ACADEMY OFFICERS

Dr. James G. Apple, President - Former Chief, Interjudicial Affairs Office, United States Federal Judicial Center. During his nine and one-half year tenure at the Federal Judicial Center Dr. Apple directed or co-directed more than 50 seminars and hundreds of briefings for judges and legal officials from 152 countries, in addition to his other duties. He has published numerous articles for both U.S. and foreign publications on judges, courts and court administration and has lectured on those subjects at judicial training institutes and universities outside the United States. Before coming to Washington in 1990, Dr. Apple was a practicing trial lawyer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for 25 years. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Law Institute, and holds the rank of Advocate with the American Board of Trial Advocates.  He has a B.A. with Honors in Philosophy degree from the University of Virginia, a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School, where he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in international and comparative law from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He was awarded first prize in the British Red Cross national essay competition on international humanitarian law in 1990, for which he received short residential fellowships at the Henri Dunant Institute in Geneva, Switzerland and the Institute of International Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. He is co-author of A Primer on the Civil Law System and Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts, both published by the Federal Judicial Center.

Hon. Ricardo Li Rosi, Vice-President - Judge Li Rosi is currently judge of the Court of Appeal (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. He was first appointed a judge in the national courts of Argentina in 1991. He holds teaching appointments at several universities in Argentina, including the Schools of Law at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Conception del Uruguay, and the School of Law and Social Sciences of University Studies Private School for Corporations Business Management. He is a member of the Committee for Training and Academic Activities of the Association of Magistrates and Officers of the National Body of Justice. Judge Li Rosi has lectured and published widely in Argentina, other countries in Latin America, and in Spain on a variety of topics relating to the effective functioning of judges and court systems. He received his law degree from the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires, where he was awarded two academic medals for his scholarship. In 1997 he was a Visiting Foreign Judicial Fellow at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C, and from 1997 – 1999 he was a member of the Reform Commission for the Commercial and Civil Procedure Code of Argentina.  Judge Li Rosi is a member of many international and judicial organizations.  He is a member of the Academic Council of the Judicial School of the Magistrates’ Council of Argentina and a member of the Constitutional Politics Institute of the Academy of Politics and Moral Sciences of Argentina.  In addition, Judge Li Rosi is the Argentine delegate to the Global Justice Foundation of the International Union of Magistrates and the Argentine delegate to the Special Group on Recommendations to the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Attorneys General of the Americas (OAS).

Hon. Adel Omar Sherif, Vice-President – Justice Sherif is the Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt.  He holds a number of law degrees, including an LL.B. in Law and Economics, an Advanced Studies Diploma in Public Law, an Advanced Studies Diploma in Administrative Law, and a Ph.D. in Constitutional Law, from Cairo and Ain Shams Universities in Egypt.  He was a Visiting Fellow at the International Human Rights Law Institute at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, IL, the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, and the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC.  After working in private practice for a short period of time, Justice Sherif was appointed to the Council of the State (Egypt’s system for administrative judiciary) where he served from 1980 to 1992.  In 1992 he became Assistant Counselor for the Commissioners’ Body at the Supreme Constitutional Court.  He was promoted to Full Counselor in 1993.  In December, 2002 he was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Justice.  He is currently a faculty member at Helwan University Law School in Cairo and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.  Justice Sherif is a council member of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London, a member of the International Board of Judicial Advisers for the Judges’ Newsletter of The Hague Conference on Private International Law, and a member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Judicial Reference Group.  He is also a member of the judicial advisory board to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  He was recently selected to be a part of the Steering Committee of the Commission on Environmental Law at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).   In addition, Justice Sherif serves as a Secretary General for the Arab Supreme Courts Union for the Protection of the Environment.  Justice Sherif has made significant contributions to the development of international judicial cooperation and has written and published widely on various legal topics including: human rights; constitutional issues; Islamic law; and environmental law.  

Ms. Betty Lupinacci, Treasurer and Bookkeeper - Ms. Lupinacci is currently employed at the Law Library, Library of Congress where she works in Collection Services.  Formerly she spent 20 years at an estate planning and taxation law firm in Washington DC, doing accounting and tax work.  She attended The George Washington University where she majored in Political Science with minors in mathematics and languages.

ACADEMY STAFF IN WASHINGTON, DC

Dr. James G. Apple, President and Resident Director, North American Office – Former Chief, Interjudicial Affairs Office, United States Federal Judicial Center. During his nine and one-half year tenure at the Federal Judicial Center Dr. Apple directed or co-directed more than 50 seminars and hundreds of briefings for judges and legal officials from 152 countries, in addition to his other duties. He has published numerous articles for both U.S. and foreign publications on judges, courts and court administration and has lectured on those subjects at judicial training institutes and universities outside the United States. Before coming to Washington in 1990 Dr. Apple was a practicing trial lawyer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for 25 years. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Law Institute, and holds the rank of Advocate with the American Board of Trial Advocates.  He has a B.A. with Honors in Philosophy degree from the University of Virginia, a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School, where he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in international and comparative law from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He was awarded first prize in the British Red Cross national essay competition on international humanitarian law in 1990, for which he received short residential fellowships at the Henri Dunant Institute in Geneva, Switzerland and the Institute of International Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. He is co-author of A Primer on the Civil Law System and Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts, both published by the Federal Judicial Center.

Ms. Christine White - Executive Assistant to the President and Office Manager, Washington, DC - From 2005 to 2007 Ms. White worked as an Associate Program Director at Capital Educators, an SAT and college preparation company, based in Rockville, MD. She graduated magna cum laude from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service. She majored in International Politics, with a concentration in international law, institutions, and ethics.

Mr. Randy Liu, Director of China Programs, Washington, DC and Hong King, PRC – Mr. Liu is President of Laurel International Corporation, a Maryland corporation that plans, arranges, and conducts U.S. – China exchange programs and Chinese visitor programs to the United States.  Mr. Liu founded Laurel International in 1992.  The main business operations of Laurel International are: (1) sponsoring and organizing Chinese government officials and business executives to participate in business exchange programs in different areas, including law, courts, education, health, environment, and agriculture; (2) organizing U.S. delegations to visit China, including delegations of federal and state government officials and NGO officers; (3) co-sponsoring the University of Kansas China Exchange Program, in which Laurel International helps with the logistical arrangements for trainee programs in the U.S. and China; and (4) assisting the Chinese Ministry of Justice with visits to the U.S. by Chinese judges.  The total number of educational programs in which Mr. Liu is involved each year ranges from 40 to 50. He has planned and conducted hundreds of exchange programs for Chinese professionals and students and arranged for hundreds of visits by Chinese professionals to the United States.  Mr. Liu was born in Beijing, China and became a U.S. citizen in 1992.  He earned a B.A. degree in educational management from Beijing Normal University in 1982.  After teaching for several years, he immigrated to the United States where he received English training programs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.  He speaks fluent English and Chinese.  Mr. Liu assisted the Academy in establishing an IJA registered office in Hong Kong in 2008.

ACADEMY STAFF FOR LATIN AMERICA

Hon. Ricardo Li Rosi, Vice-President for Latin American Programs, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Judge Li Rosi is currently judge of the Court of Appeal (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. He was first appointed a judge in the national courts of Argentina in 1991. He holds teaching appointments at several universities in Argentina, including the Schools of Law at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Conception del Uruguay, and the School of Law and Social Sciences of University Studies Private School for Corporations Business Management. He is a member of the Committee for Training and Academic Activities of the Association of Magistrates and Officers of the National Body of Justice. Judge Li Rosi has lectured and published widely in Argentina, other countries in Latin America, and in Spain on a variety of topics relating to the effective functioning of judges and court systems. He received his law degree from the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires, where he was awarded two academic medals for his scholarship. In 1997 he was a Visiting Foreign Judicial Fellow at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C, and from 1997 – 1999 he was a member of the Reform Commission for the Commercial and Civil Procedure Code of Argentina.  Judge Li Rosi is a member of many international and judicial organizations.  He is a member of the Academic Council of the Judicial School of the Magistrates’ Council of Argentina and a member of the Constitutional Politics Institute of the Academy of Politics and Moral Sciences of Argentina.  In addition, Judge Li Rosi is the Argentine delegate to the Global Justice Foundation of the International Union of Magistrates and the Argentine delegate to the Special Group on Recommendations to the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Attorneys General of the Americas (OAS).

Hon. Gustavo Bossert, President of the Academic Committee for Latin American Programs, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Justice Bossert is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Argentina, a position to which he was appointed in 1994 and which he held until he resigned from the Court in 2002. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court he was a judge in the National Court System for ten years. He is Professor of Civil Law at the National University of Buenos Aires and was a guest professor in the Universite Pantheon-Asas in Paris from 1992 to 2003. He has published over one hundred articles in legal publications on a variety of legal subjects and has lectured widely in Argentina, other South American countries and in Europe on judicial and legal issues. He is co-author of the Argentina revised laws on the subject of marriage, divorce, child custody and parental rights. He is a member of the Institute of Civil Law of the Argentine Academy of Law, the Institute of Law in Rosario, and the Argentine Foundation of Arbitration and Conciliation in Buenos Aires. Justice Bossert has published four books of short stories and two novels, for which he has received awards in Argentina and Spain. One of his novels is currently being made into a film in France.

Hon. Javier Fernández, Resident Director, Argentine Office, and Assistant Vice-President for Latin American Programs, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Judge Fernández is currently First Instance Civil Court (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. He is a professor on the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires. He also teaches law at the Law School of the University of Concepcion del Uruguay and has held academic appointments at other universities in Argentina. He has engaged in legal research at the National School of Magistrates in France. Judge Fernández is a graduate of the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires.

Hon. Gabriela Scolarici, Deputy Director, Argentine Office, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Judge Scolarici is currently First Instance Civil Court (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. Specializes in Procedure Law. She is a professor on the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Economics of the University of Buenos Aires. She has taken courses oriented to European Law in Salamanca University (Spain). She has published articles in legal publications on a variety of legal subjects. She had participated in national and international conferences. She is a member of the MERCOSUR´s Commission of the Association of Magistrates and Officers of the National Body of Justice (1998/2000), the Management Commission of the Court of Appeal (National Court System) in Buenos Aires (2008), and the Information Technology Commission of the Court of Appeal (National Court System) in Buenos Aires (2008).     

Dr. Aldo Álvarez, President of Development and Support Board of the Latin American Office, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dr. Aldo Álvarez is an Argentine lawyer and businessman whose main areas of expertise are insurance and reinsurance. In 2003, Dr. Álvarez founded Noble S. A. Aseguradora de Responsabilidad Profesional, a casualty insurance company. He is the controlling shareholder and, since 2004, President of Noble. Since 1987, Dr. Álvarez has also been the senior and managing partner of Estudio Dr. Aldo A. Álvarez, a law firm which specializes in insurance and reinsurance cases, handling both national and international clients. He is also a member of Eagle International Associates Inc., ADEAA (Association of Argentine Insurers) and a member of Buenos Aires city and San Isidro city Bar Associations. In addition, he maintains a close working relationship with HONIG METTETAL NDIAYE, Paris, one of the largest European law firms. Dr. Alvarez has been a Professor of Constitutional Law at Buenos Aires University and Lecturer of Political Science at the Catholic University of Argentina. He was also Academic Coordinator and Director of the first Seminar on Justice and Insurance organized by the International Judicial Academy in Buenos Aires in November, 2006. In November 2006, the International Judicial Academy appointed Dr. Alvarez as President of the Development and Support Board for South America. In February 2007, el Dr. Álvarez was appointed as Member of the Academic Board of the Insurance Master of University del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He obtained his LL.B. degree in 1987 at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Dr. Julián Herrera, Executive Assistant to the Resident Director, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dr. Herrera is currently clerk of a First Instance Civil Court in Buenos Aires. He is a professor of civil law at the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires. He has a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires.

Dr. Adrián Pablo Ricordi, Executive Assistant to the Resident Director, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Dr. Ricordi is currently clerk of a First Instance Civil Court in Buenos Aires. He is a professor of civil law at the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires, of the University of Morón and of the University of Lomas de Zamora.

Dr. Juan Manuel Matera, Executive Assistant to the Resident Director, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dr. Matera is currently a law clerk of the Court of Appeals (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. He is a professor of civil and commercial contracts at the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires. He also teaches civil and family law at the University of Concepción del Uruguay.

Dr. Eduardo Civitate, Executive Assistant to the Resident Director, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dr. Civitate is currently a law clerk of the Court of Appeals (National Court System) in Buenos Aires. He is a professor of tax procedure at the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires. He also teaches civil and family law at the University of Concepción del Uruguay.

ACADEMY STAFF FOR EASTERN HEMISPHERE

Hon. Adel Omar Sherif, Vice-President for Education and Judicial Cooperation – Eastern Hemisphere, Cairo, Egypt – Justice Sherif is the Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt.  He holds a number of law degrees, including an LL.B. in Law and Economics, an Advanced Studies Diploma in Public Law, an Advanced Studies Diploma in Administrative Law, and a Ph.D. in Constitutional Law, from Cairo and Ain Shams Universities in Egypt.  He was a Visiting Fellow at the International Human Rights Law Institute at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, IL, the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, and the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC.  After working in private practice for a short period of time, Justice Sherif was appointed to the Council of the State (Egypt’s system for administrative judiciary) where he served from 1980 to 1992.  In 1992 he became Assistant Counselor for the Commissioners’ Body at the Supreme Constitutional Court.  He was promoted to Full Counselor in 1993.  In December, 2002 he was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Justice.  He is currently a faculty member at Helwan University Law School in Cairo and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.  Justice Sherif is a council member of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London, a member of the International Board of Judicial Advisers for the Judges’ Newsletter of The Hague Conference on Private International Law, and a member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Judicial Reference Group.  He is also a member of the judicial advisory board to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  He was recently selected to be a part of the Steering Committee of the Commission on Environmental Law at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).   In addition, Justice Sherif serves as a Secretary General for the Arab Supreme Courts Union for the Protection of the Environment.  Justice Sherif has made significant contributions to the development of international judicial cooperation and has written and published widely on various legal topics including: human rights; constitutional issues; Islamic law; and environmental law.  

Mr. Randy Liu, Director of China Programs, Washington, DC and Hong King, PRC – Mr. Liu is President of Laurel International Corporation, a Maryland corporation that plans, arranges, and conducts U.S. – China exchange programs and Chinese visitor programs to the United States.  Mr. Liu founded Laurel International in 1992.  The main business operations of Laurel International are: (1) sponsoring and organizing Chinese government officials and business executives to participate in business exchange programs in different areas, including law, courts, education, health, environment, and agriculture; (2) organizing U.S. delegations to visit China, including delegations of federal and state government officials and NGO officers; (3) co-sponsoring the University of Kansas China Exchange Program, in which Laurel International helps with the logistical arrangements for trainee programs in the U.S. and China; and (4) assisting the Chinese Ministry of Justice with visits to the U.S. by Chinese judges.  The total number of educational programs in which Mr. Liu is involved each year ranges from 40 to 50. He has planned and conducted hundreds of exchange programs for Chinese professionals and students and arranged for hundreds of visits by Chinese professionals to the United States.  Mr. Liu was born in Beijing, China and became a U.S. citizen in 1992.  He earned a B.A. degree in educational management from Beijing Normal University in 1982.  After teaching for several years, he immigrated to the United States where he received English training programs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.  He speaks fluent English and Chinese.  Mr. Liu assisted the Academy in establishing an IJA registered office in Hong Kong in 2008.