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Symposia

The Saint Louis University Center for International and Comparative Law regularly hosts symposia and other programs focusing on relevant international and comparative law issues.

Many nationally known speakers at these events have also published articles in the Saint Louis University Law Journal.


The Legitimacy and Legality of War: From Philosophical Foundations to Emerging Problems. April 14, 2023. Saint Louis University Center for International and Comparative Law. Presenters: Kevin J. Heller, Steven Hill, Russell Buchan, Tom Dannebaum, Jean d'Aspremont, Gina Heathcote, Nori Katagiri, Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi, Darag Murray, Jess Peake, Marco Roscini, Afonso Seixas-Nunes, Nicholas Tsagourias

The Center for International and Comparative Law and The Saint Louis University Law Journal present:

The Legitimacy and Legality of War: From Philosophical Foundations to Emerging Problems

8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Friday, April 14, 2023

Full Recording Here

While Russia's invasion of Ukraine represents a serious challenge to the international legal order, its challenge to the use of force regime is particularly acute. This symposium brings together a wide range of scholars to assess the applicability and efficacy of the international legal framework regulating the use of force. Topics to be examined include just-war theory, the prohibition on the threat or use of force, exceptions to the use-of-force prohibition, the treatment of the non-use-of-force principle in judicial proceedings, and the role of non-State actors in the use of force regime.

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Steven Hill: executive secretary, The International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law; former chief legal advisor, NATO

Kevin J. Heller: professor, University of Copenhagen - Centre for Military Studies

Other Speakers Include

Afonso Seixas-Nunes, Saint Louis University School of Law
Professor Gina Heathcote, SOAS, University of London
Jean d’Aspremont, University of Manchester, UK; Sciences Po School of Law, France
Rebecca Mignot -Mahdavi, University of Manchester, UK
Nori Katagiri, Saint Louis University, Department of Political Science
Tom Dannenbaum, Fletcher School of Law, Tufts University
Katie Johnston, University of Liverpool School of Law (UK)
Russell Buchan, University of Sheffield, UK
Marco Roscini, University of Westminster, UK; Swiss IHL Chair - Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Nick Tsagourias, University of Sheffield, UK
Daragh Murray, University of Queen Mary, London

Schedule

9 a.m.: Welcome by Dr. Monica Eppinger, associate professor; co-director, Center for International and Comparative Law, Saint Louis University School of Law

9:15 a.m.: Welcome Remarks on The Legitimacy and Legality of War: From Philosophical Foundations to Emerging Problems by Fr. Afonso Seixas Nunes, S.J., assistant professor, Saint Louis University School of Law

10 a.m.: Keynote: Russian Aggression: Jus ad Bellum and the Silence/ing of the Global South by Kevin J. Heller, professor, University of Copenhagen - Centre for Military Studies

11 a.m.: Roundtable Discussion and Q&A Session

  • Kevin J. Heller, professor, University of Copenhagen, Centre for Military Studies
  • Dr. Steven Hill, executive secretary, The International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law; former chief legal advisor, NATO
  • Nick Tsagourias, professor, University of Sheffield, UK
  • Gina Heathcote, professor, SOAS, University of London
  • Daragh Murray, lecturer, University of Queen Mary, London
  • Dr. Rebecca Mignot -Mahdavi, lecturer, University of Manchester, UK
  • Afonso Seixas-Nunes, assistant professor, Saint Louis University School of Law

Noon: Break

1:30 p.m.: Keynote: International Efforts to Collect Evidence Related to Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine by Dr. Steven Hill, executive secretary, The International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law; former chief legal advisor, NATO

2:30 p.m.: Roundtable Discussion and Q&A Session

  • Dr. Steven Hill, executive secretary, The International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law; former chief legal advisor, NATO
  • Kevin J. Heller, professor, University of Copenhagen, Centre for Military Studies
  • Jean d’Aspremont, professor, University of Manchester, UK; Sciences Po School of Law, France
  • Marco Roscini, professor, University of Westminster, UK; Swiss IHL Chair - Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
  • Tom Dannenbaum, associate Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
  • Katie Johnston, lecturer, University of Liverpool School of Law, UK
  • Dr. Russell Buchan, senior lecturer, University of Sheffield, UK
  • Nori Katagiri, associate Professor, Saint Louis University, Department of Political Science

3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Concluding Remarks by Dr. Russell Buchan, senior lecturer, University of Sheffield, UK

Recent Symposia

2021: Center for International and Comparative Law and Saint Louis University Law Journal Symposium on Misinformation/ Disinformation and the Law

Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 | Zoom

The avenues for misinformation (the dissemination of inaccurate content, irrespective of intent) and disinformation (the deliberate spread of inaccurate information to mislead others) have increased dramatically in both online and offline environments in recent years. This symposium seeks to map out the heterogeneity of misinformation and disinformation, particularly its salience in the legal and regulatory space, as well as possible solutions to ongoing manifestations of mis/disinformation.

View the Recording
Passcode: A9VJBAB&

Schedule

Introduction: Dean William P. Johnson, Saint Louis University School of Law

Panel 1: Mis/Disinformation Across the World: A Comparative Overview of Mis/Disinformation in Singapore, Italy, and in Islamic Law Jurisdictions
Moderator: Prof. Monica Eppinger

  • Ang Peng Hwa, professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • Maria Luce Mariniello, attorney, Agcom, Italy
  • Mahsa Alimardani and Mona Elswah, Ph.D. researchers, Oxford Internet Institute, U.K.

Panel 2: Regulating Mis/Disinformation: On-the-ground Approaches to Counter Mis/Disinformation
Moderator: Prof. Molly Walker Wilson

  • Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Lisa Kaplan, founder, Alethea Group
  • John Cook, research assistant professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University

Keynote: A conversation with Meredith Berger, senior manager, Microsoft, Defending Democracy Program

Panel 3: The Next Frontiers in the Regulation of Mis/Disinformation: Online Platforms, Artificial Intelligence, and Financial Markets
Moderator: Prof. Carol Needham

  • Thomas Kadri, assistant professor, University of Georgia School of Law
  • Sara Gerke, research fellow in medicine, artificial intelligence and law, Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School
  • Shimon Kogan, visiting finance professor, MIT Sloan School of Management
2019: Center for International and Comparative Law and Saint Louis University Law Journal Symposium on Internationalism and Sovereignty

Friday, March 29, 2019 | John K. Pruellage Courtroom

Brexit, hybrid war, wall campaigns, mass migration, climate change: In the present political moment, some of our perennial demands on internationalism — its management of the passions of nationalism and logics of sovereignty — have become acute tests of its potential and limitations. At this time of breakdown and opportunity, our spring 2019 Symposium addresses a vital question: can internationalism meet contemporary challenges?

Schedule
Keynote: Sovereignty Remade: How the "Internationalists" Transformed the International Legal Order
Oona A. Hathaway, the Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law and Counselor to the Dean, Yale Law School; Professor of Law and Director, Center for Global Challenges, Yale Law School

Panel 1: States, Sovereignty, and the International Legal Order

  • Hybrid Sovereignty in Russian Foreign Policy
    Igor Gretskiy, associate professor, School of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • The Psychological Concept of Sovereignty: A Ukrainian Perspective
    Oleksandr Merezhko, professor and chair of law, Kyiv National Linguistic University, Kyiv, Ukraine
  • The Paradox of International Sovereignty at the European Court of Human Rights
    Jessica R. Greenberg, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Panel 2: New International Actors, New Challenges to Sovereignty

  • Refugee Extractivism: Law and Mining a Human Commodity in the Republic of Nauru
    Julia Morris, postdoctoral fellow, Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, The New School for Social Research
  • Internationalism and Sovereignty in the World of Charitable Foundations
    Sara Sievers, associate dean for policy and practice; associate professor of practice, Keough School of International Affairs, University of Notre Dame
  • Internationalism and the Structure of Global Health Security
    Sam F. Halabi, associate professor; director, Center for Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship, University of Missouri School of Law
2017: The Sanford E. Sarasohn Conference on Critical Issues in Comparative and International Taxation II: Taxation and Migration

Friday, March 31, 2017 | John K. Pruellage Courtroom
Co-sponsored by the Saint Louis University Law Journal

As ever-growing numbers of individuals seek economic and political refuge in Europe and North America, and as increasing numbers of individuals and businesses seek refuge from the tax burdens of their home jurisdictions in lower tax jurisdictions, the resulting immigration and emigration strain the national economies of affected countries causing them to modify their taxation rules and structures. This conference explored the effects of taxation on migration and the effects of migration on taxation.

Schedule
Opening Remarks
William P. Johnson, dean, Saint Louis University School of Law

Panel 1: Migrant Tax Plight, Human Rights, Hidden Wealth

  • Claire LaFont, student, Saint Louis University School of Law
  • Cristina Trenta, associate professor of tax law, Örebro University
  • Khrista Johnson, associate professor, Pepperdine University School of Law
  • Heather Field, professor of law and Eucalyptus Foundation Chair, University of California-Hastings College of the Law

Panel 2: Combating Expatriation

  • Allison Christians, associate professor and H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law, McGill University
  • Matthew Lister, visiting assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
  • William Thomas Worster, lecturer of international law, The Hague University of Applied Sciences

Panel 3: Tax System Design and Migration

  • Montano Cabezas, graduate tax scholar, Georgetown University
  • Leila Adim, Department of Tax and Financial Law, Universitat de Barcelona
  • Genevieve Tokic, assistant professor, Northern Illinois College of Law
  • Henry Ordower, professor, Saint Louis University School of Law

Panel 4: Corporate Expatriation

  • Diane Ring, professor of law and the Dr. Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law School
  • Lukas Moravec and Jan Rohan, Department of Business and Finance, Faculty of Management and Economics, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague
  • Ashrita Prasad Kotha, assistant professor and assistant director of the Centre for Comparative International Taxation Studies, Jindal Global Law School
  • David Elkins, professor of law, Netanya College School of Law
2015: Center for International and Comparative Law and Saint Louis University Law Journal Symposium on Perspectives on Fighting Human Trafficking

Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 | John K. Pruellage Courtroom
Co-sponsored by the Saint Louis University Law Journal

Human trafficking has been called “the modern-day slavery.” Trafficking victims are forced to have sex or to work long hours against their will, often in dangerous situations and facing threats of violence or deportation. Many times the victims of trafficking do not see themselves as victims or are afraid to speak out, fearing that they might be prosecuted. This symposium focused on the role of the victim in combating human trafficking. Two panels focused on finding and working with victims in prosecuting trafficking, and two major talks highlighted global trends in human trafficking.

Schedule
Opening Keynote: Human Trafficking: Law and Current Trends
John Richmond, special litigation counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit

Panel 1: Working With, and Helping, the Victims of Human Trafficking

  • Alexandra Levy, attorney, Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center
  • Derek Stigerts, FBI, Innocence Lost Task Force
  • Monica Stump, AUSA, Southern District of Illinois

Panel 2: Perspectives on Human Trafficking

  • Cynthia Cordes, partner, Husch Blackwell; director, Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Clinic
  • Eric Ha, general counsel, International Justice Mission
  • Miguel Keberlein, director, Immigrants and Workers’ Rights Practice Group
  • Elizabeth Campbell, clinical assistant professor of law, Human Trafficking Clinic, University of Michigan Law School

Lunch Keynote: Human Trafficking as Modern Day Slavery – Implications of a Label
Mary Leary, professor, Catholic University, Columbus School of Law