Conference: International Law in the Domestic Context

The Valparaiso University School of Law will host a conference on "International Law in the Domestic Context," April 3, 2009. Here's an overview:

Until recently, legal scholars could confidently quote from The Paquete Habana and assert that international law is a part of the United States domestic law. That comfortable bedrock has been shaken, and it is no longer possible to say with confidence what the status of international law as domestic law is in the United States. This development coincides with new trends in American legal scholarship that emphasize sovereignty, executive power and neo-realist approaches to international relations theory.

The situation is different in many democracies, where international law is regularly considered in court decisions. The South African Constitutional Court, for example, is mandated to consider international law in the Courts jurisprudence. Regional courts - among them the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court - also consider international law as a matter of course. Conference participants will compare and contrast the divergent attitudes of the different nations on the status that international law ought to have in a domestic legal regime.

Conference speakers include: Prof. John Dugard, Professor of Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands, and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, Duke Law School; Prof. Paul Finkelman, President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law, Albany Law School; Prof. Stanley Halpin, Vick Professor of Public Law, Southern University Law Center; Prof. Gwynne Skinner, Willamette University College of Law ; Mr. Jim Kennan, Senior Counsel, Victorian Bar, Melbourne, Australia; Prof. Michael Aaron Granne, Seton Hall School of Law; Prof. Maxwell Chibundu, University of Maryland School of Law; Prof. Dianne Otto, University of Melbourne; Prof. Ernesto Hernandez, Chapman University School of Law; Mr. Gib van Ert, Lawyer, Hunter Litigation Chambers, Vancouver, British Columbia; Prof. Keyuan Zou, Harris Professor of International Law, University of Central Lancashire Law School.

Registration/Further Information: CLE credit is available for attendees. For more information or to register, please contact: JoAnn Campbell; Tel: 219.465.7829; Email: joann.campbell@valpo.edu