Archive Material: ILW 2009
For those interested in the ILW conference and international law generally, please view the following video from ILW 2009 which depicts one of the many panels held as part of conference events. The panel, titled "Are We Still Allowed to Reject Transnational Norms?" was chaired by Vincent J. Vitkowsky, Partner at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, and was described by Vitkowsky in the following terms: To international sovereigns, international law consists of reciprocal agreements on specific matters. For the U.S., these agreements embody the assent of our constitutional democracy. Transnational progressives support the adoption of transnational norms and the emergence of transnational governance. This panel will present a critical examination of each of these perspectives.
The panelists were Hon. Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Julian G. Ku, Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Hofstra University School of Law; Margaret E. McGuinness, Associate Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law; and Leila Nadya Sadat, Professor of Law and Director of the Harris World Law Institute, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and Vice-President of ABILA. Like all ILW presentations, this panel addressed interesting and emerging topics in international law, and it provides an excellent example of the critical examinations of such topics undertaken at each conference.
photo 1: ILSA Staff and Student Officers at the ILW Reception at the residence of the Deputy Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
photo 2: Editor of the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, Connie Kaplan, with speaker and former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Hon. Michael Chertoff
On October 22-24, 2009, the American Branch of the International Law Association held its annual International Law Weekend in New York, bringing together hundreds of practitioners, members of the governmental and non-governmental sectors and students. The conference featured numerous panels, Ms. Lucy F. Reed, President of the American Society of International Law, as distinguished speaker, receptions, and the ABILA's annual meeting. The Weekend's theme was "Challenges to Transnational Governance".
The economic, political, and social changes of the last decade have re-shaped international law and deeply affected its role and practice, along with the identity and attitude of its participants. ILW 2009 addressed the challenges posed by these changes with an emphasis on the emergence of the notion of "transnational governance" and the issues related to it, including:
- Re-ordering, organizing, and monitoring: Is this what transnational governance is about?
- Who is in charge of transnational governance?: a discussion of the (sometimes new) role of international organizations, states, NGOs, regions, companies, private individuals, and others.
- Governing what?: The contents and scope of transnational governance.
- The impact of transnational governance on international trade, foreign investment, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
- In the new context, what is the role of regulatory international law?