CONFERENCE: Liechtenstein Trust Conference

25th April 2013

Trust Conference - Vaduz

University of Liechtenstein

We are pleased to inform you that the Liechtenstein Trust Conference, as organised by the Chair of Company, Foundation and Trust Law, will take place on Thursday, 25 April 2013 on the topic of:

"Aspects of Beneficiaries' Rights, Enforcement and International Law"

where the following speakers will attend:

• The Hon Mr. Justice David Hayton LLB, LLD (Newcastle Univ), MA, LLD (Cantab), TEP (Hon), Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, Caribbean Court of Justice, Port of Spain/Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
• Prof. Stewart Sterk, Professor of Law at the Cardozo School of Law, New York/USA
• Prof. Tony Angelo, Professor of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington/New Zealand
• Prof. Dr. Hans Rainer Künzle, Partner, Mitglied des Verwaltungsrats, General Counsel, KENDRIS Zürich
• Mr. Peter Pexton TEP FCA, Ganten Group Vaduz  
• Prof. Corrado Malberti, Professor of Law, Faculté de Droit, d'Economie et de Finance, University of Luxembourg

The main focus of the conference will be on the beneficiaries position and wealth protection.

Like every year, the conference is sponsored by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Lawyers, the Liechtenstein Association of Professional Trustees and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

The conference will be conducted in English, and subsequent summaries will be provided in German.

Please REGISTER directly on the website www.uni.li/trustlaw or by fax +423 265 11 12.

BOOK: Darian-Smith on Laws and Societies in Global Contexts

Cambridge University Press has just published Eve Darian-Smith's Laws and Societies in Global Contexts: Contemporary Approaches:

This text seeks to situate socio-legal studies in a global context. Law and society scholarship in the United States and elsewhere typically assumes one legal system and one society and explores the relationship between them. Such a narrow endeavor perpetuates a Western international relations model that too often conflaes law, culture and the nation-state. A more global socio-legal perspective engages with multiple laws and societies within and across national borders and recognizes diverse socio-legal systems based on very different historical and cultural traditions, interacting on multiple local, national and global levels. This more global perspective also reveals an array of transnational issues including regional conflicts, genocide, mass immigration, environmental degradation, and climate change that have consistently defied resolution via conventional international system of governance. The approach to global legal pluralism outlined here seeks to provide a framework for envisioning new global governance regimes that move beyond state-based solutions to deal with trenchant transnational challenges.

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION: Mini Conference on Law & Literature

Mini Conference on Law & Literature, 8-11 July 2013, Athens, Greece

Call for Papers and Participation

The Law Research Unit and the Literature Research Unit of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) will hold a Mini Conference on Law & Literature, 8-11 July 2013, Athens, Greece. For further details, please go to the conference website: http://www.atiner.gr/lawlit.htm. The registration fee is €300 (euro), covering access to all sessions, two lunches, coffee breaks and conference material. Special arrangements will be made with a local luxury hotel for a limited number of rooms at a special conference rate. In addition, a number of special events will be organized: A Greek night of entertainment with dinner, a special one-day cruise in the Greek islands, an archaeological tour of Athens and a one-day visit to Delphi.

The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars and students from all areas of law & literature and other related disciplines. Please submit a 300-word abstract by email, atiner@atiner.gr, by 20 May 2013 to: Dr. Michael P. Malloy, Distinguished Professor & Scholar, University of the Pacific, USA & Academic Member, ATINER. Please include: Title of Paper, Full Name (s), Current Position, Institutional Affiliation, an email address and at least 3 keywords that best describe the subject of your submission. Please use the abstract submitting form available at http://www.atiner.gr/2013/FORM-LAWLIT.doc. Decisions are reached within 4 weeks. If you want to participate without presenting a paper, i.e. organize a mini conference or a panel (session), chair a session, review papers to be included in the conference proceedings or books, contribute to the editing of a book, or any other contribution, please send an email to Dr. Gregory T. Papanikos, (gtp@atiner.gr), President, ATINER.

The Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) was established in 1995 as an independent academic association with the mission to become a forum, where academics and researchers - from all over the world - could meet in Athens and exchange ideas on their research and discuss the future developments of their discipline. Since 1995, ATINER has organized more than 200 international conferences, symposiums and events. It has also published about 150 books.  Academically, the Institute consists of five research divisions and twenty-two research units. Each research unit organizes at least an annual conference and undertakes various small and large research projects. Academics and researchers are more than welcome to become members and contribute to ATINER's objectives. The members of the Institute can undertake a number of academic activities. If you want to become a member please download the form (membership form). For more information or suggestions, please send an email to: info@atiner.gr.

CONFERENCE: The Younger Comparativists Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law

The Younger Comparativists Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law Second Annual Conference: 18-19 April 2013

 

The Younger Comparativists Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law is pleased to announce that its second annual conference will be held on April 18-19, 2013, at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. The purpose of the conference is to highlight, develop, and promote the scholarship of new and younger comparativists, defined as scholars who have been involved in comparative law for fewer than ten years. More than 130 younger scholars from around the world submitted abstracts in response to a Call for Papers issued in September 2012. Over 80 younger scholars who have been involved in comparative law for less than ten years as well as a select group of graduate students are slated to present their research at this conference covering a wide range of topics in comparative private and public law.

More information about the conference and a preliminary agenda are available on the following website:  http://indylaw.indiana.edu/YCCconference/.

OPPORTUNITY: United Nations Development Programme - Turkey

The ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has received a request from UNDP/Turkey for an expert to conduct an impact assessment of the judicial reform process. The impact assessment will address progress against the judicial reform efforts since 2002 for the effective and efficient delivery of justice together with the capacity assets and needs for its further improvement. The results of this process will in turn result in the development of common strategic framework including the benchmarks to monitor and assess the duration of court proceedings and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial system, in order to address the backlog of pending cases (particularly serious criminal cases). Following the conduct of impact assessment study, the expert is to support the development of a common strategic framework for monitoring of the reforms and improving of the effectiveness and efficiency of the judiciary.

Please see attached terms of reference for further background information. The application deadline is Monday, March 25^th, 2013 at 5pm (EST). Application materials must include a CV, cover letter, and P-11 form and Financial Proposal (see attached sample).

S/he must have a) an advanced university degree preferably in the fields of law, international law and/or other fields relevant to the assignment; b) a minimum of fifteen (15) years of professional experience; c) at least 5 years of hands-on work experience in the fields of impact assessment of judicial reform processes; d) proven track record in the provision of high level advice to national governments in the judicial reform programs; e) understanding the dynamics of judicial reform programs promoted by UNDP; f) ability and demonstrated experience in working with multi-disciplinary teams and under pressure against strict deadlines; and e) excellent oral and written skills in English.

Please find an in-depth summary of this request as an attachment. We would be most appreciative if you would review and determine whether you, anyone you know or any organization with which you are affiliated may have any knowledge of experts who might be good candidates. If you or members of your organization are interested in working with UNDP/Turkey, please email updated CV, financial proposal, P-11 form, and cover letter* (attached as word or PDF documents) by Monday, March 25, 2013 at 5PM U.S. EST. As always, we appreciate your assistance and please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or if you have any questions.

Completed applications must be sent to Jacqueline.Gichinga@americanbar.org.

CONFERENCE: Interpellations: Annual Conference of the Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia

Annual Conference of the Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia - ANU - Deadline 31 May

Interpellations: Annual Conference of the Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia

5 – 8 December 2013

The Australian National University

Canberra, Australia

Confirmed keynote speakers:

• Professor WJT Mitchell, Professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago
• Dr Honni van Rijswijk, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University Technology, Sydney
• Professor Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos, Director of Westminster International Law & Theory Centre

The annual conference of the Association invites scholarly and creative research from academics and graduate students working at the crossroads of law, justice, and culture, whether based in legal theory or in disciplines such as literature, art, film, music, history, continental philosophy, anthropology, psychoanalysis, visual culture, or cultural studies. Contributions may take a variety of forms from traditional academic papers to poster presentations, video, or other genres or media.

Contributors should provide a title and an abstract of 200 words or less, no later than 31 May 2013, by email sent to coast@law.anu.edu.au. Please include your name and the word Interpellations in the subject line.

For more information on this year’s program: http://law.anu.edu.au/conferences/interpellations

ARTICLE: Witte and Nichols on Marriage and Overlapping Jurisdictions

John Witte and Joel A Nichols have published their 'Who governs the family?: Marriage as a Test Case of Overlapping Jurisdictions' on SSRN:

In many areas of law and society, religion and law exercise “overlapping jurisdictions.” Often such overlapping claims concern institutions that have both religious and political dimensions, such as education and schooling; charity and social welfare; and marriage and family life. It is the third of these mixed institutions – marriage and the family – that is the focus of this Essay. The headline battles today are over what forms of marriage should be recognized by the state: straight versus same sex marriage, contract versus covenant marriage, monogamous versus polygamous marriage, and more. But an emerging battle concerns not the forms of marriage, but the forums in which marriage and family cases are adjudicated. Specifically, the new battle is looming over the place of faith-based family laws and religious tribunals.

Such jurisdictional conflicts have recently resulted in a growing set of “anti-Shari’a law” statutes, first in Oklahoma and now in Kansas, South Dakota, and elsewhere. Such statutes are based on rather slender, if not specious, rationales – and on a purported study that has not been sufficiently assessed. We argue, contrary to this study, that the very few cases cited by proponents of anti-Shari’a statutes say far more about the use of ordinary principles of comity regarding the law of foreign nations, respect for the voluntary choices of individuals, and a sense of growing multiculturalism in general than they do about any sort of fanciful imposition of Shari'a law on unwitting parties. We oppose such anti-Shari'a laws for their targeted discrimination, their duplication of other laws and decisional norms, their potential conflict with the Federal Arbitration Act, and more.

But hard questions persist that cannot be easily swept away with a mere assertion that religious groups should enjoy autonomy over the marriage and family affairs of their voluntary faithful. Those are the questions that we have been probing and encouraging others to probe in this and prior writings: What are the appropriate lines between the civil state and religions with respect to marriage? Civil marriage and divorce are perhaps a least common denominator for all citizens, but can there be variations if accompanied by base level protections for women and children? And how can the state best protect vulnerable members and also advance its liberal ends? Such hard questions need not lead to a jurisdictional stand-off between law and religion, however, nor to a universal and over-reaching claim by the state. Instead, negotiation, compromise, and mutual respect may lead to more nuanced and achievable results – especially if we are careful not to be so distracted by conversations about the propriety of Shari'a that we miss the actual complications of the growing marital and legal pluralism in the United States. 

The article will be published in (2013) Faulkner Law Review.

COURSE: Commission on Legal Pluralism Course on Legal Pluralism

AN INTERNATIONAL COURSE ON LEGAL PLURALISM

1-4 AUGUST, 2013

UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

Overview

In August 2013 the Commission on Legal Pluralism will organize a course in Manchester, UK, about theories, knowledge and methodologies of legal pluralism. The purpose of the 3½-day course, which precedes the IUAES 17th World Congress, is to familiarize the participants with the current international debates and insights in socio-legal studies and legal pluralism and to offer them a comparative perspective allowing them to rethink their own research and practical work. At the center of the discussion will be issues pertaining to rights protection, gender, natural resource management and land tenure, and dispute management in the context of globalizing economic, political and legal developments.

Participation is limited to 25 people to allow for maximum discussion. The participants are academics and/or practitioners, e.g. NGO activists or government officials, who deal with issues related to legal pluralism, informal justice systems and social justice in their academic or professional work. As in past courses (held amongst others in Wellington (New Zealand), Accra (Ghana), Williamsburg (USA), Moscow (Russia), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Fredericton (Canada), Jakarta (Indonesia), Zurich (Switzerland), and Cape Town (South Africa)) the teaching team will consist of senior academics of various backgrounds drawn from the Commission on Legal Pluralism and colleagues from the host country, in this case from the United Kingdom. The course will give participants an opportunity to discuss their work with fellow participants and the teaching staff, and directly engage with leading scholars and practitioners in their fields, allowing them to become part of a growing international network.

Topics for the course will include:

 Theoretical and methodological aspects of legal pluralism,

 Legal empowerment, gender and human rights,

 Natural resources management and governance,

 Land tenure and customary law,

 Rights of indigenous communities and economic development,

 Informal justice and policing,

 Access to justice, legal reform and the role of international development agencies.

Selection, Tuition, and Funding

BOOKS: Howarth on Law as Engineering

Edward Elgar Publishing has announced the publication of: 

David Howarth, Law As Engineering: Thinking About What Lawyers Do:

Law as Engineering proposes a radically new way of thinking about law, as a profession and discipline concerned with design rather than with litigation, and having much in common with engineering in the way it produces devices useful for its clients. It uses that comparison to propose ways of improving legal design, to advocate a transformation of legal ethics so that the profession learns from its role in the crash of 2008, and to reform legal education and research.

Offering a totally new perspective, this book will be a fascinating read for law students and prospective law students, legal academics across all sub-fields, lawyers in government, especially those engaged in drafting legislation, and policymakers.

Additional titles include:

• Gideon Boas, Public International Law: Contemporary Principles and Perspectives
• Robert Kolb (ed), Research Handbook On Human Rights And Humanitarian Law