International Law Prof Blog

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, floyd_tw@law.mercer.edu.

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 dgeragh@luc.edu.

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 facultyrecruitment@charlestonlaw.edu. 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: dmalagrino@charlestonlaw.edu.

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)

Nominations for Prominent Women in International Law Award 2023 - Deadline October 15

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 cbuys@siu.edu. 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.

(cgb)

CEDAW Committee Ruling on LGBTQ+ Rights Under CEDAW Treaty

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the treaty body enforcing the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (also CEDAW), has ruled that the criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity between women under Section 365A of Sri Lanka’s Penal Code 1883 violates their right to non-discrimination under CEDAW Article 2 (a) and (d)–(g). Click here to read more about this landmark ruling.

(mew)

Global Legal Skills Online Conference on Legal Education in Ukraine: Part II

The second session of the Global Legal Skills (GLS) online workshop on Legal Education in Ukraine will take place on  July 28th at 18:30 – 20:40 Eastern European Summer Time (EEST)/UTC+3.

The first session was attended by more than 100 law faculty from Ukraine, the United States, and several other countries. Participants learned about some of the challenges of educating law students and engaging in other academic activities in a wartime situation and shared many excellent ways that law faculty around the globe can support their Ukrainian colleagues.

The second workshop will discuss legal publishing and editorial opportunities, guest lecturing opportunities, and other cross-border scholarly collaboration. Please use this link to register by July 24, 2022. 

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The Development of a New Treaty to Reduce Plastics Harmful to the Environment

The American Bar Association recently published an interesting article that briefly summarizes recent efforts to fight plastic pollution that is so harmful to the environment, including work on a new treaty that the drafters hope to finish by 2024. 

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World Refugee Day 2022

WHOEVER. WHEREVER. WHENEVER. EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO SAFETY.

That is the UN Refugee Agency's theme for World Refugee Day 2022. 

Sadly, the number of refugees continues to grow year after year. In the words of Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, we are experiencing "unprecedented humanitarian crises across the globe, resulting in the largest number of refugees in history. Last month, we reached the tragic milestone of more than 100 million people forcibly displaced worldwide."

In light of these crises, ask what you can do to assist refugees: make a donation, take a pro bono case, or engage in advocacy for refugees.

(cgb)

GLS Online Coference on Legal Education in Ukraine

The Global Legal Skills Conference Committee is organizing a series of three virtual workshops to help raise awareness about how the war in Ukraine is impacting legal skills education in that country and to provide a platform to discuss ways we can help our Ukrainian colleagues through collaboration and networking.  

Each session will be two hours long -- an hour of presentation followed by an hour of discussion in break out rooms.

First Session: WHAT THE GLS COMMUNITY CAN LEARN FROM OUR UKRAINIAN COLLEAGUES AND HOW WE CAN HELP THEM

DATE/TIME: Thursday, June 30, 2022, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT.  

Click here to locate the specific day and time for your time zone.

Plenary session will feature:

• Artem Shaipov,  Legal Advisor/Team Lead for Legal Education Reform, USAID Justice for All Activity in Ukraine
• Serhiy Riznyk, Vice-Rector for Research, Teaching, and International Cooperation at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine
• Prof. Dmytro Boichuk, Head of the Center for Legal Education Quality Assurance at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv, Ukraine
• Mariia Tsypiashchuk, Board Member of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine, Head of the Pro Bono Legal Clinic of the National University of Ostroh Academy,Ukraine
• Adil Abduramanov, President of the European Law Students’ Association in Ukraine.

Follow-up workshops will take place at the same time on:

• Thursday, July 28, 2022 
• Friday, August 26, 2022 

Attendance at each online session will be limited to 100 people, but a recording of the plenary presentations will be made available for those who cannot attend.

Please click here to register for the series.

Prof. Mark E. Wojcik, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law 

Artem Shaipov,  Legal Advisor/Team Lead for Legal Education Reform, USAID Justice for All Activity in Ukraine 

Prof. Kimberly Holst, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law 

Prof. Lurene Contento, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law 

Prof. David Austin, California Western School of Law 

Turkmenistan Restricts Women's Appearance and Personal Freedoms

 

The Republic of Turkmenistan has introduced restrictions on women’s appearance and beauty culture, as well as on personal freedoms related to travel and access to abortion. The new rules were imposed after a new president of the country, Serdar Berdymukhammedov, took office, replacing his father, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who ruled Turkmenistan for 16 years.

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

(mew)

Call for Presentations: Central States Law Schools Association Scholarship Conference

The Central States Law Schools Association (CSLSA) is returning to an in-person scholarship conference this fall for the first time in about three years.  This year’s CSLSA conference will be held in person at Washburn Law in Topeka, Kansas, on Sept. 9-10, 2022.

The CSLSA scholarship conference is a wonderfully supportive environment with excellent camaraderie in which you may present a project on any subject, at any stage of development, for feedback.

Submissions are being accepted through August 15 at this link. Registration is open via the same link.

The organizers have announced that the keynote speaker will be Quinton Lucas, Mayor of Kansas City, MO.

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ICJ Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (1947-2022)

The International Court of Justice announced the passing of H.E. Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade on 29 May 2022 in Brazil.

Judge Cançado Trindade had been a Member of the International Court of Justice from 6 February 2009. Having been re-elected on 6 February 2018, his latest term of office was due to expire in February 2027.

Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on 17 September 1947. He led an illustrious career in the fields of international law and human rights. After obtaining a Bachelors’s degree in law from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, he pursued his Master’s and PhD in international law at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He later obtained further honorary titles and prizes from various universities across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

In his home country, he served as Legal Adviser to the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil from 1985 to 1990, and represented Brazil in a number of important regional and international conferences.

Judge Cançado Trindade was a member of the Commission of Advisors to UNESCO on the Right to Peace as a Human Right, a research supervisor for the project on International Humanitarian Law and Customary Law of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and an arbitrator of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

In Latin America, he notably served as a judge at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 1995 to 2008, having been elected its President from 1999 to 2004. He was also Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights from 1994 to 1996.

Judge Cançado Trindade served as a professor and lecturer at a number of renowned universities, academies, and institutes throughout his long career. He authored 78 books and some 790 monographs, contributions to various publications, as well as articles on international law.

He published in numerous countries and several languages. He also held various advisory functions
in international and regional organizations. Judge Cançado Trindade also participated in a number of professional associations and learned societies in different capacities. In particular, he was a member of the Institut de droit international from 1997, and, from 2004, a member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law. He was also Director of the Brazilian Journal of International Law from 1985, and Co-Director of the Brazilian Journal of Human Rights from 2001.

(Adapted from an ICJ press release)

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Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia - Closing Event

The New Professionals Group of the American Society of International Law is hosting a virtual closing event for the Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia:

"Early career scholars in international law embark on a journey which has its very distinct and various challenges. The hierarchies of academic institutions, the political economy of modern universities, geographical location, language, race, gender, and mental health struggles are some of the issues of concern to junior legal researchers, and often even to those advanced in their career. These difficulties and uncertainties were a common meeting point for the conveners of the Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia. The symposium hosted by Opinio Juris and Afronomicslaw aimed to offer broad reflection and practical advice to junior international law researchers, to pass on the knowledge that the contributors gained with time and experience."

This Closing Event will offer a panel involving some of the contributors of the Symposium where the speakers will reflect on the posts in the series and will discuss common challenges of junior researchers around the world.

Speakers:
Eliav Lieblich (Tel Aviv University)
Frédéric Mégret (McGill University)
Ntina Tzouvala (ANU College of Law)
Tejas Rao (Cambridge University)
Raghavi Viswanath (European University Institute)

Date and time: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Registration information may be found here.

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New! Journal of Law Teaching and Learning

The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning is thrilled to be launching a new scholarly journal.  The Journal of Law Teaching and Learning will publish scholarly articles about pedagogy and will provide authors with rigorous peer review. We hope to publish our first issue in Fall 2023. 

If you have a scholarly article that might fit the needs of The Journal of Law Teaching and Learning, please consider submitting it through the Scholastica platform. 

More information about the Institution for Law Teaching and Learning may be found here.

(cgb)