The Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts
Annually in September, the International Judicial Academy conducts the Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in memory of the late Sir Richard May, the first British representative on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and a member of the Academy’s first Board of International Advisors.
First Sir Richard May Seminar – 2005
Twenty-two state and federal judges from the United States
convened in The Hague, Netherlands for the first Sir Richard May Seminar on
International Law and International Courts, held from September 11-16, 2005.
The Seminar was prepared and conducted by the International Judicial Academy,
with support from the Open Society Justice Initiative and the American Society
of International Law, as well as assistance from the Judicial Leadership Development
Council and the Atlantic and Pacific Exchange Program, a Dutch organization.
During the one week seminar, the judges heard lectures from
leading international lawyers and international organization officials, and
visited the international courts and dispute resolution tribunals located in
the Hague. Hon. Hans Corell, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United
Nations for Legal Affairs made two presentations the first day. Another leading
speaker was Philippe Sands QC, international barrister and professor of
international law from England . The site visits during the seminar included
the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Hague
Academy on Private International Law, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal,
the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the
International Court of Justice. During the visit to the ICJ, Judge Thomas
Buergenthal, the U.S. representative on the Court, addressed the Seminar
participants.
Among the lectures presented at the Seminar were the history
and development of international law; the subjects of international law; the
United Nations system; international law in the modern world; the history and
development of international criminal law; modern international criminal law;
international courts and tribunals; international criminal tribunals; European
law, which focused on the law relating to the European Court of Justice and the
European Court of Human Rights; and a new European organization, Eurojust,
which coordinates criminal justice proceedings in the states of the European
Union.
The Seminar received high evaluations from the group. One
judge stated that the Seminar was the best legal education program she had
attended during her twelve years as a judge.
Eighteen of the judges received scholarships from the IJA to
offset part of the Seminar tuition, long distance air fare, and hotel expenses.
The Seminar ended with a closing banquet at which certificates were presented.
First Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and
International Courts - A Retrospective View from a Participant – Justice Ann
Walsh Bradley, Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin
In September 2005, I had the pleasure of spending a week in
The Hague, Netherlands attending the first Sir Richard May Seminar on
International Law and International Courts. It was simply the best judicial
education opportunity that I have ever experienced.
That is high praise coming from someone who herself is
fresh on the heels of orchestrating a highly successful federal/state seminar
on judicial independence, held in April 2006 and attended by over 75 state and
federal judges. With a background in teaching, and having served as the
associate dean of our states judicial college, I have participated in and
presented at numerous seminars during my over twenty years on the bench.
What makes the Sir Richard May Seminar so exceptional? To
borrow a phrase from the world of real estate sales, it is location, location,
and location. The Hague is a city that symbolizes the promise of
international law and the possibility of international justice. It has long
been the home to the International Court of Justice (or World Court), the legal
arm of the United Nations, which adjudicates disputes between states. In
addition, it houses several other international tribunals.
During our week-long seminar we had the opportunity to visit
the International Court of Justice, as well as the Permanent Court of
Arbitration, The Hague Conference on Private International Law, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Iran-United
States Claims Tribunal and the International Criminal Court. These visits,
however, were much more than mere tours. The seminar participants were given
opportunities to meet with the top officials of these tribunals and experienced
first hand the workings of some of the courts.
The seminar presentations were given by prominent legal
experts, including Judge Thomas Buergenthal , the United States representative
on the World Court. Judge Buergenthal added an impromptu tour of the courts
chambers as a special attraction. We also watched the drama of the Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia unfold before us. In the first genocide
case brought against a former head of state, the tribunal was conducting the
trial of Slobodan Milosevic.
We were spellbound in listening to the experiences of Luis
Moreno Ocampo , a veteran Argentine prosecutor who now serves as the Chief
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Created by the Rome Statute in
1998, the International Criminal Court began its work with goals of preventing
and prosecuting crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. Mr. Moreno
Ocampo spoke of the challenges and the prospects of prosecuting those responsible
for the evolving genocide in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been
killed and two million have fled their homes.
In addition to learning about international law and
tribunals , the seminar also presented an opportunity to learn more about our
courts at home. The Hague , a city built along canals with old European
boulevards, provided a wonderful setting for a healthy exchange of ideas with
judges from around the United States serving at various levels in both the
state and federal court systems. It was simply the best.
(Note: The First Sir Richard May Seminar on International
Law and International Courts was planned and conducted by the International
Judicial Academy, of Washington, DC, with support from the Open Society Justice
Initiative and the American Society of International Law.)
Second Sir Richard May Seminar – 2006
The Academy received another grant from the Open Society
Initiative to support the second Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law
and International Courts, which was held in The Hague, Netherlands September
23-29, 2006. Participants included 20 state and federal judges from the United
States and four judges from Argentina.
The agenda for the one week seminar, including lectures and
site visits, was similar to that of the first Seminar (see commentary on first
seminar, supra). It included lectures on topics of international law and visits
to the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration,
both located in the Peace Palace; the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia; the International Criminal Court; the Iran-United States
Claims Tribunal; and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
Principal speakers at the Seminar included Ambassador Hans
Corell, former Under Secretary for Legal Affairs of the United Nations; Dean
William Gilmore of the University of Edinburgh School of Law; Dr. Sam Muller,
Executive Director of the Hague Institute for the Internationalization of Law;
Dr. Rene Lefeber of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Michael Kennedy,
President of Eurojust.
The Seminar was funded by grants from the Open Society
Justice Initiative, the American Society of International Law and the JEHT
Foundation, supplemented by tuition payments from judge participants.
Third Sir Richard May Seminar – 2007
For the third consecutive year, from September 23 - 28,
2007, the International Judicial Academy conducted the Sir Richard May Seminar
on International Law and International Courts in The Hague, Netherlands, with
support from the JEHT Foundation, the American Society of International Law,
the Atlantic and Pacific Exchange Program, and the Judiciary Leadership
Development Council.
In addition to the 26 state and federal judges from the
United States, 4 Argentine judges attended the seminar as part of the Academy's
delegation. During the one week seminar, the judges heard lectures from leading
international lawyers and international organization officials, and visited the
international courts and dispute resolution tribunals located in The Hague.
Among the organizations the group visited were the
International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Eurojust. During
the visit to the ICJ, Judge Thomas Buergenthal, the American representative on
the Court, addressed the participants. At the ICC, the participants met with
Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Hon. Hans Corell, former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the
Legal Counsel of the United Nations also made two presentations.
The lectures presented to the Seminar participants included:
the history and development of international law; the United Nations system;
international law in the modern world; international criminal law; and European
law, which focused on the law relating to the European Court of Justice and the
European Court of Human Rights.
Twenty-four of the judges received scholarships from the IJA
to offset part of the Seminar tuition, long distance airfare, and hotel
expenses. The Seminar ended with a closing banquet at which certificates were
presented.
Fourth Sir Richard May Seminar – 2008
The International Judicial Academy conducted the Fourth Sir
Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in The Hague,
Netherlands from September 21 - 26, 2008. The delegation consisted of
twenty-two state and federal judges from the United States. In addition, three
judges from Argentina, including a justice from the Argentine Supreme Court,
and one justice from the Supreme Court of Chile, joined the Academy's
delegation.
This year the Academy introduced new presentations and site
visits to the weeklong Sir Richard May Seminar in addition to the traditional presentations
and visits that have been a part of the agenda since the first Seminar in 2005.
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) High
Commissioner on National Minorities spoke to the participants about the mandate
and work of the High Commissioner. The participants also heard presentations
from Dr. Ward Ferdinandusse, a prosecutor with the international crimes
division of the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands, and Dr. Leigh
Swigart, co-author of The International Judge. The T.M.C. Asser
Instituut, an international law research institution, hosted a welcome
reception for the delegation and arranged for a presentation on international
criminal law.
Site visits included a trip to the Special Court for Sierra
Leone in The Hague where the participants observed trial proceedings in the
case against Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia who is currently
on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. At the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the participants met with Ms.
Kristina Carey (Office of the Prosecutor), Judge Kimberly Prost (Ad Litem
Judge, Trial Chamber II), and Mr. Gregor Guy-Smith (Office of the Defence
Counsel). The group then observed proceedings in the case against Vojislav
Seselj, founder and President of the Serb Radical Party, currently standing
trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Croatia between 1991 and 1994. The Seminar ended on Friday,
September 26 with a closing reception and dinner at the Kurhaus Hotel on the
beach in Scheveningen.
Fifth Sir Richard May Seminar – 2009
The Academy conducted the Fifth Sir Richard May Seminar on
International Law and International Courts from September 20 – 25, 2009 in The
Hague, Netherlands. The Foundation to Promote Open Society in New York, NY
provided the financial support for the seminar. Additional assistance came
from the Atlantic & Pacific Exchange Program, a non-profit organization
based Rotterdam, Netherlands. Twenty-six state and federal judges from the
United States and four judges from Argentina participated in the seminar.
The program agenda combined presentations and site visits to
provide the participants with an overview of international law and the
international courts, tribunals, and organizations located in The Hague. The
delegation of judges had the unique opportunity to observe several hearings and
trial proceedings during the seminar. At the International Court of Justice
the participants attended a public hearing in the case of Pulp Mills on the
River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay) during which two lawyers presented their
cases on behalf of the government of Uruguay. They also witnessed the
testimony of Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia on trial at the
Special Court for Sierra Leone, who took the stand in his defense.
At the International Criminal Court (ICC) the delegation
watched as Judge Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko of Uganda
issued a summary of the Appeals Chamber’s judgment, which dismissed the appeal
of Germain Katanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who challenged the
admissibility of his case before the ICC. The decision carried particular
significance because it was the first time that the ICC received a challenge to
admissibility based on the principle of complementarity, which holds that the
ICC can only prosecute individuals when a national court with jurisdiction over
the case is unwilling or unable to do so. In addition to learning about the
prominent courts and tribunals located in The Hague, the participants also
received information about some of the lesser-known organizations like the
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. The
seminar ended on Friday, September 25 with a closing reception and dinner at
which certificates and scholarship checks were presented to the participants.
Sixth Sir Richard May Seminar - 2010
The Academy conducted its Sixth Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in The Hague, The Netherlands from September 26-October 1, 2010. Participants included 22 state and federal judges from the United States and three judges from Argentina.
The agenda for the one week seminar, included lectures on topics of international law and visits to the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, both located in the Peace Palace; the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; the International Criminal Court; the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal; the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and Europol.
Principal speakers at the Seminar included Ambassador Hans Corell, former Under Secretary for Legal Affairs of the United Nations; Normal Farrell Esq., Deputy Prosecutor to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Sir Kenneth Keith, Judge to the International Court of Justice; Hon. Charles Brower, U.S. Judge to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal; Antonio Cassese, Presiding Judge to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon; Judith Levine Esq., Counsel to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and H.E. Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the OPCW.
The Seminar was funded by grants from the Open Society Justice Initiative, the American Society of International Law and the JEHT Foundation, supplemented by tuition payments from judge participants.
Seventh Sir Richard May Seminar - 2011
For the seventh consecutive year, from September 18 - 23, 2011, the International Judicial Academy conducted the Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in The Hague, Netherlands, with the assistance of the Atlantic and Pacific Exchange Program.
Unlike previous years, the seminar was not funded by grants but this did not prevent 13 state and federal judges from the United States, 2 Canadian Justices and an attorney from attending the seminar as part of the Academy's delegation. During the one week seminar, the judges heard lectures from leading international lawyers and international organization officials, and visited the international courts and dispute resolution tribunals located in The Hague.
The Seminar ended with a closing banquet at which certificates were presented.
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