Tentative Symposium Schedule

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

Registration (3:00-6:00 p.m.)
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

Welcome and Introduction (7:00-7:05 p.m.)
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

PANEL #1 (7:05-8:45 p.m.)
What Is an International Rule of Law? Competing Perspectives on Its Meaning, Feasibility and Desirability
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

This panel will explore competing definitions and visions of what is meant by an international rule of law, a concept that has proved elusive to define. Is international law really law? What exactly does rule by international law mean? Is such a regime really possible or even truly desirable? Who is to make the rules? Does the international lawmaking process assure that international law is good? The discussion will provide a necessary starting point for the entire conference by trying to lay out the key positions in the debate over the proper role and scope of an International Rule of Law.

Moderator: Hon. Dennis Jacobs, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
Panelists:

• Professor Thomas Franck, New York University Law School
  
• Professor John McGinnis, Northwestern University Law School
  
• Professor Jeremy Rabkin, Cornell University
  
• Professor Jeremy Waldron, Columbia Law School

Cocktail Reception (8:45-10:30 p.m.)
Low Memorial Library, Columbia University
Generously sponsored by the Donald and Paula Smith Family Foundation
Professor Akhil Amar will be signing copies of his book America's Constitution. The Heritage Guide to the Constitution also will be available for purchase.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25

Continental Breakfast (8:00-9:00 a.m.)
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

PANEL #2 (9:00-10:45 a.m.)
How Does International Law Limit the War on Terror?
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

Many commentators have argued that the United States has violated international law in its war on terror. This panel will consider both the abstract question of the extent to which international law can restrict United States action and specific issues in which international law is claimed to prohibit U.S. action. It will thus consider the extent to which international law is the law of our own land. It will also consider the extent to which the operation of specific provisions of international law, such as the law of war, place restrictions on the war on terror.

Moderator: Hon. A. Raymond Randolph, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
Panelists:

• Professor Akhil Amar, Yale Law School
  
• Professor Catherine Powell, Fordham Law School
  
• Professor Saikrishna B. Prakash, University of San Diego School of Law
  
• Professor John Yoo, Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley) School of Law

PANEL #3 (11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)
Enforceability of International Tribunals' Decisions in the U.S.
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

This panel will deal with questions relating to the constitutional permissibility of express and implicit delegations of authority to international bodies such as the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and appellate bodies in NAFTA. Panelists will deal with issues such as the Executive’s ability to delegate treaty interpretation authority to international bodies, as currently practiced under compulsory jurisdiction clauses in many international treaties. The recent case of Medellin v. Dretke raises the question of whether, even in the absence of express delegation, our courts should follow the decisions of international law courts out of comity.

Moderator: Hon. Diarmuid O'Scannlain, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Panelists:

• Dean Alex Aleinikoff, Georgetown University Law Center
  
• Professor Curtis Bradley, Duke University School of Law
  
• Professor Lori Damrosch, Columbia Law School
  
• Professor John Harrison, University of Virginia Law School

Lunch (12:45-2:00 p.m.)
Columbia University Faculty House

ADDRESS (1:45-2:15 p.m.)
United Nations Reform
Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

PANEL #4 DEBATE (2:30-3:30 p.m.)
Executive Power in Foreign Affairs
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

This debate will address the arguments over the extent of the Executive’s power in matters touching on foreign affairs. The debate will confront both constitutional and pragmatic arguments regarding the boundaries of the Executive’s role in treaty interpretation, war powers, and homeland security. The discussion will touch upon appropriate methods of constitutional interpretation—from originalism to functionalism.

Moderator: Hon. Alex Kozinski, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Debating:

• Professor Martin Flaherty, Fordham Law School
  
• Professor Michael Ramsey, University of San Diego Law School

PANEL #5 (3:45-5:30 p.m.)
Foreign and International Law Sources in Domestic Constitutional Interpretation
Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

The Supreme Court has increasingly turned to international law to interpret provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Cases such as Lawrence v. Texas and Roper v. Simmons have cited both European decisions and international law as persuasive authority in constitutional interpretation. This use of foreign and international law in domestic constitutional interpretation raises important questions. Are foreign and international law valid sources of constitutional interpretation? Is the use consistent with originalism? To what extent is such reliance a new phenomenon?

Moderator: Hon. William H. Pryor, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
Panelists:

• Professor Steven Calabresi, Northwestern University Law School
  
• Hon. Frank Easterbrook, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals
  
• Professor Vicki Jackson, Georgetown University Law Center
  
• Professor Thomas W. Merrill, Columbia Law School
  
• Professor Gerald Neuman, Columbia Law School

Reception (6:00-7:00 p.m.)
Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University

Banquet (7:00-10:00 p.m.)
Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University
Generously sponsored by the IDT Corporation