EJIL: Talk!

International Law Weekend 2012 – the premier international law event of the fall season, will be held on October 25-27, 2012, in New York City. The overall theme of ILW 2012 is Ideas, Institutions, and Interests – Dynamics of Change in International Law. International Law Weekend is sponsored and organized by the American Branch of the International Law Association (“ABILA”).

The unifying theme for this year’s meeting is to explore the mechanisms of change in international law. The weekend opens at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 25 at the New York City Bar Association at 42 West 44th Street, in mid-town Manhattan with a blazing panel on China — with former U.S. Ambassador to China Winston Lord, NYU Law School human rights expert Jerome Cohen, China environmental expert Liz Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations, legal eagle John Crowley of Davis, Polk and Wardwell, and Professor Ben Liebman of Columbia Law School — followed by a free cocktail reception.

It continues 9 a.m. Friday October 26 at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham Law School, 140 West 62nd Street — with a Conversation with famed former SDNY U.S. Attorney and Debevoise litigation chief Mary Jo White, who indicted Bin Laden and pursued Siemens for foreign corrupt practices; a Lecture by the chief Yugoslav tribunal war crimes judge Ted Meron; a two-part series on ICSID investment arbitration with ICSID secretary general Meg Kinnear; and a talk by blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng. Read the rest of this entry…

International Law Weekend 2011 — the world-famous gathering of the flock of international lawyers for the fall season — begins on Thursday night, October 20, 2011, at the Association of the  Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, NYC, and continues at 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 21-22, at Fordham Law School, at 140 West 62nd Street, NYC. This year’s theme is “International Law and National Politics.”

A blue ribbon opening panel at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night at the City Bar will address whether international law has seen “The Death of Sovereignty?” in an era of debt downgrades, seccesionist conflicts, and covert military operations — and will be followed by a free wine and cheese reception.

Panels starting at 9 a.m. on Friday at Fordham will look at International Law and U.S. Grand Strategy, the Extraterritorial Reach of Anti-Bribery Legislation Libel Tourism, the UN Disabilities Convention, Sharia and U.S. Law, Developments in Commercial Arbitration, Access to Justice in the Middle East North Africa Region, Regulation of Private Military and Security Companeis, LGBT Rights in Africa, and the Impact of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty on National Politics.  State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh will give a keynote talk at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, after a free buffet lunch in the atrium, on “International Lawyering for the U.S. in an Age of Smart Power.”

Panels starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday include Civilian Casualties in Modern War, Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights Law – Emerging Risks for Corporate Counsel, Private Litigation against Alleged Terrorist Sponsors, Intellectual Property Law, the New International Investment Arbitration Lawyer, Current Challenges for the International Criminal Court, Tribunal Procedures and Ethical Dilemmas for the Guantanamo Bay Military Tribunals, and Promoting Independence for Human Rights Lawyers Worldwide.   Former Yugoslav Tribunal Prosecutor Richard Goldstone will give a keynote address at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday on “The Future of International Criminal Justice: The Crucial Role of the United States.”

As always, admission is free for all students, all faculty, lawyers, and staff from co-sponsoring institutions, as well as all members of the American Branch of the International Law Association, the International Law Students Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.  Staff members of the United Nations and Permanent Missions to the United Nations can also attend for free.  The registration fee remains a modest $75 for the two days combined for all other practicing lawyers and members of the public.

We have a record number of co-sponsors this year, whose generous contributions makes the event possible. New sponsors include the International Bar Association, and law faculties from as far north as Maine and as far south as Virgina.    Further information and registration is available at www.ila-americanbranch.org or www.ilsa.org, or at the door

On October 20-22, 2011, the American Branch of the International Law Association and the International Law Students Association will host the annual New York-based International Law Weekend (“ILW”), in conjunction with the 90^th annual meeting of the American Branch.  “ILW 2011” will bring together hundreds of legal practitioners, professors, U.N. diplomats, experts from government, NGO’s and private industry, and students.  It will feature lively and contentious panels, distinguished speakers, and delicious receptions.

The overall theme of ILW 2011 is “International Law and National Politics.”

This year’s three-day conference will focus on issues arising from the interplay and intersection of international rules and norms and domestic politics and policymaking.  To what extent do international standards influence the application and interpretation of national law including complimentary or contrary policies sought by domestic policymakers, non-governmental actors and/or civil society?  Expert panels and discussion sessions will examine these and other issues with regard to such diverse areas as human rights and humanitarian intervention, national security, immigration, trade, labor, health care and the environment.  Though this is the primary focus of the conference, other inventive ideas and proposals, especially arising from current events, are always welcome for consideration as well.

The Co-Chairs of ILW 2011 are Professor Martin S. Flaherty, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School, mflaherty17{at}yahoo.com, Sahra Diament of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, diament{at}un.org, and Jill Schmieder Hereau, Program Coordinator at the International Law Students Association, jshereau{at}ilsa.org.

The Co-Chairs invite proposals for panels for ILW 2011.  Please submit proposals by email to each of the Co-Chairs no later than Wednesday, May 4, 2011.  Please also submit a copy of your proposal to ILA president Ruth Wedgwood, at rwedgwood{at}jhu.edu and to ILA executive committee chairman John Noyes, jen{at}cwsl.edu.

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