About

The Center for International & Comparative Law (CICL) coordinates and supports Duke Law School's programs, resources, and events relating to the study and practice of international and comparative law. CICL is co-directed by Professors Curtis A. Bradley and Laurence R. Helfer. Bradley, the Richard A. Horvitz Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy Studies, is an expert in the areas of public international law and U.S. foreign relations law. Helfer, the Harry R. Chadwick, Sr. Professor of Law, is an expert in the areas of human rights, international law and institutions, and international intellectual property law and policy. Many other faculty members at Duke have research and teaching interests in various aspects of international and comparative law and are involved in the CICL activities described below.

Public Lectures

During the 2009-2010 academic year, CICL will host a number of public lectures by distinguished government officials, judges, academics, and practitioners. Unless otherwise noted, all lectures are held from 12:15-1:15 p.m. Speakers confirmed to date are:

• Fabrizio Cafaggi
  Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009
  Professor of Comparative Law, European University Institute
  Topic: "Private Regulation in European Private Law"
  » Read Cafaggi's paper
  
• William Taft IV
  Monday, Oct. 26, 2009
  Former Legal Adviser to the United States Secretary of State
  Of Counsel, Fried Frank, Washington, D.C.
  Topic: "Promises to Keep: The Conduct of American Foreign Policy and International Agreements"
  
• Phoebe Kornfeld '90
  Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009
  General Counsel of Intercell AG
  (co-sponsored with Duke Global Health Institute)
  Topic: "Contagion Without Borders and the Role of International and Comparative Law: The Example of 21st Century Influenza Pandemics"
  » View Kornfeld's presentation
• John Tasioulas
  Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
  Reader in Moral and Legal Philosophy, Oxford University
  (co-sponsored with the Duke Human Rights Center)
  Topic: "What is a Human Right?"
• Patty Gerstenblith
  Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009
  Distinguished Research Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law, Director of the Center for Art, Museum, & Cultural Heritage Law
  Topic: "Museums, Markets, and Preservation of the Past: Transnational Regulation of the Trade in Antiquities"
• Patricia Wald
  Monday, Feb. 15, 2010
  Former Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  Former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
  Topic: "International Criminal Tribunals"
  
• Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
  Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 4:00-5:30 p.m.
  Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory Law School
  Topic: "The Compatibility of Islamic Law and State Law"
  (co-sponsored with Duke Islamic Studies Center)
  

Scholarship Roundtables (open only to faculty)

A new feature of CICL this year is a series of scholarship roundtables on interdisciplinary approaches to international law and cooperation. The roundtables offer an intimate forum for a small group of legal scholars and social scientists to travel to Duke to present their works in progress and receive detailed commentary and feedback from their colleagues.

• "The Law and Politics of International Cooperation"
  Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, 2009
  Participants:
  Samantha Besson (University of Fribourg; visiting Duke University, Fall 2009)
  Gabriella Blum (Harvard University)
  Curt Bradley (Duke University)
  David Fontana (George Washington University)
  Darren Hawkins (Brigham Young University)
  Larry Helfer (Duke University)
  Leslie Johns (UCLA)
  Andrew Lang (London School of Economics)
  Graham Mayeda (University of Ottawa)
  Andrew Mitchell (Melbourne University)
  Yuval Shany (Hebrew University; visiting Columbia University, 2009-10)
  Pierre-Hughes Verdier (University of Virginia)
  Erik Voeten (Georgetown University)
  Timothy Waters (Indiana University)
  Annecoos Wiersema (Ohio State University)
• "Opting Out of Customary International Law"
  Saturday, Jan. 29, 2010
  Participants:
  David Bederman (Emory University)
  Curt Bradley (Duke University)
  Michael Byers (University of British Columbia)
  Rachel Brewster (Harvard University)
  Brad Clark (George Washington University)
  Samuel Estreicher (New York University)
  Mitu Gulati (Duke University)
  Larry Helfer (Duke University)
  Eugene Kontorovich (Northwestern University)
  Christiana Ochoa (University of Indiana, Bloomington)
  Francesco Parisi (University of Minnesota)
  Andreas Paulus (Institute of International and European Law, University of Gottingen)
  Amanda Perreau-Saussine (Cambridge University)
  Anthea Roberts (London School of Economics)
  Paul Stephan (University of Virginia)
  Ed Swaine (George Washington University)
  Joel Trachtman (Tufts University)

Conferences and Workshops

The Center also sponsors or co-sponsors several conferences throughout the year and participates in the Duke-Harvard Foreign Relations Workshop, which is held at Duke biennially. Visit the Events page for information about upcoming events and our Events Archive and News Archive pages to read about previous event speakers and programs.

• Prosecution at the International Criminal Court: A Moot and Information Session with Office of the Prosecutor Staff
  Friday, Sept. 11, 2009
  9:30 a.m., Law School 4045
  Features an interactive analysis of a hypothetical case before the International Criminal Court, and informal discussions with Bärbel Carl, Associate Trial Lawyer, Prosecutions Division, ICC Office of the Prosecutor, and Antônia Pereira DeSousa, Associate Cooperation Officer in the ICC's Jurisdiction, Complementarity & Cooperation Division.
• Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law Symposium: Terrorism and Changes to the Laws of War
  Friday, Jan. 22, 2010
  All day, Law School 3037
  Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, violence perpetrated by non-state terrorist organizations has become an increasingly serious threat to global peace and security. This symposium will consider how international humanitarian law can respond to this development and evolve from its existing focus on interstate armed conflicts. Three panels will address (1) current and future issues concerning the detention and trial of suspected terrorists; (2) targeting and other uses of force against terrorist organizations and militants; and (3) comparative trends on these issues in key national jurisdictions.

Teaching

CICL sponsors the Global Law Workshop, which Professors Bradley and Helfer will co-teach in both the Fall 2009 semester (along with Professor Deborah DeMott) and in the Spring 2010 semester. In addition to the workshop, Bradley's course offerings include Foreign Relations Law, International Law, and Federal Courts. Helfer offers courses that include International Protection of Human Rights, International Law, and International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts.