Law students and JURIST special guests comment on their legal experiences around the world. http://jurist.org/dateline JURISTremove_this@pitt.edu Joseph Schaeffer, Pitt Law '12, recently attended a Coal Law Short Course sponsored by the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation and hosted at the West Virginia University College of Law... In Appalachia, Coal is King. Coal-fired power plants provide the majority of the region's electricity, and it's difficult to find someone from the major coal states of West Virginia and Kentucky who doesn't have a close friend or relative involved in the coal industry. Coal provides power and jobs to the region, and politicians who attack the coal industry do so at their own risk. Nevertheless, there are significant challenges to the coal industry from regulatory agencies, such as the http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/appalachia-coal-law-and-property-rights.php 2010-08-27T10:55:59-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/appalachia-coal-law-and-property-rights.php Joseph Schaeffer Kirk Knutson, Pitt Law '12, studied law at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne in Summer 2010 through the Paris Summer Institute hosted by Cornell Law School. He shares his knowledge of the debate surrounding France's measures to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils... This summer, I had the opportunity to take courses in international criminal law, international human rights law, comparative legal studies, comparative family law, and international trade and development at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne. The power of cultural influences on the law became apparent to me during my studies here, particularly with respect to the current debate in France surrounding the potential ban of the burqa, the full http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/france-constitutional-and-cultural-issues-surrounding-the-burqa-ban.php 2010-08-20T16:38:41-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/france-constitutional-and-cultural-issues-surrounding-the-burqa-ban.php Joseph Schaeffer Zana Berisha and Kutjesa Nezaj, both 2010 graduates of the Pitt Law LL.M. program, are Kosovar citizens and write about the International Court of Justice's recent decision on their country's Declaration of Independence... When the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered its decision on the legality of Kosovo's Declaration of Independence on July 22, 2010, we had already returned to our home country of Kosovo after a wonderful year spent obtaining our LL.M. degrees at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Despite being happy to be home after a long time away, we felt anxious because the ICJ was deciding on the Declaration of Independence undertaken by us, the http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/kosovo-the-icj-on-a-declaration-of-independence.php 2010-08-13T11:14:13-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/kosovo-the-icj-on-a-declaration-of-independence.php Joseph Schaeffer Emma Founds, Pitt Law '11, traveled to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) through Pitt's Center for International Legal Education and reports on the ICTR's difficulty in prosecuting gender-based crimes, such as rape and sexual assault... While there have been major advancements in the prosecution of gender crimes internationally, the ICTR has been lax in adjudicating sex crimes, such as rape and sexual enslavement for the majority of its existence. Hassan Bubacar Jallow, who filled the Office of the Prosecutor in 2003, sought to reinvigorate attention to gender crimes. While the Prosecutor's efforts were laudable, the Tribunal's impending closure, together with its dismal record of prosecuting gender crimes, makes http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/tanzania-prosecution-of-gender-crimes-in-rwanda.php 2010-08-06T10:35:19-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/08/tanzania-prosecution-of-gender-crimes-in-rwanda.php Joseph Schaeffer Jonathan Cohen, Pitt Law '12, studied in Jerusalem as part of a program hosted by the Touro College Law Center and sponsored by Pitt's Center for International Legal Education. He writes about the differences between Israel and the United States in the areas of judicial appointments and judicial review... This June, I took courses at the Agron Guest House in the heart of Jerusalem while on a study abroad program hosted by Touro College Law Center. I feel fortunate that I had a group of professors who clung tightly to the idea that "if you don't learn anything outside of the classroom, there is no reason to be in another http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/israel-judicial-appointments-standing-and-political-questions.php 2010-07-30T11:37:19-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/israel-judicial-appointments-standing-and-political-questions.php Joseph Schaeffer Megan McKee, Pitt Law '12, is currently an intern with Montreal's Social Justice Committee (SJC). She writes about the SJC's advocacy for corporate accountability in the extractive industries... In May I began working for the Social Justice Committee (SJC) of Montreal as a corporate accountability intern. The SJC is an independent human rights organization promoting education and advocacy in the areas of global poverty and inequality. In terms of corporate accountability, the SJC is currently advocating for passage of Bill C-300, also known the Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil, and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act. This private member's bill currently before the Canadian parliament seeks to create a mechanism http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/canada-corporate-accountability-for-extractive-industry.php 2010-07-21T11:23:58-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/canada-corporate-accountability-for-extractive-industry.php Joseph Schaeffer Andrew Vogeler, Pitt Law '12 and Nordenberg Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Private and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany, writes about attempts to harmonize contract law in the European Union... Lately, there has been much debate over the proper direction of the European Union in response to the ongoing fiscal and monetary crises. These debates have well demonstrated the difficulty of bringing together a number of economies, and the particular problem of establishing the political arrangements necessary to do so successfully. As a Nordenberg Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, I have had the chance to study a http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/germany-european-contract-law-harmonization.php 2010-07-15T15:04:49-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/germany-european-contract-law-harmonization.php Joseph Schaeffer Ingrid Burke, Pitt Law '11, writes on the detention of Peter Erlinder, law professor and defense counsel at the ICTR, in light of her recent visit to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda... In a recent piece for JURIST Dateline, I wrote about a visit that I had made to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, as part of Professor Charles Jalloh's International Criminal Law Seminar. At that time, I argued in favor of the transfer of lower to mid-level ICTR cases to Rwanda's national jurisdiction largely on the basis of Rwanda's improved fair-trial standards and due process guarantees. In light of the recent arrest and http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/rwanda-peter-erlinders-detention.php 2010-07-07T15:01:52-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/07/rwanda-peter-erlinders-detention.php Joseph Schaeffer Ingrid Burke, Pitt Law '11, traveled to the ICTR in Tanzania with Professor Charles Jalloh through Pitt Law's Center for International Legal Education... As part of a group of Pitt Law students, I recently had the opportunity to spend three days observing the inner workings of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. During my visit, I met numerous ICTR representatives, including members of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), the Registry, and various defense teams and judicial chambers. However, I was most excited by the opportunity to meet with Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow and defense counsel representatives because of my curiosity about the status of the http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/06/tanzania-transferring-cases-from-the-ictr-to-rwanda-courts.php 2010-06-30T10:32:28-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/06/tanzania-transferring-cases-from-the-ictr-to-rwanda-courts.php Joseph Schaeffer Brittany Conkle, Pitt Law '10, recently visited the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, as part of a program sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the Center for International Legal Education. She shares her perspective... I would be deliberately nonchalant if I neglected to say how excited I was to meet with Chief Prosecutor Hassan B. Jallow on our class trip to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Although other activities were planned, I knew from the minute the meeting was announced that it would be one of the highlights of my trip. It isn't every day that a person has the opportunity http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/06/tanzania-meeting-the-ICTR-chief-prosecutor.php 2010-06-28T10:19:22-05:00 http://jurist.org/dateline/2010/06/tanzania-meeting-the-ICTR-chief-prosecutor.php Joseph Schaeffer