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Faculty News
Prof. Morrison Continues International Activities
Professor Fred Morrison continues to be involved in a variety of international activities. During the early part of 2011, he prepared a paper on Federalism in the United States for presentation to a conference in Juba, South Sudan, to aid the new country in developing federal structures for its new constitution. The conference, originally scheduled for May 2011, has been postponed until later this year. Morrison has also continued a broad range of activities, including service on the Kuratorium of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, and on the Board of Advisors of a new journal, Frontiers in Chinese Law, which is published at Renmin University in Beijing, China. He and Professor Ruediger Wolfrum of Heidelberg are beginning work on a new edition of their book, International, Regional, and National Environmental Law.
Prof. Gross Focuses on New Warfare and National Security
Professor Oren Gross, a former senior legal advisory officer in the international law branch of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Judge Advocate General’s Corps, has concentrated much of his academic activity this year on the interplay between legal norms and the new realities of warfare. A particular focus has been asymmetric warfare and the introduction of new and sophisticated technologies into battle space. He has presented numerous papers and lectures on the use of drone strikes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan and the CIA in Pakistan, and on the laws of war in what has been called the “fourth generation” of warfare. He presented, among others, “The Laws of War in the Fourth Generation of Warfare” at the University of Chicago Law School; “Drones and Today’s Policy Challenges” at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C.; “Targeted Killings and Drone Wars” at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; and “2010: The Year of the Drone Wars” at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Along with Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Gross is co-editing a book entitled Guantanamo and Beyond: Exceptional Courts and Military Commissions in Comparative and Policy Perspective, which is scheduled for publication later in 2011 by Cambridge University Press.
Professors Osofsky and Shaffer Elected to New Offices
In March, at the 105th annual meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington, D.C., Professor Hari Osofsky was elected to the Executive Council and Professor Gregory Shaffer was elected to the Executive Committee.
Prof. Cribari Speaks at University of East Anglia
Professor Stephen Cribari, who is teaching courses in criminal procedure and in law and cultural heritage at the University of Notre Dame Law School's London Law Programme, gave a lecture March 22, 2011, entitled "'Say What?' The Overdependence on Rules in Criminal Justice" to the American Law Society at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K.
Professors Karkkainen and Osofsky Receive UMN Symposium Grant
Law School Professor Bradley C. Karkkainen and Associate Professor Hari M. Osofsky have been awarded a $10,000 University Symposium grant by the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota. The grant will support their project "Climate Change, Inequality and International Lawmaking: New Governance Approaches to Addressing Abundance and Security."
Prof. Ní Aoláin Awarded British Academy Grant
Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin has been awarded a British Academy Grant for her research in the area of "Assessing Gender Harms and Remedies in Post-Conflict Societies." The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and social sciences. Its goal is to inspire, recognize, and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences throughout the United Kingdom and internationally and to champion the role and value of these fields. Ní Aoláin's research grant will enable field work in Israel and Bosnia on gendered experience of violence in post-conflict settings.
Prof. Kritzer Appointed to U.K.'s Research Assessment Panel
Professor Herbert Kritzer has been appointed to the social science oversight panel of the United Kingdom's Research Excellence Framework 2014. REF2014 is charged with evaluating the quality of research in U.K. universities. The results of REF2014 will inform allocation of research funding decisions. Kritzer will serve on the oversight panel that covers law, sociology, political science, anthropology, archaeology, economics, planning, environmental studies, geography, social work, social policy, business and management studies, and education.
Prof. Shaffer's Edited Volume Published by Cambridge U. Press
Professor Greg Shaffer's new edited volume, Dispute Settlement at the WTO: The Developing Country Experience, was published by Cambridge University Press in November 2010. He edited the book along with Ricardo Melndez-Ortiz, Chief Executive of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland. Shaffer was also interviewed about the book's background, which can be found at http://ictsd.org/i/publications/98179/.
Prof. Ní Aoláin Appointed to International Women's Program Advisory Board
Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin has accepted a two-year appointment to the International Women's Program (IWP) Advisory Sub-Board of the Open Society Institute. The IWP works worldwide to reduce discrimination and violence against women and girls and to increase their access to justice and their role in leadership positions. The board makes recommendations on strategies and programs to further these objectives. Ní Aoláin was invited to join the board because her "extensive background in international, human and women's rights law would complement the strategic vision of the IWP."
Prof. Stein Appointed to IBA and CEELI Groups
Everett Fraser Professor of Law Robert A. Stein ('61), a leading expert on the rule of law, was appointed to two new positions beginning with the new year.
Prof. Goodwin Conducts Exclusive Interview with Human Trafficking Activist
In November 2010, Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin conducted an exclusive interview with Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, founder and director of the Visayan Forum Foundation, about sex trafficking in Asia. Goodwin's interview was part of her international study on the exploitation and trafficking of girls in the Philippines, India, and South Africa. Flores-Oebanda is a former political prisoner and is internationally renowned for her work toward the protection, freedom, and empowerment of marginalized people. Her efforts have been formally recognized by a host of human rights organizations and governments. The U.S. State Department's 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report named her a Hero Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery.
Prof. Kirtley Discusses Anti-SLAPP Legislation at Canadian Conference
Professor Jane Kirtley presented a paper entitled "SLAPP-ing Back: A Perspective on Protecting Public Debate, from the U.S.A." at the 2010 Ad IDEM/Canadian Media Lawyers Conference in Toronto.
Prof. Goodwin Joins International Team to Evaluate Organ Transplantation Models in the Philippines
Dr. Enrique T. Ona, Health Secretary for the Republic of the Philippines, invited Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin to join a very small international group in the Philippines in November 2010 to evaluate international organ transplantation models. Goodwin was one of only three Americans on the evaluation team, which engaged in discussions with key figures in the Philippines' Department of Health and senior transplant officials from around the world.