On Thursday, at an event sponsored by the American Society of International Law, U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson identified four ways that governments can marshal efforts and resources to prevent mass-scale atrocities. He intends these efforts to strengthen institutional capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to potential crises. Amb. Williamson previously served in the UN-administered province of Kosovo, overseeing the justice and prison systems, and as an ICTY prosecutor in the cases of Slobodan Milosevic and Zelijko Raznatovic. More

The Faculty of Law at Vytautas Magnus University invite abstracts for an international conference to be held in Lithuania on 22 May 2009. Presentations may be in Lithuanian, Russian, or English. The deadline for abstracts is 1 March 2009. More

The Journal of International Policy Solutions at the University of California, San Diego is accepting submissions for its Spring 2009 issue. Submissions must present and describe an international problem; provide solutions to the problem and/or make recommendations; discuss implementation strategy for the recommendations given; and describe a course of action, including effects and/or challenges to policy implementation. The deadline is February 29, 2009. More

Yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts erred in delivering the constitutionally prescribed oath of office to President-elect Barack Obama. In an apparent effort to avoid public offense to the Chief Justice, Obama repeated the incorrect phrasing. The 35-word oath is the only sentence given in quotes in the U.S. Constitution. Just last week, a federal district court paved the way for the words "so help me God" to be added to the sentence (see my earlier blog). The ad hoc alteration and the permissible addition of words have legal scholars divided on whether the textual requirement of Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution is symbolic or legally significant. If symbolic, Obama became the 44th President of the United States yesterday upon his swearing-in at the Capitol, regardless of the actual content of the oath. If legally significant, Obama must deliver the oath again -- verbatim -- from the U.S. Constitution. Purple ticket holders for the swearing-in, many of whom were trapped in a highway tunnel during the inauguration, welcome a "do-over" ceremony, just in case the strictest constructionists and textualists are legally correct. More

The International Public Policy Review of University College London is currently inviting submissions of articles written in all areas of or relating to governance and public policy. The Review welcomes numerous forms of contributions including case study, results of research, a comparative survey, or a critical analysis and reflection on the topic. The deadline is 20 February 2009. More

Today in the United States, we honored the memory and life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, he said with respect to racial equality: "We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt." Although he was referring to civil liberties, the phrase has a much broader application to the many facets of justice. Tomorrow, President-elect Barack Obama ascends to a new era of governance and to the challenge of restoring the United States as a great beacon light of democracy, freedom, equality, and justice. In order for this to become true, the new president must make good on his promises of increased accountability, transparency, and commitment to the rule of law both domestically and internationally. More

PolicyMatters, a public policy research journal at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, invites submissions for its Spring 2009 issue. The deadline is 15 February 2009. More

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed a constitutional challenge to the inclusion of religious references and prayer at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony on the basis that the plaintiffs failed to show "concrete and immediate" harm. Thus, he concluded that the plaintiffs lacked standing to request extraordinary injunctive relief. At issue in Newdow v. Roberts was whether the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice can administer the oath of office with the additional words "so help me God" and whether clergy can deliver an invocation and benediction with references to God. Although the court rejected the request for a preliminary injunction against the Chief Justice and the inaugural organizers, the court did not rule on a motion to dismiss. More

The 8th Global Conference on Environmental Justice and Global Citizenship is looking for papers that investigate and explicitly explore environmental ethics and sustainability. Abstracts are due by 6 February 2009. More

The European Society of International Law and American Society of International Law are co-hosting the 3rd Research Forum, "Changing Futures? Science and International Law," in Helsinki on 2-3 October 2009. International lawyers are invited to submit abstracts on relevant topics, such as data privacy, global health, climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, law of the sea, law of outer space, and genetic engineering. The deadline for abstracts is 15 February 2009. More

With the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama one week away, here is a brief look at 7 major treaties that the United States has not ratified. These treaties have been awaiting the advice and consent of the Senate. They cover topics such as human rights, biodiversity, the protection of victims in armed conflicts, the law of the sea, and nuclear weapons testing. Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. served as the chair of the committee responsible for review and consideration of international treaties, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Of the seven major treaties, Obama has previously stated that he supports ratification of three of them: the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. More

My article, "The Legal Implications of Nearshore Outsourcing to Mexico," won first place in the International Law Section of the California State Bar Second Annual Law Student Writing Competition! The article is intended for practitioners in international commercial and trade law and cross-border data transfers. The article examines the potential legal advantages and pitfalls of IT outsourcing under the domestic laws of the United States and Mexico, NAFTA, and international law. The article provides pragmatic recommendations with regards to contractual provisions, tax considerations, and remedies for nonperformance and data breach. More

The second edition of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology 2008-2009 features two articles comparing U.S. and EU laws. My article on wireless broadband devices explores the impacts on U.S. consumers of recent FCC regulatory actions and compares consumer protections in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. The second article by William Hett, "Digital Currencies and the Rise of Terrorism," discusses the rise of terrorism in the wake of increasingly available digital currency. Looking to EU regulations for prepaid cash cards, Hett suggests that the United States should adopt similar cash limits in order to thwart money launderers and financiers of terrorism. More