UNIVERSALISM AND REGIONALISM IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

August 13-16, 2008 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The International Law Students Association will be hosting a conference in Belo Horizonte, Brazil from August 13-16, 2008 in cooperation with the International Law Society at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. This will be the first time ILSA has held a conference outside of the United States. The conference theme is "Universalism and Regionalism in International Law: Challenges and Perspectives towards Cooperation and Conflict Resolution." The Conference will examine the role and influence of regionalism in shaping the development of international law and policy, as either contributing to the fragmentation of international law or promoting the recognition of regional differences and fostering cooperation among states. In addition, the Conference will explore the affect of regional economic and political agreements on international relations and the continuing development of international law.

This year's case concerns a regional dispute between two developing countries where environmental exceptions are relied upon to justify barriers and measures related to trade in goods. An element of complexity is added to the case by an overlap or conflict of precedents between the dispute settlement systems of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and of the regional trade agreement (RTA) to which the countries in dispute are parties.

A full version of the Moot Court Competition Case will be published soon.

The ILSA Conference - Brazil will hold three sub-events:

Seminar - presentation and discussion of papers on five thematic groups: International Trade; Development and the Environment; Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; Regional Dispute Resolution; and the Law of International Relations.

Colloquium - lectures on law and international relations given by esteemed professors and practitioners.

Competition - moot court competition simulating a dispute resolution system from a regional trade organization, with the problem incorporating Conference themes.

The International Law Society at UFMG plans to work with organizations and law schools throughout South America to organize a successful, thought-provoking event. UFMG students also plan to coordinate conference-planning efforts with the organizers of the 73rd Biennial Conference of the International Law Association, which will begin August 17, 2008 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

Click here for more information about the ILSA Conference - Brazil