Center to sponsor “Inquiry on Protecting Children in Conflict” panel at annual International Law Weekend, October 19 in New York City

In support of International Law Weekend, a three-day conference of the American Branch of the International Law Association, the University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center will sponsor a panel entitled “The Inquiry on Protecting Children in Conflict,” set for 3 p.m. Friday, October 19, in Room 2-02B, Fordham Law School, 150 West 62d Street, New York City.

To be discussed are findings and recommendations of the 2018 report of the Inquiry on Protecting Children in Conflict, an initiative chaired by Gordon Brown, former United Kingdom Prime Minister and current UN Special Envoy for Global Education. The Inquiry reviewed the adequacy and effectiveness of the child-protection frameworks set out in international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, and also proposed reforms aimed at enhancing accountability and deterring future atrocities. The report has just been in book form as Protecting Children in Armed Conflict (Hart 2018).

Panelists include:

  • Shaheed Fatima QC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers, London (pictured above at right), who led the legal panel that compiled the Inquiry’s report.
  • Professor Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law at Yale Law School (second from right), who served as a consultant to the Inquiry.
  • Mara Redlich Revkin, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Yale University and Lead Researcher on Iraq and Syria for the United Nations University Project on Children and Extreme Violence (pictured at left).
  • Professor Diane Marie Amann, Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law at the University of Georgia School of Law and our Center’s Faculty Co-Director (second from left). Amann, who serves as Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Children in and affected by Armed Conflict, is a member of the Inquiry’s Advisory Panel.

Another principal cosponsor of International Law Weekend, which constitutes the 97th annual meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association, is the worldwide International Law Students Association, with which Georgia Law students’ International Law Society is affiliated.

Full program, other details, and registration here.

Georgia Law Professor Harlan Cohen presents at European Society of International Law annual meeting in the UK

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Harlan Grant Cohen, the Gabriel M. Wilner/UGA Foundation Professor in International Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center here at the University of Georgia School of Law, recently presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of International Law in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Cohen presented his paper, entitled “What is International Trade Law For?” as part of the International Economic Law Interest Group Roundtable, “The Multilateral Trading System in Trouble.”

Known by its acronym ESIL, the goals of the European Society of International Law “are to contribute to the rule of law in international relations and to promote the study of public international law.”

Georgia Law dean, alumnus co-author essay on human rights lawsuits in US

“Alien Tort Cases Will Survive Supreme Court Trim,” predicts an essay published Monday in the Daily Report. Co-authoring the essay were Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Herman Talmadge Chair and Dean at the University of Georgia School of Law, and Michael Baker (JD’18), a Law Clerk for Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins, Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. (Among other achievements, Baker served last year as Executive Conference Editor for the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law.)

In their essay, Rutledge and Baker noted that in the last several decades federal courts have adjudicated many lawsuits testing the scope of the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, which states:

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.

Most recently, that litigation gave rise to the April 2018 decision in Jesner v. Arab Bank, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the statute does not permit suits against foreign corporations.

Taking issue with commentators who have viewed Jesner as “a blow … to the cause of human rights,” the essay outlined, with references to other federal cases, “three anticipated battlegrounds in future ATS litigation.” Specifically, the decision in Jesner leaves open:

  1. Whether the statute precludes suits against all corporate defendants, or just against foreign corporations.
  2. Whether corporate officers remain liable even if lawsuits may not proceed against the corporation with which they are affiliated.
  3. What is the “degree of domestic conduct necessary for the ATS to have effect.”

The authors thus conclude:

“[T]he only certainty is that ATS litigation remains a ripe area for international human rights litigation.”

Their full essay is here.

Belgian Consul General William De Baets to speak at Georgia Law, part of Center’s Consular Series

BELGIUM PORTRAIT DIPLOMATIC CONTACT DAYS

The Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia School of Law welcomes Consul General William De Baets to campus on Tuesday, September 18. He will give a lecture, “Belgium: an old Transatlantic Friend at the Heart of Europe.”

De Baets is Belgium’s Consul General in Atlanta. A career diplomat, his prior postings have included the Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Brussels, and Washington.

This lecture launches the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s Consular Series, which will bring perspectives on international trade, development, policy, and cooperation to campus during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Georgia Law and the Center have a long history of engagement with Belgium.  In 1973, Georgia Law welcomed its first foreign-trained LLM student from Brussels, and for the last 45 years, Georgia Law students have studied in Belgium during their summers.

The Consular Series is co-sponsored by the International Law Society, Georgia Law’s chapter of the International Law Students Association.

Details here.

National security expert, former judge James Baker to speak at Georgia Law

James_E._Baker_Photo_135_2pxWe at the University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center will welcome Professor James E. Baker to campus this Thursday, September 13. He will speak on “National Security Decision-Making” from 3-4 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room, located on the 4th Floor of the law school’s Dean Rusk Hall. A reception will follow.

Professor Baker is the Director of the Syracuse University Institute for National Security & Counterterrorism. He is the former Chief Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Sponsoring his talk with the Dean Rusk International Law Center is the university’s School of Public and International Affairs. Also co-sponsoring is the International Law Society, Georgia Law’s chapter of the International Law Students Association.

Details here.

Introducing our LL.M. Class of 2019

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from left: top, Blessing Ibeh, Paolo Cariello Perez, Arif Iqbal, Jerry Dei, Maximillian Goos, Marc Bennett; middle, Trung Khuat, Anh Pham, Amir Tanhaei, Cristina de Aguiar Martins, Whayoon Song; front, Rosari Sarasvaty, Teresa Fariña Núñez, Darshini Nair, Linda Emanor, Hannah Ma.

We are proud to introduce the University of Georgia School of Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) Class of 2019.

The group of 16 includes lawyers from 14 different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

They join a tradition that began at the University of Georgia School of Law in the early 1970s, when a Belgian lawyer became the first foreign-trained practitioner to earn a Georgia Law LL.M. degree. In the ensuing four decades, the law school and its Dean Rusk International Law Center have produced about 500 LL.M. graduates, with ties to 75 countries and every continent in the world.

Side by side with J.D. candidates, LL.M.s follow a flexible curriculum tailored to their own career goals – goals that may include preparation to sit for a U.S. bar examination, or pursuit of a concentration affording advancement in their home country’s legal profession or academic institutions.

The application for the LL.M. class of 2020 is now open; for information or to apply for LL.M. studies, see here.

International Law Society hosts gathering of globally minded students

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International Law Society leadership, from left: Hanna Karimipour, President; Sam Hatcher, Treasurer; and Caitlin Felt, Social Chair

The International Law Society, the University of Georgia School of Law chapter of the worldwide International Law Students Association, hosted a mixer at the end of last week to welcome new globally minded students to their community.

3Co-sponsored by the Dean Rusk International Law Center, the mixer took place last Thursday in the law school’s Eversheds Sutherland Courtyard. This much-anticipated event afforded JD, LLM, and MSL students the chance to relax and learn from each other’s interests and experiences.

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Several faculty members, including Professors Diane Marie Amann, Christopher Bruner (near right), Rob McNiff (far right), and Dan Coenen, dropped by to learn about students’ international ambitions and share their own unique advice and experiences. Staff of the Dean Rusk International Law Center was also on hand to discuss the Center’s international initiatives such as Global Externships Overseas, the Global Governance Summer School, and upcoming events.

The event kicked off with a welcome from Hanna Karimipour, International Law Society President. She gave an overview of the chapter and of opportunities afforded to its members. Kathleen A. Doty, Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, then provided information about upcoming events and initiatives at the Center.

 

A warm thank you to all who were able to attend.

LL.M. academic year kicks off at Georgia Law

LLMbrochureCLR2017It’s an exciting time for the LL.M. degree at Georgia Law: orientation for new students began today at the Dean Rusk International Law Center, as we welcomed sixteen foreign-educated lawyers from around the world to Georgia Law. They will begin classes alongside J.D. students next week.

Soon to open is the application for the LL.M. class of Fall 2019 — on September 1, 2018 — via LSAC. Generous merit scholarships will be awarded to top candidates who apply by January 15, 2019. Graduates of law schools outside the United States who are interested in studying at Georgia Law are encouraged to contact us for more information.

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Several University of Georgia staff members have also recently returned from the EducationUSA Forum 2018 in Washington D.C., including Dr. Laura Kagel, our Center’s Associate Director for International Professional Education, Robin Catmur, Director of Immigration Services, and Chenelle Goyen, Associate Director of Admissions and International Admissions for undergraduate students. 1The Forum, hosted by EducationUSA, a U.S. Department of State network of over 425 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries, offered an array of panels focused on international recruiting trends and best practices.

Stay tuned for more information about our incoming LL.M. class; it’s shaping up to be a great year!

 

 

Briefings from eminent international law judges, plus meetings at Lebanon tribunal, conclude our 2018 Global Governance Summer School

From left, at the Peace Palace, Georgia Law’s Global Governance Summer School students Saif Ahmed, Mills Culver, Bryant Oliver, Maddie Neel, Frances Plunkett, Brooke Carrington, Hanna Karimipour, and Caroline Harvey

THE HAGUE – Briefings from two eminent international law judges anchored the conclusion of our 2018 Global Governance Summer School (prior posts).

This morning, students heard from Sir Christopher Greenwood, a Briton who serves as a member of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. Though a presentation accented by anecdotes, he explained the history of US-Iran relations that led to establishment of the tribunal in 1981, the work of the tribunal over the last several decades, and its pending cases.

The presentation by Judge Greenwood, who had served from 2009 until early this year on the International Court of Justice, followed presentations at the latter court yesterday afternoon.

Most notably, the Honorable Joan Donoghue of the United States, one of the ICJ’s 15 permanent judges, spoke yesterday with students, both about the melding of the common and civil law systems in the court’s procedures and about the challenges of judging in the international context.

Also at the ICJ, Julia Sherman, a Judicial Fellow who works with Judge Donoghue, provided a tour of the ICJ’s headquarters, the 105-year-old Peace Palace. Sherman led students through the life cycle of an ICJ case, and also gave overviews of some recently decided ICJ cases.

Our summer school had started yesterday at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, where representatives of the various court organs spoke to students. They included: Kirsten Calhoun, a Legal Officer in Chambers, who gave an overview of the tribunal’s history and mandate, as well as an introduction to the applicable law; Peter Koelling, Chief of the Registry’s Court Management Services Section; TJ Adhihetty, Trial Counsel in the Office of the Prosecutor, who walked students through the prosecution’s case in Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al., focusing on call data records; and Marie-Pier Barbeau, Legal Officer in the Legal Advisory Section of the tribunal’s Defence Office, and Jason Antley, Associate Legal Officer representing the interests of defendant Salim Jamil Ayyash, who discussed the challenges of representing the named defendants in absentia.

The Global Governance Summer School having come to and end, some students began or continued Global Externships, while others traveled in Europe before returning to the United States.

Global Governance Summer School: Hague briefings begin with International Criminal Court

THE HAGUE – Our 2018 Global Governance Summer School has moved to this Dutch capital for several days of briefings at international organizations devoted to securing accountability and reparations for violations of international law. Today centered on the International Criminal Court, a permanent organization that began operating at The Hague in 2002. Its founding charter, the Rome Statute of the ICC, was adopted 20 years ago this month.

Our Georgia Law students, who spent last week at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, first visited Leiden Law School‘s Hague campus, where two international lawyers – Niamh Hayes and Leiden Law Professor Joe Powderly – talked with them about a range of issues (left). These included the development of international criminal law, practical and academic career opportunities for young lawyers interested in the area, and the advantages gained by working in The Hague on the “inside” of international criminal law issues.

The rest of the day was spent at the ICC’s Permanent Premises, located on the dunes near The Hague’s North Sea coast. Highlights of the visit included:

► A meeting with Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (top), for whom our summer school’s co-director, Georgia Law Professor Diane Marie Amann, serves as Special Adviser on Children in & affected by Armed Conflict. Bensouda described her own path to practicing international criminal law. While acknowledging the barriers to achieving justice, she expressed the urgency of continuing the effort, on behalf of global society as well as the victims of international crimes.

► An audience with Judge Geoffrey A. Henderson (left) of Trinidad and Tobago, who was elected to the ICC in 2013 and serves in the Trial Division. Henderson emphasized the challenges of judging in a context that brings together the civil and common law systems, and offered encouragement that engaged students can change the world.

► A presentation on the work of lawyers in the court’s Registry from Elizabeth Little, Special Assistant to the Registrar, Special Assistant to the Registrar, and an overview of the court’s work from ensuring the right to family life of the accused to assisting the indigent select defense counsel.

Together, these presentations made for an informative and inspiring day in court.