized fields such as Intellectual Property and Health Law. Experiential classes are normally taught at the Law School in Chicago’s downtown Loop. Classes may be taught at the Law School or online, and in some instances, adjuncts also develop online classes for additional compensation. Adjuncts are required to participate in orientation and training sessions and to comply with academic and institutional policies. A learning management system is used in both live and online classes to post syllabi and other materials and communicate with students.

 

Candidates must have a Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-approved law school or its equivalent from a foreign country, at least five years of relevant law practice experience, a record of or potential for excellent teaching, and experience with or willingness to learn the Blackboard learning management system. In addition, admission to a state or foreign bar (or inactive/retired status) is expected for most adjunct faculty positions, and candidates must be in good standing with any bar to which they have been admitted.

 

For fullest consideration, applicants should submit by October 21, 2022, a resume or curriculum vitae, names of three references familiar with the applicant’s practice or teaching credentials, and a letter of intent identifying specific classes for which the applicant wishes to be considered via https://jobs.uic.edu. (The University's course catalog is at https://catalog.uic.edu? courses appear under the Law School’s subject codes, which can be found at https://go.uic.edu/lawadjuncts.)

 

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University of Illinois Chicago is Hiring

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law invites applications for:

1. a tenured or tenure-track faculty and director of its Intellectual Property Center (more information about the IP Center can be found here: https://law.uic.edu/academics/centers/ip-privacy/ ); and
2. two entry-level tenure-track candidates to teach Property, Torts, Legal Research and Writing, with secondary needs of Criminal Law, Professional Responsibility, and Business Associations.

Candidates must have a Juris Doctor from an ABA-approved law school or its equivalent from a foreign country; record of teaching excellence or demonstrated potential to become an excellent teacher and record of high-quality scholarship or demonstrated potential to produce high-quality scholarship; and demonstrated interested in serving the academy, the community, and legal profession at an urban, public, Research 1 university. Excellent writing and communication skills and demonstrated ability to mentor students is highly preferred. Salary, academic rank and tenure/tenure-track will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

For fullest consideration, applicants should submit a letter of intent, current curriculum vitae, and the name of three professional references by October 7, 2022.

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Cybercrime Convention

The third negotiating session of the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to elaborate a UN Cybercrime Convention convenes at the United Nations in New York from August 29 to September 9, 2022. This session will focus on treaty chapters regarding international cooperation, technical assistance, prevention, mechanism of implementation, and final provisions. Ambassador (ret.) Deborah McCarthy will lead the U.S. delegation as the U.S. Lead Negotiator for the AHC.

A press release from the U.S. State Department says that "[t]he United States will continue to advocate for a fair, practical criminal justice instrument that respects human rights and provides a modern electronic evidence framework built on consensus and informed by experts."

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2023 Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

The International Law Students' Association (ILSA) has announced the format of the Jessup 2023 White & Case International Rounds along with the Jessup 2023 Schedule. The Official Rules will be released 30 August, Team registration opens on 1 September, and the Jessup 2023 Problem is scheduled for release on 15 September. In the meantime, learn more about the problem topics here.

Hat tip to ILSA.

(mew)

Case Western is Hiring

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW invites applications for two tenured or tenure-track faculty positions, beginning July 2022, January 2023 or July 2023.

Candidates should have at least two years of teaching experience and a strong scholarly track record. Areas of interest for teaching and scholarship include environmental law, property, torts, tax, commercial law, family law, and wills/trusts. Appointment will be considered at the Assistant. Associate, or Full Professor level, based upon prior teaching experience and scholarship. At least one position will include administrative responsibilities in the new Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law.

Applicants should provide a CV, cover letter identifying their interest in the position as well as their future research agenda, and a statement explaining how their research, teaching, and/or service have contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion within their scholarly field(s) and/or how their individual and/or collaborative efforts have promoted structural justice inside and outside institutions of higher learning. This statement should also reflect on the ways in which the candidate's continued efforts will foster a culture of diversity, pluralism, and individual difference at Case Western Reserve University into the future.  Ideally applicants should be experienced in working with diverse student populations, including international graduate legal studies students and non-JD masters in legal studies students.  Candidates must have a JD from an accredited law school.  

Hat tip to Bryan Adamson, Case Western Reserve University School of Law

(mew)

Mercer is Hiring

Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Georgia invites applications from entry-level candidates (including pre-tenured laterals) for three tenure-track faculty positions to begin in the Fall of 2023. We welcome applications from candidates in all subject matter areas, including legal writing and experiential courses, and we are particularly interested in hiring at least one candidate with a background or interest in contracts, business law and/or commercial law.

Of particular note, they welcome candidates who are truly entry-level, with no prior law teaching experience, but who show significant promise for excellence in teaching and scholarship. With that in mind, if you know any recent graduates who may be interested or particularly promising, please pass this announcement to them.

Candidates who will add to the diversity of our faculty are particularly encouraged to apply. Mercer University is an AA/EEO/ADA employer. Applicants should have a J.D. degree from an accredited university/college, a commitment to excellence in teaching, and demonstrated potential for excellence in research and scholarship. Interested applicants will need to complete the brief online application at: hr.mercer.edu/jobs and attach a current CV with the names and contact information for three references. For information contact Professor Tim Floyd, Chair, Appointments Committee, Mercer University School of Law, [email protected].

Hat tip to Pam Wilkins.

(mew)

Things That Made Us Smile

The conference on online learning will be held in-person in Denver, Colorado from September 22-24, 2022.

(mew)

Suffolk is Hiring

Suffolk University Law School in Boston invites applications for a full-time tenured or tenure-track position at any faculty rank to join our Legal Practice Skills Program starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. Legal writing faculty teach the required first-year Legal Practice Skills (LPS) course that covers legal research, reasoning, writing, and oral advocacy. Experienced LPS faculty may also have the opportunity to teach in other areas. Support for professional development will be provided.  

They welcome applications from anyone who has a strong commitment to teaching legal writing and a record or promise of significant scholarship. Interested candidates should submit a curriculum vitae or resume, references, and a cover letter addressed to Professors Kathleen Vinson and Maritza Karmely, co-chairs of the Legal Practice Skills (LPS) Committee. Candidates are encouraged to describe activities mentoring members of underrepresented groups, describe how issues relating to diversity and inclusion have been or will be addressed in their courses, and/or how their scholarship contributes to building and supporting inclusive communities. All materials should be uploaded to the Suffolk University website here.  Candidates are encouraged to submit applications via Jobvite by September 21, 2022. Candidates should not send duplicate materials to the co-chairs of the LPS Committee. 

AALS Section on Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education

The Association of American Law Schools Section on Balance & Well-being in Legal Education invites nominations for its annual award to be presented at the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting & Conference. The nominations deadline has been extended to September 2.

The award is designed to honor an individual for outstanding contributions to the promotion of well-being in legal education. The awardee serves as a model of Balance & Well-being Section ideals, develops innovative programming that integrates this work into curricular or co-curricular offerings, contributes to academic scholarship in the field, and regularly serves the Section, their law school and greater legal community by providing access to well-being programming and/or services.

Criteria:

• 1. Modeling: Serves as a model of Balance & Well-being Section ideals (integrates this work into teaching, scholarship or service);
• 2. Innovation: Develops or proposes innovative curricular offerings designed to showcase the importance of health, compassion, integrity, and ethics to the effective study and practice of law;
• 3. Scholarship: Recent publications (scholarship related to the work of the section);
• 4. Section Contributions: Contributions to the Section through service/volunteer work; and
• 5. Service: Service to the law school and the greater legal community – providing access to well-being programming and/or services across multiple communities and platforms.

Nominations should address the following questions:

• 1. In what ways has this nominee made outstanding contributions to the promotion of well-being in legal education?
• 2. How has the nominee served as a model for balance and well-being in legal education?
• 3. How has the nominee inspired others to act or created opportunities for others to serve?
• 4. How has the nominee advanced or spread discourse on the importance of well-being in legal education?
• 5. How has the nominee enhanced or changed the way legal education is taught based upon humanistic or holistic models of legal practice?
• 6. How has the nominee impacted the professional identity formation and/or development of law students and legal educators through this work?

Submit nominations via webform here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_ySFf6FPX8WFykEE4-p77PDY7IrqKCItiiICgkoF3i4/edit 

Deadline for nominations: September 2, 2022.

Hat tips to Professors Tamar Schwartz and Rebecca Scharf, Co-Chairs of the AALS Balance & Well-being Nominations Committee

(mew)

Loyola Chicago is Hiring

Loyola University Chicago School of Law invites applications for the position of Academic Director of Online Graduate Programs in Child and Family Law. This part-time staff position is responsible for the academic success of Loyola's Masters of Jurisprudence (MJ) and Masters of Laws (LLM) degree programs, including curricular design and the hiring and evaluation of faculty. The Academic Director also oversees the work of students in the LLM program, including supervising student LLM theses and projects. The graduate programs are part of Loyola's nationally recognized educational program in the fields of child and family law. Loyola University Chicago is committed to a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment and will prioritize candidates who share and will contribute to this goal. Applicants should submit materials to www.careers.luc.edu/postings/21276. For further information, please contact Professor Diane Geraghty at [email protected].

Charleston is Hiring

Charleston School of Law in Charleston, South Carolina welcomes applications for full-time, tenure-track faculty. The School of Law also welcomes applicants interested in a full-time visitorship. The School is presently looking for candidates interested in teaching one or more of the following subjects: Business Organizations; Sales; Secured Transactions; and, Tax. However, our curricular needs are flexible, and we welcome applications from all candidates whose teaching, service, or research interests will promote the School's goals of excellent teaching, community service, diversity, and inclusion.

Ideal candidates will show commitment to becoming stellar teachers and passionate, enthusiastic colleagues, who are willing to invest considerable energy and effort in service and institution building by collaborating with the rest of the faculty to achieve excellence at the School of Law. We value candidates with practice experience who will bring the real world of lawyering to the classroom. We also value previous teaching experience, including as adjunct faculty, at a law school or college. However, completion of visiting assistant professor programs, fellowships, Ph.D. degrees, and LL.M. degrees are not prerequisites. We are looking, instead, for a demonstrated ability to grow into the role of teacher and scholar.

Charleston School of Law is an ABA fully-accredited institution reinvigorating the study of law by offering a rich, comprehensive three-year program rooted in excellence. Our campus is located in the Upper King Street district of historic, downtown Charleston, S.C., which Travel + Leisure Magazine named as the 2022 Number One Best City in the United States for the tenth consecutive year. The School of Law was founded in 2003 with a mission to instill the values of public service and professionalism in its graduates. Key goals for the School are student success and providing opportunities to historically underrepresented groups in the profession.

The School of Law prides itself on having a talented and accessible faculty and staff. Princeton Review regularly ranks Charleston School of Law as a top institution for faculty accessibility, teaching quality, and resources for women. The School's Faculty bring significant practice experience to the classroom and include former law firm partners, state and federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, corporate counsel, and military veterans. Charleston School of Law is dedicated to maintaining a diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff that fosters an appreciation for and understanding of people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Applicants should submit a cover letter explaining their interest in a position at Charleston School of Law specifically, the subjects the applicant would be interested in teaching, a curriculum vitae, research agenda, and any teaching evaluations received to the Committee on Faculty Recruitment, Retention & Inclusion at [email protected]. Review of applications is ongoing, although we recommend submission of materials as soon as possible. Should you have any questions for the Chair of the Committee, please feel free to email Dylan Malagrinò, Associate Dean for Faculty Research & Development and Professor of Law, at: [email protected].

The Charleston School of Law is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, race, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, disability, or any other legally protected class.

Akron is Hiring

The University of Akron School of Law is hiring a new Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. They are looking to replace Charlie Oldfield, who will be joining the full-time, tenure-track faculty as the director of Akron's legal writing program. Information on the position and the application process is available by clicking here.

(mew)