From left, Gamble Baffert, Charles Wells, Lauren Taylor, Emily Snow, Emily Doumar, Leila Knox, Amanda Shaw, Alicia Millspaugh, Briana Blakely, Jessica Parker, Steven Miller, Ayman Tartir

LEUVEN & THE HAGUE — Yesterday, Georgia Law students participating in the Global Governance Summer School left Leuven, Belgium, where they had been in residence for classroom sessions and professional development opportunities. They traveled by train to The Hague, Netherlands, and arrived just in time to watch the U.S. – Netherlands Women’s World Cup match. What a place to watch!

From left, Emily Doumar, Jessica Parker, Briana Blakely, Lauren Taylor, Kathleen Doty, Charles Wells, Emily Snow, Gamble Baffert, Holly Stephens, Leila Knox, Steven Miller, Alicia Millspaugh, Ayman Tartir, Amanda Shaw.

Students spent this morning in briefings at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Established in 2009, the STL’s mandate is to hold trials for the people accused of carrying out the February 14, 2005 attack in Beirut that killed the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, and twenty-two others.

Representatives from all four of the court organs presented to the students. They included: Romy Batrouny, Assistant Legal Officer in Chambers, who gave an overview of the tribunal’s history, mandate, and structure and an introduction to the work of lawyers in Chambers; Edel Regan, Associate Legal Officer with the Registry Legal Office, who explained the various legal issues encountered in the administration of the court, ranging from immunities to the protection of victims and witnesses to procurement; Matthias Neuner, Trial Counsel in the Office of the Prosecutor, who challenged students to think about the purpose of international criminal tribunals and the development of the law in the fight against impunity for terrorism; and Paula Lynch, Associate Legal Officer in the tribunal’s Defence Office, who discussed the unique position of defense counsel in the STL structure, and the challenges of representing the defendants in absentia.

From left, Lauren Taylor, Briana Blakely, and Jessica Parker.

In the afternoon, students enjoyed a cultural excursion to the Mauritshuis museum, home to masterpieces from Dutch and Flemish artists, including Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicoleas Tulp, and Potter’s The Bull.

Tomorrow, the group will continue with a briefing at the Hague Conference on Private International Law where they will learn about the operation of private law in the global arena.