ASIL: International Law as Law – Washington, DC

The American Society of International Law (ASIL) will hold its 103rd Annual Meeting, International Law as Law, March 25-28, 2009, in Washington, DC.For release: March 17, 2009

ASIL ANNOUNCES PROGRAM FOR 103rd ANNUAL MEETING – OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AMONG FEATURED SPEAKERS

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Society of International Law (ASIL) will hold its 103rd Annual Meeting March 25-28, 2009, at the Fairmont Hotel, 2401 M Street, NW, Washington, DC. The theme of this year’s conference is “International Law as Law,” and representatives from the new Obama administration’s State Department and former US Senator Chuck Hagel will be among the speakers. A Plenary Session with International Court of Justice President Hisashi Owada and Judges Thomas Buergenthal and Bruno Simma will be an additional highlight.

In all, the four-day meeting will include more than 30 sessions following five tracks of international law topics ranging from International Law and Domestic Courts to Trade, Environment, and Development. Woven throughout the discussions will be an examination of how international law functions as law today. Credentialed press may attend the meeting by registering at www.asil.org/pressreg.cfm. ASIL members and others should register at www.asil.org/am09.

The Plenary Session “The United States and International Law during the Obama Administration: Executive and Legislative Perspectives” (5:15-6:30 pm ET, Thursday, March 26, Ballrooms I and II) will feature US State Department Director of Policy Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter, US State Department Principle Deputy Legal Advisor Joan Donoghue, and former US Senator Chuck Hagel as panelists. This discussion is cosponsored by Georgetown University Law Center.

The Plenary Session “International Law as Law at the International Court of Justice” (4:30-5:45 pm ET, Friday, March 27, Ballrooms I and II) will feature President Owada and Judges Buergenthal and Simma – all from the International Court of Justice, or World Court. This session is cosponsored by George Washington University Law School.

United Nations Environment Program Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary General Achim Steiner will deliver the Society’s annual Grotius Lecture, co-sponsored by American University’s Washington College of Law and the ASIL International Environmental Law Interest Group. Steiner’s speech, entitled “Focusing on the Good or the Bad: What Can International Environmental Law Do to Accelerate The Transition Towards A Green Economy?,” will be given on Wednesday, March 25, 4:30-6:00 pm ET, in Ballrooms I and II, with a reception following in the Colonnade (6:00-8:00 pm).

Another ASIL Annual Meeting tradition, the Women in International Law Interest Group’s Luncheon, will feature remarks by this year’s honoree, Justice Unity Dow of the High Court of Botswana, 12:30-2:30 pm ET, Thursday, March 26, in the Colonnade.

The Hudson Medal, originated by the Society in 1956, will be awarded to Judge Charles N. Brower of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. He will address the attendees on Thursday, March 26, 4:00-5:00 pm ET (Ballrooms I and II), on the theme “The International Judiciary: Oracles, Umpires ‘Calling Balls and Strikes,’ ‘Liars,’ Legislators, Or What?”

On Friday, March 27, 6:30-11:00 pm, at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, ASIL, an annual co-sponsor of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, will join with the International Law Students Association in hosting a dinner to celebrate the Jessup Competition’s 50th anniversary. The gala will commemorate the immeasurable impact the Jessup Competition has had on international law and legal education across the globe. Two former World Court presidents, Rosalyn Higgins and Stephen M. Schwebel, who was also the author of the inaugural Jessup Competition Problem, will deliver keynote remarks.

With more than a century of tradition and experience behind it, ASIL’s Annual Meeting has become the most important gathering of international law professionals in the world. More than 1,000 leading legal scholars, practitioners, and officials come together for this event from some 75 countries to debate and discuss the latest issues and developments in the field.