Saddam Conference at Case-Western

My blogging will be light this week, as I prepare to participate in an international conference on the Saddam trial at Case-Western. Ken Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, and I will be debating the fairness of the Dujail trial with Michael Scharf and Michael Newton. (Needless to say, Ken and I are on the “no” side.)

The conference should be amazing, and I’m honored that Michael Scharf invited me to participate. The debate is early on in the conference, so I will try to blog my thoughts soon thereafter. The conference will also be webcast here.

The conference schedule is below. If any Opinio Juris readers in the Cleveland area are planning to attend the conference, make sure to say hello!

Lessons from the Saddam Trial
Frederick K. Cox International Law Center War Crimes Research Symposium

Friday, October 6, 2006 * Moot Courtroom A59 * WEBCAST LIVE on the Internet

Symposium Co-Chairs:
Professor Michael Scharf, Director, Frederick K. Cox International Law Center, Case School of Law
Mark Ellis, Executive Director, International Bar Association, London
Professor William Schabas, Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights, Galway
Professor Michael Newton, Vanderbilt University Law School

SCHEDULE
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration and Coffee

8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
Professor Michael Scharf, Case School of Law

8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Dedication of the U.N. War Crimes Commission Archives
Remarks by Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, Chairman of the Commission

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. “Trying Saddam: An Insider’s Perspective”
Speaker: Jurist of the Iraqi High Tribunal (TBA).

9:30 a.m. – 9: 45 a.m. Break; Tour of U.N. War Crimes Commission Archives

9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. “Preparing for the Mother of All Trials”
Moderator: Christopher Rassi, Associate Legal Officer, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, DePaul University College of Law
Christopher Reid, former Director, Department of Justice Regime Crimes Liaison
Professor Michael Newton
Sandy Hodgkinson, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues
Mark Ellis, International Bar Association
Paul Wolf, Esq., International Human Rights Lawyer, who provides assistance to
Saddam Hussein’s defense team

11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Break; Tour of U.N. War Crimes Commission Archives

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. “Order in the Courtroom: The Challenges of Trying a Tyrant”
Moderator: Professor William Schabas, Irish Centre for Human Rights, Galway
Nehal Bhuta, International Trial Observer for Human Rights Watch
Professor Michael Newton, Vanderbilt University School of Law
Marieke Wierda, Senior Associate, International Center for
Transitional Justice

12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pick up Complimentary Lunch

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lunch Debate: “Did Saddam Get a Fair Trial?”
Moderator: Gary Simson, Dean and Joseph C. Hostetler-Baker & Hostetler Professor, Case School of Law

Arguing No:
– Kevin Jon Heller, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, New Zealand
– Kenneth Roth, Execitive Director, Human Rights Watch
Arguing Yes:
– Professor Michael Scharf, Case School of Law
– Professor Michael Newton, Vanderbilt University Law School

1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Break; Tour of U.N. War Crimes Commission Archives

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. “Saddam on Stage: Assessing the Media Coverage of the Trial”
Moderator: Gregory McNeal, Assistant Director, Institute for Global Security Law and Policy, Senior Fellow in Terrorism and Homeland Security, Case School of Law
Jessie Graham, BBC The World, Public Radio International
Simone Monasebian, Court TV Legal Analyst; former prosecutor, International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; former Principal Defender, Special Court
for Sierra Leone
Mark Ellis, Commentator for CNN International

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Break; Tour of U.N. War Crimes Commission Archives

3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. “Lessons Learned from the Dujail Trial: A Cross-Fire Panel”
Moderator: Professor Michael Scharf, Case School of Law
Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, DePaul University College of Law
Professor David Crane, Syracuse University School of Law, former Chief
Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone
Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch
Professor Mark Drumbl, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Mark Ellis, International Bar Association
Sandy Hodgkinson, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Ambassador at Large
for War Crimes Issues
Professor William Schabas, Irish Centre for Human Rights, Galway

4:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. “Was the Dujail Trial the Trial of the Century?”
An open discussion/debate

5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Reception in the Rotunda