NewsletterVol. 31, Issue 3

July/September 2015

As of mid-2015, disputes involving competing claims to the land features, waters, airspace, and resources of the South China Sea have commanded increasingly prominent

attention. International law is front and center in these conflicting demands, and our Society has been at the forefront as convener to advance reasoned discussion of them.

In May of 2015, I traveled to the region for the biennial Asia-Pacific Research Forum cosponsored by ASIL’s Law in the Pacific Rim Region Interest Group and the International Law Association through its Chinese (Taiwan) branch, on the theme of “Integrating the Asia-Pacific: Why International Law Matters.” (See related Interest Group Spotlight item on page 5). Participants came to Taipei from all around the Pacific Rim, and from other parts of the globe as well, for spirited engagement on a wide range of topics and issues of concern in the region – the South China Sea among them.

Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou (who holds a doctorate in international law, having been supervised in his dissertation research by former ASIL President Louis Sohn), opened the —continued on page 3

International Law and the South China SeaNotes from the President

INSIDE

Fifth Annual Research Forum Oct. 23-24

12

New IHL Dialogs Proceedings4

Interest Group Spotlight5

Patron Profile: Whitney Debevoise9

conference with a plenary address highlighting recent developments across the Taiwan Strait, in the East China Sea, and finally in the South China Sea. Ma took this opportunity to announce a South China Sea peace initiative, by calling on all parties concerned to: (1) exercise restraint, safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, and refrain from taking any unilateral action that might escalate tensions; (2) respect the

ASIL Debuts Streamlined CLE On-DemandThe Society is pleased to announce the launch of a new platform at www.asil.org/cle that offers easy online access to on-demand continuing legal education (CLE) courses in a host of current topics in international law.

The initial course catalog features video content from recent ASIL Annual Meetings, including 19 courses featuring leading experts on a broad range of current topics in international law. Current courses include:

• International Trade Law and International Investment Law: Complexity & Coherence

• Autonomous Weaponry and Armed Conflict • Can International Law Keep Up with the Internet? • Litigating the Counterterrorism Activities of the United

States in Foreign Courts • Can International Law Help Prevent the Rapid

Disappearance of Wildlife? • The Transnational Protection of Private Rights: Issues,

Challenges, and Possible Solutions

ASIL President Lori Damrosch hailed the launch of the new plat-form, noting that it “responds to the increasing demand for high-

quality courses in international law – not only among international specialists but also among the broader legal community.”

ASIL is working with its members, including Academic Partners and Law Firm Members, to continually refresh and expand the range of courses offered.

“This is a great opportunity for our institutional partners to show-case their in-house expertise,” said ASIL Executive Director Mark Agrast, “and we look forward to collaborating with them to pro-duce a steady stream of strong, substantive, and timely content.”

The streamlined system provides course-tracking, automated receipts, and immediate certificate processing upon completion of a session, enabling attorneys to stay up-to-date and obtain CLE credit within their fields of interest. ASIL members receive a 30% discount for all CLE courses. Members who sign in with their ASIL website credentials will automatically receive the discount – no need for coupons or codes. To view the course catalog and sign up for a course, simply visit www.asil.org/cle.

The Society welcomes comments and questions about this newest ASIL content platform, as well as suggestions for future CLE con-tent, at cle@asil.org.

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T his past June, I was privileged to participate

in a week of cele-bratory events in London to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. It included events at the Inns of Court,

the Houses of Parliament, the Royal Courts of Justice, and the U.S. ambassador's resi-dence at Winfield House, as well as a choral evensong at the Temple Church and an exhibition at the British Library that brought together, for the first time, the four extant copies of the 1215 Magna Carta.

Given its commitment to advancing the rule of law, the Society could hardly fail to take note of this anniversary, and we contributed to the festivities by hosting a reception in honor of our British members, leaders, patrons, and distinguished guests. (See related article on page 5.)

The culmination of the week's events was a grand ceremony at Runnymede, held in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II, with remarks by the British prime minister, the master of the rolls, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the U.S. attorney general. The program concluded with the rededica-tion of the 1957 memorial placed by the American Bar Association on the spot where the barons compelled King John to accept the “Great Charter.” Happily, unlike her infamous predecessor, the reigning monarch came to Runnymede of her own volition.

This 800th anniversary occasioned much discussion of the significance of the Charter and its meaning for us today. Lord Denning had famously declared it to be “the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot.” Yet many also agree with Lord Bingham that “[t]he significance of Magna Carta lay not only in what it actually

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

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ASIL OFFICERS

PRESIDENTLori Damrosch

HONORARY PRESIDENTGabrielle Kirk McDonald

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTMark Agrast

VICE PRESIDENTSAnne Joyce

Edward KwakaSean MurphyGreg Shaffer

SECRETARYJames Nafziger

TREASURER Nancy Perkins

ASIL NEWSLETTER

EDITORS Julia Knox and Sheila Ward

CONTRIBUTORS Staff: Michael Farley, Wes Rist

ASIL Members: Interest Group Co-Chairs

Vol. 31, Issue 3 – July/September 2015

ASIL is a nonpartisan membership association dedicated to fostering the study of international law and promoting the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the basis of law and justice.

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At RunnymedeNotes from the Executive Director

said but, perhaps to an even greater extent, in what later generations claimed and believed it had said. Sometimes the myth is more important than the actuality.”

Certainly no one present at Runnymede in 1215 could have imagined that this feudal settlement would one day come to be seen as a charter of liberty. Like America's founding documents, it began as a confir-mation of the privileges of an elite: by its terms, it applied only to “all the free men of our realm” – a designation that omitted vast numbers of English men and women. Only centuries later would Sir Edward Coke reinterpret Magna Carta, transforming it from a pledge of baronial privilege into a reaffirmation of the “ancient constitution” that promised liberty for all.

Today, just three and a half of the 63 clauses of Magna Carta remain in force in its country of origin. Yet its influence has spread far and wide, its principles encoded over the centuries in a succession of legal instruments from the Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts (1648) to the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789). In the United States, it has been cited by the Supreme Court and lower courts on hundreds of occasions – even though most of its provisions are far too vague to be legally enforceable. They invoke the Charter, not for its specific provi-sions, but for the principle of limited power that it signifies.

What, then, is the relevance of Magna Carta to international law? Until the Second World War, international law concerned itself with the relations among States, and had little to say about their relations with their own citi-zens. As the world emerged from that con-flict, the treatment of individuals by those who govern them began to be acknowl-edged as a proper subject of international law. Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly upon the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt expressed the hope

—continued on page 10

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Newsletter | July/September 2015

principles and spirit of relevant international law, including the U.N. Charter and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, peacefully deal with and settle disputes through dialogue and consultations, and jointly uphold the freedom and safety of navigation and overflight; (3) ensure that all parties concerned are included in mechanisms or measures that enhance peace and prosperity in the South China Sea, such as a maritime cooperation mechanism or code of conduct; (4) shelve sovereignty disputes and establish a regional cooperation mechanism for the zonal development of resources in the South China Sea under integrated planning; and (5) set up coordination and cooperation mechanisms for such non-traditional security issues as environmental protection, scientific research, maritime crime fighting, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Alongside political and factual developments in the region, ASIL members are well aware that efforts to resolve certain aspects of the South China Sea disputes have been brought before an arbitral tribunal established under the dispute settlement provisions of the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention. In a proceeding initiated by the Philippines against China in January of 2013 under Annex VII of the Convention, a five-member arbitral panel has been established and is currently deliberating on issues of jurisdiction and admissibility of the claims. China maintains that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction; and like other states at other times (the United States in the Nicaragua case brought to the International Court of Justice in 1984 and the Russian Federation in the Arctic Sunrise case initiated by the Netherlands at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2013, among other instances), China has declined to appear in the proceedings.

Members of the international law profession maintain diverse views on significant questions raised within a complex system of international dispute settlement, of which the South China Sea arbitration

presents such a fascinating case study. Does the compulsory dispute settlement system of the LOS Convention extend to – or exclude – disagreements involving title to rocks, reefs, shoals, and other features? Does an undertaking to settle a dispute through negotiation remove the matter from the sphere of compulsory dispute settlement under the Convention? What is the scope of operation of optional exceptions from jurisdiction, available by means of unilateral declaration made by a state upon becoming party to the Convention, such as China’s exercise of the prerogative to exclude jurisdiction over maritime delimitation disputes? Is a state in a better or worse position – legally, politically, strategically – when it maintains its objections outside the framework of a formal procedure before the juridical body designated to decide these threshold questions?

The Taipei conference provided an opportunity for debate on a wide range of positions in the papers presented on the South China Sea controversies (as well as on matters of dispute settlement in other contexts, such as the World Trade Organization and investor-state arbitration), in relation to the arbitral proceeding in its contested jurisdictional posture and also the significant substantive issues. (On substance, the papers made frequent reference to the Agora: South China Sea published in the January 2013 issue of the American Journal of International Law.) The moment could not have been more timely: hearings in The Hague on the threshold issues in the Philippines-China matter were

Notes from the President —continued from page 1

set to begin just a few weeks after the conference took place. Interestingly, in the midst of the international media attention to the South China Sea in mid-2015 – focused partly on the changing situation “on-the-ground” and partly on the legal proceeding – the South China Sea peace initiative announced at ASIL’s conference received mention in the pages of the New York Times (letter to the editor, “Taiwan’s Claim on Sea,” July 27, 2015, responding to editorial, “The South China Sea, in Court,” July 17, 2015).

At the same time, the unique circumstances of Taiwan provided a constant counterpoint to the themes of the conference, in respect of both long-running questions of contested recognition and emerging issues of potential participation in new institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (whose articles of agreement were being finalized just as the conference was in progress).

On the overarching conference theme of “Why International Law Matters” in the Asia-Pacific region, I was pleased to make reference in my remarks at the opening plenary session to ASIL’s contributions over more than a century, beginning with the first essay published in the American Journal of International Law in 1907 – Elihu Root’s “The Need of Popular Understanding of International Law” – and continuing through to our centennial publication, International Law: 100 Ways It Shapes Our Lives (www.asil.org/100ways).

Lori Damrosch

Attendees and organizers of the biennial Asia-Pacific Research Forum, cosponsored by ASIL’s Law in the Pacific Rim Region Interest Group and the International Law Association’s Chinese (Taiwan) branch, meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (center) in Taiwan.

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Proceedings from the 2014 International Humanitarian Dialogs Include Remarks by Former ICC Assembly of States Parties President and Reports from Current ICC Prosecutors

The Proceedings of the Eighth International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, which provides a print record of the 2014 meeting of international prosecutors, scholars, and students at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, is now available. As a cosponsor of the annual IHL Dialogs, ASIL has published a written record of them every year since the first Dialogs in 2007. The theme of the Eighth IHL Dialogs, held August 2 4 –26, 2014, was “The New World (Dis) order: International Humanitarian Law in an Uncertain World.” Highlights of the volume include keynote addresses by former President of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Ambassador Tiina Intelmann and former Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions Col. Morris Davis (U.S. Air Force, ret.); updates from current prosecutors of the Extraordinary

Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, the ICC, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the Special Court of Sierra Leone; a roundtable discussion on the relevance of international humanitarian l aw in 2014; and a conversation with ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow, and former U.N. Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone Sir Desmond de Silva about the first international court in Africa. The volume was co-edited by ASIL Executive Director Mark Agrast and IHL Dialogs founder David Crane of Syracuse University. The managing editor was Emily Schneider. The book is available to ASIL members for $25 (non-members, $35 ) and can be ordered online at www.asil.org/IHLProceedings.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

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1

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The Sovereignty of Human RightsPatrick Macklem9780190267315 | 2015 | 272 pp. Hardcover $75.00

International Criminal LawRoger O’KeefeOxford International Law Library9780199689040 | 2015 | 688 pp. Hardcover $175.00

The Law of Investment TreatiesSecond EditionJeswald W. SalacuseOxford International Law Library9780198703976 | 2015 | 528 pp. Hardcover $198.50

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal CourtEdited by Carsten Stahn9780198705161 | 2015 | 1,440 pp. Hardcover $245.00

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Newsletter | July/September 2015

International Courts and Tribunals

On September 9, in conjunction with the European Society of International Law (ESIL) Annual Meeting at the University of Oslo, ASIL's and ESIL's International Courts and Tribunals Interest Groups (ICTIG) held their first ever joint event. Paula Almeida (Getulio Vargas Foundation Law School), Alexandra Huneeus (ASIL Academic Partner University of Wisconsin Law School), Yang Liu (ASIL Academic Partner University of California-Los Angeles School of Law), and Loris Marotti (University of Macerata) presented works-in-progress, and interest group members discussed possible future joint events.

The ICTIG, the International Criminal Law Interest Group, and the Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Interest Group will join with the International Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY) and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice to cosponsor a panel discussion on "Administration and Management of Ad Hoc International Courts and Tribunals" on October 5, 2015, at the ABCNY.

Panelists will include Fidelma Donovan (European External Action Service); Daryl Mundis (Special Tribunal for Lebanon, The Hague); Giles Norman (Permanent Mission of Canada to the U.N.); and Milena Sterio (Cleveland-Marshall College of Law). For more details, visit www.asil.org/ICTIGevent.

International Law in Domestic Courts

The International Law in Domestic Courts Interest Group (ILDCIG) will hold its annual paper workshop on Friday, December 4, 2015, at the University of Michigan Law School. This annual discussion of works-in-progress is consistently a highlight of the year for ILDCIG members, and all members are encouraged to attend. Additional information about the workshop, including registration information, will be emailed to interest group members as the event nears. In the meantime, questions about the workshop should be directed to ILDCIG Co-Chairs William Dodge (wsdodge@ucdavis.edu) and David Moore (moored@law.byu.edu).

Law in the Pacific Rim Region

The Law in the Pacific Rim Region Interest Group (LPRRIG) co-organized the biennial International Law Association (ILA)-ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum, held May 25-26, 2015, in Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. (See related President’s column on page 1.) Speakers included Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, ASIL President Lori Damrosch, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Judge Helmut Tuerk, State University of New York-Buffalo Law School

ASIL Welcomes Young Scholars to Tillar House

This past July, the Society was pleased to host events at its headquarters (Tillar House) for two groups of talented high school students enrolled in international law and international relations-themed summer programs in Washington, DC. ASIL Director of Education and Research Wes Rist spoke to the students about the importance of international law in daily life and discussed some of the most pressing issues in the field today. The student participants were from China, Colombia, Jordan, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States.

ASIL’s public education mission has a strong focus on high school students and includes free high school curriculum modules

RECENT EVENTSMagna Carta Celebration in London

On June 14, ASIL held a reception honoring its London-based leaders, patrons, and supporters as part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta. The event was sponsored by ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm WilmerHale at the firm’s London offices. Honorary hosts included former ASIL Vice President Gary Born; ASIL Past President Charles N. Brower; ASIL Past President and current Honorary Vice President David Caron; and former ASIL Honorary President Dame Rosalyn Higgins. Joining ASIL Executive Director Mark Agrast as co-host of the reception was ASIL President-elect Lucinda Low.

Among the special guests were American Bar Association President William Hubbard, British Institute for International and Comparative Law Director Robert McCorquodale, and London-based lawyer and author Amal Clooney.

At a separate surprise ceremony at the Parliament Chamber of the Inner Temple in London, Brower was recognized for his numerous years of service to and extraordinary support of the Society.

From left, Mark Agrast, Arthur Rovine, Charles N. Brower, Lucinda Low, and David Caron at a special event honoring Brower.

From left, David Caron, Diane Wood, Lucinda Low, Rosalyn Higgins, and Mark Agrast at June’s Magna Carta Celebration in London.

—continued on page 6 —continued on page 8

Interest Group Spotlight: News from Some of the Society’s 35 Interest Groups

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(available at www.asil.org/education). To learn more about these offerings or to schedule a visit for a group (of any age) to Tillar House, contact Rist at dwrist@asil.org.

ASIL Annual Meeting Committee Gathers to Discuss 2016 Program

Members of the 2016 Annual Meeting Committee met at ASIL headquarters on August 17 to review some 200 program proposals submitted by ASIL members on the 2016 conference theme, “Charting New Frontiers in International Law.” The Committee, co-chaired by Tendayi Achiume (ASIL Academic Partner University of California-Los Angeles School of Law), Dawn Yamane Hewett (U.S. Federal Government), and Ina Popova (ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Debevoise & Plimpton), is now working to finalize the program, which will be announced later this year. The 2016 Annual Meeting will take place March 31-April 2 in Washington, DC. For the lat-est information, visit www.asil.org/AM.

Student participants in ASIL Academic Partner George Washington University’s Pre-College Program on Government, Law, and International Relations visited ASIL on July 29.

Members of the 2016 Annual Meeting Committee discussing proposals received for next year’s program.

Recent Events —continued from page 5

2016 Annual Meeting Committee MembersTendayi Achiume, University of California-Los Angeles School of LawTeresa Cheng, Des Voeux ChambersMelissa Durkee, ASIL Academic Partner University of Washington School of LawChristie Edwards, American Red CrossDavid Fidler, ASIL Academic Partner Indiana University Maurer School of LawSarah Grimmer, Permanent Court of ArbitrationDawn Yamane Hewett, U.S. Federal GovernmentSteven Hill, North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationMelida Hodgson, ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Foley Hoag LLPSarah Knuckey, ASIL Academic Partner Columbia Law SchoolChristian Leathley, Herbert Smith FreehillsJennifer Lim, ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Debevoise & PlimptonItamar Mann, ASIL Academic Partner Georgetown University Law Center Julie Maupin, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International LawElliott Mogul, ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Arnold & PorterJoanne Neenan, U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth OfficeElizabeth Nielsen, Debevoise & PlimptonIna Popova, Debevoise & PlimptonRafael Porrata-Doria, Jr., ASIL Academic Partner Temple University Beasley School of LawJaya Ramji-Nogales, Temple University Beasley School of Law Jan Yves Remy, ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Sidley Austin LLPMatiangai Sirleaf, ASIL Academic Partner University of Pittsburgh School of LawDire Tladi, University of PretoriaKo-Yung Tung, Morrison & Foerster, LLPAlex Whiting, ASIL Academic Partner Harvard Law School

Women in International Law Networking Breakfast

The annual Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) Networking Breakfast was held on August 6 this year with guest speakers Andrea Prasow (Human Rights Watch); Lamia Matta (Miller Chevalier); and Catherine Amirfar (Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of State). WILIG Co-Chair Christie Edwards (American Red Cross) moderated the discussion.

Each panelist discussed her career path and offered professional advice and insights for women interested in pursuing a career in international law. The formal part of the program was followed by questions from

the audience and the chance for attendees to meet and network with the panelists. More than 50 students and new professionals attended the event, the panel discussion portion of which is available online at www.asil.org/WILIGbreakfast.

For more on recent events, see the Interest Group Spotlight on page 5. ■

From left, Christie Edwards, Catherine Amirfar, Lamia Matta, and Andrea Prasow at August’s WILIG Networking Breakfast.

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Newsletter | July/September 2015

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Interest Group Spotlight —continued from page 5

Vice Dean for International and Graduate Programs Meredith Lewis, and Singapore Institute of Legal Education Dean Walter Woon. Co-Chairs of the Research Forum were LPRRIG Co-Chair Chun-i Chen and Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law Deputy Secretary-General Pasha Hsieh. Approximately 250 government officials, scholars, and students from more than 20 countries participated in the event.

Cultural Heritage and the Arts

The Cultural Heritage and the Arts Interest Group (CHAIG) is cosponsoring an international conference hosted by ASIL Academic Partner Georgetown University Law Center on “Intersections in International Cultural Heritage Law.” The conference will take place on March 29, 2016, featuring prominent speakers from the public international law and cultural heritage law communities. The call for panelists, found at www.asil.org/CHAIG, requests paper abstracts from applicants on the intersections of cultural heritage law and international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international human rights, illicit international trade, law of the sea, or indigenous rights. Abstracts are due October 30, 2015. As additional details about the conference become available, they will be posted at www.asil.org/events. Questions about the event should be directed to CHAIG Chair Anne-Marie Carstens at carstena@law.georgetown.edu.

International Economic Law

The International Economic Law Interest Group (IEcLIG) is preparing for a joint workshop with interest group counterparts in the European Society of International Law this December. The conference, with the theme “The Future of Transatlantic Economic Governance in the Age of the BRICS,” will take place at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany.

Future plans include a research workshop in 2016, a panel at next year’s ASIL Annual Meeting, and the IEcLIG’s next biennial meeting, which will take place in Washington, DC, in the autumn of 2016. The IEcLIG also hopes to enhance its online presence in the months to come and encourages members to send announcements of upcoming events and new books of interest to the group for dissemination and posting on the IEcLIG web space, www.asil.org/IEcLIG.

Law of the Sea

This past spring Law of the Sea Interest Group (LOSIG) members elected Christina Hioureas and Stefan Kirchner as their new co-chairs. Hioureas is an attorney at Chadbourne & Parke in New York, where she practices public international law and international arbitration. She is also an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law and serves as special adviser to the Republic of Cyprus before the U.N. She previously served as co-chair of ASIL’s Dispute Resolution Interest Group. Formerly an assistant professor for the law of the sea and for international law at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, Kirchner is currently a senior lecturer for fundamental and human rights at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland, and an attorney at CrossLegal. He is also a former co-chair of the Society’s Rights of Indigenous Peoples Interest Group. Feel free to share questions or ideas for LOSIG via email at chioureas@chadbourne.com and stefan.kirchner@ulapland.fi.

Private International Law

The Private International Law Interest Group (PILIG) is proud to announce that Ugljesa Grusic, assistant professor of the University of Nottingham School of Law, has won the 2015 PILIG Prize for his submission, “The European Private International Law of Employment.” The competition generated more than 25 submissions from 5 continents, and PILIG Co-Chairs Cristian Gimenez Corte and S.I. Strong wish to thank all those who sent in their work for consideration, as well as the members of the PILIG Prize Committee - Chi Chung, Antonio Leandro, Alex Mills, and Freddy Sourgens - for their hard work and diligence in reviewing the submissions. This is the sixth year that the PILIG writing prize, which conveys a year-long membership in ASIL and a $500 cash prize for travel to an ASIL conference, has been given. To learn more about the prize and how to apply, write to the co-chairs at cristiangimenezcorte@gmail.com and strongsi@missouri.edu.

International Criminal Law

The International Criminal Law Interest Group (ICLIG) recently entered into a partnership with the Justice in Conflict blog (justiceinconflict.org). The blog has reserved a spot on the first Wednesday of each month for ICLIG members to post up to 1,000-word “case notes” discussing important developments in recent ICL cases. In addition, ICLIG members are invited to submit proposals for blog posts on any ICL topic. Contact ICLIG Co-Chairs Meg deGuzman (deguzman@temple.edu) or Bec Hamilton (bec.hamilton@gmail.com) for details or to sign up to write one or more case notes.

Government Attorneys

Alicia Cate and Alejandro Sousa were elected this spring as co-chairs of the Government Attorneys Interest Group (GAIG). Following in the footsteps of their

—continued on page 9

Long-time ASIL member Meredith Lewis (left) with Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou at this spring’s ILA-ASIL Research Forum.

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Newsletter | July/September 2015

Interest Group Spotlight —continued from page 8

able predecessors, David Bigge and Blanca Montejo, Cate and Sousa will strive to continue to provide a forum for the discussion of international legal issues of interest to the GAIG community during their three-year term. While based in Washington, DC, and New York City, with access to the wealth of government officials, diplomats, and international practitioners found there, they also see GAIG as having a global reach and invite participation and input from members all over the world.

Patron Profile: Eli Whitney Debevoise II

How will the international legal order evolve to reflect the new multipolar world? This is a recurring question for ASIL Patron Whitney Debevoise, who observes, “We are all connected in so many ways. The Society plays a special role in providing a platform for discussion and exploring how international law might evolve to meet the new circumstances of the day.”

Recently, Debevoise’s love of history and of his life’s work in international law drew him to read Christopher Munro Clark’s Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. In the book, Clark shows how the checks and balances that had given Europe a long peace had all but disappeared. As someone who is deeply interested in exploring history and applying public international law to resolve conflict, Debevoise has found ASIL to be a welcoming venue in which to share his talents and to engage with colleagues across the globe on behalf of rule of law. He comments, “The ideas flow freely and the discussion is always stimulating.”

Throughout his career, Debevoise has been at the forefront of defining and helping shape how international law can help build and maintain the structures for a fairer, more civil society. As counsel in the first dispute resolution case at the World Trade Organization (WTO), he sought to define the role of public international law in the proceedings. “It was fun as a lawyer because nobody could say this is the way it has to be because it has always been so; we were dealing with what would be best for the future of the WTO as an institution,” he recalls.

As a college student, Debevoise learned about the wide range of ways in which law helps people and serves the public good. “My journey of appreciating the role of international law in public affairs and international financial transactions was an evolutionary

one. This is a crucial time to showcase the importance of international law, particularly in such a multipolar world,” he says.

A graduate of Yale University and ASIL Academic Partner Harvard Law School, Debevoise originally joined ASIL Leadership Circle Law Firm Arnold & Porter LLP as an associate in 1979 before becoming partner in 1986. From 2007 to 2010, he served as U.S. executive director of the World Bank Group before returning to Arnold & Porter, where he now has an international practice focused on international financial transactions, public policy, international arbitration, multijurisdictional litigation, banking, and international trade. He has handled significant International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes arbitrations and served as an arbitrator in commercial and investor-state cases. Recently, he has been at the forefront of important changes in sovereign bond documentation, including collective action clauses with aggregation and equal ranking clauses.

Debevoise credits the late William Rogers, past ASIL president and senior partner at Arnold & Porter, with fostering his career in international law, including by introducing him to the Society. Today, Debevoise serves as chair of the Society’s Audit Committee and actively participates on the Budget Committee. He is a generous contributor to the Society, supporting all of ASIL’s major fund raising initiatives in recent decades, including his current support of the 21st Century Campaign as a Cordell Hull Patron.

“ASIL is a great resource for scholarly publications and legal materials and has a robust network of leaders in the field,” Debevoise observes. “I encourage all to reach out and become involved. You will meet wonderful human beings.”

To learn more about the Society’s Patron program or its 21st Century Campaign, contact ASIL Director of Development Michael Farley at mfarley@asil.org.

—continued on page 10

On September 17, GAIG held a successful happy hour/networking event with the International Legal Attachés of Washington group at ASIL headquarters, Tillar House. The group is also planning a November webinar on the rule of law, to include discussion of the interaction between private sector actors and governments, with a special emphasis on international law and practice. Information will be emailed to members once event details are finalized.

The new co-chairs are also drafting a first set of GAIG bylaws and are in the process of seeking candidates for additional leadership positions within the group. GAIG members who would like to learn more or who have ideas for programs, publications, networking events, or other activities are encouraged to reach out to Sousa (asousab@gmail.com) and Cate (AliCat7p@yahoo.com).

10 ■

On August 1, Mary Dudziak was appointed to the Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center. Dudziak is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law and director of the Project on War and Security in Law, Culture, and Society at ASIL Academic Partner Emory University. She joined the Society in 2012.

MEMBER NEWS

IN MEMORIAMNicole LaViolette passed away on May 22, 2015. After graduating from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law - Common Law Section in 1996, she returned to the law school as a professor in 1998, teaching international law, human rights, refugee law, and family law. LaViolette authored several books on legal subjects, including The Human Rights of Anti-

Terrorism (co-authored with Craig Forcese) and won several awards during her tenure at the university, most recently the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Hero Award from the Canadian Bar Association in February of this year. She joined ASIL in 2006.

John Pate, who first joined ASIL in 1967, died at his home in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 8, 2015. Pate received his law degree from ASIL Academic Partner Boston University School of law and held two masters degrees from ASIL Academic Partner Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. After settling in Venezuela, he became a founding partner of the

law firm De Sola Pate & Brown. Pate was a corresponding editor of the Society’s International Legal Materials.

Interest Group Spotlight —continued from page 9

Disaster Law In February, the Disaster Law Interest Group (DLIG) cosponsored, with ASIL Academic Partner Vanderbilt Law School, a symposium on legal issues in international disaster response operations featuring International Law Commission Special Rapporteur Eduardo Valencia-Ospina as keynote speaker as well as several papers submitted by ASIL members. A dedicated issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law will publish selected papers from the event.

In April, the winner of the first “International and Comparative Disaster Law Essay Contest” was announced. Giovanni Sciaccaluga, a student at the University of Genoa, won for his essay “Climate Change Related Disasters and Human Displacement: Towards An Effective Management System.” The contest was cosponsored by the DLIG with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Disaster Law Project and drew 22 entries representing a dozen countries.

In May, the DLIG collaborated with ASIL’s International Environmental Law Interest Group, the IFRC, the U.N. Environment Programme, and ASIL Academic Partner Stanford Law School to organize a symposium at Stanford entitled “How Can International Environmental Law Reduce Disaster Risk?” The symposium attracted top scholars from four continents, including many ASIL members. The Stanford Journal of International Law will publish some of the papers; others will be published in a dedicated book.

Human Rights Kirsteen Shields (kirsteen.shields@gmail.com) was elected co-chair of the Human Rights Interest Group (HRIG) this spring. She joins Siobhan McInerney-Lankford (smcinerney@worldbank.org) who is continuing her three-year term. ■

that the Declaration would become “the international Magna Carta for all men everywhere.” She may have been speaking rhetorically, but it is notable that clause 9 of the Declaration – “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile” – is a lineal descen-dant of clause 39 of Magna Carta – “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing, in any other way, nor will we pro-ceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgments of his equals or by the law of the land.”

The language of the Declaration was ultimately codified in article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which led, in turn, to such regional human rights treaties as the European Convention on Human Rights, article 5 of which prohibits unlawful arrest or detention. Under the U.K. Human Rights Act, article 5

Notes from the Executive Director —continued from page 2

became enforceable against public bodies in the United Kingdom. Thus, by a circuitous route, did international law confer its imprima-tur on Magna Carta in the land of its birth.

Eight centuries after Runnymede, Magna Carta continues to stand for the principle of limited government that is at the core of the rule of law. In the words of Winston Churchill, “The Charter became in the process of time an enduring witness that the power of the Crown was not absolute. . . . And when in subsequent ages the State, swollen with its own authority, has attempted to ride rough-shod over the rights or liberties of the subject it is to this doctrine that appeal has again and again been made, and never, as yet, with-out success.”

Mark Agrast

■ 11

Newsletter | July/September 2015

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Fifth Annual Research Forum to Examine Dozens of Papers on Innovative Ideas in International Law

Registration is now open for the Society’s 2015 Research Forum, to be held October 23-24 in Washington, DC. The Forum, now in its fifth year and cosponsored by ASIL Academic Partner American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), will consist of expert-led discussions of 70 innovative papers (chosen from nearly 200 submissions through a blind selection process). The papers were selected by this year’s Research Forum Committee: Tony Anghie (University of Utah Law School), Julian Arato (Brooklyn Law School), Karima Bennoune (ASIL Academic Partner University of California-Davis School of Law), Janie Chuang (co-chair, AUWCL), Peter Spiro (ASIL Academic Partner Temple University Beasley College of Law), Ingrid Wuerth (ASIL Academic Partner Vanderbilt University Law School), and David Zaring (co-chair, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School).

Additional events will include an opening lunchtime discussion with former International Court of Justice Judge Thomas Buergenthal, a keynote dinner with Newell Highsmith (deputy legal adviser, U.S. Department of State) and Kimberly Gahan (attorney adviser, U.S. Department of State), both of whom have

UPCOMING EVENTS been instrumental in the negotiations with Iran, discussing “Dispute Settlement with Iran: From the Hostage Crisis to the Nuclear Accord”; and the fall meetings of the ASIL Executive Council and the American Journal of International Law Board of Editors.

The Research Forum will also include events designed to assist students and new professionals interested in pursuing a career in international law. On Thursday, ASIL will host an “International Law Career Panel and Speed Mentoring Event”, featuring a number of practitioners in a variety of international law fields, followed by a networking reception. On Friday morning, before the opening panel, the New Professionals Interest Group will present “International Law Research Strategies,” at which Barbara Bavis (Law Library of Congress) and Heather Casey (ASIL Academic Partner Georgetown University Law Center) will share international research strategies for the digital age with students, including tips and trick learned from the decades of experience in international legal research.

The Research Forum will take place at AUWCL, with select meetings taking place at ASIL headquarters. For more information, including emerging program details, hotel options, and registration, visit www.asil.org/RF.

For more upcoming events, see the Interest Group Spotlight on page 5.