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GW LAW BRIEFS: International Update

Perspectives on International Law

Building on GW Law's longstanding connection to the International Court of Justice, the Hon. Joan Donoghue of the court visited the Law School in September to deliver "Perspectives on International Law: A Briefing from The Hague." Pictured above, Judge Donoghue talks with Professors Michael Matheson (center) and Sean Murphy (right) while Professor Ralph Steinhardt (far left) connects with former ICJ judge Thomas Buergenthal, who returned to GW Law to teach in 2010. Professor Murphy frequently has appeared before the ICJ in a variety of capacities. In 2010, Professors Steinhardt and Murphy were part of a Law School delegation to the ICJ to celebrate Professor Buergenthal's distinguished career at the court. (Right) Judge Donoghue with Professor Buergenthal.


Photos by Claire Duggan

Alumni Celebrate Thanksgiving in Tokyo

On Thanksgiving Day, GW Law hosted an alumni reception in Tokyo at Canada Place.

Professor Martin Adelman and Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies Susan Karamanian welcomed nearly 30 alumni and guests to the event, which was organized by Yasuhiro Hagihara, MCL '68, and Takujiro Urabe, LLM '08.

The annual tradition, now in its seventh year, gives alumni and GW Law leadership the chance to reconnect and celebrate the holidays, and also strengthens the Law School's international ties.


Chris Flynn


Claire Duggan

Iraqi Delegation Discusses Judicial Independence

In November, GW Law hosted a delegation of Iraqi officials, including Chief Justice Medhat al Mahmood, president of the Iraqi Higher Judicial Council, and Ghadhanfar Hamoud Jassim, head of the Public Prosecution Office, for a discussion on judicial independence.

Dean Paul Schiff Berman (center of left side, speaking) addresses members of Iraq's Shira Council at a related event in May. Above, the chief justice speaks as Associate Dean Susan L. Karamanian and speakers Professor Stephen A. Saltzburg (far left) and Associate Dean Alan Morrison (near podium) look on.

"The visits of distinguished Iraqi judges, prosecutors and legislative officials, coupled with the talk on Iraq by Julie Martin and Charles Trumbell in the same month, provided our community important insight into the challenges facing Iraq," Associate Dean Karamanian said.

GW Law Co-Sponsors Islamic Finance Forum


LLM student Dias Ibrashev (right) from Kazakhstan connects with renowned global banking and finance expert Yahia Abdul-Rahman at the book signing and reception portion of the day.

Abdul El-Tayef

GW Law and the U.S.-Qatar Business Council co-sponsored the Islamic Finance Forum in the fall, featuring an array of distinguished speakers on the growing field of Islamic finance. "This was the second time in as many years the Law School teamed up with the U.S.-Qatar Business Council to provide a first-rate forum on a topic of immense importance in the Middle East and Asia and with growing importance in Europe and the United States," said Associate Dean Susan L. Karamanian.


Jessica McConnell Burt

Exploring a Stronger Government in Iraq

Julie Martin, JD '06, (pictured with Professor Ralph Steinhardt), and Charles Trumbull, her co-author and colleague at the State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser, visited the Law School this fall to discuss their new article "Elections and Government Formation in Iraq: An Analysis of the Judiciary's Role" from the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. The November colloquium was one of several this semester focusing on development and progress in Iraq and the Middle East.

GW Law Welcomes India's Minister of Corporate Affairs

GW Provost Steven Lerman (foreground left) and Professor Edward Swaine (background left) were among GW community members who met this fall with Indian Minister of Corporate Affairs Veerappa Moily (center right), Shri Sudhir Mital, additional secretary to the Ministry and a member of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (foreground right), and Dhanendra Kumar, chair of the Committee on the National Competition Policy (background right) to discuss matters of corporate and competition matters in both the United States and India.

GW Law Hosts President of International Criminal Court

The Law School hosted a November reception honoring President Sang-Hyun Song of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The event was part of the World Bank's Law, Justice, and Development Forum. President Song spoke about the ICC's relationship to national courts. Attendees included Anne-Marie Leroy, general counsel to the World Bank, and other officials from the World Bank and the IMF.


President Song speaks to students.

Jessica McConnell Burt


President Song with Professors Sean Murphy (center left) and Donald Clarke (right), along with Marcia Wiss of Hogan Lovells (center).

Jessica McConnell Burt

North American Security


Abdul El-Tayef

In November, the Law School hosted a discussion titled "Managing North American Security: Where Do We Go From Here?" as part of its involvement in the North American Consortium on Legal Education.

Experts from Mexico, Canada, and the United States spoke on issues relating to border and cyber security as well as human rights. Professor Steve Charnovitz (second from left) commented on international trade and national security. Deborah Myers, director of Canadian affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (far right) gave the principal remarks. Other speakers included Luis Ricardo Rodriguez Meneses from Monterrey Tech and Salvador Behar of the Mexican Ministry of the Economy.


Jessica McConnell Burt

Toward Peace in the Middle East

In October, a large audience of students and faculty members participated in a discussion on "Approaches to Peace in the Middle East," featuring Dr. Ghada Karmi of the University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (speaking), Issam Saliba of the Law Library of Congress, and Associate Dean Susan L. Karamanian. Also participating was Dr. Rafi Danziger, a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs.

 


Claire Duggan

Examining Diplomatic Immunity

Kenneth Mwenda, senior counsel in the legal vice-presidency of the World Bank (second from left), discussed his new book, Public International Law and the Regulation of Diplomatic Immunity in the Fight against Corruption (Pretoria University Law Press, 2011), at the Law School in September. Numerous faculty members and students attended the talk, including Professors Robert J. Cottrol (far left), Steve Charnovitz (second from right), and Laura A. Dickinson (right).