Institute for Global Legal Studies

Home Page: http://law.wustl.edu/igls/current.html Email: igls@wulaw.wustl.edu Telephone: (314) 935-7988

We live in a truly global age. People, goods, services, information, and capital flow freely across international boundaries. From the Internet, e-mail, and fax machines to travel, migration, commerce, and foreign relations, the story of the new millennium will be our ever shrinking planet. The world's problems -- and the problems entrusted to lawyers -- will increasingly require international cooperation and international solutions.

Our new Institute for Global Legal Studies was created for such a world. Through a combination of educational and research programs, the Institute will draw on international and comparative law to expand our knowledge and understanding of real-world issues. It will utilize the vast pool of talent overseas and promote interaction between the students and faculty of Washington University and their colleagues from other nations.

In the process, the Institute will foster a vibrant international environment within the four walls of the law school and throughout the Washington University campus. It will help make the school a first-choice institution for more of the talented students and distinguished faculty whom we want to attract. Beyond our own workplace, the Institute promises to build the reputation of the law school within the United States and abroad. We intend to become one of the world's premier international centers.

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Blue-ribbon steering committee drafting international treaty Harris World Law Institute kicks off landmark Crimes Against Humanity Project April 25, 2008 -- The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute of Washington University School of Law announced a two-year project to study the international law regarding crimes against humanity and to draft a multilateral treaty condemning and prohibiting such crimes. Leila Sadat, J.D., the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Harris Institute, recently convened the first meeting of the project's steering committee.

Repairing the U.S. asylum system Leading immigration law expert examines dramatic inconsistencies; cautions against drastic responses Feb. 27, 2008 -- Legomsky Download A recent academic study confirmed empirically what many immigration experts had already suspected: The chance of winning an asylum case often hinges as much on the luck of the draw as on the merits of the case. Some adjudicators grant asylum liberally while others grant it only rarely, and the disparities are dramatic. The Stanford Law Review asked Stephen Legomsky, J.D., D.Phil., leading immigration and asylum law expert and John S. Lehmann University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, to write an article analyzing the policy implications of this study. Legomsky offers a controversial conclusion: "There are times when we simply have to learn to live with unequal justice because the alternatives are worse."

Taking international legal education to the next level Washington University School of Law launches unique Transnational Law Program Feb. 19, 2008 -- Washington University School of Law is launching a Transnational Law Program, a first-of-its-kind offering for students in both the United States and Europe. Beginning in fall 2008, a new four-year combined degree program will be offered in association with four prestigious European universities. "There is a growing need for lawyers who understand both American and European law, can identify legal issues and know reliable sources in the U.S. and throughout Europe," says Kent D. Syverud, J.D., law dean and the Ethan A.H. Shepley University Professor. "Many American law schools are expanding their international curricula study-abroad programs. Washington University Law and Utrecht University are now taking international legal education to the next level."

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Faculty Experts:

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John Haley Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law John Haley Download John Haley is one of the nation's outstanding international and comparative law scholars and is widely credited with having popularized Japanese legal studies. His numerous scholarly works span issues ranging from international trade policy and comparative law to Japanese land-use law, Japanese and ... Expertise: Japanese law, comparative law, international business transactions, international trade policy, transnational litigation, East Asian studies, contracts Direct contact: (314) 935-8231 / johaley@wulaw.wustl.edu

Stephen Legomsky John S. Lehmann University Professor Stephen Legomsky Download Dr. Stephen H. Legomsky, an internationally renowned immigration law expert, is the author of Immigration and Refugee Law and Policy (now in its 3rd edition), which has been adopted as the required text for immigration courses at more than 140 American law schools. He has testified before Congress ... Expertise: immigration, refugees, international criminal law, international human rights, international law, torts, international legal process, … Direct contact: (314) 935-6469 / legomsky@wulaw.wustl.edu

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Related News Clips:

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2nd Hussein Trial Defense Lawyer Slain Los Angeles Times Nov. 9, 2005 -- Gunmen killed a second defense lawyer in the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants on Tuesday, throwing the controversial proceedings into greater turmoil and casting new doubt on the credibility of the tribunal. WUSTL law professor Leila Nadya Sadat, who helped train Iraqi jurists, comments.

Case against Haitian-born citizen could reset naturalization standards Grand Forks Herald Online (North Dakota) and 16 others Jan. 12, 2005 -- An unprecedented court ruling on stripping a foreign-born person's U.S. citizenship may give the federal government a potent new tool for rooting out naturalized immigrants with criminal pasts, some legal experts say. WUSTL immigration law professor Stephen Legomsky joins the discussion.

The Institute's core activity will be annual conferences on topics of contemporary global importance. Each conference will be planned two years in advance by a different member of the law faculty, often in collaboration with a foreign colleague. With generous funding, ample advance notice, and lofty ambitions, the aim is to attract the most impressive minds in the world, elicit first-rate papers, arrange publication by a premier academic press, and distribute the book widely.

Other Institute activities are currently under discussion. These include a series of distinguished United States and international speakers; fellowships for visiting scholars; a stream of publications to inform U.S. and international colleagues, government officials, prospective students, and alumni and other friends of the law school about the activities of the Institute and the law school; and applications for grants and other fundraising.

Other existing law school operations are also international in nature -- recruiting JD and graduate law students interested in international law; planning an international curriculum; advising students about international curricular choices; advising foreign students; helping find overseas jobs for students and graduates; assisting the International Law Students Association, the Jessup International Moot Court team and the Global Studies Law Review; administering the foreign student LLM program; and building the international law library collection. The Institute will likely play supportive and advisory roles in these endeavors. Since many contemporary issues cross both national and disciplinary boundaries, the Institute will also collaborate with the new Center for Interdisciplinary Studies on specific projects and in the sharing of resources.