The Miller Institute has hosted many engaging events for the Boalt Community, including our Miller Distinguished Lecture Series, conferences and symposia, and our lunchtime speaker series on topics such as rule of law, anti-corruption, and human rights.
February 13, 2012 (Monday)
Lecture on “Is There a Post-Conflict Obligation? Jus Post Bellum?”
Antonia Chayes
Professor of Practice in International Politics and Law
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
132 Law Building, 12:45-2 pm
Professor Antonia Chayes will explore the question of why nations – through international organizations and individually – enter into serious commitments of post-conflict reconstruction. Is there an obligation to reconstruct a war torn society after intervention? Or is there a humanitarian impulse at play regardless of intervention? If there is an obligation, what is its nature? Is it legal, or moral, or simply a practical necessity for self-protection? Because of the tremendous open-ended nature of any such “obligation,” it is important to understand what might be the basis for it – as well as when and how it ever ends.
Professor Chayes is a prominent international legal scholar and practitioner, and is currently Visiting Professor of International Politics and Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she teaches courses on international treaty compliance and the law and politics of international conflict management. Her research interests range across conflict resolution and peacebuilding; international courts; international organizations; nuclear strategy; nuclear weapons; international security and arms control; and treaty compliance.
February 21, 2012 (Tuesday)
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Roundtable on “Legal Hegemony in Africa: Reconsidering the Role of the ICC”
Warren Room (295 Simon Hall), Berkeley Law, 2-4:30 pm
This invitation-only discussion will explore the tension between the international preference for criminal accountability for atrocities and national/local understandings of how best to respond to these same events.
March 8, 2012 (Thursday)
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Lecture on “Rule of Law and Mediation in India”
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Hiram Chodosh
Dean and Professor of Law
Quinney College of Law University of Utah
Goldberg Room (297 Law Building), 12:45-2pm
Co-sponsored with the Berkeley Journal of International Law, the International Law Society, and the South Asian Law Students Association
Lunch will be served. The event is open to all, but if possible please RSVP to mayakarwande@berkeley.edu.
Hiram Chodosh, Dean of the University of Utah Quinney College of Law, will be at Berkeley Law to discuss his innovative research and work experience around mediation in India. Dean Chodosh has extensive experience and expertise in numerous fields, including ADR, negotiation and dispute resolution, comparative law, rule of law and regional expertise in the Middle East and South Asia.
March 13, 2012 (Tuesday)
2012 Stefan A. Riesenfeld Symposium on “Enforcement of Private Judgments”
110 Law Building, 12:30-5:30 pm
Organized by the Berkeley Journal of International Law
Sponsored by the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law
The 2012 Symposium, organized by the Berkeley Journal of International Law, will focus on the enforcement of foreign judgments and featured a keynote from John B. Bellinger III, Arnold & Porter LLP. This will be followed by two panels: one concerning foreign judgments in the context of the internet and media and the other concerning the legal disputes over judgments issued by Latin American courts.
Professor Harry N. Scheiber of Berkeley Law will receive the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of international law. A reception and dinner in his honor will be held after the symposium. For more information, please see the Symposium website.
(l-r) Prof. David Caron, John B. Bellinger III (keynote speaker),
Maria Chedid (panelist), and Prof. Harry Scheiber (Riesenfeld Award winner)
April 6, 2012 (Friday)
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Lecture on “Rights Defenses in China”
Pu Zhiqiang
Executive Partner
Beijing Huayi Law Firm
170 Law Building, 1-3 pm
Co-sponsored with the Center for Chinese Studies
Pu Zhiqiang graduated from Nan Kai University with his bachelor’s degree in history, and obtained his master’s degree in law at the China University of Political Science and Law. He began his career as a lawyer in 1997 and is currently executive partner of Beijing Huayi Law Firm, as well as an advisor on legal affairs for a number of publications.
A respected civil rights lawyer in China, he is also one of the very few successful media lawyers who consistently takes on politically sensitive, high profile cases while still being tolerated by the authorities. Mr. Pu has represented Chinese writers and journalists in some important free speech cases in China, including the Chen Guidi case and the China Reform Magazine case. In recent years, he has pioneered lawyers’ efforts to expand the freedom of speech and publication and the official tolerance on dissent through judicial procedure.
Some of his cases include best-selling writer Zhang Yihe’s suit against the administrative ban order on her book in 2007; Ai Weiwei’s FAKE Company’s taxation case in 2011; and Sichuan earthquake dissident Tan Zuoren’s subversion case in 2009. Mr. Pu is also known for his frequent outspoken comments on public events in domestic and international media.
April 11, 2012 (Wednesday)
Discussion On “Litigating International Human Rights Before The US Supreme Court: The Future Of The Alien Tort Statute Litigation”
Paul Hoffman
Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris Hoffman & Harrison LLP
Moderated by Saira Mohamed, Berkeley Law
134 Law Building, 12:45-2 pm (lunch will be served)
Co-sponsored with the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center
On February 28, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum on the issue of whether or not corporations could be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). Less than a week later, the Court ordered new briefs and a rehearing in the fall on the issue of “whether and under what circumstances the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. §1350, allows courts to recognize a cause of action for violations of the law of nations occurring within the territory of a sovereign other than the United States.” The decision in Kiobel may have profound implications for the ATS as a means of enforcing international human rights and upholding corporate liability.
Professor Saira Mohamed will moderate a discussion with Mr. Hoffman, lead attorney in Kiobel, about current ATS cases and the future of litigating international human rights claims in US federal courts. Paul Hoffman is a member of the California bar and partner in the firm of Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris Hoffman & Harrison, LLP. He holds a JD from NYU Law School and Masters in Economics from the London School of Economics. He previously served for ten years as legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. He has argued a number of cases before the US Supreme Court including Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (2004), the first ATS case to reach the high court.
April 11, 2012 (Wednesday)
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Lecture on “Corruption and Human Rights in India”
C. Raj Kumar
Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University and
Dean, Jindal Global Law School
Dean’s Seminar Room (215B Boalt Hall), 12:45-2 pm
a light lunch will be served at 12:30 pm
Co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Law and Society, the International and Executive Legal Education, the Berkeley Center for Business Law and the Economy, and the Asia Society of Northern California
[DOWNLOAD PAPER ON “CORRUPTION, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GOOD GOVERNANCE“]
Corruption in India has become a growing and pervasive concern. It undermines not only the democratic institutions, but also the social fabric, political and bureaucratic structure of Indian society. In his recent book, Corruption and Human Rights in India, Prof. C. Raj Kumar examines corruption from a human rights perspective. Highlighting the inherent deficiencies in the existing institutions, mechanisms, laws, and law enforcement agencies, he strongly proposes the adoption of a multi-pronged strategy for eliminating corruption. This includes the creation of a new legislative framework, an effective institutional mechanism, a new independent and empowered commission against corruption, and greater participation of the civil society.
C. Raj Kumar is Professor and Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, and Dean, Jindal Global Law School. He is also a Member of the National Legal Knowledge Council. He was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he obtained his BCL., and a London Gammon Fellow at Harvard Law School, where he obtained his LLM. He holds a Doctor of Legal Science (SJD) from the University of Hong Kong. His areas of specialization include human rights and development, terrorism and national security, corruption and governance, law and disaster management, comparative constitutional law and legal education.
May 23, 2012 (Wednesday)
Lecture on “Measuring the Rule of Law: The Work of the World Justice Project”
Bill Neukom, Founder and President
Juan Carlos Botero, Executive Director
Alejandro Ponce, Chief Research Officer
132 Law Building, 3:30-5 pm
A public presentation on the mission and work of the World Justice Project.