Chair: Ruti Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law

First established in Spring 2002, this discussion group explores globalism, conflict, and the rule of law from a comparative perspective. Distinguished presenters come from schools in New York and elsewhere, and discussions—attended by faculty from inside and outside New York Law School—explore issues in comparative tort law and comparative constitutional law, as well as in the politics of crime, international justice, and the meaning of civil society.

Fall 2006–Spring 2008

September 29, 2007
Panel: “Toward a Universal Law for Humanity: Global Values and the Lessons and Challenges from National Constitutional Jurisprudence,” held in conjunction with an upcoming book project on “Global Values and the Lessons and Challenges from National Constitutional Jurisprudence"

• Professor Allan Brewer-Carias
• Judge Dennis Davis
• Dr. Alan Richter
• Professor Lorraine Weinrib
• Professor Ruti Teitel

Fall 2006–Spring 2007
Theme: "9/11: The Legal Issues Five Years On"
Presented jointly with the Center on Global Legal Problems, directed by José E. Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at Columbia Law School

September 26, 2006
George P. Fletcher, Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School
"The Hamdan Decision: A Fresh Start for International Law"

October 5, 2006
Roundtable: "International Counterterrorism Cooperation: Is a Global Institution Needed?"

• Moderator: Guiseppe Nesi, Legal Advisor, Italian Mission to the United Nations
• Daniel Benjamin, Senior Fellow, Center on Strategic and International Studies
• Thomas Franck, Murray and Ida Becker Professor of Law Emeritus, NYU
• Eric Rosand, Senior Fellow, Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

November 14, 2006
Timothy Bakken, Professor of Law, United States Military College at West Point
"Is the Pre-emptive Use of Force Legal?"

November 21, 2006
Debate: "The Detention Camp at Guantánamo Bay: Should the U.S. Close It Down?"

• Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program Director, Human Rights Watch
• David B. Rivkin, Partner, Baker Hostetler, Former Reagan & George H. W. Bush Administration Official

April 19, 2007
Derek Jinks, Professor, University of Texas School of Law
"Common Article 3 and the Global War on Terror"

Fall 2005–Spring 2006

November 10, 2005      
Enrico Colombatto, Professor of Economics, University of Turin
"Law, Economics and Institutional Change: The Lesson for European Transition" (Cosponsored with New York Law School’s Center for International Law)

February 16, 2006      
José E. Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy, Columbia University School of Law and President-Elect, American Society of International Law
"The Promise and Perils of International Organizations"

March 3, 2006      
New Perspectives in Post-Conflict Constitutionalism: Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cosponsored with the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law)

Fall 2004–Spring 2005

November 18, 2004
Kal Raustiala, Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School
“The Evolution of Territoriality: International Relations & American Law”

March 2, 2005
Nathaniel Berman
Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School
"Privileging Combat? Contemporary Conflict and the Legal Construction of War” 

April 21, 2005
Andrei S. Markovits
Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
“European Anti-Americanism: A Pedigreed Prejudice In Overdrive”

Fall 2003–Spring 2004

September 17, 2003
Professor Laurence R. Helfer, Program in Law and Public Affairs, Princeton University, “Regime Shifting: The TRIPs Agreement and New Dynamics of International Intellectual Property Lawmaking.” 

November 18, 2003
Professor Philip Chase Bobbitt, A.W. Walker Centennial Chair in Law, University of Texas School of Law, "The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History."

February 4, 2004
Barnett R. Rubin, Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center on International Cooperation, New York University, “Making the New Constitution of Afghanistan.”

Spring 2003

March 5, 2003
Professor Daniel Levy, SUNY Stony Brook (Sociology Department), "Cosmopolitan Sovereignty: Legalism and the Human Rights Regime."

April 3, 2003
Professor David Kennedy, Henry L. Shattuck Professor, Harvard Law School, “The International Human Rights Movement: Part of the Problem?”

April 24, 2003
Professor Stephen Holmes, New York University School of Law, "Lineages of the Rule of Law."