Inaugural ASIL Research Forum: A New Tradition in International Law

Congratulations to Kal Raustiala and Laura Dickinson, the masterminds who conceived and carried out the first Research Forum sponsored by the American Society of International Law.  The forum took place this past weekend in Los Angeles, together with the ASIL Mid-Year Meeting, which ASIL President David Caron has successfully moved out of Washington and out among broader constituencies of international practice here in the U.S.  This year added the inaugural Research Forum as a new tradition for the ASIL Mid-Year Meeting.  The forum included over 50 papers presented at 18 separate panels over two days.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present my own paper on congressional human rights mandates as a work-in-progress and was honored to sit on a panel with stellar colleagues and a sharp commentator, as well as to receive  insightful feedback from the participants.  The panels were well attended and packed with some very smart people from the U.S. academy and abroad — including some interdisciplinary mingling by IR scholars and historians.  You can find some of the draft papers and the full schedule here.  (Among the forthcoming books that were discussed that I am looking forward to reading:  Jeff Dunoff and Mark Pollack’s definitive volume on IL/IR scholarship and Ben Coates’ history of international legalism in U.S. diplomacy.)  I was particularly pleased to see fellow bloggers like Fiona de Londras — on this side of the pond! — and to meet new OJ readers.  Having the opportunity to hear keynotes from ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo (in a candid mood, as Roger notes here) and ICJ Judge Joan Donoghue was icing on the cake.

Congratulations to Kal, Laura, the organizing and host committees, and all the staff at ASIL for a job well done!