Forces Without Borders

Forces Without Borders: Non-State Actors in a Changing Middle East

2012 Cornell International Law Journal Symposium

On February 17-18, 2012, Cornell Law School's International Law Journal will host a symposium examining the role of non-state actors in the "Arab Spring."Scholars, practitioners, and other commentators will make presentations and participate in panel discussions on the legal status and significance of non-state actors in the context of the ongoing change in the Middle East and North Africa. The Journal will eventually publish an issue based on the symposium.

The event is open to the entire graduate, professional, and university community, as well as the general public, and is sponsored by the following organizations and individuals:

Diamond - Over $5,000
Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Cornell Law School
Berger International Legal Studies Program, Cornell Law School

Platinum - $2,500 to $4,999
Cornell Law School Dean of Students
Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, Cornell University

Gold - $1,000 to $2,499
Cornell Law Students Association
Cornell International Law Journal
Dechert LLP
Kirkland & Ellis, LLP

Silver - $500 to $999
Barbri
Latham & Watkins, LLP
Valparaiso University Law School

Bronze - $100 to $499
Briggs Society of International Law
Cyrus Ghavi, '10
Comparative Muslim Societies Program, Cornell University
Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell University
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, Cornell University
Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Sidley Austin, LLP
Tina Geraghty, '09 & Bill Grimshaw, '09
Women's Law Coalition, Cornell Law School

General Sponsors - Up to $99
James Nault, '11

Please contact Symposium Editor Ann Eisenberg (ame26@cornell.edu) or Editor-in-Chief Andrew Orr (aco37@cornell.edu) with questions or inquiries regarding sponsorship opportunities.

Key Speakers

Jordan Paust,the Mike and Teresa Baker Law Center Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, will deliver the keynote address, International Law, Democracy, and the Arab Spring.

Four professors will present full papers:

Karima Bennoune, Professor of Law and Arthur L. Dickson Scholar, Rutgers School of Law, Feminists versus Fundamentalists: The Battle for Women's Rights in the Democratic Spring of 2011

D.A. Jeremy Telman, Professor of Law, Valparaiso University School of Law, Non-State Actors in the Middle East: A Challenge for Rationalist Legal Theory

Dr. Yaël Ronen, Assistant Professor, Sha'arei Mishpat College and Minerva Center for Human Rights, Hebrew University, Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Territorial Entities

Hannibal Travis, Associate Professor, Florida International University College of Law, Wargaming the Twitterlutions: Judging the Causes and Consequences of the Arab Spring, and Planning for U.N. Responses

In addition, Shima Baradaran, Associate Professor of Law at Brigham Young University Law School, will present research on a potential relationship between anonymous incorporation and terrorism funding.

Finally, we will have two topical panels:

Transitional Rule of Law, Human Rights, and the State/Non-State Dichotomy, featuring:

Bernard K. Freamon, Professor, Seton Hall University School of Law.

Scott MacLeod, Professor, American University in Cairo; former Middle East Correspondent for Time Magazine, 1995 to 2010; Managing Editor, Cairo Review of Global Affairs.

Moria Paz, Lecturer, Stanford Law School; Teaching Fellow, Stanford Program in International Legal Studies.

Moderator to be determined.

Women: Visibility, Rights, and a Status in Flux, featuring:

Erika George, Professor, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah.

Hedayat Heikal, Associate, Cleary Gottlieb; former staff, Human Rights Watch Egypt.

Ann E. Mayer, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Moderator: Chantal Thomas, Professor, Cornell Law School; Director, Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa; former Chair, Law Department, American University in Cairo.

Tentative Schedule

FRIDAY, February 17, 2012

5:00-6:00 p.m. Dean’s Reception for Presenters and Cornell Law School Faculty
Faculty Lounge

6:00 p.m. Welcoming Remarks: Stewart Schwab, Allan R. Tessler Dean; Professor, Cornell Law School
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

6:10 p.m. Keynote Address: Professor Jordan Paust, “International Law, Democracy, and the Arab Spring”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

7:30 p.m. Dinner Reception for Presenters
Roe Room, Statler Hotel

SATURDAY, February 18, 2012

8:00-8:50 a.m. Breakfast
Berger Atrium

9:00-9:50 a.m. Session 1: Hannibal Travis presents “Wargaming the Twitterlutions: Judging the Causes and Consequences of the Arab Spring, and Planning for U.N. Responses”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

9:50-10:00 a.m. Break

10:00-10:40 a.m. Session 2: Shima Baradaran presents “A War on Terror Financing: The Impact of International Law on Money Laundering in the Middle East and Beyond”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

10:40-10:50 a.m. Break

10:50 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Session 3: Panel Discussion entitled, “Women: Visibility, Rights, and a Status in Flux,” featuring:

Erika George, Professor, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah
Hedayat Heikal, Attorney in private practice and Post-Graduate Research Fellow at Harvard Law School
Ann E. Mayer, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Moderated by Chantal Thomas, Professor, Cornell Law School; Director, Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa; former Chair, Law Department, American University in Cairo

Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

12:10-12:20 p.m. Break

12:20-1:10 p.m. Session 4: D.A. Jeremy Telman, presents “Non-State Actors in the Middle East: A Challenge for Rationalist Legal Theory”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

1:10-2:10 p.m. Lunch for Presenters
Faculty Lounge

2:10-3:00 p.m. Session 5: Karima Bennoune presents “Feminists versus Fundamentalists: The Battle for Women’s Rights in the Democratic Spring of 2011”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

3:00-3:10 p.m. Break

3:10-4:00 p.m. Session 6: Dr. Yaël Ronen presents “Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Territorial Entities”
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

4:00-4:10 p.m. Break

4:10-5:30 p.m. Session 7: Panel Discussion entitled, “Transitional Rule of Law, Human Rights, and the State/Non-State Dichotomy,” featuring:

Bernard K. Freamon, Professor, Seton Hall University School of Law
Scott MacLeod, Professor, American University in Cairo; Middle East Correspondent for Time Magazine, 1995 to 2010; Managing Editor, Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Moria Paz, Lecturer, Stanford Law School; Teaching Fellow, Stanford Program in International Legal Studies
Moderated by Jens Ohlin, Associate Professor, Cornell Law School

Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

5:30-5:40 p.m. Closing Remarks
Mancuso Amphitheater, Rm. G90

5:45pm Dinner Reception for Presenters, Attendees, Co-Sponsors, and Organizers
Berger Atrium