LAW & THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY

PENN LAW FACULTY

Penn Law Adjuncts & Lecturers

TOLL PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER PARTNERS AT PENN

PRO BONO PLACEMENTS

American Law Institute
Amnesty International
Greenfield Intercultural Center
International Labor Rights Fund
International Legal Defense Counsel – International Recoveries
Penn Law International Human Rights Student Project
Penn Law Spring Break Abroad
Professor Harry Reicher-Barristers Chambers
U.S. Dept. of Justice – Counterterrorism Section
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)
Zionist Organization of America’s Center for Law & Justice

Penn Law Courses

This course will explore various types of business transactions, both domestic and international, with a view to understanding the principles and dynamics underlying the art of “doing deals” from a US perspective. We will analyze different types of transactions, simple and complex, from the structuring of the transaction to the documentation of the deal, including: - requirement contracts; - technology licensing agreements; - asset purchase transactions and related documentation (confidentiality agreements; letters of intent; non-competes; earn-outs; employment agreements etc…); - stock purchase agreements and related documentation; - project financings; - financial transactions (loan agreements; swap agreements); and - private equity transactions. The class will also emphasize the drafting skills necessary to properly document the transaction and represent the interests of the client. Students should have a basic understanding of US contract law.

During the last quarter-century, China has become a principal participant in the international legal order. The PRC’s entry into the WTO in 2001 was a major milestone in its long march to membership in almost all of the major international organizations. China has enacted and repeatedly amended elaborate legal frameworks for foreign investment and trade, acceded to (or promised to accede to) major international conventions, entered into myriad bilateral agreements, engaged in the legal and political debates over international human rights and the rule of law, negotiated and disputed with other states over several of the major contemporary cases of unsettled territory, and become (directly or through its instrumentalities) a frequent party to, or focus of scrutiny in, transnational litigation. This seminar examines contemporary China's approach to international law, focusing on how China has understood and addressed key principles and doctrines of international law, and on international legal disputes and actions that have been important for China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong). Specific topics to be covered include China’s approach to sources of international law, treaties, statehood and sovereignty, the relationship between domestic and international law, state jurisdiction, immunity and responsibility, international dispute resolution, the law of the sea, human rights, the use of force and international economic law. In each of these areas, the course addresses concrete contemporary controversies as well as broader patterns and underlying issues. Introductory sessions will focus on major themes in China's earlier approach to international law, including those that emerged during the Maoist/high socialist period, the 19th-century encounter with Western powers and their conception of international law, and "traditional" Chinese approaches to international law (during the late imperial period and in classical Chinese thought).

For the last quarter-century, Chinese laws and legal institutions have developed rapidly, if unevenly, amid—and in response to—China’s breathtaking economic transformation and integration the outside world, and the social and political challenges and consequences that “reform” and “opening” have produced. Some aspects of legal change in contemporary China are unprecedented while others perhaps echo influences from earlier periods, including the PRC’s first decades, the initial impact of the West, the broad sweep of Chinese tradition, and diverse Chinese challenges to that tradition. This course provides a brief overview of classical Chinese thought on law, governance and economic regulation, the legal norms and institutions of law and government during the late imperial period, and the influence of Western ideas and pressures and of Chinese reformers and revolutionaries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most of the course focuses on the PRC years, with primary emphasis on the contemporary “reform era.” For this period, the course addresses selected topics such as criminal law and other means of social control, the legal regulation and promotion of economic activity, law and government accountability, and legal aspects of regulating China’s external economic relations. Throughout, political, economic and social contexts are emphasized.

Transactions in goods are a fundamental part of the economy. This course examines legal problems that arise in the distribution of goods within the United States and in international trade. Particular attention is given to the seller's obligations as to quality and delivery; the buyer's obligations as to acceptance and payment; the remedies for breach; the rights of third parties; and problems incident to domestic and foreign documentary transactions. The course considers the legal responsibility of manufacturers to downstream buyers of their products. An objective of this course is to explore the roles of lawyers in planning transactions as well as in resolving contract disputes, through litigation and commercial arbitration. The course will focus on Articles 1, 2, and 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the Convention on International Contracts on Sales of Goods.   

This course will furnish a basic introduction to the modern civil law systems of continental Europe. The course will focus on the three most influential systems (France, Germany, and Italy); these systems have provided much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America with the bedrock of their legal systems. Topics to be covered include: the civil codes; the structure of the court system; constitutional and administrative law; criminal process; and social welfare law.  (Course offered in Fall term only)

This course is designed to examine a range of legal institutions from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. It is not a traditional course in comparative law, in that it focuses not so much on particular rules of substantive law but on the structure of different legal systems and the consequences of those structural differences for law and society. Readings will be drawn from legal and social science literature, including works from anthropology, economics, political science and sociology. The course will explicitly cover non-Western legal traditions to an extent not found in conventional comparative law courses. Furthermore, American institutions are explicitly included in the comparison: this is not simply a course in foreign law. The course will conclude with reflections on what a comparative perspective tells us about American legal institutions.

A study of the resolution of cases connected to more than one jurisdiction: when different jurisdictions (states or nations) have adopted different substantive rules of law, which should govern? Major topics will include the more significant historical approaches (vested rights and interest analysis); the Second Restatement; the role of the U.S. Constitution in interstate conflicts; international conflicts; and domestic relations.

This course will focus on the basic institutions and policies, the governmental and legal process of the European Union and its evolution. Emphasis will be given to the phenomena of European "federalism," that is to the "constitutional," aspects of rule making and judicial functions as well as to conflicts between community law and national law. A second focus will be economic regulation: the implementation of the basic freedoms, antitrust provisions and enforcement, the harmonization of corporate law and securities regulation and some aspects of monetary policies. The course should provide some comparative law experience by tracing specific European legal traditions in the development of EC law.  (Course offered in Fall term only)

The images and implications of September 11th, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay are imprinted in our collective memory. These events and their responses raise critical tensions in both law and policy between the protection of national security and respect for international human rights. In the face of serious threats to national security, to what degree do human rights protections still matter? When (if ever) does a state’s legitimate need to protect its national security trump its international human rights obligations? From a legal and policy perspective, this course examines interface between human rights and national security. The course begins with an introduction to international human rights law, with a focus on obligations to protect human rights in light of new security threats. From a legal perspective, topics include the scope and extent of a state’s human rights obligations, institutions to enforce human rights violations, and the extraterritorial application of human rights law. From a policy perspective, we will ask questions as to the relevance of human rights obligations and how they impact policy-making in the national security realm. The course then turns to issues of national security, examining the place of human rights in the development of US national security strategy and that of certain other countries. We will consider legal questions including the extent of presidential powers in war time, the protection of classified information, the applicability of international humanitarian law to US military operations, and the international law governing the use of force in the protection of human rights. The tensions between human rights and national security will be analyzed through detailed case studies including the use of torture and coercive interrogation techniques, the internment of prisoners captured on the battlefield, and the use of military force to protect human rights through humanitarian interventions. The course concludes with a normative consideration of the appropriate place for human rights in the national security strategy of the United States and examines possible ways of reconciling the tensions between the promotion of human rights and protection of national security. While the focus of the course is on human rights and national security in the law and policy of the United States of America, we will draw on the law and practice of a number of countries and courts, including the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Germany, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. There are no prerequisites for this course nor is any particular background expected. Cross-registrations are encouraged. Active class participation is expected. Students will be required to write two short papers (5 pages, double spaced) during the semester. In addition, there will be a short, take-home final examination during exam period.

The seminar will survey and analyze the meaning of the idea of Imago Dei (Man created in the image of God) in a variety of Jewish sources, Including: biblical literature; Jewish literature of late antiquity, especially early Rabbinic literature (in both halakhah and aggadah); and in medieval Jewish philosophy and law, especially the writings of Maimonides (Rambam) . The course will focus on both Imago Dei’s mythical-philosophical dimensions and it’s application in the law (halakhah) The Seminar is text-centered. It requires the ability to read closely and meticulously texts from a variety of bodies of literature and to inquire the relations and echoing between them. The methodologies to be used are: hermeneutics (for the mythical and theological texts) and legal analysis (for the legal texts), phenomenology and philology (after all, we are dealing with ancient texts). Weekly work includes preparation of texts (translated to the English). Additional reading (of secondary sources in English) is about 50-70 pp. per session. Final paper or home exam.

This course explores immigration policy and provides a comprehensive overview of the legal framework that regulates the admission and deportation of aliens in the United States. The course begins with a brief review of the history of immigration in the United States, a discussion of the morality of immigration restrictions, an analysis of the economic effects of immigration, and an examination of the constitutional basis for the federal government's power over immigration matters. The course then covers the existing categories of visas, the statutory provisions that can trigger exclusion or deportation, the issue of unauthorized immigration, and the constitutional law regarding restrictions on immigrant access to public benefits. The course explores the constitutional rights of aliens and the corresponding limits to the federal immigration power, including those arising from the First Amendment and from the Due Process Clause.

This course will explore the legal structure of intellectual property laws in the United States and select foreign countries and the effect of these laws on the countries national economic development. In this process, we will explore the nature of the correlation between different types of intellectual property laws and national economic development. We will also discuss the quantification of the economic value of different types of intellectual property laws. Lastly, we will engage in a discussion as to whether intellectual property laws can be effective tools for social engineering.

This course provides an overview of the legal issues—domestic, foreign, and international—that arise when U.S. companies do business abroad. Transactions discussed include export sales, agency and distributorship agreements, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, privatization, project finance, and foreign government debt. The course also covers U.S., foreign, and international regulation in such areas as antitrust, securities, intellectual property, tax, and foreign corrupt practices. The course does not cover U.S. or G.A.T.T. rules on import restrictions.

This course is an introduction to litigation in U.S. courts in cases involving foreign parties. The topics to be considered may include: personal jurisdiction over foreigners; forum non conveniens and other forum selection issues; discovery of evidence located outside the United States; foreign sovereign immunity; the extraterritorial application of U.S. laws, including the antitrust and securities laws; the Act of State doctrine; and the enforcement of foreign judgments. The objective of the course is to familiarize students with special procedural and substantive issues that arise in international cases. (Course not offered every year)

From Amnesty International to GreenPeace, non-government organizations (NGOs) play a central role in a global revolution of citizen empowerment. But does the law protect this process -- or suppress it? This concentrated seven-week seminar examines the international and comparative law of civic participation, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Related topics include the role of the UN and other international organizations; counter-terrorism issues; and strategies for protecting freedom of association in politically hostile environments. This is a fast-changing field, and the course utilizes a compilation of materials rather than a single casebook. Interactive exercises draw from international human rights conventions; national constitutions and legislation; and tribunals ranging from the US Supreme Court to the European Court of Human Rights. Invited to speak, in person or via Skype, are World Bank officials, NGO leaders, and senior diplomats. Grading is based on class participation, reading summaries and a take-away exam. Limited enrollment; non-law students welcome; one week drop/add period. In addition to standard registration procedures, please email resumes (by the end of pre-registrion for law students) to AKolker@law.upenn.edu.

This course will address old and new patterns of communications flow across national and societal borders, taking account of media technologies, mutual perceptions, rhetorical forms, and the balance of power and influence in a globalizing world.

Slobodan Milosevic stands accused of genocide before the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. Saddam Hussein will soon be tried by a special Iraqi court. The International Criminal Court has just launched an investigation of the situation in the Sudan. The United States and the European Union are preparing to bring a case on behalf of Airbus and Boeing before the World Trade Organization. Japan’s international fishing rights are being litigated at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. United States courts are considering the legality of the detention of “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo Bay. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have asked the International Court of Justice to rule on the armed intervention in Congo. Hardly more than a decade ago, the international legal system consisted of just one main court—the International Court of Justice. Today there exists a web of international courts and tribunals adjudicating issues ranging from international crimes to trade, from human rights to cross-border pollution. This seminar asks whether these developments represent the emergence of an international judicial system and, if they do, how such a system is structured and whether it is effective. We will examine courts as legal and political institutions from a variety of perspectives—domestic, comparative, and international. The seminar will be based on the case studies of a number of domestic and international courts and tribunals. We will begin with an examination of US courts and their relationship to the international system as evidenced by recent domestic and international decisions on the death penalty and Guantanamo Bay. Next we will look comparatively at domestic courts in Europe and Africa as they relate to the international legal system. The seminar will then turn to case studies of international tribunals—the International Criminal Court, the ad hoc criminal tribunals, the World Trade Organization, the European Court of Human Rights, and the International Court of Justice—paying close attention to their institutional design and position within the international system. Later seminar discussions will be devoted to particular thematic debates, including the independence of the international judiciary, the effectiveness of international courts and tribunals,and the influence of international courts on one another and on their domestic counterparts. In lieu of an exam, students will be asked to prepare a research paper on a topic developed in the seminar and make a formal presentation to the group in the final weeks of the course.

The course will focus on the development of international law, institutions, and regimes that respond to international environmental problems. Topics will include transboundary air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, whaling, and fisheries conservation. The course will begin with introductions to economic and ethical issues in environmental law, to the sources of public international law, and to the problem of making that law effective. The course will also examine how international trade law and institutions, including the World Trade Organization, affect efforts to protect the environment. (Course not offered every year)

The course is intended to discuss the emerging legal structures and the regulatory problems of globalizing financial markets and institutions. Particular emphasis will be given to issues resulting from different levels of economic and political development in various parts of the world.

This course traces the dramatic rise of the individual as a subject of international law in the post-World War II era; specifically, as a beneficiary of fundamental rights recognized, protected and enforced directly by that system of law. It begins by laying historical foundations, showing how the individual was formerly treated as no more than a mere appendage of his/her State, and then considers the transformation effected by the United Nations Charter (1945), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and two International Covenants (1966). The evolution of specific areas of human rights will be studied, e.g., elimination of racial discrimination, elimination of discrimination against women, freedom of religion, the rights of the child, elimination of torture, etc. In each case, three "eras" will be traversed: (a) that of general principles, in which the notion of the rights emerges at the general level; (b) that of specificity, in which the content of the rights takes shape and is defined; and (c) that of enforcement, in which the international legal system seeks to give practical effect to the rights it has recognized, at the national, regional and international levels. Videos will be shown and discussed in class, e.g., on the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on the struggle for human rights at the grass-roots level, in the former Czechoslovakia and Guatemala, on women's rights and on a trial arising out of human rights atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia.

This is an introduction to U.S. taxation of U.S. and foreign persons engaged in international activities. Topics will include scope of U.S. taxing authority, tax treaties, source of income issues, transfer pricing, foreign tax credits, anti-deferral rules, etc. The class will also address some of the important procedural mechanisms by which international tax issues are resolved - e.g., advance pricing agreements and Competent Authority negotiations. The goal of the class is to provide an overview of the relevant law, giving due respect to its complexity and the policies underlying it, and to identify and wrestle with the types of issues that frequently arise.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the legal framework for U.S. and international regulation of international trade in goods. The course will include: a brief introduction to the economics of trade; an examination of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and related instruments; and an analysis of U.S. laws providing relief from unfairly traded imports, including the antidumping and countervailing duty laws, and of U.S. laws providing for other restrictions on imports, such as safeguards.

This course will explore contemporary Islamic finance from a transactional vantage and with particular emphasis on structuring financial transactions and products. Islamic finance will be examined both as an application of Islamic religious law and ethics (shari’ah) and as an effort to create and operate a shari’ah-compliant economic system without interest payments and receipts and based upon a compliant risk-reward paradigm that maintains expected returns for the transactional parties. We will examine some of the core principles of the shari’ah and the methodology by which shari’ah compliance is determined (Shari’ah Supervisory Boards and the issuance of rulings (fatawa)). As a base, we will examine certain principles and precepts of shari’ah and the classical contractual and legal forms that have been approved as being shari’ah-compliant. Our paradigm will be the study of recent Islamic finance transactions in different financial categories and markets. As examples, we will consider, among other structures: (a) lease (ijara) structures in real estate acquisition financings, construction and development financings and private equity transactions; (b) commissioned construction and manufacture concepts (istisna’a) in real estate construction and development transactions and project financings; (c) murabaha (sale at markup) arrangements pertaining to trade finance and working capital facilities; (d) partnership (musharaqah) arrangements in acquisition financings, construction and development financings and project financings as well as more conventional joint venture arrangements; (e) arboon (sale with downpayment) structures as they pertain to hedge fund activities, particularly short sales and options trading; (f) rahn (pledge and mortgage) and adl (trusted person) concepts as they apply to project financings and collateral security structures; (g) Islamic bond and securitization (sukuk) structures used in project finance, municipal finance, corporate finance and the capital markets; and (h) international investment fund structures used for Islamic finance, including associated tax and “know your customer” considerations. In light of market realities, we will also consider conventional Western equivalents to most of the shari’ah-compliant structures. Course participants will develop a new shari’ah-compliant structure for a financial transaction.

Immanuel Kant is widely considered the most influential moral and political philosopher of modern times. Although he wrote extensively on law, much of this material was not published in his lifetime, and his legal contributions are relatively less well-known. This seminar will constitute an introduction to Kant?s philosophy of law, starting with his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and proceeding to the later Theory of Law.

3 sem. hrs.
This course will introduce the fundamentals of labor law in the United States, comparing the American approach with those of other advanced industrialized democracies. We will study the federal law governing employee collective action, including the law governing organizing, employee-union relations, collective bargaining (including tools of economic pressure), and preemption of state law. We will then consider the appropriate scope of application of the NLRA regime; assess the political economic role of organized labor; consider historical and institutional explanations for American 'exceptionalism', and; explore the advantages and disadvantages of American labor law as compared to its alternatives.

For nearly a quarter-century, China has been engaged in a sweeping, if fitful, process of market-oriented economic reforms that have made the Chinese economy one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. From the beginning of this period, legal reforms have been high on the political agenda and have played a central role in these economic developments. After a brief survey of classical and other pre-1949 Chinese thought on law and the economy, major Western theories of law and economic development and regulation, and pre-1978 economic law and regulation in the People's Republic, the course examines in greater depth selected topics in reform-era economic law, such as: contract law, management reforms, taxation and financial reforms, bankruptcy and ownership reform, company law, "economic crime" and corruption, administrative law constraints on economic regulation, institutions of economic legislation, and the special regimes for foreign trade and investment (and related issues of international law and U.S. foreign relations law).

This course focuses on Japan's legal system and legal institutions, examines how they reflect and reinforce Japanese culture and politics, and provides an opportunity to test current theories about the relation between law and society using a non-Western experience. Because the class uses Japan as a way to illustrate the diverse roles of law in advanced industrial democracies, much of the material we read will be relevant to students with general comparative interests. The course looks closely at several areas of Japanese law, including judicial review, women's rights, patients' rights, criminal procedure, police practices, HIV/AIDS, and the regulation of the bar. The readings consist of articles by legal academics, anthropologists, political scientists, sociologists, and other scholars, translated cases and legal documents, and historical materials.

This course draws together comparative law, jurisprudence, conflicts of laws and international law, to examine the Nazi philosophy of law, and how it was used to pervert Germany's legal system to discriminate against, ostracize, dehumanize, and ultimately eliminate, certain classes of people; then, to study the role of international law in bringing perpetrators to justice and constructing a legal system designed to prevent a repetition. The course will consider the following areas: 1. The Holocaust: "Lawful Barbarism.” Overview of the Holocaust, and the ways in which it was "anchored" in law. 2. The Ideology That Made It Possible. Nazi theories of race and the nature and role of the State, and the legal system as an instrument of both. 3. The Nazi Legal System In Action. Laws giving effect to the theories of race, and their interpretation and application by the judges. 4. Jurisprudential Issues. Parts 2 and 3 above will form the foundation for an exploration of the role of morality in a system of law, through a consideration of academic writings and judicial reflection. An example of the former is the celebrated Hart-Fuller debate, the Harvard Law Review; and an example of the latter is the controversial Bernstein litigation, in which the Courts grappled with the effect to be accorded in the US to expropriations of property by the Nazi regime. 5. Measure for Measure: The Response of the International Legal System. Prosecution of crimes against humanity at Nuremberg; national legislation and court decisions bringing perpetrators of atrocities to justice; the Genocide Convention; and the evolution of international human rights, stressing the equality and dignity of all human beings, as a direct antithesis of the Nazi racial philosophy. 6. Lessons for The 21st Century. Case studies in which contemporary history--in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sudan, etc.--raises the disturbing question: What lessons, if any, has the world learned from the Nazi era? Teaching in the course revolves around specially-edited materials, supplemented by video excerpts of archival footage of the Nuremberg and Eichmann trials, a re-enactment of the Wannsee Conference, a biography of Dr. Josef Mengele, Leni Riefenstahl's classic propaganda film Triumph of the Will, and a contemporary war crimes trial arising in the context of the former Yugoslavia.

The aim of this course is to explore the potential and limits of the law governing the conduct of hostilities. We will examine the evolution of The Hague rules of land warfare, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, their application in current conflicts, including the war on terrorism, as well as their interface with international human rights law, while focusing on specific questions such as the right to participate in hostilities, the choice of weapons, the distinctions between combatants and civilians, the treatment of detainees and POWs and belligerent occupation. We will also look at the modalities for enforcing this law and in particular assess the effectiveness of war crimes trials as one of the modalities. The course will meet during the first seven weeks of the Fall term.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995. The WTO administers the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). WTO law regulates what nations may or may not do in pursuit of domestic interests. In that sense it is a course of international regulation of trade. This course examines WTO law, primarily through the legal texts of the WTO Agreement and decisions of the WTO tribunals, primarily of the Appellate Body. (Course offered in Spring term only)

This course introduces students to the legal rules and institutions that govern the international political system. The course provides a formal introduction to international law and emphasizes the relationships between law and politics in the behavior of states, institutions, and individuals in world politics. International law is both more relevant and more interesting today than ever before. From the war against terror to the war in Iraq; from the challenges of free trade to the dangers of environmental destruction; from prisoners in Guantanamo Bay to former heads of state appearing in court, international law has a direct bearing on many of the key issues in international affairs. This course examines how international law is created, how it operates, and what effect it has on these and other issues in contemporary international relations. The course begins with an introduction to the nature and structure of the international legal system. Topics include: the subjects and forms of international law, the key institutional actors, the theoretical background to the international legal system, and the relationships between international law and international relations. The second part of the course turns to substantive legal issues. Topics include: international economic law and the debates surrounding the WTO; international criminal law and the International Criminal Court; the protection of human rights; the use of force and the invasions of Kosovo and Iraq; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the future of the United Nations.

This course will explore the origins of “refuge” or “asylum” including public policy issues such as the beneficiaries of asylum, the State that grants asylum, the international agency or agencies that accord protection, and the myriad of human rights violations that force people to flee and seek asylum will be explored. The course will cover both the international refugee law and human rights context of State practice with reference to international treaties and customary international law. The United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees will be the standard against which refugee protection will be measured. The course will also review regional practice relating to refugees in Europe, Latin America and Africa and Asia. A major portion of the course will deal with US statutory, regulatory and case law determining who is and is not a refuge vis-à-vis the 1980 Refugee Act and implementing regulations. The course will end by looking at the international institutional response to refugee problems. Students will study the legal dimensions, and the responsibilities and realities of the Office of the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, the United States government, the reasons of current and potential population displacements caused by a variety of reasons. Students will also explore the justification and viability of recent national and regional responses to refugee flows, such as, deterrence, detention, restricted employment and welfare entitlements, expedited procedures, and returns to safe countries. By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Understand international and domestic framework for refugee and asylum related issues 2. Show competency in conducting an intake of an asylum seeker and developing a case analysis 3. Prepare an Application for Asylum, Form I-589 and affidavit attesting to the asylum seeker's claim for asylum.

This course will provide an opportunity for students to get acquainted with the basic sources available for research in public and private international law, as well as in the law of selected foreign countries. Students will learn how to find international treaties, European Union documents, decisions of international courts, statutes and court decisions of the United Kingdom, Canada and selected civil law jurisdictions such as France and Germany. The emphasis will be on English language materials. International trade, human rights and foreign constitutional and labor law research will be singled out for special attention. The availability of foreign and international materials online will be discussed. The course is strongly recommended for journal editors working in this area and for participants in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

This seminar explores the legal circumstances that arise when sovereign states are unable to meet their financial obligations. Recent financial crises in Argentina, Russia, and South East Asia highlight the dangers and global ramifications of sovereign default on debt obligations or violations of international investment protections. When sovereign states are unable to meet their financial obligations, they may be subject to a range of legal proceedings in international and domestic fora. Such states often face suit from debt holders in the national courts of any number of states, international arbitrations through the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) brought by investors whose rights may have been violated, pressure from international institutions such as the IFM and World Bank, and negotiated settlements with creditors and affected investors. Though no formal equivalent to domestic bankruptcy law exists for sovereign states, there is a growing practice of how such crises are handled and a wide range of proposals for more effective management of sovereign default. The seminar will examine the existing domestic and international law of “sovereign bankruptcy” and the potential for reform. We will consider both the legal options open to creditors and investors in domestic and international fora and the potential responses available to sovereign states after serious financial crises. The seminar begins with an historical perspective on sovereign financial default and odious debt through an examination of the Ottoman Debt Crisis (1875-1878) and the international intervention that followed. We will then turn to the more recent cases of Russia, South East Asia, and, particularly, Argentina. Topics will include domestic litigation after default, investor protections under bilateral investment treaties, international arbitration of investor rights, domestic and international law defenses that may be available to sovereign states, and negotiated settlements with creditors and investors. In light of the problems with the existing legal structure, the seminar will conclude with consideration of the prospects for reform, including a 2001 IMF proposal for a sovereign bankruptcy regime. The seminar is co-taught by Professors William Burke-White and David Skeel. Our inquiry will draw on both domestic and international law and will seek to incorporate both purely legal questions and broader political and systemic considerations. Guest speakers will be invited to join the seminar on occasion. Requirements Students will be required to write brief (less than 1 page) response papers for at least of 8 of our classes. Students will be required to write one long paper. This paper should be a maximum of twenty pages (double-spaced) in length (with references given in footnotes, not endnotes). The paper will be due at the end of the semester.

Societies have cultivated tobacco and have fought over its manufacture, sale, and consumption for centuries. As tobacco's health consequences have become more clear, increasingly volatile conflicts have emerged over taxing tobacco, regulating cigarette advertising and sales, and limiting where people can smoke. This seminar will explore the legal, political, ethical, and policy issues that underlie the current conflict over smoking in the U.S. , as well as in other industrialized democracies. Our focus will be on the clash between the rights of individuals who 'choose' to smoke, and the responsibility of the government to safeguard public health. We will read judicial opinions, scholarly articles, books, legislation, and popular materials. All seminar participants will write several short research papers.

This seminar explores the challenges associated with the provision of justice in the wake of mass atrocity. We will begin with a basic introduction to key issues in international criminal law, the development of international crimes, and the application of criminal law to the particular circumstances of post-conflict justice. Thereafter, we will turn to a number of case studies to examine how international justice has been delivered and how various justice mechanisms have both been shaped by and impacted the particular political and social circumstances in which they operate. Case studies include the Nuremberg Tribunal in the wake of WWII, the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the hybrid tribunals operating in Cambodia and East Timor, traditional justice processes such as the Rwandan Gacaca, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, and the International Criminal Court’s investigations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We will explore how these institutions were created, their impact on the societies in which they operate, and their interactions with one another. In the final weeks of the course we will turn to a number of cross-cutting issues such as: 1) the ways in which domestic politics influences the choice of post conflict justice mechanisms 2) optimum institution design; 3) the interaction between domestic and international justice mechanisms, 4) the tension between peace and justice, and 4) whether transitional justice really “works”? Students will be expected to write a seminar paper due during the reading period at the end of the semester. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. A number of guest speakers will be joining us throughout the semester.

The Transnational Legal Clinic will explore the lawyer’s work in settings that cut across cultures, borders, languages and legal systems. Students will engage in direct legal representation of individual and organizational clients in the context of immigration as well as broader advocacy efforts raising settled and developing int'l and comparative legal norms in a variety of venues. Fieldwork may also include projects in transactional, legislative, or policy settings. Students will work in teams of two or more under faculty supervision, and will be responsible for all aspects of client representation (e.g., interviewing, case theory development, fact investigation, strategic planning, counseling, negotiation, and written and oral advocacy). Students will be expected to engage in critical reflection on choices presented and made in the course of lawyering, and their individual development as a lawyer. Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to discuss competing interests underlying the development of immigration law in the U.S. and its relationship to int'l law, the role of int'l and comparative law in legal advocacy, law and organizing, and the role of the client in larger human rights/impact litigation cases. The Clinic will meet in seminar twice weekly for training in fundamental lawyering skills (interviewing, counseling, fact investigation, case theory and persuasive advocacy). Seminar time will also be used for case rounds, during which students will share with their clinic colleagues developments in their cases, and solicit suggestions and feedback on legal, factual, ethical and strategic issues. In addition, students will meet regularly in their teams with the faculty supervisor to receive supervision and constructive feedback. The seminar is not a substitute for an international law or immigration course. Substantive law will only be discussed to the extent it is relevant to specific cases. The students are responsible – with the guidance of the faculty supervisor – for researching and learning the underlying substantive law relevant to their individual cases. Fieldwork and seminar components of the course will be graded separately. Students will be provided with a grading memo at the start of the semester outlining the criteria on which they will be graded, and students will be required to write a self-reflection memo at the end of the semester evaluating their own performance in accordance with those criteria. Students will meet one-on-one mid-semester with their faculty supervisor to exchange constructive feedback on performance to date in the course. Students enrolled will be asked to read prior to the start of classes The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman. The book explores the relationships between the American medical system, doctors and social workers, and a young Hmong girl and her refugee family. It raises several issues of cross-cultural communication that will serve as the basis for discussions throughout the semester.