International Judicial Monitor
Published by the International Judicial Academy, Washington, D.C., with assistance from the
American Society of International Law

Spring 2009 Issue
 

IJA Docket

Upcoming International Judicial Academy Events

  • May 24-29 2009 - Insurance & Justice Seminar in Washington, DC for judges and insurance executives from Argentina
  • June, 2009 - Intellectual Property Seminar in Argentina and Chile
  • August 17-28, 2009 – Judicial and Court Administration and Caseload Management Seminar in Washington, DC (to be conducted with the International Law Institute)

Seminar for Chilean Judges in Washington, DC

  • February 22-27, 2009 – Seminar on Intellectual Property & Justice in Washington, DC for delegation of judges from Chile

René Cassin Seminar - Strasbourg, France
The International Judicial Academy conducted the First René Cassin Seminar on International Human Rights Law in Strasbourg, France from April 5 - 9, 2009. Twenty-five state and federal judges from the United States, together with three judges from Argentina, participated in the seminar. The goal of the seminar was to better acquaint judges with the principles of international human rights law. As such, the seminar addressed the current status of international human rights law and the historical context that led to the creation of an international human rights law regime. The agenda for the Cassin Seminar included site visits to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Council of Europe. The participants also visited Natzweiler-Struthof, the only concentration camp established by the Nazis on French territory. Sophie Thonon-Wesfreid, a French human rights lawyer, gave a presentation on international human rights law from the perspective of a practitioner and her experiences working on cases related to the disappearance of French nationals during the military regimes in Chile and Argentina. Jeremy McBride, a British barrister, discussed advocacy issues and representing clients before the ECHR. The participants also met with and heard presentations from several judges of the ECHR, including the President of the Court, Judge Jean-Paul Costa.

New Directors Elected to IJA Board
In January, 2009, the International Judicial Academy elected three new members to its Board of Directors. Hon. Stephanie Duncan-Peters of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Hon. Linda K.M. Ludgate of the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County, and Hon. James R. Zazzali Director, Chief Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court (retired) will join the fifteen distinguished judges and jurists who sit on the IJA Board in establishing and overseeing the policies of the Academy.

Hon. Stephanie Duncan-Peters Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Duncan-Peters was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush. She is currently the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division, having also served in the Criminal and Family Divisions. Prior to being appointed to the Superior Court, Judge Duncan-Peters was a trial attorney with the Public Integrity Section in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (1985-1989), responsible for handling federal grand jury investigations, trials, and appeals throughout the United States in cases involving the alleged corruption of public officials. Judge Duncan-Peters worked at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia from 1978 until 1985, serving as Deputy Chief of Felony Trials from 1982 until 1985.

Hon. Linda K.M. Ludgate Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Trial Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Berks County. Judge Ludgate was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in November, 1989 for her initial 10-year term. She was retained for another term beginning in November, 1999 and running through January, 2010. Judge Ludgate has served on the Criminal Court since 1990. She also sat on the Family Court from 1990-1992. She is currently an Administrative Judge in the Criminal Division. Judge Ludgate received her B.A. magna cum laude from Alvernia College in 1977 and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1980. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and Berks County Bar Associations. She served on the Governor's Advisory Board to Probation and Parole in April, 2008. She is part of the Advisory Committee to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing regarding mandatory sentences (2007-2009).

Hon. James R. Zazzali Chief Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court (retired). Justice Zazzali is currently Of Counsel (Business & Commercial Litigation) at Gibbons P.C. in Newark, New Jersey. Prior to joining Gibbons, he served as an associate justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court from June, 2000 until October, 2006 and as Chief Justice from October, 2006 until his retirement in June, 2007. Prior to his service on the bench, Justice Zazzali served as: New Jersey Attorney General (1981-1982); General Counsel to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (1974-1982); and Chairman of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (1989-1993). Justice Zazzali was appointed by the U.S. District Court as Special Master responsible for investigating, reporting on and assisting in the reform of the jails in Essex, Monmouth and Bergen Counties from 1982-1992. At the request of the U.S. State Department he served as a member of the United States delegates at various United Nations Conferences in Geneva (2000) and Paris (1999).

Justice and Insurance Seminar in Argentina
From November 10 - November 14, 2008,the International Judicial Academy conducted the III Colloquium on Justice and Insurance issues in Argentina. The Academy conducted the colloquium in conjunction with the Supreme Court of the Río Negro Province, the Argentine Association of Insurers (ADEAA), the Editorial La Ley, and the Association of Magistrates and Officers of the National Body of Justice of Argentina (AMFJN).

The Colloquium in Buenos Aires was held from November 10 - 12. The sessions on November 13 and 14 were conducted in General Roca in the Río Negro province. 185 Argentine judges, court officials, and insurance executives participated in the seminar. The III Colloquium arose out of the success of both the I and II Colloquiums conducted in previous years in Argentina as well as the "Justice and Insurance Seminar" held in Washington, DC in April, 2008 for Argentine judges and insurance executives.

The Academy office in Washington, DC sent a delegation of five judges and industry experts to Argentina to make presentations during the seminar. Accompanying Dr. James Apple to Buenos Aires were Hon. Thomas P. Jackson, U.S. District Judge for the District of the District of Columbia (retired), Hon. Rufus Gunn King III, former Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Brian Atchinson, President and CEO of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, and David F. Snyder, Vice-President and Assistant General Counsel of the American Insurance Association. The issues addressed by the speakers from the U.S. delegation included: the viability and practicality of specialized insurance courts; the global financial crisis in the insurance industry; the experience of the U.S. judiciary with issues of excess claims; and protection of the insured in light of the the global financial crisis on the insurance and reinsurance markets.

The Colloquium in Buenos Aires opened on November 10 with commentary from Hon. Ricardo Li Rosi, Vice-President of the Academy and Judge of the National Appeals Chamber in Civil, and Hon. Elena Highton, Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Argentina and member of the Latin American Academic Committee of the Academy. Dr. James Apple and Hon. Alberto Balladini, President of the Supreme Court of the Río Negro Province, opened the sessions in General Roca. The coordination and academic leadership of the Colloquium were handled by Judge Li Rosi and Dr. Aldo Alvarez, President of NOBLE S.A. Insurer of Professional Liability, President of the Development Committee for South American of the Academy and President of ADEAA.

Fourth Sir Richard May Seminar - September 2008
The International Judicial Academy conducted the Fourth Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in The Hague, Netherlands from September 21 - 26, 2008. The delegation consisted of twenty-two state and federal judges from the United States. In addition, three judges from Argentina, including a justice from the Argentine Supreme Court, and one justice from the Supreme Court of Chile, joined the Academy's delegation.

This year the Academy introduced new presentations and site visits to the weeklong Sir Richard May Seminar in addition to the traditional presentations and visits that have been a part of the agenda since the first Seminar in 2005. The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) High Commissioner on National Minorities spoke to the participants about the mandate and work of the High Commissioner. The participants also heard presentations from Dr. Ward Ferdinandusse, a prosecutor with the international crimes division of the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands and Dr. Leigh Swigart of The International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University and co-author of The International Judge. The T.M.C. Asser Instituut, an international law research institution, hosted a welcome reception for the delegation and arranged for a presentation on international criminal law. The seminar participants also visited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for presentations by the Director-General and Legal Adviser.

Site visits included a trip to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague where the participants observed trial proceedings in the case against Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia who is currently on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. At the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the participants met with Ms. Kristina Carey (Office of the Prosecutor), Judge Kimberly Prost (Ad Litem Judge, Trial Chamber II), and Mr. Gregor Guy-Smith (Office of the Defence Counsel). The group then observed proceedings in the case against Vojislav Šešelj, founder and president of the Serb Radical Party, currently standing trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia between 1991 and 1994. The Seminar ended on Friday, September 26 with a closing reception and dinner at the Kurhaus Hotel on the beach in Scheveningen.

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ASIl & International Judicial AcademyInternational Judicial Monitor
© 2009 – The International Judicial Academy with assistance from the American Society of International Law.

Editor: James G. Apple.
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Please contact the IJM editors at IJM@asil.org.