Program Descriptions

Toward a Global Constitution? U.S. Constitutional Interpretation and the Role of Foreign Law

The question of whether foreign law should be consulted by U.S. courts in construing the United States Constitution has been a source of great controversy among legal schools and commentators in recent years. To what extent foreign constitutional and statutory norms can inform modern U.S. constitutional interpretation is an open question that has yet to be definitively addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ultimate answer to this question will have a profound effect on future constitutional interpretation. In Part I of this plenary session, Professor David Fontana will survey past Supreme Court jurisprudence for clues that may foreshadow future practice. In Part II, speakers will discuss the pros and cons of using international laws, norms and rules in U.S. constitutional interpretation.

Speaker:

David Fontana
Associate Professor of Law
The George Washington University School of Law

Discussing the Application of International Law, Rules and Norms in American Law

See description above.

Moderator:

David Fontana
Associate Professor of Law
The George Washington University School of Law

Speakers:

Melissa A. Waters
Assistant Professor of Law & Ethan Allen Faculty Fellow
Washington & Lee University School of Law

Ernest A. Young
Professor of Law
Duke University School of Law

Federalism – Overview of the American System

The United States Constitution established a system of federalism that allocates power, authority and sovereignty between the federal government at the national level and its constituent units at the state and local levels. "Federalism" is defined nowhere in the U.S. Constitution, and the term and the concept in American law remain open to interpretation and analysis by the American courts. The framers of the U.S. Constitution left it for future generations of Americans to work out the details, allowing them to provide their own definition of "federalism." In this session Associate Librarian John Nann will discuss how the federal and state governments have continued this dialogue about federalism and attempted to arrive at some consensus views about federalism.

Speaker:

John D. Nann
Associate Librarian, Reference & Instructional Services
Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School

Social Change in the United States: A Role for International Law?

In Roper v. Simmons the United States Supreme Court confirmed that the American standards of decency relating to issues such as the use of the death penalty in juvenile offender cases in the United States have evolved, based partially on an awareness of how other countries and the international community have responded to these types of issues. Justice Kennedy, writing for the Court in Roper, noted that the execution of juvenile offenders in the United States violated several international treaties specifically. Has this application of international law developed since Roper and will it expand in to other issues? Will advocates for social justice in the United States push for more reliance on international human rights standards and strategies to advance social change in the United States?

Speaker:

Seth P. Waxman
Partner
WilmerHale, Washington, DC

Additional materials:

The Intersection of Terrorism, International Norms and Human Rights

In 2003 former Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations stated at a special meeting of the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee with International, Regional, and Sub-Regional Organizations, "Our responses to terrorism, as well as our efforts to thwart it and prevent it, should uphold the human rights that terrorists aim to destroy. Respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are essential tools in the effort to combat terrorism – not privileges to be sacrificed at a time of tension." More than four years later countries are continuing to struggle with how to balance these issues.

Speaker:

David D. Cole
Professor of Law
Georgetown University Law Center

Digitizing the World's Law: A Look at Cooperative Endeavors

The program is presented in honor and memory of Robert Louis Oakley, who served as the Director of the Law Library & Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, 1982-2007.

With the ever-expanding globalization of the world and the increasing need for access to law in every country, digitization of primary and secondary law is more and more valuable and necessary. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a project of the Law Library of Congress, is a public database of official texts of law, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations. Professor Germain, a member of the GLIN Board, will speak about this project. The Legal Information Preservation Alliance (LIPA) is an initiative that was begun at Georgetown Law Library, under the leadership of Professor Robert Louis Oakley. That organization now has more than sixty member institutions and is involved in the print and digital archiving of legal materials. Ms. Anderson will discuss LIPA and its current projects.

Speakers:

Claire M. Germain
Edward Cornell Law Librarian & Professor of Law
Cornell University Law School

Janice Snyder Anderson
Associate Law Librarian for Collection Services
Georgetown Law Center

Contemporary International Law Research: New Resources and Perspectives

The Internet and other new electronic information resources have greatly facilitated access and dissemination of international and foreign legal materials over the last two decades. In this session, representatives of three Law Library Associations will identify emerging trends and new resources from their respective jurisdictions.

Speakers:

Marylin J. Raisch
Associate Law Librarian for International & Foreign Law
Georgetown Law Center Library

Yemisi Dina
Head of Public Services
Osgoode Hall Law School Library, York University, Toronto, Canada

Vanessa Blackmore
Manager, Information Services
Law Courts Library, Sydney, Australia

Additional materials:

The Web 2.0 as an Instrument for the Development of International Law

The creation of a new generation of Internet technologies offers academia, international organizations and advocacy groups an extremely powerful set of tools to utilize in their efforts to develop, promote and educate others about international law norms throughout the world. Linked by an emerging network of networks enabled by powerful new devices and databases, these constituencies now possess an unprecedented ability to share information and react to international events in real time. This session recounts the experiences of members of the academic community, scholarly societies and international organizations in this exciting new environment and identifies emerging trends and technologies.

Speakers:

Christopher J. Borgen
Associate Professor of Law
St. John's University School of Law

Susan A. Notar
Managing Editor, International Legal Materials
The American Society of International Law

Internationalization and Globalization of U.S. Law School Curriculums

In October 2006 the Harvard Law School faculty unanimously approved what it described as "far-reaching curricular reforms," supplementing the traditional first-year offerings with courses in international and comparative law among other subject areas. According to the Harvard Law School Dean, the curriculum changes were designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world. Georgetown University Law Center has offered international and transnational courses as electives for its first year class since 1996 and currently has its entire first year class return to the school one week early in the spring to study transnational law. Georgetown also offers one of the largest selections of courses and seminars that deal with transnational, international and comparative law, all designed to prepare its students for a legal career in an increasingly globalized society. Professor James Maxeiner will discuss whether or not American law schools are making a true place for comparative and international law courses in their curriculums. A representative from Georgetown will discuss their program of courses in these areas.

Speakers:

James Maxeiner
Associate Professor of Law & Associate Director
Center for International and Comparative Law
University of Baltimore School of Law

Wendy Collins Perdue
Professor of Law and Associate Dean
Georgetown University Law Center

Authentication of Online Legal Resources — AALL Report & Actions and the Initiatives in Other Countries

The American Association of Law Libraries held a national summit on "Authentic Legal Information in the Digital Age," April 20-21, 2007. At the summit, AALL members, as well as invited guests from federal and state judiciary, administrative and legislative branches, discussed ways to facilitate and encourage governments to authenticate and make official their online primary legal materials. AALL presidents will address the outcomes of the summit and describe progress since the summit. Law Library Association leaders from other countries will share their experiences with authentication issues in their respective countries.

Speakers:

Ann T. Fessenden
Circuit Librarian
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, St. Louis, MO
AALL President

Sally G. Holterhoff
Government Information and Reference Librarian & Associate Professor of Law
Valparaiso University Law Library
AALL Past President

Kate Anthony
Librarian
Parliamentary Counsel Office, Wellington, New Zealand

Anne Matthewman
Library Manager/Executive Director
Toronto Lawyers Association
Toronto, Canada

Additional materials: