International Law at KU News from the International and Comparative Law Program at the University of Kansas School of Law
Conference launches center oN international trade, agriculture
JUNE 2010
he law school officially launched its Center for International Trade & Agriculture this spring with a well-attended scholarly roundtable on “Kansas and World Agriculture.”
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Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., a 1982 KU Law graduate, brought guests up to speed on agriculture policy in the 111th Congress during his keynote luncheon address. He also reminisced about his time at Green Hall. “Keith Meyer was one of my very first professors,” Moran said. “And as a smalltown rural Kansas kid who came to the University of Kansas – kind of a different world from where I had been accustomed – Keith Meyer was not only an outstanding teacher and knowledgeable of the subjects and topics, but he was one of those professors who made us small-town Kansas kids feel welcome and fit into the University of Kansas School of Law.” The April 9 program honored Meyer, the E.S. and Tom W. Hampton Professor of Law, who joined the law faculty in 1969, has taught agricultural law since 1975 and retired in May. Genetically modified wheat, agriculture’s role in mitigating climate change and legal issues in animal agriculture were among the other topics that academics, industry
Vol. 8, No. 1
A strange bird in a strange land International Law Society update KU students study abroad David McKinney/KU University Relations
Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) delivers the keynote lecture at “Kansas and World Agriculture.” WATCH VIDEO of all the lectures at www.law.ku.edu/citavideo.
experts and lawmakers explored during the roundtable. Rice Distinguished Professor Raj Bhala talked about “Agricultural Controversies in the Doha Round of World Trade Negotiations.” Other presenters were: n Charles Rice, Kansas State University n Drew Kershen, University of Oklahoma
School of Law n Michael Roberts, Roll International Corporation and Affiliates n Kendell Keith, National Grain and Feed Association n Elizabeth Springsteen, National Agriculture Law Center
The Center for International Trade & Agriculture aims to promote key issues in Continued on page 14
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Faculty travels; human rights symposium People in the news Student lands ICTY internship First S.J.D.; int’l law moot court Student published in int’l law journal Student honored in Taipei competition Tribal law conference Professor proposes market reform International law snapshots
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A Strange bird in a Strange land Law student, Army veteran gives Afghan-made Jayhawk rug to law school may look like your average Jayhawk fan gear, but woven into the crimson- and blue-tinged rug at the University of Kansas School of Law is a story of economic development and diplomacy in war-torn Afghanistan. Lawrence Indyk, a recent KU Law graduate and a captain in the U.S. Army, found himself stationed in 2008 at Bagram Air Field, near Kabul. Each Friday, local merchants held a bazaar, setting up small market stalls just inside the base’s main gate. With U.S. soldiers as their customers, the locals sold electronics, clothing, souvenirs and mementos. Indyk always noticed one particular stall occupied by a woman peddling handmade rugs. He learned that she was a member of the Afghan Women’s Handicraft and Commercial Association, a program supported by the United States in its effort to enhance relations, develop the Afghan economy and elevate the conditions and status of women in Afghan society. He inquired and discovered that the woman welcomed commissions. The process was simple. Indyk brought in a picture of the design he wanted her to recreate, selected the size, put down a small deposit and returned a few weeks later to pick up the custom, hand-woven rug.
U.S. Army Capt. Lawrence Indyk with the Afghan woman who wove the Jayhawk rug that he donated to the law school last fall. U.S. Army Capt. Lawrence Indyk, center, with his wife, Brenda, left, and son, Samuel, present an Afghan-made rug to Dean Gail Agrawal.
Last fall, Indyk presented his selection – a full-color Jayhawk on a field of black, flanked by the words “Kansas School of Law” – to Dean Gail Agrawal and the law school. “I wanted to get something special,” Indyk said. “In addition to accomplishing the goals of enhancing U.S.-Afghan relations and improving conditions for women, I figured it was a great opportunity to bring back personalized gifts from abroad that were distinguishable from mere knick-knacks that could have been made in China or Pakistan.” The wool rug measures roughly 18 inches square and remains on the same wooden frame on which it was woven. It is displayed on the fourth floor of Green Hall. Indyk also purchased several rugs for friends and family members. The Afghan Women’s Handicraft and Commercial Association is part of the broader Afghan Women’s Business Federation, which promotes the welfare and rights of women workers in Afghanistan. The federation was established in 2005 with aid from the United States to create a consortium of women’s business associations engaged in economic development. Indyk, of Fairway, Kan., joined the Army shortly after 9/11 and went through officer training at Fort Benning, Ga., before being commissioned as a lieutenant. He met his wife, Brenda, during a six-month chemical officer course at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. She deployed to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division just prior to Lawrence’s deployment with the Third
Stryker Brigade. They married during mutual combat leave in September of 2004, and Lawrence received a Purple Heart the following May. He started graduate school as a dual degree candidate in law and economics in the summer of 2006, but after his last final in December of 2007 was recalled to active duty in Afghanistan. He returned in March and picked up his law classes over the summer. Brenda, too, pursued a joint degree, in law and social work, at KU. The Indyks graduated in May. They have two children, Samuel, 4, and Audrey, 2. “Success in our mission in Afghanistan depends on much more than just combat or counter-terrorism operations,” Lawrence said. “Economic development, as difficult and lengthy a process as it may be, is essential. When you improve people’s lives, they are genuinely grateful and will join your cause. I am convinced that a critical aspect of this improvement will come from unlocking the as-yet untapped economic potential of the nation’s female population. “Even small commercial purchases, like this rug, by providing opportunities to achieve greater prosperity, help this process along, and they augment relationships that are key to our work today and our influence in the future.”
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Students, faculty and staff enjoyed good food and good company at the annual ILS Kick-Off Picnic in September at Clinton Lake.
International law Society enjoys active year
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he Dwight D. Eisenhower International Law Society had another year of high-profile activities and successes. It sponsored the 2009 Kick-Off Picnic to mark the start of the new academic year. Unseasonably mild weather greeted students, faculty and staff who attended the Sept. 1 event at Clinton Lake. Guests learned about study abroad opportunities, the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the International Trade and Finance Certificate and more. Last October, ILS held its annual Pub Games, a social gathering at a local bar to increase awareness and generate funds for the organization. The event also provides a social forum for students to meet and unwind from the rigors of law school. This year’s Pub Games, with the assistance of local bar owner and KU alumnus Danny Williams, was held at the venerable local pub The Phoggy Dog. Students created teams of four to compete in pool, darts and table shuffleboard. While competition was intense, eventual champions were crowned for overall team performance. Not to over-
shadow individual successes, the true winner of the night was the International Law Society, hauling in a record in dues collection and fundraising. About 150 people attended the 2010 ILS Wine Tasting fundraiser on March 25 at the Lawrence Arts Center. The event raised more than $1,000 for Optimus Youth, a nonprofit organization co-founded by KU Law 1L Sean Foley. OptimusYouth partners with wellestablished community efforts worldwide to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. Most recently, the organization collaborated with a Kenyan-operated nonprofit foundation to triple the capacity of an orphanage in Wangige, Kenya. Wine Tasting guests were treated to unlimited wine tastes, an incredible fruit and cheese spread, and live music. Guests were also able to bid on silent auction items brought over from Kenya specifically for this event, including beaded bracelets and earrings, colorful batiks and photographs of everyday Kenyan life. Special thanks to Glazers,
Hyvee, The Merc, Russ Kapp and OptimusYouth for their generous donations of time, food, wine and cash. The 2009-2010 academic year also proved a great one for ILS speakers. Among them were British judge Brian Barker, who presented his country’s legal response to terrorism; John Richmond, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit; and Martin Henn, a noted scholar examining the legal response to the war on terror. Professors Raj Bhala and John Head also spoke at an informative noon forum about jobs in international law. A new slate of student officers will lead ILS during the 2010-2011 academic year: President: Leilani Leighton Vice President: Margot Pickering Secretary/Treasurer: Sarah Briley Communications Director: Elizabeth Landau Alumni Coordinator: Kellie Mitchell
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students, faculty to spend summer abroad
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wo KU Law students returned from a semester abroad this spring while 21 others prepared to spend the summer in Europe and Eurasia through the school’s study abroad program. Third-year law student Josh Williamson and 2010 graduate Hilary Meckel spent the spring semester in London. Williamson thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to live abroad and study law in a foreign country while collaborating with fellow law students from throughout the United States. He took a variety of classes, including International Human Rights and British Legal Methods. The latter paired him with a British barrister who practiced criminal defense law. Williamson got to sit in on trials, accompany the barrister on prison visits and more. “This experience really immersed me in the UK legal system, and I learned a great deal about the foreign practice of law,” Williamson said. Perhaps as educational, he said, were his weekend travels to destinations such as Paris, Stockholm, Venice and Salzburg. In a region further east, Professor and Interim Dean Stephen Mazza will represent the KU Law faculty July 3-25 in Istanbul. Five students will join Mazza at Bahçeşehir University overlooking the scenic Bosphorus. Mazza will co-teach International Tax Law with Gulsen Gedik, a Marmara University faculty member and a former Visiting Scholar at KU Law. Other courses available to students will include Criminal Procedure in Europe, Comparative Perspectives on Law and Aging, and War Crimes Prosecutions. Learning will extend outside the
Third-year KU Law student Josh Williamson, sixth from left, and May graduate Hilary Meckel, ninth from right in blue head scarf, visit a mosque in London with students from other law schools through the London study abroad program.Williamson and Meckel spent the spring semester learning the law in England and traveling throughout Europe.
classroom doors with excursions to Izmir, Ephesus and Troy. The Limerick program, located at Ireland’s University of Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon, will feature comparative law courses on several issues, visits to the national courts in Dublin and more. KU Law Professor Mike Davis will teach Comparative State and Religion, joined by 16 students from Green Hall. Also on the course menu are Comparative International Terrorism Law, Creating a Federal European Union and Comparative Family Law.
Director of KU Law’s Legislative Clinic speaks in Nepal, Bangladesh for U.S. State Department Burdett Loomis, professor of political science at the University of Kansas and director of the Legislative Clinic at the KU School of Law, traveled to Nepal and Bangladesh in July and August 2009 to speak about U.S. politics and the Obama administration. His trip was at the invitation of the U.S. State Department. While overseas, Loomis met with regional leaders, journalists, students and faculty. Loomis, who also traveled to Iraq, China, Malaysia and Singapore last year for State Department assignments, said he
has found that the students and others he meets “tend to be interested in how things get done here.” In countries where party politics can be seriously divisive, Loomis said he had encounLoomis tered active interest in “how political battles are kept within institutional boundaries.” Loomis has a relationship with the State Department’s Public Diplomacy Program that extends back almost two decades.
Law school hosts human rights symposium The KU Public Interest Law Society and the Islamic Law Students Association hosted the law school’s third annual Human Rights Symposium on April 2 at Green Hall. Kansas City immigration attorney Angela Ferguson discussed violations of human rights in immigration detentions. Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation, talked about the embargo imposed on the Gaza strip and the Goldstone Report. He also invited activists, especially religious and interfaith groups, to seek solutions through education, litigation and legislation.
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people in the news Raj Bhala is in the final year of his work on a new, 50-chapter, 1,000-page book titled “Understanding Islamic Law (Shari’a),” which LexisNexis is publishing. The book is designed as a text for law students and reference for practitioners. Bhala published the following articles: n “Teaching China GATT,” 1 Trade, Law and Development 1-55 (spring 2009), lead article in the inaugural online and print journal of the National Law University of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. Bhala was also appointed to the journal’s board of advisers. n “Philosophical, Religious, and Legalistic Perspectives on Equal Human Dignity and U.S. Free Trade Agreements,” 28 Saint Louis University Public Law Review 9-70 (2008), lead article, symposium by invitation on free trade agreements. n “WTO Case Review 2008,” 26 Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law 113-228 (2009). n “Why GATT Matters, Then and Now,” GlobaLaw Quarterly 3-6 (quarter 2, 2009, Thomson Reuters), cover story feature.
Rice Distinguished Professor Raj Bhala, right, along with his wife, Kara (left), and daughter, Shera (middle), visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, during a spring trip on which Bhala conducted research for his new book on Islamic law. The temple is the most important holy site for Sikhs. All those who enter cover their hair and remove their shoes. Sikh pilgrims like those in the background take a dip in the large pool of water inside the Golden Temple complex, a practice that is believed to be spiritually cleansing.
In February, Bhala gave a presentation at a globalization seminar at the Hall Center for the Humanities on “Whither Iran’s Green Revolution?” as part of a panel with Reza Aslan and Pooya Naderi.
Controversies in the Doha Round of World Trade Negotiations: Devilish Details and Grand Themes” as part of the scholarly roundtable “Kansas and World Agriculture: Current Crises and Future Opportunities,” sponsored by the KU School of Law’s Center for International Trade & Agriculture. He also presented “The World Trading System” as part of a training program on the “Effects of Global Trading on the World Economy” for the International Officer Program, Fort Leavenworth Command and General Staff College, and made a presentation on Islamic law to the Muslim law class at Benares Hindu University in Varanasi, India. While there, Bhala met with the dean of BHU to discuss programs and relationships with KU.
In April, Bhala presented “Agricultural
Bhala also made these presentations:
Bhala gave three presentations in January at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law: “Understanding Islamic Law (Shari’a): Perspectives on Finance, Women, and Apostasy,” presentation to faculty; “The Doha Round of World Trade Negotiations: Devilish Details and Grand Themes,” presentation to faculty and students; and “International Trade and Finance: Trends and Opportunities,” presentation to students, with Kara Tan Bhala, lecturer, University of Kansas School of Business.
n “The History, Theory, and Practice of Antidumping Law (A Brief Overview, Of Course), panel on “The Nature and Operation of National Anti-Dumping Laws in a Comparative Approach,” Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) Annual Meeting, Manila, Philippines, May 2009. n “The Doha Round of World Trade Negotiations and African Interests,” annual “Africa Lecture” of the African Students Union, Kansas State University, March 2009. n “Resurrecting the Doha Round: Devilish Details, Grand Themes, and China Too” (published in the Texas International Law Journal), symposium on “Trade, Investment, and Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities Associated with China’s Rise as a World Economic and Political Power,” University of Texas School of Law, February 2009. Bhala also presented this paper Continued on page 6
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people in the news Continued from page 5
at the KU Faculty Discussion Club in February. n “Doha Round Schisms: Numerous, Technical, and Deep” (published in the Loyola (Chicago) International Law Journal), Faculty Workshop Series on Comparative Law, Villanova University School of Law, February 2009.
Bhala has been elected to lifetime membership in Who’s Who Among Collegiate Faculty. This award is from a nomination by a peer or peers, peer review and verification based on credentials and accomplishments in the field of law.
Chris Drahozal
published “The Future of Manifest Disregard” 2009 Stockholm Int’l Arb. Rev. 1. Together with the other Reporters, he presented Preliminary Draft No. 3 of the Restatement (Third) of the U.S. Law on International Commercial Arbitration to the Advisers for the project and to the Members Consultative Group in Philadelphia on Jan. 29-31. His book, “Towards a Science of International Arbitration: Collected Empirical Research,” co-edited with Richard Naimark, has been translated into Chinese.
John Head gave
a presentation on “The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 in Context: Reflections on International Legal and Institutional Failings, ‘Fixes’ and Fundamentals” at a symposium on international economic affairs at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. His book, titled “General Principles of International Business and Economic Law,” has been published by Renmin University Press (Beijing). The English-language text written by Head
Professor John Peck, center, met with Rafael Gonzalez Ballar, dean of the law school, right, and Professor Mario Peña during a March 2009 visit to Costa Rica. Below: Peck photographed this frog during a journey through the rain forest.
5 East Asia Law Review 31 (2009). On Nov. 16-17, Head presented a paper on constitutionalism and the rule of law in China as part of a conference in Trento, Italy. He did a public presentation and a faculty presentation, both focusing on Chinese law with special emphasis on rule-oflaw issues and constitutionalism, at the University of Akron School of Law on Feb. 2-3. is supplemented by a Chinese-language guide prepared by Zhao Xiuwen, associate dean of international studies at Renmin University Law School. Head also gave a presentation on “The Asian Financial Crisis in Retrospect: Observations on Legal and Institutional Lessons Learned After a Dozen Years” as part of a symposium at the University of Pennsylvania on international economic affairs. The Nov. 6 symposium, sponsored by the East Asia Law Review, featured economists and lawyers reviewing “lessons learned” from the Asian Financial Crisis (1997). The presentation was based on the article he published in
He also published “Feeling the Stones When Crossing the River: The Rule of Law in China,” 7 Santa Clara Journal of International Law 25 (2010).
Jelani Jefferson Exum presented
“Domestic Violence in the United States” at the Istanbul Bar Association’s Conference on Domestic Violence (July 21, 2009).
Stacy Leeds served on the editorial advisory board and was a contributing author for the Encyclopedia of
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people in the news American Indian Policy, Relations, and Law (CQ Press), edited by Finkelman and Garrison.
with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Albuquerque, N.M., Oct. 22, 2009.
She also made these presentations:
n “Recent United States Supreme Court Indian Law Decisions and the Threat to Tribal Economies,” keynote luncheon address to the 2009 Indian Law Clinic Symposium organized by the University of New Mexico Southwest Indian Law Clinic, Washburn University School of Law, University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico Tribal Law Journal, Albuquerque, N.M., June 9, 2009.
n “Fireside Chat on Indigenous Nations and the Environment,” Wake Forest University, April 22, 2010. n “The Significant Role of Tribal Courts for Tribal Economies,” conference on “Living In Balance: Tribal Nation Economics and the Law,” Idaho College of Law, March 26, 2010. n Panelist in roundtable discussion
on “The Kansas Act and Recent Case Decisions Impacting Tribal Court Jurisdiction,” 10th Annual Native Nations Law Symposium in Mayetta, Kan., held in conjunction with the 14th Annual Tribal Law and Government Conference at the University of Kansas School of Law, Feb. 11-12, 2010.
n “Beyond Land-Into-Trust: Creative
Land Ownership Options for Tribes,” 11th Annual American Indian Law Conference, Federal Bar Association, Washington, D.C., Nov. 13, 2009. n “Ending the Multiple Trails of Tears: Strengthening Families and Tribal Communities by Application of the Indian Child Welfare Act,” Ninth Annual American Indian Symposium of the American Indian Council, Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 10, 2009. n “Proposal for Reform: American Indian Property Law,” faculty workshop series titled “Ideas and Innovations in Legal Scholarship,” University of Wisconsin School of Law, Oct. 23, 2009. n “What Tribal Courts Do to Preserve the Sovereignty of Indian Tribes,” at “Protecting Sovereignty: The Role of Tribal Courts” training conference, co-hosted by the National Judicial College and the Tribal Judicial Institute
n “Sovereignty and Consequences: Cherokee Legal History and Freedmen Citizenship,” inaugural Fletcher Lecture, Harvard University, May 11, 2009. n “Proposals for Reduction in Fractionated Ownership,” guest lecture, University of California-Los Angeles School of Law, March 19, 2009. n “Tribal Citizenship Determinations:
The Cherokee Freedmen Cases in Tribal and Federal Court,” conference on “Native Americans, Race and the Constitution,” hosted by the American Indian Law Program and the Byron R. White Center for the Study of Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado Law School, Feb. 27, 2009.
Stephen Mazza
published an essay, co-authored with Tracy Kaye of Seton Hall, on taxpayer rights and taxpayer charters. The essay is included in a commemorative book celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Confederation Fiscale Europeenne. Scholars from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Australia also submitted essays discussing the sources of taxpayer rights within their respective tax systems.
John Peck made a presentation on American water allocation law at the University of Costa Rica in March of 2009. He traveled there to learn about the water allocation issues and laws of Costa Rica, make professional contacts, and lay the groundwork for a stronger relationship between the law schools at KU and in San Jose. He met with government and nongovernment water officials, water and environmental law scholars, and law school administrators and faculty. Peck (pictured on page 6) published “Comparative Water Law and Management: The Yellow River Basin in Western China and the State of Kansas in the Western United States,” 18 Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy 428 (2009), with Burke Griggs and Xue Yunpeng. Peck presented “Comparative International Water Law and Management: The Asia-Kansas Program” at the annual meeting of the American Water Resources Association on Nov. 12, 2009, in Seattle.
Andrew Torrance has
been named an international editor for MAKARA Social Sciences and Humanities Series journal, published by DRPM (Research and Community Services Directorate) of Universitas Indonesia.
David Westbrook
participated in a closed-door policy roundtable on the financial crisis and the future of financial regulation at the Commission of the European Communities, the chief administrative organ of the European Union, in Brussels. He also published “Waiting on a Miracle for Afghanistan” on Feb. 24 in the online edition of First Things.
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Alumna defending human rights at UNited Nations INT’L criminal tribunal the heart of Ashlyn Buck’s passion for international human rights law lie the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Buck earned an opportunity to defend that principle by securing an internship at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) for the former Yugoslavia. The May 2009 graduate worked in the tribunal’s Office of Legal Aid and Detention Matters through February 2010. In an interview before her departure for the Netherlands, Buck said: “I am especially excited to have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of some of the best legal talent from around the world. I am hopeful that the experience will strengthen my interpersonal and research skills and open the door to future opportunities in public international law.” Ashlyn Buck, L’09, Amsterdam.
The ICTY is the ad hoc international court set up by the UN to try high-level war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. It is situated in The Hague, Netherlands. Since 1993, the tribunal has charged more than 160 people with committing appalling acts such as murder, torture, rape, enslavement and destruction of property. Those indicted include heads of state, prime ministers, army chiefs-of-staff, interior ministers and
regimes is hugely important, both for the world community and for the U.S. itself.” During her first week on the job, Buck visited the UN Detention Unit twice – a rare experience for interns. She also conducted comparative legal research; wrote letters to ambassadors, nongovernmental organizations and convicts serving sentences; and helped draft Registry decisions and submissions to the Trial Chambers.
“I think U.S. participation in and support for international law regimes is hugely important, both for the world community and for the U.S. itself.” — Ashlyn Buck, L’09 many other high- and mid-level political, military and police leaders. More than 60 individuals have been convicted. Buck’s duties focused on protecting the rights of suspects and accused. An internship abroad the summer after her first year of law school sparked Buck’s interest in international human rights law. “I became very interested in international tribunals such as the ICTY because they actually implement international law, which has been too frequently disregarded and disrespected, especially in the United States,” she said. “I think U.S. participation in and support for international law
John Head, one of Buck’s international law professors at KU Law, praised Buck and her work as an ICTY intern.
“She is putting her energy where her principles lead her, and this is what I think every young lawyer should try to do,” he said. “The ICTY is one of a small cluster of international institutions that have front-line responsibility for developing and applying certain rules of behavior that are absolutely essential for a civilized world. For Ashlyn to be contributing to this process is great for her own career and a compliment to KU Law.” Buck recently returned to the ICTY’s Office of Legal Aid and Detention Matters in The Hague as an associate legal officer. In her temporary role, she continues to focus on protecting the rights of suspects and accused, sometimes working directly with defense counsel as the officer in charge of specific cases. Buck is excited to be living out Dr. King’s words on the world stage.
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First candidate completes S.J.D. program accomplished lawyer and scholar from Nepal became the first candidate to complete the Doctor of Juridical Science program at the University of Kansas School of Law. Surendra Bhandari successfully defended his doctoral thesis in early February after beginning his research at Green Hall in August 2008 – just one year after the S.J.D. program’s inception at the law school. The program is designed for students interested in engaging in in-depth legal scholarship, particularly future academic leaders, government leaders and judges. Bhandari’s thesis, “An Analysis of Positivism in the Form of Constructivism to Address the Problems of Making Rules in the WTO,” identifies theoretical and practical consequences associated with the current method of making rules in the World Trade Organization. Bhandari argues that the method is “not helpful for creating global wealth and promoting free trade.” Bhandari earned a Ph.D. in law in 2003 from Nepal and a postdoctoral degree from the United Nations University in Japan. He worked as a lawyer at the Supreme Court of Nepal and was executive director of Law Associates Nepal, a legal research organization. Bhandari also worked for the Nepalese government as a legal consultant, supporting the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization and drafting a number of laws to comply with WTO obligations, including the intellectual property law of Nepal. He taught legal theory and international trade law at Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Surendra Bhandari defends his thesis at the KU School of Law.
Law Campus, and is the author of three books relating to the World Trade Organization. Candidates for the S.J.D. program at KU Law must hold a basic law degree (bachelor of laws or juris doctor) and a master of laws degree, possess a prestigious academic record and show promise for reaching the highest ranks of legal service in their home country. In addition to Bhandari, the program boasts 13 students from Saudi Arabia, China, Korea, Egypt, Turkey, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and the United States (Kansas).
Students earn honors at international law moot court Students representing the KU School of Law in the Jessup International Law Moot Court competition brought back multiple honors from the Houston regional rounds in February. The KU team – Samantha Clark, Drew Cummings, Brooke Edenfield, Michael Lee and Ellen O’Leary – submitted briefs in January for both sides in a case involving two states arguing over jurisdiction, self-determination and foreign investment. They competed in the oral arguments phase of the competition at the University of Houston Law Center. Out of the 24 teams and more than 90 oral advocates competing there, KU law students performed extremely well, bringing home four plaques:
n Brooke Edenfield won sixth-place oral advocate. n Mike Lee won seventh-place oral advocate. n The team won third-best briefs. n The team advanced to the quarterfinals, losing narrowly to one of the two teams that went on to win the competition and qualify for the international rounds in Washington, D.C.
In the oral arguments, the KU team faced teams from the University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, Southern Methodist University, Ohio State University and Washburn University. Professor John Head serves as faculty adviser for the KU team.
From left, Michael Lee, Samantha Clark, Ellen O’Leary, Drew Cummings, Professor John Head and Brooke Edenfield.
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KU law student publishes article in international trade law journal University of Kansas School of Law student achieved the rare honor of being published in an international law journal before graduating from law school. Dana Watts, while still a third-year student from Syracuse, Kan., published “Fair’s Fair: Why Congress Should Amend U.S. Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws to Prevent ‘Double Remedies’” in Trade, Law and Development, a new academic journal published by National Law University in Jodhpur, India. “It feels great to be a published author,” said Watts, who graduated in May 2010. “The editor of the journal, Shashank Kumar, even wrote to tell me that my article had been cited in a blog by the co-owner of WorldTradeLaw.net, Simon Lester. I used this site several times during my internship at the U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization. It feels like I’ve hit the big time.” Watts wrote about the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 2007 decision to begin applying both countervailing duties and antidumping duties to imports from China and other nonmarket economies. Countervailing duties are import taxes applied to offset certain kinds of subsidies given to producers or exporters in the exporting country. Antidumping duties are taxes applied to imported goods that are dumped in an importing country. Dumping occurs when a foreign producer or exporter charges a higher price for a like product in the exporting country than the price it charges for
Dana Watts, L’10
apply simultaneous countervailing and antidumping duties to the same imports from nonmarket economies and the legalities of the new policy under domestic and international law. For the sake of fairness and to comply with international obligations, Watts argues that Congress should amend U.S. countervailing duty law so that it simply levels the playing field for domestic producers rather than punishing exporters from nonmarket economies. Raj Bhala, Rice Distinguished Professor at KU Law, said Watts’ article clearly and cogently explores the topic and is of considerable importance today, as the U.S. Court of International Trade considered the controversy in a September case known as GPX Tire.
“She wrote on a highly complex topic with the level of expertise of a seasoned practitioner or scholar. She illustrates the world-class talent we are privileged to have at KU Law.”
“She wrote on a highly complex topic with the level of expertise of a seasoned practitioner or scholar,” Bhala said. “She illustrates the world-class talent we are privileged to have at KU Law.”
— Professor Raj Bhala on Dana Watts
merchandise it ships to the importing country. An antidumping duty makes up the difference between those prices. Both countervailing duties and antidumping duties are considered remedies against unfair foreign trade, but the simultaneous application of both remedies to nonmarket economies like China has been highly controversial. For 23 years before this decision, the Department of Commerce had applied only antidumping duties to imports from nonmarket economies. In her article, Watts discusses the potential problems of trying to
The journal selected Watts’ article for publication through a routine call for papers. It appeared in the inaugural print edition, also available at www.tradelawdevelopment.com. Watts spent last summer as an intern at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in Geneva. The Geneva Mission of the USTR handles all matters concerning the World Trade Organization and is a focal point of the work of the USTR. Before coming to law school, Watts lived and worked in Japan for three years and speaks Spanish. She is the past president of KU’s International Law Society, an active component of the school’s International and Comparative Law Program.
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Law student wins best oral advocate award at int’l competition in Taiwan
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spring 2009 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law was deemed the best oral advocate in preliminary rounds at an international moot court competition in May 2009. Beau Jackson earned the honor at the international finals of the European Law Students’ Association Moot Court competition in Taipei. Jackson and his three teammates — Christina Elmore, Ben Sharp and Carrie Bader — qualified for the finals by finishing second in the North American regional round in March. They were the first KU team to make it to the world level of the seven-year-old competition. “I was very pleased to receive the best oralist award because it is perhaps the highest individual honor, since it is the only stage at which every competitor participated — four people from 19 teams, so almost 80 people,” Jackson said. “Obviously, though, I would rather have had our team win the whole thing than for me to be recognized individually. But in many ways it is a team award. I would not have won it without Christina’s excellent research assistance, Carrie’s spot-on speaking advice and Ben’s insightful suggestions on how to best navigate the trickiest parts of my argument.” The day after graduating from law school, the team members departed for Taiwan with high hopes of bringing home a global victory. After a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles, they arrived in Taipei at midnight local time and, thanks to an unlucky draw, had to compete in the first preliminary round at 9 a.m. They squared off against a team from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia and then Maastricht University in The Netherlands. Each of those teams advanced to the semifinals. “We had some stiff competition,” Jackson said. “There were some really talented students from all around the world. It was fun to be in that environment.”
From left: Beau Jackson, Carrie Bader, Christina Elmore and Ben Sharp in Taiwan.
professor who authored the problem for this year’s competition. Jackson said the questioning was even more intense than at the regional level, with judges posing sharp, precise queries throughout the arguments. “I think we handled it really well, and I walked out of each round feeling like we had done our best,” he said. “The fun part was seeing how much we had progressed from the original stages — from writing the brief to the regional rounds to this. You get so much deeper into the problem and you learn to come at it from different angles and you learn how complex it really is.”
“There were some really talented students from all around the world. It was fun to be in that environment.” — Beau Jackson, L’09
The European Law Students’ Association Moot Court Competition is a simulated hearing in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement system. Competitor teams represent both parties to the case by presenting oral submissions in front of a panel, which consists of World Trade Organization law experts. The 2008-09 case dealt with a hypothetical dispute over trade and regulatory measures aimed at addressing climate change. Rice Distinguished Professor Raj Bhala coached the team. The students were impressed with the caliber of panelists who heard the oral arguments, including law professors from various countries, legal affairs specialists at the WTO and a former member of its Appellate Body, and the Canadian law
Team members also got the opportunity to experience the Taiwanese capital, which is home to nearly 3 million people. “I think we hit everything that our guidebook told us to hit,” Bader said. “We have the most tattered guidebook I’ve ever had after visiting a place.” Highlights included the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall; various tea gardens, temples and night markets; and Taipei 101, the world’s tallest completed skyscraper. Despite their disappointment at not winning the competition, the team members said they learned a great deal from the experience and were extremely grateful for the opportunity.
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Joint conference and symposium offers broad look at American Indian law
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wo preeminent scholars in the field of federal Indian law opened the 14th annual Tribal Law and Government Conference at the KU School of Law. Robert J. Miller of Lewis and Clark Law School and Sarah Krakoff of the University of Colorado Law School gave talks on Feb. 11 at Green Hall and were joined the following day by other scholars and practitioners covering topics of interest to those studying or practicing tribal law at the 10th annual Native Nations Law Symposium at the Prairie Band Casino and Resort in Mayetta, Kan. “This year’s conference was a result of a cooperative effort between the KU law school and the four tribes in Kansas, with additional support from Washburn law school,” said Stacy Leeds, professor of law and director of the Tribal Law and Government Center at KU. “The conference offered a rich mixture of academic inquiry and practical application in the field.” Miller, an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, published “Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny” in 2008. His talk on the “Doctrine of Discovery in American Indian Law” springs from that book. Krakoff, associate dean for research at Colorado, provided “A Realistic Assessment of the Role of Federal Courts in Federal Indian Law.” Others on the slate of presenters were: n “Indian Gaming Now: Law, Policy, and Politics in the Next Decade,”
Professor Sarah Krakoff, left, and Professor Robert J. Miller make presentations on the first day of the two-day joint Tribal Law & Government Conference and Native Nations Law Symposium. WATCH VIDEO of the lectures by Miller, Krakoff and other presenters at www.law.ku.edu/spring10
Kathryn Rand, University of North Dakota School of Law n “Ethical Considerations for Tribal Courts, Practice and Governance,” Elizabeth Kronk, University of Montana School of Law and chief appellate judge, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians n “Estate Planning and the American
Indian Probate Reform Act,” Douglas R. Nash, Seattle University School of Law n “Tribal Trust Accounting and Mismanagement Litigation,” Melody McCoy, Native American Rights Fund
n Roundtable discussion: “The Kansas Act and Recent Case Decisions Impacting Tribal Court Jurisdiction,” Stacy Leeds, KU; Aliza Organick, Washburn University School of Law; and Mark Dodd and Vivien Olsen, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation tribal attorneys
The conference and symposium were sponsored by the KU School of Law, the Native Nations Law Symposium (co-sponsored by Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, Iowa Tribe and Sac and Fox Nation) and the Washburn Law Clinic at the Washburn University School of Law.
Learn more about us KU Law has a rich and exciting International and Comparative Law Program, complete with course offerings, activities, student opportunities and more. Find out more about the program at www.law.ku.edu/academics/icl This issue of International Law at KU was compiled by Mindie Paget, John Head and Michele Rutledge, with contributions from students. Paget designed the newsletter.
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professor proposes sweeping restructure of thought on financial markets policymakers on the ground try to dig out of the recession, a scholar at the University of Kansas School of Law proposes they use a much broader shovel. In his new book, “Out of Crisis: Rethinking our Financial Markets” (Paradigm Publishers), David A. Westbrook, visiting professor of law, explores the intellectual, business and policy errors that led to the current economic downturn. He then sketches a new understanding of risk management and bureaucratic regulation. Charles Goodhart, the dean of central banking scholars and professor emeritus at the London School of Economics and Politics, calls Westbrook’s effort “fascinating, original and illuminating.” Westbrook chastises narrow ideologies of the right and left, and forcefully argues that financial policy requires a complete restructuring of thought. “Greenspan was right in his testimony to Congress — the intellectual edifice collapsed, which means that we no longer have a very coherent way to think about financial policy,” Westbrook said. The book, he said, is an effort to renew financial policy thought. “In this society, we want to do many things through markets, but we need new metaphors for thinking about how markets should be constructed,” Westbrook said. “So we should ask whether a given market, perhaps for student loans or maybe housing, is functioning well. And we should recognize that we will have failures and problems along the way. But markets, like cars, should be designed to crash. Regulation cannot prevent all mishaps, and the effort to do so will stifle creativity. Instead, regulation should focus on preventing disasters and on making markets work for society at large.”
David Westbrook, who was a visiting professor at KU Law during the spring 2010 semester, has published a new book, “Out of Crisis,” that proposes a sweeping restructure of thought on international and domestic financial markets. He is pictured here in Jamaica, where he traveled in April on behalf of the U.S. State Department to speak to various constituencies about the global financial crisis.
The book received favorable early reviews from legal and economic scholars in the blogosphere, including write-ups on the Conglomerate, Open Economics and Economist’s View. Known internationally, Westbrook is a respected voice on financial market reform and globalization. He has given talks at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the London School of Economics, HEC Paris, NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium, the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis and most leading U.S. universities. He has spoken extensively internationally with sponsorship from the U.S. State Department. Westbrook was also invited to the inaugural “policy roundtable” of the Bureau of European Policy Advisors,
the internal think tank of the European Commission, to discuss European responses to the financial crisis. In early May, Westbrook traveled through Pakistan, speaking about the global financial crisis on behalf of the U.S. State Department. He met with government officials, business and banking leaders, students and others during the trip. He made a similar visit in April to Jamaica. Westbrook, the Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar at the University at Buffalo Law School, the State University of New York, is teaching courses on contracts and financial market regulation this fall and spring at KU. He received his law degree in 1992 from Harvard University, where he was a Ford Fellow, and a bachelor’s in 1988 from Emory University, where he was a Woodruff Scholar.
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SNA PSHOT S
Clockwise from bottom left: Professor Raj Bhala gives a talk at the inaugural conference of the Center for International Trade & Agriculture in April 2010; third-year law student Josh Williamson enjoys a study abroad adventure in London; Professor John Head (back to camera) visits with students, from left, Juliann Morland, Duc Due Vu and Trevor Young at the ILS Kick-Off Picnic in September 2009; and British Judge Brian Barker speaks about his country’s legal response to terrorism during an ILS noon forum.
Conference launches new center on ag law, trade Continued from page 5
international trade and agriculture through research and outreach in Kansas and around the world. Moran was instrumental in securing $100,000 of federal money to fund the center for the first four years. To accomplish its mission, the center sponsors interdisciplinary conferences addressing issues of importance to legal practitioners, scholars and policymakers in international trade and agriculture, with special emphasis on matters of importance to the state of Kansas. It hosts visiting scholars, practitioners and
policymakers to interact with students, faculty and alumni. The center also educates and trains law students through course work and summer placements to engage in legal practice, prepare for work in law reform, or engage in agribusiness and international trade in areas related to trade and agriculture. The center is led by KU law faculty members Raj Bhala and John Head, Wagstaff Distinguished Professor of Law. The center is relatively unique in the academic world in that it focuses neither exclusively on international
trade nor on agriculture, but rather emphasizes the intellectually fascinating and practically relevant synthesis between the two fields. Thus, within the purview of the center are topics such as farm subsidies, food security, genetic modification, market access, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards. “The KU School of Law is the ideal location for this center because of the integral role that trade and agriculture play in the economy of the state,” said Dean Gail Agrawal. “It will also help us fulfill our mission as a public law school to serve the people of Kansas.”