Foreign Policy and International Law

The Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict of the American Society of International Law is sponsoring a panel discussion about the Court-Martial of US Army Sgt Bales for the murder of 16 Afghan civilians. The case presents a unique opportunity to explore the challenges in both investigating and prosecuting a case involving crimes in a remote area of a war zone, differing cultural perceptions of accountability and justice, and the relationship between military justice and international criminal justice.

SPEAKERS:

The Government Attorneys Interest Group of the American Society of International Law invites you to attend a continuing legal education course featuring practicing international lawyers in a variety of positions within the U.S. government. The panel will discuss the role that international law plays in the day-to-day practice of attorneys not only in the U.S. State and Defense departments, but also in legal offices outside of the most commonly understood "international" agencies.

Cyber threats pose national, economic, and personal risks to both the public and private sectors. The frequency and complexity of cyber attacks are rising exponentially and outpace policy and legal regulations of the area. In this context, the issue for international law is in the applicability of traditional concepts to the realities of cyber threats. This event, cosponsored by the American Society of International Law and the United Nations Association, will explore the legal aspects of selected areas of cyber security in the United States.

ASIL, in cosponsorship with its Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict, will host a discussion of the United States's decade-long experience with military commission proceedings against detainees held at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, featuring Jess Bravin, an award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter and author of The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay. Bravin will summarize the findings in his book, which draws on more than a decade of first-hand reporting at Guantanamo and extensive interviews with insiders in the commission process.

Assuming efforts to achieve a negotiated resolution do not succeed, President Obama has made clear that the military option to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains on the table. Under what circumstance would the exercise of that option be consistent with domestic and international law? If the Security Council is blocked by Russia and China, what actions can the US or NATO take? Would authorization of the Congress be necessary? What about action by Israel?

This course is the last installment of three programs in a series cosponsored by the American Society of International Law in partnership with the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area’s International Law Committee to address the issue of the use of force. When is it permissible? What is the role of the UN and how can it be carried out?