The Rutgers Law Review and Global Legal Studies present
Citizen Participation in the Global Trading System
Friday, March 5 – 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Room 125 (Baker Trial Court Room)
Join us for the 2004 Symposium, where global trade
and international law experts will discuss controversial issues in this cutting-edge field of law
Morning Panel: Open Democratic Participation Scheme
for the World Trade Organization
This panel will focus on democratization of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Formally founded in 1995, the WTO is the only global international organization that deals with the rules of trade between nations. To date, 146 countries are members of the WTO. Trade agreements, negotiated and signed by the members of the WTO, represent the bulk of the world’s trading nations. The panel discussion will focus on the benefits of allowing greater participation in WTO governance and policy implementation through an internet-based open forum.
Afternoon Panel: The Alien Tort Claims Act
The afternoon panel will focus on the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) in international human rights law. Originally an act intended for piracy on the high seas, the current application of the ATCA has deviated considerably from its origins. One current example of this is the case Doe v. Unocal, scheduled to be heard en banc by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Workers in Burma are suing Unocal, a California corporation, alleging that they are being forced by the Burmese military to perform slave labor for Unocal. The plaintiffs are suing Unocal under the ATCA for Unocal’s alleged human rights violations abroad.
10:30 a.m. – Open Democratic Participation Scheme for the World Trade Organization Panel Discussion
1:00 p.m. – Lunch
2:00 p.m. – The Alien Tort Claims Act Panel Discussion
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Cocktail reception
Morning Panel: Open Democratic Participation Scheme for WTO
Professor Robert Howse: Alene and Allan F. Smith Professor of Law at University of Michigan Law School; consultant to international organizations such as the OECD; reporter for the American Law Institute on WTO law. Click here for more information on Professor Howse .
Professor James Gathii:Professor of Law at Albany Law School; extensively published on the topics of international law, international intellectual property and trade law. Click here for more information on Professor Gathii .
Mr. Steve Charnovitz: Attorney at Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP and former director of the Global Environment and Trade Study; former policy director for the U.S. Competitiveness Policy Council; former International Relations Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor. Click here for more information on Mr. Charnovitz.
Professor Jeffrey L. Dunoff: Charles Klein Professor of Law and Government at Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law; Director of the Law School’s Institute for International Law and Public Policy; Academic Director of Temple’s Transnational Law Program. Click here for more information on Professor Dunoff .
Moderator: Professor Alan Hyde: Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law – Newark; Sidney Reitman Scholar. Click here for more information on Professor Hyde .
Afternoon Panel: Alien Tort Claims Act
Professor Sarah Cleveland: Professor of Law at University of Texas Law School – Austin; former Rhodes Scholar and clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. Click here for more information on Professor Cleveland .
Mr. Daniel O’Flaherty: Vice President of the National Foreign Trade Council since 1987; member of the Council on Foreign Relations; speaks often on the ATCA. Click here for more information on Mr. O’Flaherty .
Professor Beth Stephens: Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law – Camden; extensively published on the enforcement of human rights, specifically in the context of the relationshiop between international and domestic law. Click here for more information on Professor Stevens .
Mr. Rick Herz: Litigation Director at EarthRights International; Co-counsel for the plaintiffs in Doe v. Unocal; has represented many plaintiffs in Alien Tort Claims Act litigation. Click here for more information on Mr. Herz’s organization.
Moderator: Professor Penny Venetis: Clinical Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law – Newark; Associate Director, Constitutional Litigation Clinic. Click here for more information on Professor Venetis .
Free lunch will be provided. There will also be a cocktail
reception following the afternoon panel.
For more information, or to attend, call 973.353.5391 or
send an e-mail to review@pegasus.rutgers.edu
Rutgers University Law Review