William & Mary Law Faculty Organize International Law Workshop

International Perspectives
International Perspectives W&M Law School recently held a workshop addressing the challenges and opportunities of 21st-century international law. Photo by David F. Morrill

On May 15 and 16, William & Mary Law School assembled leading experts from around the United States and Canada for a workshop centering on issues at the forefront of international law. 

Participants included Rachel Brewster (Duke), Jay Butler (William & Mary), Nancy Combs (William & Mary), John Coyle (UNC), Evan Criddle (William & Mary), Caroline Davidson (Willamette), Darryl Robinson (Queens), Cora True-Frost (Syracuse), and Pierre-Hugues Verdier (UVa).

Workshop participants examined a variety of timely topics, spanning both private international law and public international law. Several papers focused on international criminal law topics, including the contours of command responsibility, the elements of rape, and the relationship between jus in bello and jus ad bellum.

Other papers explored the trajectory of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, the liability of corporations under international law, the modern-day usefulness of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation treaties, the relationship between domestic treaty-making procedures and states’ ability to attract treaty partners, the human rights implications of programs to counter violent extremism, and the nature of interstate cooperation.   

The workshop was organized by William & Mary Professors Jay Butler, Evan Criddle, and Nancy Combs, with generous support from William & Mary’s Reves Center for International Studies. 

According to Professor Criddle, the event “reflects the Law School’s commitment to addressing the challenges and opportunities of 21st-century international law.”    

About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.