GEO/GGSS2019

2019 Global Governance Summer School concludes with briefings at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court

THE HAGUE – On this final day of the 2019 Global Governance Summer School, students visited two preeminent international tribunals — the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court — for high level briefings. They were also treated to a visit from Dr. Kaitlin Ball (JD ’14), a Georgia Law alumna who recently finished a PhD at Cambridge and is living in Europe.

The group started the day at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an audience with Hendrik Denys, law clerk to the Honorable Joan Donoghue, the American judge on the International Court of Justice. Mr. Denys, an alumnus of our partner school, KU Leuven, spoke with students about the history of the Peace Palace, the structure and procedure of the Court, and several representative decisions of the ICJ’s jurisprudence. He also provided advice for preparing a career in international law.

In the afternoon, the group visited the International Criminal Court (ICC), located on the dunes near The Hague’s North Sea coast. Student first had a meeting with Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, 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.

The second audience at the ICC was with the Honorable Kimberly Prost of Canada, who serves as a Judge in the Trial Division. Judge Prost discussed the history of the Court and the many of the challenges facing it. She also emphasized the important concept of complementarity in regards to the ICC’s relationship to national courts.

Students also had the opportunity to view the confirmation of charges against Al Hassan, who is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 2012 and 2013 in Timbuktu, Mali. During the portion of the hearing that time permitted the group to observe, students heard from one of the Legal Representatives of the Victims, who emphasized the impact of the alleged crimes.

All in all, it was a great day, a successful trip, and we look forward to returning next year!

Global Governance Summer School visits the Hague Conference on Private International Law & museum

THE HAGUE — Students spent their second day in The Hague engaged in a mix of legal and cultural excursions.

Students spent the morning meeting with lawyers from the Hague Conference on Private International Law. There, they were treated to an overview of the world organization responsible for cross-border cooperation in civil and commercial matters. Students met with Laura Martinez-Mora, Secretary of the Permanent Bureau, and Frédéric Breger, Legal Officer (left). They provided an introduction to the history and structure of the HCCH, and provided a detailed overview of some of its many conventions, which cover topics including: family law matters such as child abduction, intercountry adoption, child protection, and maintenance obligations; forum selection as other procedural issues such as choice of court, taking evidence abroad, service abroad, and apostille. Finally, they touched upon the newly concluded Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, which Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, raised during his session on international dispute resolution in Leuven last week. Students were interested to hear about the treaty-making process, as well as the aspects of the treaties, particularly those covering family law, that reinforced human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

From left, Ayman Tartir, Steven Miller, Gamble Baffert, Charles Wells, Emily Snow, Holly Stephens, Lauren Taylor, Briana Blakely, Jessica Parker, and Kathleen Doty.

 

In the afternoon, the group visited Escher in Het Paleis, the museum dedicated to M.C. Escher, set in Queen Emma’s winter palace. There, students took in masterpieces, and thoroughly enjoyed the interactive top floor of the museum. Everyone’s inner child came out to play!

Tomorrow, students will visit the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court before concluding the 2019 Global Governance Summer School.

 

Global Governance Summer School: after travel day and World Cup match, Special Tribunal for Lebanon kicks off The Hague briefings

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.

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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.

Belgium portion of the Global Governance Summer School concludes with an array of international law topics

LEUVEN – Today marks the final day of classroom sessions of the Georgia Law – Leuven Global Governance School, and the final day students will be resident in Leuven. Students took part in three sessions, which focused on business and human rights, international security governance, and concluded with an overview of challenges to international law and global governance.

First, Dr. Axel Marx (left), Deputy Director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, presented on business and human rights. After examining several case studies in which corporate activities adversely affected human rights, participants learned how supply chain and corporate governance structures can affect a business’ ability to manage human rights. Dr. Marx introduced key global governance instruments, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, that can be used to hold states and corporations accountable for human rights violations.

IMG_6489Second, Kathleen Doty (right), Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center at University of Georgia School of Law, led an interactive session on global security governance. Professor Doty introduced students to global security governance, including international humanitarian law and arms control law. She explained the development of this body of law, focusing on arms control agreements, and introduced several major regimes and their common features. The students then participated in an exercise; faced with a global security crisis, students were tasked with addressing it via treaty negotiation, illustrating the difficulty of international cooperation.

img_6512.jpgThe final session of the day provided an overview of international perspectives on and challenges to global governance, conducted by Professor Dr. Jan Wouters (left), Director of the Leuven Center for Global Governance Studies and the Co-Director of the Global Governance Summer School. Professor Wouters explained the history of globalization and the increase of economic, environmental, and human interdependence. He then explored challenges to the international system, such as anti-globalism, nationalism, and populism.

Student Ayman Tartir receives his diploma from Axel Marx.

Closing out a successful week of studies, students and faculty gathered at the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe for a concluding reception. Axel Marx and Kathleen Doty presented participants with attestations of completion.

Tomorrow, students from the University of Georgia School of Law will travel to The Hague, where they will visit international tribunals and organizations.

Global Governance Summer School students attend RECONNECT conference on democracy and the rule of law in the European Union

LEUVEN & BRUSSELS – The morning opened with an introduction to the European Union, presented by Michal Ovadek, a research fellow at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies. An expert in the European Union legislative process, he provided an overview of the European Union architecture, and outlined the primary challenges to democracy in Europe. The session was designed to prepare students to participate fully in the rest of the day’s activities: a conference devoted to a research project aimed at reinvigorating core values of the European Union.

From left, Gamble Baffert, Charles Wells, Leila Knox, Emily Doumar, Maria Lagares Romay, Blanca Ruiz Llevot, Steven Miller, Alicia Millspaugh, and Briana Blakely.

The RECONNECT: Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law project, established by the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, is supported by funds from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation programme. As part of the larger project, the Leven Centre convened the International Conference on Democracy and the Rule of Law in the EU. It gathered experts to discuss contemporary challenges to European Union integration, including judicial independence and rule of law, free press, and democratic institutions in countries like Poland and Hungary.

The conference took place in the Brussels’ beautiful Academy Palace, and opened with a welcome by Professor Jan Wouters (left), Co-Director of the Global Governance Summer School.

The conference featured keynote remarks by Daniel Keleman, Professor of Political Science and Law and Jean Monnet Chair in European Union Politics at Rutgers University, and Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (right). Two policy roundtables also featured perspectives from academics and advocates from around Europe on democracy and rule of law in the European Union, respectively.

From left, Kathleen Garnett, Holly Stephens, Steven Miller, Alicia Millspaugh, Emily Snow.

Global Governance Summer School explores developments in climate change and international commerce

LEUVEN – After a full day of professional development briefings yesterday, students at the Georgia Law-Leuven Global Governance School returned to the classroom today. They took part in four lectures exploring developments in climate change and international commerce:

First, Professor Katja Biedenkopf (right), Assistant Professor at Leuven International and European Studies (LINES) at KU Leuven and an expert in European Union environmental and climate policy, addressed climate change. She focused on the international instruments at play, in particular the Paris Agreement. Professor Biedenkopf also highlighted challenges to climate change governance and encouraged students to consider international, regional, and local solutions.

Second, Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge (left), Dean of the University of Georgia School of Law, provided an introduction to international dispute resolution. He led students through a hypothetical cross-border dispute, thereby introducing the architecture of the international dispute resolution framework. He highlighted the differences between arbitration, mediation, and litigation.

Georgia Law professor Usha Rodrigues (right), provided the final two lectures of the day. A corporate governance scholar, she first provided an overview of international economic law and trade, and covered topics such as finance, international monetary policy, investment, tax, and transnational business transactions. She closed the afternoon with an exploration of comparative corporate governance, including how rules have developed across states, and how conflicts between management and shareholders or between majority and minority shareholders are resolved in different contexts.

Tomorrow, students will participate in an international conference on democracy and the rule of law in the European Union, as part of the RECONNECT project. In the meantime, they’ll spend the evening celebrating the 4th of July as expats in Belgium.

GGSS Professional development briefings in Brussels

BRUSSELS – Students taking part in the Global Governance Summer School went to Brussels today for professional development briefings. They were exposed to a range of practice areas, from non-governmental organization advocacy, to intergovernmental work, to private law practice.

The day began with a visit to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). There, students were treated to a dialogue on human rights lawyering with Ralph J. Bunche (left), UNPO General Secretary and Professor Diane Marie Amann. They discussed the work of the organization — advocating for the self-determination of unrepresented peoples and nations — and the day-to-day work of advocacy in a human rights organization.

Next, the group traveled to the new headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Steven Hill (fifth from the right, at right), Legal Adviser and Director of the Office of Legal Affairs, took students on a tour of the facility and provided an overview of the work of the Legal Office at NATO. He particularly focused on the text of the North Atlantic Treaty, emerging technologies, and contemporary challenges to the NATO alliance.

Finally, students heard from David Hull (JD ’83) and Porter Elliot (JD ’96) (left), partners at Van Bael & Bellis about private law practice in Brussels. They discussed the practice areas of the firm – primarily European Union competition law and trade law. They shared candid career advice with students, including their personal stories of going from law school in Athens, Georgia to law practice in Brussels.

The day concluded with a reception, graciously hosted by Van Bael & Bellis. The second annual Friends of the Dean Rusk International Law Center Reception, we were pleased to reconnect with alumni/ae and other European partners of the Center.

Tomorrow, the students will return to the classroom, and celebrate the 4th of July deepening their understanding of international law.

2019 Georgia Law-Leuven Centre Global Governance Summer School kicks off

LEUVEN – We are very pleased to launch the third iteration of the Global Governance Summer School today, a partnership between the Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at KU Leuven. The Summer School continues the four-decades-old Georgia Law tradition of summer international education in Belgium.

Students and faculty arrived yesterday, and were treated to a walking tour of historic Leuven and the lovely campus, one of the oldest in Europe and one of Europe’s premier research institutions. The historic European heat wave has broken, and students enjoyed the spring-like temperatures and a friendly Flemish welcome.

Many GGSS students participated in a walking tour of KU Leuven. From left, Professor Doty, Holly Stephens, Lauren Taylor, Emily Snow, Center Associate Director Amanda Shaw, Alicia Millspaugh, Jessica Parker, Steven Miller, Maria Lagares Romay, and Blanca Ruiz Llevot.

Today, students from Georgia Law and a range of other European institutions spent the day in classroom sessions. Following a welcome by Dr. Axel Marx, Deputy Director at the Leven Centre for Global Governance Studies, and Professor Diane Marie Amann, Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law and Faculty Co-Director of both the Dean Rusk International Law Center and the Global Governance Summer School, students dove headfirst into contemporary international legal topics.

First, Professor Kolja Raube (right), Senior Researcher at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies and Assistant Professor of European Studies, provided an introduction to global governance. He raised issues of globalization, transnational cooperation, and policy-making.

Second, Georgia Law alumnus and expert in the law of the sea, Professor Erik Franckx (LLM ’83) (left) from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, lectured on the Central Arctic Ocean. Addressing fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean, Professor Franckx focused on instruments and actors governing the area.

Third, Professor Geert Van Calster (left) of Leuven and Head of Leuven Law’s department of European and international law, led a discussion on the use of trade law to achieve non-trade objectives, such as human rights and the promotion of sustainable development.

Finally, Professor Diane Marie Amann (right) from the University of Georgia engaged students on regional legal systems. She explored the history, role, and place of regional systems within the larger system comprising nation-states and international organizations with a global scope.

This evening, students will take in the England-United States semi-final match of the Women’s World Cup. Tomorrow, they will travel to Brussels, Belgium’s nearby capital, for a day of professional development briefings at international organizations and a private law firm.

Bon voyage to students taking part in Georgia Law global summer initiatives

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L to r, back row: students Marc Bennett, Steven Miller, Gi Jeong, Lukas Goettke, Spencer Price, Charles Wells, Gamble Baffert; front row, Amanda J. Shaw, an associate director at our Center, with students Emily Snow, Yuke Qiu, Leila Knox, Emily Doumar, Jessica Parker, Briana Blakley, Holly Stephens, Lauren Taylor, Alicia Millspaugh, and Anré Washington.

Fifteen rising 2L and 3L students at the University of Georgia School of Law have set out for summer destinations all across the world as part of our Global Externship Overseas (GEO). Administered by the Dean Rusk International Law Center, the GEO initiative places Georgia Law students in externships lasting from four to twelve weeks, and offers students the opportunity to gain practical work experience in a variety of legal settings worldwide.

These Global Externs will enhance their legal education through summer placements in law firms, in-house legal departments, nongovernmental organizations, and intergovernmental organizations, across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Practice areas include: dispute resolution, corporate law, international trade law, intellectual property law, international human rights law, refugee law, and international environmental law.

This year’s GEO class includes these placements in private law settings:

  • Gamble Baffert (2L) – PwC, Turin, Italy
  • Briana Blakley ­(2L) – GÖRG, Cologne, Germany
  • Emily Doumar (2L) – Araoz y Rueda, Madrid, Spain
  • Lukas Goettke (3L) – DLA Piper, Moscow, Russia
  • Gi Jeong (3L) – Al Tamimi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Steven Miller (2L) – GÖRG, Cologne, Germany
  • Spencer Price (2L) – Buse Heberer Fromm, Frankfurt, Germany
  • Yuke Qiu (2L) – Hankun Law, Beijing, China
  • Emily Snow (2L) – Van Bael & Bellis, Brussels, Belgium
  • Holly Stephens (2L) – Maples Teesdale, London, UK
  • Anré Washington (2L) – Ferrero S.A., Luxembourg

Additionally, the following students will work in public law placements:

  • Leila Knox (2L) – No Peace Without Justice, Brussels, Belgium
  • Bailey Meyne (2L) – Open Society Justice Initiative, The Hague, Netherlands
  • Jessica Parker (2L) – Boat People SOS, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Charles Wells (2L) – No Peace Without Justice, Brussels, Belgium

In addition to the GEO initiative, thirteen Georgia Law students will take part in our Center’s long-standing summer program in Belgium. During the first week of July, students will gather in Belgium for the Global Governance Summer School, which the Center again co-presents with the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies. Students will spend several days in classroom sessions at the University of Leuven, and then spend two days in Brussels: one to attend a high-level policymaking event, and the other on professional development visits at a law firm, a nongovernmental organization, and an intergovernmental organization.  The group will then proceed to The Hague, Netherlands, for briefings at international courts and tribunals and other cultural excursions.

Join us in wishing these students an unforgettable summer, and stay tuned for travel updates in the coming months!