International Law Weekend 2009: Call for Panels

I pass along the following call for panels from the co-chairs of American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Law Weekend 2009. The theme, “Challenges to Transnational Governance,” is quite timely.  I encourage OJ readers to submit proposals and to attend what promises to be a great event.

On October 22-24, 2009, the American Branch of the International Law Association will hold its annual International Law Weekend in New York, bringing together hundreds of practitioners, members of the governmental and non-governmental sectors and students. The conference will feature numerous panels, Ms. Lucy F. Reed, President of the American Society of International Law, as distinguished speaker, receptions, and the Branch’s annual meeting. International Law Weekend 2009 will take place at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York on 22 October 2009, and at Fordham University School of Law on 23 and 24 October. The Weekend’s overall theme is “Challenges to Transnational Governance”.

The economic, political, and social changes of the last decade have re-shaped international law and deeply affected its role and practice, along with the identity and attitude of its participants. This year’s Weekend will address the challenges posed by these changes with an emphasis on the emergence of the notion of “transnational governance” and the issues related to it, including:

• Re-ordering, organizing, and monitoring: Is this what transnational governance is about?
• Who is in charge of transnational governance?: a discussion of the (sometimes new) role of international organizations, states, NGOs, regions, companies, private individuals, and others.
• Governing what?: The contents and scope of transnational governance.
• The impact of transnational governance on international trade, foreign investment, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• In the new context, what is the role of regulatory international law?

Co-chairs of ILW 2009 are Pierre Bodeau-Livinec of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (Bodeau-Livinec@un.org), Wil Burns, Editor in Chief, Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy (jiwlp@internationalwildlifelaw.org), and Aníbal M. Sabater, Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski International LLP (asabater@fulbright.com). The co-chairs invite proposals for panels for ILW 2009, including those pertinent to this year’s theme. Please submit proposals to the co-chairs no later than Friday, April 10, 2009. Proposals should be geared for 90-minute panels and should include a formal title, a brief description of the panel (no more than 75 words), and the names, titles, and affiliations of the panel chair and three or four possible speakers. Panel proposals should also include information as to the format envisaged (point-counterpoint, roundtable, etc.).