Wayne State University Law School's Program for International Legal Studies will host a panel discussion titled "The General Assembly Resolution on Palestinian Statehood: What Does International Law Have to Say?" on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 4 p.m. in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.
Two distinguished speakers will discuss a vote planned for late-September 2011 in which the United Nations General Assembly will purport to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. The speakers will address a host of international legal questions raised by the resolution:
* Can the General Assembly create a state?
* If not, what will be the legal effect of the vote, especially if it is supported by most countries in the world?
* What rights would a Palestinian state acquire if it came into existence?
* What options are available to countries such as the United States who oppose creating a Palestinian state in this manner?
The speakers are internationally-recognized experts Brad R. Roth, law and political science professor at WSU, and Steven R. Ratner, Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.
"The General Assembly resolution will be the most hotly debated foreign policy question this fall," said Gregory H. Fox, Wayne Law professor and director of the Program for International Legal Studies. "Virtually all the questions the resolution will raise are matters of international law. We are delighted to have two such accomplished legal scholars speak at Wayne Law and explore the resolution's assumptions and implications."
Roth specializes in international law, comparative public law, and political and legal theory. His latest article, "Secessions, coups, and the international rule of law: Assessing the decline of the effective control doctrine," appeared in the May 2011 issue of the Melbourne Journal of International Law. He is the author of Governmental Illegitimacy in International Law, contributing co-editor with Fox of Democratic Governance and International Law, and the author of roughly 30 book chapters, journal articles and commentaries dealing with questions of sovereignty, constitutionalism, human rights and democracy.
Ratner's teaching and research focuses on public international law, including a range of challenges facing governments and international institutions since the Cold War. He has written and lectured extensively on the law of war, and he is also interested in the intersection of international law and moral philosophy and other theoretical issues. A member of the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law from 1998-2008, he began his legal career as an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department. Since 2009, he has served on the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Law.
This lecture is a highlight of International Law Week, kicking off a year of special events and programming sponsored by the Program for International Legal Studies. It is free and open to the public, and lunch will be provided. Parking is available for $5 in Structure #1 across from the Law School on West Palmer Street in Detroit. For directions to the Law School and a campus map, visit www.campusmap.wayne.edu/location/LAW.
RSVP at http://events.wayne.edu/rsvp/general-assembly-resolution-on-palestinian-statehood/#rsvp.
Contact Holly Hughes, program coordinator, at international.law@wayne.edu or 313-577-3620 with questions.
Published: Mon, Sep 19, 2011
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