Notre Dame Professor of Law Paolo Carozza is leading a group of more than 50 law professors from 15 countries who have submitted written comments asking the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights to overturn a seven-judge panel’s ruling that crucifixes may not be displayed in Italian classrooms.

The Grand Chamber of the Court, located in Strasbourg, France, will hold a hearing in the case on June 30.

Last November, a lower panel of the Court ruled in Lautsi v. Italy that the Italian government had violated the human rights of a Finnish atheist parent who objected to crucifixes displayed on the walls of her children’s classrooms. The panel’s controversial decision to find a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights provoked widespread reactions in Italy and beyond.

“The challenges of religious pluralism in contemporary Europe can’t be resolved through the false premise that banning religious symbols from public spaces is somehow a ‘neutral’ position,” Carozza said. “Pluralism must be achieved through a genuine dialogue among the religious traditions of the European peoples, a dialogue that becomes impossible if the symbols representing the historic traditions of the continent are excised from public life, including education.”

Working with European colleagues, Carozza assembled a coalition of prominent legal scholars from across Europe, including former constitutional court judges from three countries, to intervene as amicus curiae in the case. The group is being represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

“The signatories to the brief are growing in number every day, coming from all the corners of Europe,” Carozza said. “It is strong evidence of the breadth of and depth of dismay at the ill-founded decision of the Chamber.” He expects even more law professors to join the effort in coming weeks as well.

In their friend-of-the-court brief, the law professors argue that the panel’s ruling needlessly threatens the wide variety of religious symbols on display on public property all over Europe, including national flags, coats of arms, and public art. The professors also warn that the panel’s decision risks setting off a widespread conflict between government and religion. Given the wide diversity of religious practices across Europe, it makes little sense to try to create a secularist “common denominator.” Rather, they contend, the Court should give states substantial leeway to structure the church-state relationship in harmony with tradition, history and culture.

“One of the cornerstones of the construction of modern Europe was precisely the acceptance of a wide variety of practices regarding religion and public life in the various states of the region,” Carozza said. “The European Court of Human Rights has in its best moments been protective of that rich and important diversity of cultures among the peoples of Europe, but the Chamber in this case betrayed that ideal by imposing a very narrow and uniform model of what is required of the state.”

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1996, is actively involved in the Law 91��Ƶ’s and serves as director of the doctoral program in international human rights law. He was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights from 2006 to 2010, and served as that body’s Ppresident. Carozza regularly teaches, publishes and lectures in Italy.

, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, is one of ten experts from around the world invited by UNESCO and the Spanish Association for International Human Rights Law to help draft a proposed universal declaration of the human right to peace.

Cassel, who serves as the director of , is a scholar and practitioner of international human rights, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law.

The drafting committee, which convenes at the end of this month in Barcelona, Spain, consists of two international experts from each of the five geographical regions represented at the United Nations: Latin America and the Caribbean; Africa; Asia; Western Europe and other western states (including the United States); and Eastern Europe. Ultimately, a draft of the peace declaration will be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, with a recommendation that it be adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Cassel’s scholarly articles in English and Spanish are published in the United States, Latin America and Europe, and he lectures at universities and conferences worldwide. On behalf of retired United States diplomats, and leading experts on international law, he has filed several amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, involving the rights of prisoners at Guantanamo, and accountability for human rights violations under the Alien Tort Claims Act. He represents victims of human rights violations in Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Venezuela, in cases before the Inter-American Commission and Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Cassel has served as legal advisor to the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador; executive council member of the American Society of International Law; co-chair of the International Committee of the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; chair of the Independent International Panel on Alleged Collusion in Sectarian Killings in Northern Ireland; and consultant to the Department of State, Department of Justice, Ford Foundation, the President of the American Bar Association, and non-governmental human rights organizations.

In 2000 and again in 2003, he was nominated by the U.S. Government, and elected by the Organization of American States, to serve on the board of the Justice 91��Ƶ Center of the Americas, of which he was elected president. Since 2000 he has been president of the Due Process of Law Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., which promotes judicial reform throughout the hemisphere.

Cassel’s human rights commentaries on Chicago Public Radio, 91.5 FM WBEZ, are available online at:

Jimmy Gurulé, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, will join the ranks of former U.S. Cabinet officials and other distinguished national leaders—including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and Dick Thornburgh, and former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil—as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).

Gurulé’s election to the academy by its board of governors and other fellows is a result of his work and accomplishments as a senior public administrator, especially as assistant attorney general and undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Established in 1967 and chartered by Congress, NAPA is a non-profit, independent coalition of top public management and organizational leaders who tackle the nation’s most critical and complex challenges.

Gurulé is an internationally known expert in the field of international criminal law, terrorism, terrorist financing and anti-money laundering. He played a pivotal role in developing the U.S. government’s global strategy to combat terrorist financing after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

As undersecretary for enforcement in the Treasury Department from 2001 to 2003, Gurulé had oversight responsibilities for the U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Customs Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF); Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN); Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). Gurulé also served as assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992, and as assistant U.S. Attorney, where he served as deputy chief of the major narcotics section of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1985 to 1989.

For more on Gurulé, visit .

Gurulé will be inducted into NAPA on Nov. 19 in Washington, D.C. For more on the academy, visit: .

Contact: Jimmy Gurulé, gurule.1@nd.edu

Paolo Carozza, associate professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, recently returned from a weeklong fact-finding mission in Honduras. He was there as part of an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) delegation to observe that nation’s human rights situation following a June 28 coup d’etat that led to the ousting of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

“During our visit, we met with a broad range of state officials and with civil society groups on both sides of the conflict there, in various parts of the country,” Carozza said. “It is a difficult, contentious environment in which, unfortunately, the rule of law continues to suffer.”

Carozza is an elected member and past chairman of the IACHR, which promotes the observance and defense of human rights in the 35 Western hemisphere nations that are members of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS issued a statement calling for Zelaya’s return and said it would not recognize any other government.

The IACHR issued a preliminary report based on the delegations findings, and a final report is due out soon.

“The commission tried to emphasize that whether or not one sympathizes with the ouster of President Zelaya, those authorities of the state which exercise power have a strict obligation to respect and protect the human rights of the Honduran people,” Carozza said. “Since the events of June 28, the widespread practice of arbitrary detentions, the excessive use of force against protesters, and continued interference with freedom of expression in Honduras all contradict those responsibilities of the state.”

Carozza joined the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ faculty in 1996. He is actively involved in the work of the Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) at the Law 91��Ƶ, and serves as director of the J.S.D. program in international human rights law, administered through the CCHR.

At Notre Dame, Carozza also is a fellow of the Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, and the Nanovic Institute for European 91��Ƶ. Carozza earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from Harvard, and pursued graduate studies at Cambridge University and at Harvard Law 91��Ƶ as a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public International Law. After law school, he served as a judicial clerk for the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia and worked as an associate at the Washington, D.C., law firm Arnold & Porter.

Contact: Paolo Carozza, 574-631-4128, pcarozza@nd.edu

The Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ will award 199 J.D. degrees and 15 LL.M. degrees during its diploma ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (May 17) in the Joyce Center fieldhouse.

One J.D. degree will be awarded posthumously to Timothy Aher, who died in February 2008 while a second-year law student in Notre Dame’s London program.

The Law 91��Ƶ graduates and their families and friends will begin the day with an ecumenical prayer service and hooding ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart The prayer service is a ticketed event.

The J.D. class of 2009 includes graduates from 36 states and 111 colleges and universities, including Duke, Cornell, USC, and the University of Michigan.

The LL.M. class of 2009 consists of lawyers from 14 countries, including Libya, Nepal, Venezuela, South Korea and Sierra Leone. Most will return to their home countries to continue human rights work. More information on the LL.M. class of 2009 is available at
http://law.nd.edu/center-for-civil-and-human-rights/class-of-2009

Joseph Bauer, professor of law in the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, delivered the keynote speech at the Korean Competition Law Association International Symposium in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 6 and 7.

In Korea,“competition law,”like America’s antitrust law, is enacted to support a free market economy by promoting competition and limiting monopolies. The symposium focused on the regulation of the insurance industry, a subject which has recently made its way into headlines around the world.

Korea is home to many large insurance companies which are working collectively to seek exemptions from certain Korean antitrust laws. The goal of such exemptions would be to free the insurance companies from the burden of inconsistent regulations enforced by the Korean financial supervisory agency.

Bauer, a noted expert on federal antitrust law and a board member of the American Antitrust Institute, was invited to speak about U.S. antitrust exemptions for the insurance industry, particularly the McCarran-Ferguson Act. The Korean insurance industry hopes that this model will be replicated in their country.

Bauer is the author of four volumes of a leading antitrust treatise and co-author of a fifth volume in that series. He also has testified before Senate and House committees and subcommittees and in judicial proceedings and served as a consultant for a number of antitrust and intellectual property matters.

_ Contact: Professor Bauer at 574-631-6514 or_ " Joseph.P.Bauer.1@nd.edu ":mailto:Joseph.P.Bauer.1@nd.edu

TopicID: 30407

O. Carter Snead, associate professor of law in the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, has been appointed to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Culture Organization (UNESCO)s International Committee on Bioethics (IBC) and is in Paris this week serving in his new role.

The IBC is a 36-member body of independent experts appointed for four-year terms by the director-general of UNESCO. The IBC members work together to produce opinions, recommendations and proposals on the ethical challenges linked to scientific and technological advances, which are submitted to the director-general for consideration by UNESCOs representative bodies and transmission to member states. The IBC is the only forum within the U.N. system dedicated to ethical reflection on developments in the life sciences.

Two main topics will be discussed during the meetings this week: the principle of social responsibility and health, as set forth in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005), for which Snead led the U.S. delegation in negotiations that culminated in this instrument; and the issue of human cloning and international governance.

At the request of UNESCOs director-general, an IBC working group has been examining cloning to determine whether the latest scientific, ethical, social, political and legal advances warrant a new international initiative on human cloning. The session will provide the opportunity to assess the situation and hear different viewpoints.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2005, Sneads research focuses on the intersection of law and bioethics. His scholarship explores the possibility, mechanisms and wisdom of the governance of science, medicine and biotechnology according to ethical principals.

Snead is the former general counsel for the Presidents Council on Bioethics, a White House advisory committee, and principal author of the councils 2004 report on the regulation of new biotechnologies affecting assisted reproduction, human embryo research and genetics.

In 2007, Snead was appointed, along with Edmund Pellegrino, chair of the Presidents Council on Bioethics, to be the permanent observer for the U.S. government at the Council of Europes Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI). In that capacity, he assists the CDBI in its efforts to elaborate international instruments and standards for the ethical governance of science and medicine.

More information on this weeks IBC meeting is available on the Web at

_ Contact: Carter Snead,_ " snead.1@nd.edu ":mailto:snead.1@nd.edu

TopicID: 30167

Jimmy Gurulé, a University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ professor and an internationally known expert in the field of international criminal lawspecifically terrorism, terrorist financing and anti-money launderingmet with top government officials, prosecutors, bank representatives and police officers in Albanias capital city, Tirana, to discuss financial investigations and the fight against money laundering.

Gurulé was in the southeastern European country for three days, from Oct. 15 to 17, at the request of the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) of the U.S. Department of Justice.

There is no question that money laundering investigations are the most difficult of all criminal investigations,Gurulé told Top Channel, an Albanian television station.They require unique training, they require the ability to analyze financial records, computer records, to link together patterns of financial transactions between banks in Tirana as well as foreign banks. It is very difficult work.

Gurulé told Top Channel that money laundering is particularly dangerous in developing countries and new democracies, like Albanias, because it can have a corrupting influence on government itself.

In countries that are developing democracies, money laundering can undermine the countrys ability to develop, to grow, and to fully realize its potential as a democracy,he said.

Allegations of government interference with Albanian prosecutorsefforts to combat money laundering plague the nation, and the United States Ambassador to Albania, John L. Withers II, forcefully condemned such behavior during a meeting with Gurulé and Albanian prosecutors. Gurulé agrees that interference with the justice system is a serious matter.

It cannot be condoned. It cannot be tolerated,Gurulé said.A democracy can only be successful if there is an independent prosecutors office and an independent judiciary.

Still, Gurulé believes Albanian prosecutors have what it takes to fight money laundering successfully.

The groups represented at this training session, from bank officials to police officers, are learning how to better coordinate their efforts to combat financial fraud,Gurulé said.Each unit has an important role to play, whether its identifying and flagging suspicious transactions, conducting due diligence to determine the legitimacy of a transaction, initiating investigations when warranted, or prosecuting offenders.

According to The World Factbook published by the Central Intelligence Agency,In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents.

Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain… In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government.

Established in 1991, OPDAT draws on Department of Justice resources and expertise to strengthen foreign criminal justice sector institutions and enhance the administration of justice abroad.

While in Albania, Gurulé met with Albanian Deputy Minister of Finance Florian Mima, the Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha, and the Chief of the Serious Crimes Prosecutors Office Olsi Cela.

Gurulé has just completed a book on how to stem the flow of money to terrorist organizations calledUnfunding Terror: The Legal Response to the Financing of Global Terrorism.He was Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States occurred. In that role, he had oversight responsibilities for the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF), among others.

Gurulés full biography and contact information are available on the Web at .

_ Contact: Jimmy Gurulé,_ " gurule.1@nd.edu ":mailto:gurule.1@nd.edu

p.

TopicID: 30148

Jimmy Gurulé, a University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ professor and an internationally known expert in the field of international criminal lawspecifically terrorism, terrorist financing and anti-money launderingwill meet this week with top government officials, prosecutors, bank representatives, and police officers in Albanias capital city, Tirana, to discuss financial investigations and the fight against money laundering.

He is in the southeastern European country for three days, from Oct. 15 to 17, at the request of the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Its important that the groups represented at this session learn how to better coordinate their efforts to combat financial fraud,Gurulé said.Each unit has an important role to play, whether its identifying and flagging suspicious transactions, conducting due diligence to determine the legitimacy of a transaction, initiating investigations when warranted, or prosecuting offenders.

According to The World Factbook published by the Central Intelligence Agency,in the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of…Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents.

Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain… In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government.

Established in 1991, OPDAT draws on Department of Justice resources and expertise to strengthen foreign criminal justice sector institutions and enhance the administration of justice abroad.

While in Albania, Gurulé will meet with the Albanian Deputy Minister of Finance, Florian Mima; the Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha; and the chief of the Serious Crimes Prosecutors Office, Olsi Cela.

Gurulé has just completed a book on how to stem the flow of money to terrorist organizations calledUnfunding Terror: The Legal Response to the Financing of Global Terrorism.Gurulé was Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States occurred. In that role, he had oversight responsibilities for the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), among others. After the attacks, he also was in charge of all federal efforts to track the money that finances terrorists.

Gurulés full biography and contact information are available on the Web at .

TopicID: 29966

Chief Justiceof the United States John Roberts addressed a room packed with Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students, faculty and staff on Sept. 12 (Friday). He visited campus as a guest of the Law 91��Ƶ and Notre Dames president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

Robertstalk was presented as a conversation, with William Kelley, associate professor of law, sitting on stage with Roberts, asking the justice questions of his own and reading questions submitted by students. Kelley served in the White House as deputy counsel to the president from 2005 to 2007 and helped guide Roberts through the Supreme Court confirmation process.

Roberts began by speaking briefly about his early years growing up in Long Beach, Ind. Following high school, he attended Harvard University and earned a history degree.

It wasnt until law school that I knew I wanted to be a lawyer,he admitted.

After graduating from Harvard Law 91��Ƶ, Roberts clerked for renowned Justice Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. From 1980 to 1981, Roberts clerked for then-associate justice William H. Rehnquist on the U. S. Supreme Court.

He taught me that there is more to life than being a lawyer,Roberts said.He once told me, ‘if you want to spend time with your young children, you have to do it while theyre young,laughed Roberts.

Over the course of 20 years as a litigator, Roberts argued before the Supreme Court 39 times.

I was nervous before every argument,he said.

Roberts offered advice to students considering a career in the courtroom:Preparation is key. Go over and over the case, write down a list of potential questions the judge may ask, and have friends or family review them with you again and again.

Roberts decided that, after two decades of arguing cases before the court, he wanted to view the law from the other side of the bench as a judge.

Its easier to ask questions than to answer them,he joked.

Roberts considers his job to beabsolutelyfun. He enjoys the variety of cases and the ability to decide how he is going to spend his day, whether its reading a brief, writing an opinion, or reviewing a case with his clerks. One example of Robertsapproach to his work is exemplified in the way he selects his law clerks. He has been known to ask interviewees to tell him a joke after quizzing them on their legal views.

We spend a lot of time together, and I want to know Ill enjoy their company,he said.

Some of that time is spent writing, reviewing and revising his opinions.

On the front of the opinion, for record-keeping purposes, I always write what draft it is. You will never see fewer than 20 drafts before I issue my final opinion,Roberts said.

Following his talk, Roberts mingled with students, faculty and staff at a reception and signed autographs.

TopicID: 29488

University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ student John Berger has won the 2007 Elijah Watt Sells Award, issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, recognizing the ten highest scorers on the CPA exam in the entire country.

Berger has pursued both his law and undergraduate accounting studies at Notre Dame, but his quest for Double Domer status isnt unusual.More remarkable is the fact that he took the Illinois CPA exam last summer, between college and law school, and scored higher on the rigorous test than anyone else in the state.That feat earned him the Illinois CPA Societys Gold Excel Award in 2008 in addition to the Sells Award.

Ive always had an interest in being a lawyer, especially in the field of corporate law,says Berger,and Ive always had an interest in markets and business transactions.I felt that being a lawyer would be the best way for me to be a part of those transactions, to shape them, and to have an interesting place in the business world.

Some people would have preferred to kick back a little between demanding academic projects, but not Berger.The New Lenox, Ill., native sets goals for himself and goes after themsuccessfully.Even so, he wasnt one of those little kids who presaged a spectacular business career by running the most successful lemonade stand in the neighborhood.

I never did anything particularly entrepreneurial, but there were business stories in the news that sparked my interest when I was in high school,Berger says.The Enron scandal made me realize that accounting was going to be very important in the business world, and that knowing about accounting concepts and terminology would be a great benefit.

This summer, Berger has a chance to explore those concepts in depth.As a research assistant to Professor Matthew Barrettwho also is a CPA and his academic advisorBerger is helping to updateAccounting for Lawyers,which Barrett co-authored.

Its the preeminent textbook as far as legal scholarship in accounting goes,Berger says.The last edition went to press in 2006, so were researching all the new developments of the last two years and writing up summaries and analysis for the supplement, to be published this fall.

After graduation, Berger hopes to do corporate transactional work in Chicago, tapping what he calls Notre Damesgreat alumni networkto find a job in a large law firm.Hes already zeroed in on a goal, of course.Every business transaction has tax implications.Companies want to know how those will impact balance sheets and income statements,Berger says.To be able to bring that additional knowledge, besides awareness of what the legal implications areI think it will bring value to the work I do for my clients in the future.

TopicID: 28887

An international law scholar at the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ praisedyesterdays World Court order that the United States halt the imminent executions of five Mexican nationals on death row in Texas.

The Mexicans have all been convicted of murders inside the U.S., but the Mexican government has argued that the five men were denied their rights under the Vienna Convention.

The World Court order is fully consistent with U.S. international law obligations that support fundamental norms, especially the right to life,said Mary Ellen OConnell, Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law.If the United States executes these individuals in defiance of the court, it will be that much harder for the next president to rebuild the standing of the U.S. in the world, especially as a state committed to the rule of law and fundamental human rights.

OConnells scholarship and teaching largely concern the enforcement of international law and the promise of a classical revival in international law, and she has written and lectured specifically on the enforcement of past World Court judgments.

According to OConnell,The negative impact of defying the court in this case will be particularly strong because the U.S. itself went to the World Court and cited the very treaties at issue here when Americans were taken hostage in Iran in November 1979.The courts order in favor of the U.S. then was instrumental in securing the hostagesrelease.We need the World Court and the law it implements, which means we also need to respect the court and international law.

% _ Contact: {mso-spacerun: yes} _ % Professor OConnell at 574-631-7953 or " MaryEllenOConnell@nd.edu ":mailto:MaryEllenOConnell@nd.edu

TopicID: 28686

Carter Snead, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, has been appointed to a four-year term as one of 36 independent experts on the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The committee is the only forum in the United Nations system devoted to reflection on bioethics and public policy.

It is an honor to be appointed to this body,Snead said.It is charged explicitly to reflect on the most interesting and controversial questions at the nexus of law, science and ethics.I look forward to working with the other distinguished members of the body, and more broadly, with the delegations of all of UNESCOs 191 member states and permanent observers.

The committee, which meets annually, is charged with reflecting on the ethical and legal issues raised by research in the life sciences and their applications and with encouraging the exchange of ideas through education. It also cooperates with the international governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with the issues raised in the field of bioethics as well as with the national and regional bioethics committees and similar bodies.

The most recent example of the IBCs work in bioethics was the 2005 adoption of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, meant to provide ethical guidance to member states and individuals working in medicine and the life sciences. Snead served as the chief negotiator and head of the U.S. delegation to UNESCO for the development of this declaration.
Snead’s scholarship explores the possibility, mechanisms and wisdom of the governance of science, medicine and biotechnology according to ethical principles.

In 2002 Snead accepted the position of general counsel for the Presidents Council on Bioethics. In that capacity, he advised the chairman and council members on the legal and public policy dimensions of numerous ethical questions arising from advances in biomedical science and biotechnology. He was the principal drafter of the council’s 2004 report, “Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of New Biotechnologies,” a comprehensive critical assessment of the governance (both public and private) of the activities at the intersection of assisted reproduction, human embryo research and genetics. Snead continues to serve the council as an expert consultant.

_ Contact: Professor Snead at 202-607-0963 (cell); 574-631-8259 (office) or_ " Snead.1@nd.edu ":mailto:Snead.1@nd.edu

TopicID: 27326

Ambassador Richard S. Williamson, United States special envoy to Sudan, will deliver a talk titledHuman Rights: Principles, Politics, Performance and Darfurat 12:15 p.m. Thursday (April 10) in Room 121 of the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ.

Currently a partner in the Chicago office of Winston and Strawn, Williamson once served as ambassador to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs and as ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.

Williamson also served previously in senior foreign policy positions under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including as assistant secretary of state for international organizations and assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs in the White House. He also has served as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.

Williamson is active in a wide variety of civic organizations, serving on the board of directors of the International Republican Institute; the board of the Committee in Support of Russian Civil Society; a member of the advisory committee for the International Human Rights Center, DePaul University; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Williamson was graduated cum laude in 1971 from Princeton University. He received a degree in jurisprudence in 1974 from the University of Virginia 91��Ƶ of Law, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law. He is the author of seven books and editor of three. He has written more than 175 articles in professional and popular periodicals.

_ Contact: Sean OBrien,_ " sobrien2@ND.EDU ":mailto:sobrien2@ND.EDU _, 574-631-8544
_

TopicID: 27288

Rabbi David Dalin, professor of history and politics at Ave Maria University in Florida and Taube Research Fellow in American History at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, will speak onJohn Paul II and the Jewsat 7:30 p.m. April 3 (Thursday) in Room 138 of the University of Notre Dames DeBartolo Hall.

An ordained rabbi and widely published scholar of American Jewish history and Christian-Jewish relations, Rabbi Dalin is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and earned his masters and doctoral degrees from Brandeis University.He also received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Rabbi Dalin is the author, co-author or editor of nine books, includingReligion and State in the American Jewish Experience,The Presidents of the United States and the Jews,The Myth of Hitlers Pope,andJohn Paul II and the Jewish People.

The talk is sponsored by the Natural Law Institute and the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, and is free and open to the public.

TopicID: 27149

Paolo Carozza, associate professor of law in the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, has been elected chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for 2008.

IACHR promotes the observance and defense of human rights in the 35 nations that are members of the Organization of American States (OAS). It is currently processing more than 800 cases brought by individuals or non-governmental organizations alleging human rights violations.

The essential elements of representative democracy include respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in particular those such as freedom of expression and the press, freedom of association, political participation, and access to justice,Carozza said.The effective administration of justice, and access to effective judicial guarantees of human rights, remain always among the most pervasive obstacles to the realization of human rights in the Americas.

Carozza joined the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ faculty in 1996. Active in the Center for Civil and Human Rights, he serves as director of its doctor of jurisprudence program in international human rights law.He also is a fellow of Notre Dames Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, and the Nanovic Institute for European 91��Ƶ.

_ Contact: Paolo Carozza at 574-631-4128 or_ " Carozza.2@nd.edu ":mailto:Carozza.2@nd.edu

TopicID: 27046

Dr. Leon R. Kass, Addie Clark Harding Professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, will give a lecture titledThe (Super?) Human Roots of Law and Justice: Lessons from the Book of Genesisat 4 p.m Thursday (March 27) in the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ Courtroom.

Kass, who was chairman of the Presidents Council on Bioethics from 2002 to 2005, will explain how the roots of law and justice can be found in Genesis. His lecture is part of the 2008 Natural Law Institute, sponsored by the American Journal of Jurisprudence at the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ.

A native of Chicago, Kass was educated at the University of Chicago where he earned his bachelors and medical degrees and at Harvard where he earned a doctoral degree in biochemistry in1967. Afterwards, he did research in molecular biology at the National Institutes of Health, while serving in the United States Public Health Service.

For more than 30 years, Kass has addressed the ethical and philosophical issues raised by biomedical advance. From 1970 to 1972, he served as executive secretary of the Committee on the Life Sciences and Social Policy of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences. The councils report,Assessing Biomedical Technologies,provided one of the first overviews of the emerging moral and social questions posed by biomedical advance.

Kass has written numerous articles and books, and his widely reprinted essays in biomedical ethics have dealt with issues raised by in vitro fertilization, cloning, genetic screening and genetic technology, organ transplantation, aging research, euthanasia and assisted suicide, and the moral nature of the medical profession.

The Natural Law Institute of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ was established in 1947. In 1956, the institute founded the Natural Law Forum.The name of the journal was changed in 1970 to the American Journal of Jurisprudence.It examines the moral foundations of law and legal systems and explores current and historical issues in ethics, jurisprudence, and legal and constitutionaltheory.

TopicID: 27048

The Center for Civil and Human Rights at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ will screen the Academy Award-winning documentaryTaxi to the Dark Sideat 6:30 p.m. March 27 (Thursday) in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art.

Beginning with the case of an Afghan taxi driver beaten to death by U.S. soldiers at Bagram Air Base, the film examines the use of torture and other harsh techniques in the war against terror.

The film features an exchange from a debate between Douglass Cassel from Notre Dame and John Yoo, from the University of California, Berkeley, and formerly an attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel for the United States. Asked by Cassel whether the president could lawfully authorize torturing the child of a terror suspect, Yoo answered:It depends on the purpose.

Cassel, a Notre Dame Presidential Fellow and director of the Law 91��Ƶs Center for Civil and Human Rights, has worked as a consultant to the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the U.S. Department of State, and the Ford Foundation, and he was legal advisor to the U.N. Truth Commission for El Salvador.

After the film, a panel discussion at 8:30 p.m. will include comments from former Army intelligence interrogator Peter Bauer; Donald Glascoff, an attorney and one of the films producers; and documentary filmmaker Jill Godmilow, professor of film, television and theatre at Notre Dame. Cassel will moderate the panel.

The event, which is co-sponsored by Notre Dames Center for Social Concerns, is free and open to the public.

_ Contact: Liz Kovacs, CCHR, 574-631-8555,_ " ekovacs2@nd.edu ":mailto:ekovacs2@nd.edu

TopicID: 26948

Immediately following the attacks on the United States of Sept. 11, 2001, the United Nations developed an international legal framework to deprive al Qaeda of funding.

Unfortunately, that sense of urgency has been diluted… it no longer exists,according to Notre Dame law professor Jimmy Gurulé.Last week, in a BBC interview, Gurulé, who was under secretary for enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred, criticized U.N. efforts to impede al Qaedas financial operations.

The reality is that the sanctions committee of the U.N. is no longer freezing terrorist funds,says Gurulé, who adds that the reasons for the failure vary from nation to nation. Some countries find it cumbersome, and others may not see the value of the terrorist-designation process anymore.But the duty to freeze the assets of terrorists is not a discretionary one. It is required by a U.N. Security Council resolution, which has the effect of international law,he explains.

Gurulé says that in the three months following Sept. 11, the United Nations placed approximately 280 names on the U.N. sanctions list. Last year, only eight names were added.

Understandably, states want to be sure that theyre freezing the accounts of the right individuals, but there are well-recognized senior leaders of the Taliban and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups whose names have not been placed on the list. States need to be held accountable for that,he said.

Gurulé proposes a solution similar to one used to fight money laundering several years ago. Countries that were not in compliance with the international standards on money laundering were placed on a list of non-cooperative countries and territories.A similar list could be created for countries that are non-compliant with international standards on terrorist financing.

I think states would not want to be placed on such a list, so there would be a real incentive for them to come into compliance with their international obligations,he said.

More information on Gurulé and his scholarship is available on the Web at . He may be reached at (574) 631-5917 or Gurule.1@nd.edu .

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TopicID: 26890

Senate support and judicial excellence are crucial considerations for the next presidents Supreme Court nominees, according to William Kelley, associate dean of the University of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ.

Kelleys comments came as part of a panel discussion at the University of California, Berkeley, entitledThe Next President and the Courts.Other panelists were University of Southern California law professor and legal commentator Susan Estrich and Jesse Choper, professor of law at UC Berkeley.

The most important thing, I think, that any president has to take account of in making decisions about whom he or she is going to appoint to the Supreme Court is really excellence in the nominee, Kelley said.There is no substitute for absolute professional distinction in whomever the nominee is…Its very difficult for forces aligned against the president…to successfully oppose a nominee whose professional distinction is really unquestionable.

The role of the Senate in the judicial nomination and confirmation process…is crucially important,Kelley added.It wasnt nothing that Republicans had 55 seats in the Senate when Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito went through the process.Were at a point where neither sideRepublicans or Democratsdefers in any way to the presidents prerogative in judicial appointments…and weve seen an escalation in tactics opposing judgesconfirmations because observers tend to perceive them as having more of a political role than used to be the case.

The panel discussion is available on line at .

_ Contact: William Kelley at 574-631-8646 or_ " Kelley.24@nd.edu ":mailto:Kelley.24@nd.edu

TopicID: 26766