Welcome to the 2006 Student Symposium:
International Law and the State of the Constitution

New York City, February 24-25, 2006

Columbia Law School is honored to be hosting the Federalist Society Student Symposium on its 25th anniversary. We join a tradition of symposia dedicated to exploring the most pressing and important issues in law and public policy. We have chosen the topic of international law, broadly defined, for this year's symposium, and we are certain it will provide a fantastic set of panels and debates.

International law has dominated the Supreme Court's docket in recent terms in two distinct, but related, forms. The first involves issues that are inherently international in nature—for example the power of the Executive, and protections offered by the Constitution in the war on terror—where the Court has always struggled with its role in the international realm. The second involves the increasing frequency with which the Court involves international law in its decisions in ways it historically has not. The use of foreign sources in the interpretation of the Constitution may be the most pressing concern voiced by conservative jurists, and continues to provoke controversy when it is employed to defend reversal of settled U.S. law.

This year's symposium will address the various applications of both of these concerns. We have invited the most accomplished professors and jurists from a variety of points on the ideological spectrum to deliver insight into these important questions. We hope you will join us in New York City on Friday and Saturday, February 24-25, 2006. The symposium will be live-blogged at Ex Post.

The Columbia Law School Federalist Society thanks the following sponsors for their generous support of the 2006 Student Symposium:

The Holman Supporting Foundation
The Donald & Paula Smith Family Foundation
The Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation
The IDT Corporation