The Washington Foreign Law Society 

is delighted to invite you to an exclusive event 

An Evening with the Ambassador of Spain  

Wednesday, December 11, 2024
6:00 to 8:00 PM ET

Residence of the Spanish Ambassador

Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Spain, Ambassador Moreno Bau is hosting a cocktail reception for the Washington Foreign Law Society. Join us for an evening of Spanish tapas and wines in her honor on December 11, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at 2350 Foxhall Rd NW, Washington, DC 20007 (complementary parking at the Kreeger Museum).

We look forward to celebrating this special evening with you!

To register, click here

If you are not yet a member of the WFLS, please join WLFS here

The Ambassador
Ángeles Moreno Bau

Ambassador Moreno was born in Madrid in 1968 and holds a Law Degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1994. Until her appointment, she was Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs since 2021. Previously, she held positions in the Presidency of the Government as Director for the Cabinet of the Secretary General, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation as Undersecretary and Secretary of State for International Cooperation, in the Ministry of the Interior as Director General of International Relations and Foreign Affairs, and in the Ministry of Defense as Director of Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Defense. In her career as a diplomat abroad, the Ambassador has been posted in Russia, Panama, Egypt, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

The Washington Foreign Law Society

is pleased to announce its upcoming

AI and International Law Series (Part I)

AI and the Legal Profession: Hot Topics and Emerging Issues - the Experts Talk

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

From 5:30 to 7:30 PM ET

The event starts with a short reception at 5:30pm. The discussion starts at 6 pm.

Holland & Knight Boardroom, 800 17th Street N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006

Join the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS) on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM ET for a stimulating hour-long panel discussion on the Hot Topics in AI including the implications for the legal profession, the status of the EU and US regulation of AI and other topics, featuring Dessislav Dobrev, Senior Counsel at the World Bank Group, Adjunct Professor on AI at McGill Law School and member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, and Vitaliy Goncharuk, CEO and founder of 12New.ai, an AI company, former Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee of Ukraine and a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence at the Council of Europe.

WFLS President Alexandra Bochnakova will moderate the discussion.

Please register below.

If you are not yet a member of the WFLS, please join here.

Panelists:

Moderator

You are cordially invited to the 

Washington Foreign Law Society’s 2024 Annual Meeting  

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Rooftop of Holland and Knight*

800 17th Street N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006

*In the event of inclement weather, the meeting will be held in the Holland and Knight Boardroom*

Please join the Washington Foreign Law Society for our 2024 Annual Meeting, in which we will be renewing the WFLS's Board of Governors and Officers for next year.

Run of show: 

5:30 PM – Guests will be welcomed at the offices of Holland and Knight (800 17th Street N.W., Suite 1100). 

6:00 PM – Beginning of official business of the Annual Meeting; election of the new Board of Governors and Officers of the Society.

6:30 PM – Closing of the official business of the Annual Meeting. Drinks and light reception to follow.  

The event is free of charge, but please note that participation at the event will be limited to WFLS Members in good standing. You may renew your membership at this link; if you are unsure about your membership status, please reach out to washingtonforeignlawsociety@gmail.com.  

Register for in-person participation below:

We look forward to seeing you!

The Washington Foreign Law Society

is pleased to announce its upcoming

2024 Gala Dinner

Honoring

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Beginning at 6:00 PM

Army and Navy Club (901 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20006)

This year the WFLS will honor U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (Md). Senator Cardin will receive the Harry LeRoy Jones Award for his stewardship of U.S. foreign policy at a time of deep global geopolitical upheaval, and for his steadfast commitment, as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and of the Helsinki Commission, to promoting the rule of law, defending democracy, and upholding respect for human rights across the world.

The WFLS bestows the Harry LeRoy Jones Award annually upon an honoree who promotes the rule of law–and international law in particular–and has a profound and lasting impact on institutions dedicated to justice, international law, or scholarship. Past recipients of the award include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg; U.S. Senators George J. Mitchell and Richard Lugar; UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights John Ruggie; IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde; World Justice Project Founder William H. Neukom; former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker; former Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the International Court of Justice; U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke; and USTR Katherine Tai.

Senator Cardin will be introduced by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (Ms).

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin
Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

An outspoken advocate for the environment and health care, Ben Cardin has been a national leader on foreign policy while representing the people of Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and before that in the House of Representatives. He is a former Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. Senator Cardin has worked across party lines to further U.S. national security and to ensure that democracy, anti-corruption, transparency, good governance and respect for civil and human rights are integrated into American foreign policy efforts.

In addition to his role as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Cardin is a member of the Senate committees on Finance, Environment & Public Works, and Small Business & Entrepreneurship. The interconnectivity of these assignments allows Cardin to promote policies, legislation and programs that help grow local and national economies and create job opportunities; support small businesses and our middle class; conserve clean air and water; advance progress and innovation in clean energy and public transportation; and promote transparency, and civil rights.

 A strident defender of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in North America, Cardin is a champion of protecting our clean air and water and cleaning up toxic waste in our communities. He is a leader in the fight for environmental justice and against the disproportionate impacts of pollution and climate change on underserved communities. He has taken the lead fighting for resources to fix our crumbling water infrastructure. His commitment to reduce pollution and protect our environment fuels his advocacy for federal investments in transportation infrastructure that reduce pollution and improve public transit options. Recent efforts on infrastructure have led to investments around his home state of Maryland, including projects to expand capacity and build resilience at the Port of Baltimore, an important hub for global commerce and economic growth.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker
Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

United States Senator Roger F. Wicker has represented the state of Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since 2007. Wicker is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for the 118th Congress. His other committee assignments include the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and Rules and Administration Committee. Wicker also serves as a member of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Congressional Board of Visitors.

 From 1995 to 2007, Wicker served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He started his career in public service in the Mississippi Senate representing Lee and Pontotoc counties. He also served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, retiring from the reserve in 2004 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received his bachelor and law degrees from the University of Mississippi. Wicker and his wife, Gayle, live in Tupelo and have three children and eight grandchildren.

Individual tickets for the 2024 WFLS Gala are available at the following prices:

·         General Admission: $175

·         WFLS Member Admission: $135

·         Student Admission: $120 (must show current student ID upon entrance to the Gala dinner)

·         Student WFLS Member Admission: $100  (must show current student ID upon entrance to the Gala dinner)

The WFLS greatly appreciates the financial support of its members, individual supporters, and Sponsors.  Sponsorships for the WFLS Gala are available at one of the following donor levels: Platinum ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), or Silver ($2,500). Sponsors and their levels will be recognized at the Gala and in announcements, publicized in the program and the WFLS website, and given a table at the Gala.

Corporations, law firms, universities, and others interested in becoming a Gala sponsor should direct any questions to washingtonforeignlawsociety@gmail.com        

Revenue from the annual Gala helps the WFLS increase its capacity to pursue its mission of promoting discussion of and scholarship on international law and comparative legal issues through its monthly programming, at which speakers from the U.S. Government, international institutions, foreign countries, and private practice address topics of current interest in the international arena.

Please save the date and plan to join us for this very special event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.

The Washington Foreign Law Society wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals for their generous support:

The Acting Legal Adviser of the Department of State 
and 
the Washington Foreign Law Society

are pleased to present the

2024 Diplomatic Reception

honoring

Ukraine

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Benjamin Franklin Room
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW 
Washington, DC

H.E. Oksana Markarova is Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States (since February 2021), Permanent Observer of Ukraine to the Organization of American States (since May 2021) and Ambassador of Ukraine to Antigua and Barbuda (since July 2023).

Before she arrived in DC on Apr 20, 2021, she served in Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance in 2015-2020 as First deputy Minister and Government commissioner on investments and then since 2018 as a Minister of Finance. During her time at the Ministry she was a co-author of Ukraine’s macroeconomic revival program, has conducted unprecedented fiscal consolidation leading to deficit to GDP of 2% and debt to GDP reduction to below 50%, introduced midterm budgeting, gender oriented budgeting as well as negotiated, structured and coordinated successfully two IMF programs and other IFI cooperation programs. During her tenure she and her team has also created UkraineInvest government promotion agency, Ukrainian Startup fund and an eData ecosystem of government public finance portals including spending.gov.ua, openbudget.gov.ua and analytical instrument BOOST, which opened the majority of the public finance data to the public and increased Ukraine in all major international data transparency ratings.

Prior to career in public service Mrs. Markarova spent 17 years working in private equity and financial advisory having leadership roles in ITT investment group, Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Chemonics and and World bank, as well as founded Archidata startup electronic archive company in between service positions in 2020. 

Richard C. Visek joined the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser in 1999 and became a Deputy Legal Adviser in 2011 and the Principal Deputy Legal Adviser in 2016. He also serves as the Department’s Designated Agency Ethics Official. He previously served as the Assistant Legal Adviser for European and Eurasian Affairs and as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Employment Law. Prior to being promoted into the Senior Executive Service, he served in L offices advising on issues related to law enforcement and intelligence, appropriations, and legislation. Before joining the Office of the Legal Adviser, Mr. Visek worked at the U.S. Department of Justice and at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson in Washington, DC. He has taught courses in law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC and at Tartu University in Estonia. Over the course of his career, Mr. Visek has received numerous awards, including two Distinguished and one Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. He received his BA from Stanford University, JD from Georgetown University, and LLM from Cambridge University.

Reduced rates are available for WFLS Members, students, US government employees, and members of the diplomatic community. For more information on WFLS Membership, please visit: https://www.wfls.org/memberships.

Purchase Tickets

please purchase one ticket for each guest in a separate transaction

***

Registrations for this event closed on Friday, May 10, 2024.
Please email washingtonforeignlawsociety@gmail.com with any questions or requests.

Book Launch: “Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina’s $100 Billion Debt Restructuring” by Gregory Makoff.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
6:00-8:00 PM
Offices of Eni S.p.A., 601 13th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, Suite 700

Refreshments will be provided. Books will not be for sale at the event, but are for sale on Amazon.

Register using the form below.

Please join the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS) for a reception to launch Gregory Makoff’s new book, “Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina’s $100 Billion Debt Restructuring.” The book describes the fifteen year conflict over Argentina’s 2001 default that led to a decade of litigation in U.S.courts and remade the legal framework for sovereign debt financing. The turning point in this drama was the unprecedented injunction by a U.S. court barring U.S. banks from paying consenting creditors who agreed to a deep haircut until Argentina paid the holdout creditors in full. 

Mark Feldman will join Mr. Makoff to discuss how the structure of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act compounded the problems.   

The Washington Foreign Law Society

cordially invites you to our

2023 Holiday Happy Hour

Monday, December 11, 2023

Starting at 5:30 PM
   

In an annual tradition, toast the holiday season with friends and colleagues at the Washington Foreign Law Society! Join us at Elephant & Castle Pub (1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) on Monday, December 11th, starting at 5:30 PM.

WFLS Members will receive one free drink. A light reception will be available.

Register using the form below.

Sincerely,

The Washington Foreign Law Society

You are cordially invited to the 

Washington Foreign Law Society’s 2023 Annual Meeting  

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Offices of WilmerHale
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20037 

Please join the Washington Foreign Law Society for our 2023 Annual Meeting, in which we will be renewing the WFLS's Board of Governors and Officers for next year.

Run of show: 

6:00 PM – In-person guests will be welcomed at the offices of WilmerHale (2100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW). 

6:30 PM – Beginning of official business of the Annual Meeting; election of the new Board of Governors and Officers of the Society. Virtual attendees must connect at this time. 

6:45 PM – Closing of the official business of the Annual Meeting. Drinks and light reception to follow.  

The event is free of charge, but please note that participation at the event will be limited to WFLS Members in good standing. You may renew your membership at this link; if you are unsure about your membership status, please reach out to washingtonforeignlawsociety@gmail.com.  

Register for in-person participation below:

Should you wish to participate virtually, register via Zoom here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QJ_mQ-YBSuqQyfxvCfZ9tQ

(Note that virtual participation will be limited to the official business of the Meeting)

We look forward to seeing you!

Book launch: Footnotes to History, Law and Diplomacy, 1965-2005

October 3, 2023, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Offices of Eni S.p.A. | 601 13th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, Suite 700

Register using the form below

The Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS) and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) invite members and friends to a reception to launch Mark Feldman’s new book, Footnotes to History, Law and Diplomacy, 1965–2005 (Xlibris, June 2023), which is based on his ADST oral history documenting some of the most dramatic crises in U.S. foreign relations in those decades.

Drinks and light refreshments will be provided.

Susan Johnson, President of ADST, will introduce ADST’s flagship Foreign Affairs Oral History program and provide a brief overview of ADST’s work in collecting, preserving, and disseminating the experiences and insights of U.S. foreign affairs practitioners over nine decades. Mark Feldman will discuss the role of State Department attorneys supporting the U.S. Foreign Service, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024 and 2025.

Mark Feldman’s Footnotes to History: Law and Diplomacy, 1965–2005 offers a candid discussion on the formation of U.S. foreign policy. The book also provides fresh insights from "Inside the Room," shedding light on significant events like Vietnam, Panama, the Iran Hostage Crisis, and two wars in Iraq. Additionally, it explores Mark’s work on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, U.S. maritime boundaries, illicit trade in antiquities, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The book highlights his experience with Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter, as well as his strange encounter with Klaus Barbie, the butcher of Lyon.

Mark is offering books to registrants at author’s cost—Hardback: $24.00; Softcover: $14.00. Books purchased in advance can be picked up at the event. No sales will be made on premises. To purchase one or more books, please use the order form below. Supply is limited.

Detailed agenda:

6:00 – Doors open

6:15 – Introduction by Susan Johnson (ADST)

6:30 – Discussion between Mark Feldman and Robin Matthewman

Mark B. Feldman has been engaged in U.S. foreign relations law and transnational litigation since 1965, including sixteen years at the U.S. Department of State, twenty years teaching at the Georgetown University Law Center, and extensive private practice. As Deputy and Acting Legal Adviser (1974–81), Professor Feldman played a major role in drafting the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Iran Claims Agreement. He negotiated the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property as well as U.S. maritime boundaries with Canada, Cuba, and Mexico. His publications and Congressional testimony are described at www.markfeldmaninternationallaw.com.

Susan R. Johnson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. She retired in 2015 and has served as the President of ADST since 2016. During her thirty-five years in the Foreign Service, she served in a broad range of bilateral and multilateral assignments in and out of the State Department including in Bosnia as Deputy High Representative and Supervisor of Brcko District, in Baghdad as the Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’affaires in Romania and Mauritius, IESC Director for Central Asia based in Kazakhstan, as well as in Russia, Cuba, Pakistan, the United States Mission to the United Nations, and in the State Department, on the Hill, and with the National Endowment for Democracy.

Robin Matthewman began working as an oral historian for ADST in 2020, initially on detail from the State Department, and has interviewed foreign affairs specialists from all levels and specialties. She recently conducted interviews with most of the U.S. Ambassadors who served in Kabul between 2002 and 2021 as part of ADST's Afghanistan project. She retired from the U.S. Senior Foreign Service in 2022, after a  thirty-five-year career.  Her overseas tours included economic, commercial, and consular tours in Mexico, Costa Rica, Russia, Honduras, and Iraq.  She served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in Montevideo and San Jose, Principal Officer in Guadalajara, and briefly as Chargé in Curacao.

Register for the event using the form below:

Purchase a copy of the book using the form below:

The UN Cybercrime Treaty: Is it a Crime?

 Tuesday, September 26, 11 am – Noon EDT (New York)

4 pm - 5:00 pm BST (London)

Register for the event using the following form:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_on7dlZc2RqC6ubRIIGNkRA  

The sixth and what is meant to be final negotiating session for a UN cybercrime treaty ended in August amidst disagreement.  The draft new treaty is facing criticism from human rights groups and many others as States head to the concluding session in January 2024 without consensus on fundamental issues such as the treaty’s scope and what constitutes cybercrime.  In recent developments, several states reintroduced offences related to extremism and terrorism into the definition of cybercrime. We will assess the implications of these additions which could increase the power of autocratic states to infringe on freedom of expression, promote surveillance and require any signatory States to cooperate on enforcement.  

Focus will also be placed on the challenges concerning the lack of safeguards for procedural powers and international cooperation. How this future treaty relates to other international law, such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, is another concern which will be explored.

We invite you to join us in this online webinar with international experts discussing the new treaty's significance for human rights and cyber accountability at global, regional and national levels in an evolving digital governance landscape.

Panelists:

Dr. Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Professor of Technology Law, University of Bradford School of Law; Technology and Human Rights Fellow, Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights; Vice-Chairperson of the African Union Cyber Security Experts Group (AUCSEG)

Joyce Hakmeh, Deputy Director, International Security Programme, Chatham House; Co-Editor, Journal of Cyber Policy

Moderator:

Allison Pytlak, Stimson Cyber Program Lead

 Joyce Hakmeh is a policy expert in international security focusing on cyber policy. She is the Deputy Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House and the Co-Editor of the Journal of Cyber Policy. In her role, Joyce oversees the research agenda of the programme and leads the work of Chatham House on cyber policy issues.

Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo is a professor of law at the School of Law, University of Bradford. She is also a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University and serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the African Union Cyber Security Experts Group (AUCSEG) where she advises the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Member States on legal frameworks related to cybersecurity, as well as promoting cybersecurity in the region.

Allison Pytlak is the Program Lead of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center. The Program is focused on researching and fostering dialogue about cyber accountability. Allison's past work in this area has examined inter-state cyber operations and international governance structures.  In her prior role with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Pytlak monitored and reported on the UN’s working group on state behavior in cyber space and played an important role as a liaison and advocate for civil society participation. She has researched, published, and provided trainings about the gendered and human rights-based dimensions of cyber security and diplomacy. 

This program is supported by:

Resources about the AHC process and cybercrime

·         UN Office on Drugs and Crime webpage for the AHC process - https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/cybercrime/ad_hoc_committee/home

·         Draft text of the Convention (as of 1 September 2023) -https://www.unodc.org/documents/Cybercrime/AdHocCommittee/6th_Session/DTC/DTC_rolling_text_01.09.2023_PM.pdf

·         UNODC Learning Course on cybercrime - https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/tertiary/cybercrime.html

Resources about regional and other relevant frameworks

·         Africa’s cybersecurity treaty enters into force - https://directionsblog.eu/africas-cybersecurity-treaty-enters-into-force/

·         Net Politics in Africa - https://directionsblog.eu/net-politics-in-africa/

·         Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960

·         About the Budapest Convention - https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention

Perspectives and analysis

·         What is the UN cybercrime treaty and why does it matter? - https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/08/what-un-cybercrime-treaty-and-why-does-it-matter

·         Global protection against cybercrime now within reach: Interview with H.E. Faouzia Mebarki, Chair of the AHC – https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/global-protection-against-cybercrime-now-within-reach

·         Key takeaways from the sixth UN session on cybercrime treaty negotiations - https://dig.watch/updates/key-takeaways-from-the-sixth-un-session-on-cybercrime-treaty-negotiations

·         Closing Pandora's box: UN Cybercrime Treaty negotiations -https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/un-cybercrime-treaty-negotiations-august-2023/

Resources about human rights, gender, and cybercrime

·         Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty Threatens to be an Expansive Global Surveillance Pact - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/proposed-un-cybercrime-treaty-threatens-be-expansive-global-surveillance-pact

·         What Does it Mean to Gender Mainstream the Proposed Cybercrime Convention? https://chathamhouse.soutron.net/Portal/Public/en-GB/RecordView/Index/191233

·         Chatham House submission to the 6th session of the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) on cybercrime: gender considerations on the convention draft text - https://www.unodc.org/documents/Cybercrime/AdHocCommittee/6th_Session/Submissions/Multi-stakeholders/Chatham_House.pdf

·         Gender mainstreaming and the proposed cybercrime convention: Commentary on the consolidated draft - https://www.unodc.org/documents/Cybercrime/AdHocCommittee/4th_Session/Documents/Multi-stakeholders/Chatham_House_Submission_to_the_AHC4.pdf

See also an earlier webinar in our series: “Cyber Norms, Law and Accountability: Roads to Progress?” with Katitza Rodriguez of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, offering views on the AHC process from a human rights perspective (May 2022)

Please join the WFLS for a Spring Happy Hour!

Come and join us to meet and mingle with D.C. attorneys, professionals, and law students who share your passion for international law.

WFLS Member receive one free drink. Appetizers will be provided.

If you’re not already a member, click here to join now

 Details: 

BLACKFINN DC AMERIPUB

1620 I St NW, Washington, DC 20006

Tuesday, June 6th, 2023

6:00-8:30 PM

The Washington Foreign Law Society is proud to announce the following event:

*  *  *

You are cordially invited to a Working Breakfast 

“Rebuilding Ukraine: Justice Reform and the Rule of Law” 

Tuesday, 28 March 2023
8:00–10:30 a.m.

Location: German Embassy
4645 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007

RSVP: rk-s2@wash.diplo.de  

Registration is required for the event. Seating is limited.

The Nuremberg Principles: The Contemporary Challenges brings together lawyers, historians, theologians, and human rights activists from around the world. These luminaries will convene at The Catholic University of America to discuss the applicability of the Nuremberg Principles in protecting human dignity, promoting human rights, and enforcing international criminal law in the context of today.

The Nuremberg Principles: The Contemporary Challenges

March 27, 2023 / 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Catholic University / Washington, D.C.

Register here: https://www.catholic.edu/nuremberg/index.html

Program Details can be found at Nuremberg Program.

Conference will also be live streamed and hosted virtually.

The conference is hosted by the Institute for Policy Research at The Catholic University of America in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nüremberg.

Conference Topics

Perspectives and History of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) and Nuremberg Military Trials (NMT) 1945-1949 at Nuremberg

The IMT 1945-1946 at Nuremberg: US, France, British, Soviet Union, and German Perspectives, and Subsequent NMT (1946-1949) Impact on American Law

The Nuremberg Principles

Judges’ Trial and Trial of the Doctors: Reflections on the Rule of Law & Medical Ethics

Post Nuremberg Trials

Legacy: From International Criminal Ad Hoc Tribunals Rwanda (ICTR), former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to Establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Recent Conviction of Uganda's Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Dominic Ongwen, in Terms of Today's Victims and Non-Victims

Legal Protection of Cultural Heritage in Ukraine - Russian War

Nuremberg Law Principles and Contemporary Challenges
Victor’s Justice—the U.S. and International Criminal Law 75 Years Since Nuremberg: Continuity or Change?

Genocide 
The Issue of Genocide Distinguished from Crimes Against Humanity

Criminalization of War Crimes and Current International Humanitarian Approaches Drawn from the Nuremberg Principles

The Nuremberg Principles: Theology - Philosophy – Society
Beyond Nuremberg: The Values of Memory, Truth, and Reconciliation

Ukraine's Nuremberg – Alleged War Crimes Issues
Review of Political/Military Situation and Legal Issues as of the Date of the Conference

The Washington Foreign Law Society presents

Law and Diplomacy: Legal Advisors and the Lawyer-Diplomat

Tuesday, March 21, 5:30 pm- 6:30 pm

Diplomacy and law are interactive and interdependent. Both aim at the effective management of international relations, the peaceful resolution of international disputes, the avoidance of armed conflict. Diplomacy and law support mechanisms that promote economic growth and stability and the protection of human rights. The Research Handbook on Law and Diplomacy (Elgar 2022, Stewart & McGuinness eds,.) explored this topic through an examination of contemporary practice across a variety of settings, including within state legal advisory offices, international organizations, international courts and treaty bodies, and civil society.

Drawing from contributions to and central findings of the book, the panelists will examine the interdependency of law and diplomacy and the role of legal advisors, diplomats, and lawyer- diplomats in international law and governance. The panelists will address the role of law and legal advisors within a variety of diplomatic settings, and address questions including:

· What is the appropriate role of legal advisors within political and policy making settings? Does that role changes during times of crisis?

· Does international law create separate ethical duties for lawyers that are different from duties to their principals (states, IOs, other clients)?

· What roles does domestic law (constitutional, statutory) play in facilitating or constraining legal advisors?

Registration for the event entitles registrants to a 35% discount on the purchase of the book at the Elgar Elgar website.

Panelists:

Miguel de Serpa Soares, United Nations Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs

Mr. Serpa Soares has extensive experience of legal and international affairs, having represented his country in various bilateral and multilateral international forums, including the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, the Committee of Public International Law Advisers of the Council of Europe and the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of State Parties.

Before taking up his current position, Mr. Serpa Soares was Director General of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal from 2008. Earlier in his career, he acted as Legal Adviser to the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union, Brussels (1999-2008) and as Chef-de-Cabinet of the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Territorial Administration. He is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Mr. Serpa Soares has a degree in Law from the University of Lisbon and a degree in European Law from the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium. He is a member of a number of entities in the field of International Law and has given lectures on topics of International Law in different Universities worldwide.

Mary De Rosa, Georgetown University Law Center

Mary B. DeRosa, Georgetown Law Center, served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President, and as National Security Council Legal Adviser in the Obama Administration. After leaving the White House in the Summer of 2011, she served as Alternate Representative of the United States to the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly, an Ambassador-level position with the US Mission to the United Nations. Prior to joining the Obama Administration in 2009, Ms. DeRosa was Chief Counsel for National Security for the Senate Judiciary Committee, working for the Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy. She has also been a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, served on the staff of the Clinton Administration National Security Council as Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Adviser, and was Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense. Before joining the government, Ms. DeRosa was in private practice at Arnold & Porter. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Cardamone, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Ms. DeRosa currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee to the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security. She has been a Member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), Chair of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Legal Advisory Board, and a Member of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Legal Advisory Board. She has received multiple awards and honors, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, the Joint Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service, from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Agency Seal Medal from the CIA, the State Department Superior Honor Award, the Department of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence.

Edward Chukwuemeke Okeke, Lead Counsel, World Bank

Edward Chukwuemeke Okeke, an international law scholar and practitioner, has over three decades of experience in the United Nations, UNESCO and the World Bank where he is presently Lead Counsel, Global Knowledge and Research. He is a globally acclaimed expert on the privileges and immunities of international organizations. He is also an award-winning writer and has been published in Arbitration International amongst other law reviews and journals. He is the author of Jurisdictional Immunities of States and International Organizations (Oxford University Press 2018). Furthermore, he contributed two chapters in The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies: A Commentary, Edited by August Reinisch (Oxford University Press 2016). He serves on the editorial board of the International Organizations Law Review.

Moderator: Peggy McGuinness, St. John’s University School of Law

Margaret E. (Peggy) McGuinness, St. John’s University School of Law, teaches and in the areas of international law and international human rights law. Her current research examines U.S. diplomacy and its influence on international human rights governance. She is active in many professional organizations including the Council on International Affairs of the New York City Bar, the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association, the American Society of the International Law, and the International Law Association and its American Branch. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School, following which she clerked for Judge Colleen McMahon in the Southern District of New York and worked as a litigator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Her career in the law follows an early career as a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department, which included service in Germany, Pakistan and Canada, and as a Special Assistant to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

Introduction: David P. Stewart, Georgetown University Law Center

David P. Stewart, Georgetown University Law Center, teaches in the area of International and Transnational Law and co-directs the Global Law Scholars program and the Center for Transnational Business and the Law. He joined the faculty in 2008 following a career in the Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State. He is past President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Branch of the International Law Association, and served as a Co-Reporter for the ALI’s Restatement (Fourth), Foreign Relations Law of the United States (2018). He is a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law.

The Stimson Center and the Washington Foreign Law Society

present

Due Diligence in Cyberspace?

Tuesday, March 14, 1:30 pm EST

**Register and submit questions below**

Due diligence has become a hot topic among States. But what is that and what does it obligate a State to do, especially when it comes to malicious actors using many States’ territories to perpetrate a cyberattack? States agreed that they “should not knowingly allow their territory to be used for internationally wrongful acts using ICTs [information and communications technologies] in the UN Group of Governmental Experts’ 2015 final report, but progress has been slow in defining how diligent a State must be to act on this voluntary obligation.

Join the Stimson Center and WFLS in this webinar where former senior US Government executive the Hon. Christopher Ford talks with top experts to explore the controversy and how to move States forward on these issues.

Moderator:

Dr. Christopher Ford is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He previously served as a MITRE Fellow and founding Director of the Center for Strategic Competition (CSC) at the MITRE Corporation. In prior government service, Dr. Ford served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, also exercising the authorities of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, and before that as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for WMD and Counterproliferation at the U.S. National Security Council.

A veteran of many years as a congressional staffer, Dr. Ford has served at various points on the staffs of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Banking Committee, Appropriations Committee, Select Committee on Intelligence, Permanent Select Committee on Investigations, and Governmental Affairs Committee. He is the author of three books – China Looks at the West: Identity, Global Ambitions, and the Future of Sino-American Relations (2015), The Mind of Empire: China’s History and Modern Foreign Relations (2010), and The Admirals’ Advantage: U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War (2005) – and many articles and monographs. His personal website is https://newparadigmsforum.com.

Panelists:

Mariana Salazar Albornoz is a Professor of International Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. She recently concluded her 4-year mandate as a Member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee of the Organization of American States, where she served as Rapporteur on International Law Applicable to Cyberspace, promoting further transparency and understanding of the topic among the American States. Her last report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee. International Law Applicable to Cyberspace, published in October 2022, can be found here. She also served as Rapporteur on Privacy and Data Protection in the same Committee.

Ms. Salazar is currently a Member of the ICRC’s Global Advisory Board on the Protection of Civilians from Digital Threats during Conflicts, as well as of the Editorial Board of the International Review of the Red Cross. She has been recently appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Member of the Board of the UN Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She is an Academic Programs Associate for the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. Previously, she served for 13 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico as, among others, Coordinator of International Law. Ms. Salazar holds a Law degree from Universidad Iberoamericana and a master’s degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is also a member of the International Law Association and of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Andraz Kastelic is Lead Cyber Stability Researcher of the Security and Technology Programme at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining UNIDIR, Andraz held various research positions in different international organizations and research institutions around the world. Andraz holds a PhD in International Law, MA in Diplomacy and speaks 3 languages, including English. He is the author of the UNIDIR publications Due diligence in cyberspace: Normative expectations of reciprocal protection of international legal rights and Non-Escalatory Attribution of International Cyber Incidents: Facts, International Law and Politics, as well as other works.

Host: Giuliana Canè

Giuliana Canè served as President of WFLS until 2021 and continues as a Member of the WFLS Board of Governors. An Italian national, has been appointed by the IDB Board of Executive Directors to serve as the Executive Secretary of the IDB Group Administrative Tribunal, starting on January 19, 2016. Ms. Canè joined the IDB from the World Bank where most recently she was Legal Counsel in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Previously, she worked for in various departments of the World Bank Group, including the Investment Climate Advisory Service and the Legal Department (2010-2014 and 2004-2007). Prior to rejoining the World Bank, she worked at the Italian Prime Minister’s Office where she was in charge of the Investment Chapter of the G8 Italian Presidency (2008-2009). She began her legal career with the law firm Baker & McKenzie in Rome (2001 – 2002). Ms. Canè holds degrees from Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M. in International Legal Studies), the College of Europe in Bruges (Master in Law in European legal studies), and LUISS-Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy (Laurea in Giurisprudenza). She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, the District of Columbia (inactive), the US Supreme Court, and in Italy (inactive). She serves Board Member of Georgetown Law Center European Law Alumni Advisory and served as President of the Washington Foreign Law Society in 2020 and 2021. Since August 2023 she serves as First Ambassador and Chapter leader of the Luiss Alumni Washington DC Chapter. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, and some Portuguese.

Further resources:

A Due Diligence Standard of Attribution in Cyberspace – Tallinn Manual: https://cyberlaw.ccdcoe.org/wiki/Due_diligence  

The Oxford Process - https://www.elac.ox.ac.uk/the-oxford-process/ 

Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict - finalreport-bsg-elac-cyberduediligenceininternationallawpdf.pdf

Report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee. Second Report: International Law Applicable to Cyberspace, 21 October 2022: CJI-doc_671-22_rev2_corr1_ENG.pdf (oas.org)

UNIDIR Reports: Due diligence in cyberspace: Normative expectations of reciprocal protection of international legal rights http://unidir.org/duediligence; Non-Escalatory Attribution of International Cyber Incidents: Facts, International Law and Politics http://unidir.org/attribution; International Cooperation to Mitigate Cyber Operations Against Critical Infrastructure https://www.unidir.org/criticalinfrastructure) 

UN Reports and Official Statements 

UN Group of Governmental Experts 2015 Report A/70/174: https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F70%2F174&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False

UN Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace in the Context of International Security A/76/135, July 2021: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N21/075/86/PDF/N2107586.pdf?OpenElement

States’ Voluntary Contributions on Due Diligence to Group of Governmental Experts Report, A/76/136, July 2021: https://front.un-arm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/A-76-136-EN.pdf

Open-ended Working Group 2021 Final Report and Statements: 

https://www.un.org/disarmament/open-ended-working-group/ 

Open-ended Working Group 2021-25: https://meetings.unoda.org/open-ended-working-group-on-information-and-communication-technologies-2021#:~:text=On%2031%20December%202020%2C%20the,substantive%20sessions%20in%20New%20York. [See documents and statement links at top of page] 

Attribution: 

A Guide to Cyber Attribution, US Office of the Director of National Intelligence: http://dl.icdst.org/pdfs/files3/db004a6f55f96c056a23fc4efc6a23ac.pdf 

Various threat reports: 

https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWMFIi#page=47 

https://www.trellix.com/en-us/advanced-research-center/threat-reports/feb-2023.html 

https://blog.cyberproof.com/blog/which-countries-are-most-dangerous 

https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/T250/reports/dbir/2022-data-breach-investigations-report-dbir.pdf[See MITRE attack flow project with Verizon]

See our related webinar on “Technical Aspects of Attribution”: https://www.stimson.org/event/the-technical-characteristics-of-attribution-how-do-you-know-who-did-it/.  

This event is also supported by the DC Bar and the Luiss Alumni Association DC Chapter.

The Alumni Luiss Association Chapter in Washington DC and the Washington Foreign Law Society cordially invite you to a panel discussion followed by drinks on

Thursday, February 23, 2023
Starting at 5:30 PM

Speakers:
- Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance, IIF
- Fabio Natalucci, Deputy Director at International Monetary Fund
- Marco Margheri, Eni Head of US Relations

Moderator: Giuliana Canè, First Ambassador and Chapter leader, Luiss Alumni Washington DC Chapter.

Q&A sessions kickstarted by the European Policy Organization, a student association at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University.

Location: Eni S.p.A. | 601 13th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, Suite 700

The Washington Foreign Law Society is proud to co-sponsor the following event:

You are cordially invited to a Working Breakfast 

“Rebuilding Ukraine: Investments and the Rule of Law” 

Tuesday, 31 January 2023
8:00–10:30 a.m.

Location: German Embassy
4645 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007

RSVP: rk-s2@wash.diplo.de  

Registration is required for the event. Seating is limited.

The Washington Foreign Law Society

presents

 Does the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) Bar Prosecution in U.S. Courts of Commercial Enterprises Owned by Foreign States?

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

From 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Eastern Time 

On January 17, 2023, the Supreme Court will hear argument in Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v United States on the issue: Do federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions against foreign sovereigns and their instrumentalities, in light of the FSIA? The prosecution for money laundering in violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran is a major issue for Turkey, and the case has serious implications for U.S. law enforcement and national security.

Halkbank argues that a sovereign state and its instrumentalities enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution in the courts of a foreign state, and that the FSIA itself bars this prosecution. The same FSIA argument was made by an Egyptian bank resisting a grand jury subpoena in the Mueller investigation. So far, the courts have denied immunity to state-owned enterprises applying FSIA criteria without deciding whether the statute applies.

Our panel, including a drafter of the FSIA and three distinguished scholars on foreign state immunity, will discuss: (1) Does the FSIA apply at all to criminal prosecutions? (2) If it is relevant, do the statutory exceptions to immunity apply? (3) If the FSIA does not apply, what rules apply?

Moderator:

-- Mark. B. Feldman, former Acting Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State

Featured Speakers:

-- Professor Chimène Keitner, Alfred and Hanna Fromm Chair in International and Comparative Law,  University of California Hastings College of the Law
-- Professor David P. Stewart, C0-Director of Center for Transnational Business and the Law and the Global Law Scholars Program, Georgetown University Law Center
-- Professor Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk, Associate Dean for Research, Helen Strong Curry Chair in International Law and Director, Cecil D. Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program, Vanderbilt Law School

Michael Teodori, President of the Washington Foreign Law Society, will host the session.

Mark B. Feldman has practiced and taught foreign relations law for many years. As Deputy Legal Adviser at the State Department, he helped draft the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Iran Claims Agreement and the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property. He also chaired the ABA committee responsible for the 1988 amendments to the FSIA, including the arbitration exception. His work in foreign relations is related in an oral history for the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Feldman.Mark.pdf

Professor Chimène Keitner is Alfred and Hanna Fromm Chair in International and Comparative law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. She previously served as the 27th Counselor on International Law in the U.S. Department of State. Professor Keitner has served on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law and as Co-Chair of the ASIL International Law in Domestic Courts Interest Group. She is a member of the American Law Institute and an Adviser on the ALI’s Fourth Restatement of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States. Her recent published works include International Law Frameworks (5th ed. 2021) and Prosecuting Foreign States, 61 Va. J. Int'l L. 221 (2021).

David P. Stewart is Professor from Practice at Georgetown University Law Center, where he co-directs the Center for Transnational Business and the Law and the Global Law Scholars Program. He is a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and previously served as a Co-Reporter for the Restatement (Fourth), Foreign Relations Law of the United States. His recent publications include The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: A Guide for Judges (Fed. Jud. Cntr. 2d ed. 2019); Ristau’s International Judicial Assistance (2d ed. with Bowker, 2021); and Law and Diplomacy (with Margaret McGuiness, Elgar 2022).

Professor Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk is Associate Dean for Research, Helen Strong Curry Chair in International Law, Director, Cecil D. Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program, Vanderbilt Law School. Professor Wuerth has served on the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law and on the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Public International Law. She is a member of the American Law Institute and was named as a Reporter for the Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States. She has received numerous honors and fellowships, including the Morehead Scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Fulbright Senior Scholar award, the German Chancellor's Fellowship and many teaching awards.

Michael Teodori is the President of the Washington Foreign Law Society since October 2021. He is a US Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Eni SpA, Italy’s largest energy company, where he focuses on energy policy and congressional affairs. Prior to joining Eni, Mr. Teodori was a Congressional Liaison Officer at the US politics and Congressional affairs office of the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, where he worked to advance relations between the Italy and the US. Mr. Teodori was also a Schuman trainee at the European Parliament, with experience at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington, DC as well as at the European Parliament Legal Service in Brussels. Mr. Teodori holds a law degree from the University of Pavia (Italy) and a joint M.A. in transatlantic affairs from the College of Europe (Bruges) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Medford, MA).

Further resources:

• Brief of Mark B. Feldman, Esq., and Professor Chimène I. Keitner as Amici Curiae in support of Respondent: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1450/250647/20221221152328041_21-1450%20bsac%20Feldman%20%20Keitner.pdf

You are kindly invited to the next guest speaker research seminar of the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS), co-hosted with the Human Rights and Democracy Forum (HRDF), which will take place on Wednesday 14 December, at 3.15-4.15pm CET (10:15 AM - 11:15 AM, Eastern Time) on Zoom. You do not have to be CELS or HRDF members to join. Undergraduate, Postgraduate and PhD students are also welcome to attend.

In this seminar, Professor Fernanda Nicola (American University Washington College of Law) will present to us her paper: 'The Anti-authoritarian Dialogue of the European Court Of Justice: Re-politicization and Self-doubt.' Professor Nicola will be joined by Mr Micha? Wawrykiewicz, who will act as discussant. Mr Wawrykiewicz is a Polish political analyst, activist, and attorney specializing in constitutional law, human rights law, and European law, and was involved in litigating the cases on behalf of the Polish judges before the ECJ and the ECtHR.

Register here: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/events/details/index.php?event=12503 

The Washington Foreign Law Society

cordially invites you to our

2022 Holiday Happy Hour

Elephant and Castle Pub, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Starting at 6:00 PM

In an annual tradition, toast the holiday season with friends and colleagues at the Washington Foreign Law Society! Join us at Elephant & Castle Pub (1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) on Thursday, December 8th, starting at 6:00 PM.

WFLS Members will receive one free drink. A light reception will be available.

The Washington Foreign Law Society

presents

 The Technical Characteristics of Attribution: How Do You Know Who Did It?

Thursday, November 17, 2022

From 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time

– This webinar is jointly organized with the Stimson Center – 

As more and more malicious cyber incidents occur, governments, C-suite executives and insurers increasingly want to know who should be held responsible for the event and the extent of any harms. The first step in that process, before you get to legal and political attribution, is a technical one – knowing that an incident has occurred and then identifying the actors responsible. Join the Stimson Center and WFLS in this webinar featuring Microsoft, MITRE and the CyberPeace Institute as they discuss this challenge with former senior US Government executive the Hon. Christopher Ford.

Moderator:

-- The Hon. Christopher A. Ford, Director, Center for Strategic Competition, MITRE Corporation

Featured Speakers:

-- John Hering, Senior Government Affairs Manager for the Digital Diplomacy team, Microsoft
-- Emma Raffray, Chief Research and Analysis Officer, CyberPeace Institute
-- Richard Harris, Principal Cybersecurity Policy and Privacy Engineer, MITRE Corporation

Michael Teodori, President of the Washington Foreign Law Society, will host the session.

Dr. Christopher Ford was named in May 2022 to be a MITRE Fellow and the first Director of MITRE’s Center for Strategic Competition. In this capacity, he runs MITRE’s effort to apply interdisciplinary, cross-functional, “systems”-informed analyses to challenges of strategic competition. Dr. Ford is one of only 12 MITRE Fellows in the corporation’s history, and the first with a primarily policy background. Dr. Ford served previously in government as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, also fulfilling the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. Prior the State Department, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for WMD and Counterproliferation at the National Security Council. A former intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and senior staffer on five different U.S. Senate committees, Dr. Ford has also served as U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation and as a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. A graduate of Harvard College (summa cum laude), Oxford University (as a Rhodes Scholar), and the Yale Law School, Dr. Ford is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, as well as a Distinguished Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School. A prolific scholar, he is the author of the books China Looks at the West: Identity, Global Ambitions, and the Future of Sino-American Relations (2015), The Mind of Empire: China’s History and Modern Foreign Relations(2010), and The Admirals’ Advantage: U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War (2005), as well as a great many articles and monographs. (His personal website is https://newparadigmsforum.com.) Dr. Ford is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the American Society of International Law.

Emma Raffray leads the CyberPeace Institute’s analytical activities including the delivery of data-driven platforms, strategic analysis reports and cyber investigations. She has spent over 10 years working as an intelligence analyst across multiple sectors including national and international law enforcement (Metropolitan Police Service, London, UK and INTERPOL), financial sector, defense and the humanitarian sector. A recognized expert providing operational and strategic analysis for intelligence units, investigations and projects. Ms. Raffray holds a BSc in Criminology and Social Policy, Loughborough University. The CyberPeace Institute is an independent and neutral non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to ensure the rights of people to security, dignity and equity in cyberspace. The Institute works in close collaboration with relevant partners to reduce the harms from cyberattacks on people’s lives worldwide. By analyzing cyberattacks, the Institute exposes their societal impact, how international laws and norms are being violated, and advances responsible behavior to enforce cyberpeace. Since the beginning of the year, the CyberPeace Institute has been documenting ‘Cyberattacks in Times of Conflict Platform #Ukraine’ and the hidden impact of these attacks on society. In 2021, the Institute published Cyber Incident Tracer (CIT) #Health, a platform that bridges the information gap about cyberattacks on the healthcare sector and their impact on people. Data on the platform is updated on a quarterly basis.

John Hering is a Senior Government Affairs Manager for the Digital Diplomacy team at Microsoft. He analyzes the global cybersecurity landscape, drives engagement with regional government teams and contributes to Microsoft’s efforts to promote peace and security in cyberspace through various multi-stakeholder initiatives. He leverages prior experiences working in and across the U.S. Government to support Microsoft teams as well as policymakers to improve cybersecurity strategies and policies. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Hering served as a White House Defense Fellow in the Obama administration at the Department of Defense, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. He has also previously led humanitarian aid research in northeast Nigeria with the Danish Refugee Council and worked as a math and science teacher through Teach For America. Mr. Hering holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Boston College and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Richard “Rick” Harris is Principal Cybersecurity Policy and Privacy Engineer at the MITRE Corporation. Mr. Harris has spent over three decades in the security field working at the tactical, operational, strategic, and national policy levels. For the last 18 years, Mr. Harris has been focused on building U.S. and international cybersecurity capacity and developing foundational national cyber policies. After 26 years in the US Marine Corps, retiring as a Colonel, Mr. Harris joined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where he led efforts to develop and implement cyber risk prevention and mitigation, cybersecurity protection, incident response, information sharing, awareness and public/private partnership policies and programs. His early DHS work included increasing and improving the capabilities of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) where he created a planning staff to coordinate and support the development of inter-governmental coordination of cybersecurity policies, plans and operations. Additionally, Mr. Harris was the lead in developing and implementing a successful public/private partnership program, and instrumental in developing and implementing the seminal Comprehensive National Cyber Initiative (CNCI) as well as numerous Presidential Directives on cybersecurity information sharing, operations and inter-agency coordination including developing situational awareness and incident response procedures between US-CERT and six major U.S. cyber centers in the Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Intelligence Community, as well as the private sector. Mr. Harris also served as the chief of planning and coordination for the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) where he worked with private sector, U.S. government agencies, and White House staff to improve whole-of-government approaches to cybersecurity. While serving as the Deputy Director, US-CERT, the NCCIC and as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Cybersecurity and Communications, Mr. Harris provided consultations to over 30 nations in multi-lateral and bi-lateral forums on building computer emergency response support capabilities and national cyber strategies including nations in the Asia Pacific, European, Middle Eastern, African and South American regions. Since joining MITRE in 2017, Mr. Harris has worked on cyber information sharing and capacity building efforts for the U.S. Department of State in Africa, Asia and Europe, and programs dealing with cybersecurity information sharing and the Internet of Things. Mr. Harris also serves as Co-Chair of Advisory Board and a member of the Research Committee for the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise and is active in working groups addressing cyber incident response, critical infrastructure protection, and awareness and education. Mr. Harris is a graduate of Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA where he earned a B.A. degree in History and Political Science. He possesses an M.A. degree in International Affairs from American University, and an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Mr. Harris has served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University teaching a masters level class on homeland security.

Michael Teodori is the President of the Washington Foreign Law Society since October 2021. He is a US Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Eni SpA, Italy’s largest energy company, where he focuses on energy policy and congressional affairs. Prior to joining Eni, Mr. Teodori was a Congressional Liaison Officer at the US politics and Congressional affairs office of the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, where he worked to advance relations between the Italy and the US. Mr. Teodori was also a Schuman trainee at the European Parliament, with experience at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington, DC as well as at the European Parliament Legal Service in Brussels. Mr. Teodori holds a law degree from the University of Pavia (Italy) and a joint M.A. in transatlantic affairs from the College of Europe (Bruges) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Medford, MA).

Further resources:

• Microsoft: New Digital Defense Report 2022: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/11/04/microsoft-digital-defense-report-2022-ukraine/

  • Attribution of an attack:?https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2021/10/24/new-activity-from-russian-actor-nobelium/

  • Technical attributes of an attack:?https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/?p=99621

• MITRE ATT&CK Framework: https://attack.mitre.org/   

  • CyberPeace Institute’s work:?https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • Cyber Attacks in?Times of Conflict?Platform #Ukrainehttps://cyberconflicts.cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • Cyber Incident Tracer #Health?https://cit.cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • CyberPeace Builders Program?https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/cyberpeacebuilders/

• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

  • UNIDIR Framework: https://unidir.org/publication/taxonomy-malicious-ict-incidents

  • Non-Escalatory Attribution of International Cyber Incidents: Facts, International Law and Politics http://unidir.org/attribution  

• Some of Dr. Ford’s writing on cyber attribution and accountability:

  • A think-piece on cyber attribution diplomacy published in the?Cyber Defense Review:?https://cyberdefensereview.army.mil/Portals/6/Documents/2022_spring/03_Ford_CDR_V7N2.pdf?ver=jPNxXAqiUZX7kFHLgxwpUw%3d%3d

  • A MITRE piece on ransomware and cyber insurance:?https://irp.cdn-website.com/ce29b4c3/files/uploaded/Ransomware%20Insurance%20Paper.pdf

  • Cyberspace security:?https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/ce29b4c3/files/uploaded/ACIS%20Paper%2020%20--%20Cyberspace.pdf

• CyberPeace Institute’s work: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • Cyber Attacks in Times of Conflict Platform #Ukraine https://cyberconflicts.cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • Cyber Incident Tracer #Health https://cit.cyberpeaceinstitute.org/

  • CyberPeace Builders Program https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/cyberpeacebuilders/

The American University Washington College of Law (WCL) U.S. and International Anti-Corruption Law Program invites you to attend the inaugural Frank H. Menaker Corporate Integrity & Ethics Lecture on Wednesday, November 2, at 12:00 noon.  Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division will deliver the Lecture, after a light lunch beginning at noon.

The event will take place at WCL, 4300 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.  Registration is free but required.  Please register through this link, preferably no later than Friday, October 28.

Register here: https://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration?event_id=309161&listonly

You are cordially invited to the

Washington Foreign Law Society’s 2022 Annual Meeting 

Tuesday, October 18th, 2022
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM EST

Offices of Holland & Knight LLP |  800 17th St NW, Washington, DC 

Please join the Washington Foreign Law Society for our 2022 Annual Meeting, in which we will be electing our Board of Governors and Officers for next year!

To allow for the greatest participation and inclusion of all Members and friends of the Society, this event will be held both virtually and in person.

Please find below an outline of the agenda for the meeting:

5:30 PM – In-person guests will be welcomed at the offices of Holland and Knight (800 17th Street NW).

6:15 PM – Beginning of official business of the Annual Meeting; virtual attendees must connect at this time.

6:30 PM – Election of the new Board of Governors and Officers of the Society (please note that only Members in good standing, with paid-up annual dues, will be able to participate in the vote. You may renew your membership at this link).

6:45 PM – Closing of the official business of the Annual Meeting.

Drinks and light reception to follow. The event is free of charge.

We look forward to seeing you!

The Washington Foreign Law Society

is pleased to announce its upcoming

Annual 2022 Gala Dinner

honoring
The United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai

Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Beginning at 6:00 PM
Army and Navy Club (901 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20006)

This year, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, the WFLS will honor U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.  Ambassador Tai will receive the Harry LeRoy Jones Award for her outstanding contribution to the restoration of multilateralism in United States’ trade policy, by leveraging long-standing partnerships with allied nations while also advancing shared international objectives, such as addressing inequalities, promoting labor and environmental standards, and fostering a more resilient and fair global economy.

The WFLS bestows the Harry LeRoy Jones Award annually upon an honoree who promotes the rule of law–and international law in particular–and has a profound and lasting impact on institutions dedicated to justice, international law, or scholarship. Past recipients of the award include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg; U.S. Senators George J. Mitchell and Richard Lugar; UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights John Ruggie; IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde; World Justice Project Founder William H. Neukom; former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker; former Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the International Court of Justice, and U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.

Ambassador Tai will be introduced by Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States

Ambassador Katherine Tai was sworn in as the 19th United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2021. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Tai is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy.

Prior to her unanimous Senate confirmation, Ambassador Tai spent most of her career in public service focusing on international economic diplomacy, monitoring, and enforcement. She previously served as Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director for the House Ways and Means Committee in the United States Congress. In this capacity, Ambassador Tai played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. trade law, negotiations strategies, and bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the recently re-negotiated United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Ambassador Tai is an experienced World Trade Organization (WTO) litigator. She previously developed and tried cases for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, eventually becoming the Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement. Before transitioning to federal service, she practiced law in the private sector, clerked for district judges, and taught English in Guangzhou, China.

Ambassador Tai earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis is the Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, as of March 1, 2019. Previously, he served as the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights, Foreign Affairs Minister of Greece, and twice elected Member of the European Parliament.

He has received recognitions for his work on human rights and privacy, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s “Champion of Freedom Award” in 2020 and the Boston Global Forum’s “World Leader in Artificial Intelligence Award” in 2021. He is a member of the President’s Council on International Activities at Yale University and a former president of the DC Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee.

Ambassador Lambrinidis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Amherst College and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Individual tickets for the 2022 WFLS Gala are available at the following prices:

• General Admission: $175

• WFLS Member Admission: $150

• Student Admission: $120 (must show current student ID upon entrance to the Gala dinner)

• Student WFLS Member Admission: $100 (must show current student ID upon entrance to the Gala dinner)

The WFLS greatly appreciates the financial support of its members, individual supporters, and Sponsors.  Sponsorships for the WFLS Gala are available at one of the following donor levels: Platinum ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), or Silver ($2,500). Sponsors and their levels will be recognized at the Gala and in announcements, publicized in the program and the WFLS website, and given a table at the Gala.

Corporations, law firms, universities, and others interested in becoming a Gala sponsor should direct any questions to the two co-chairs of the Gala, Alexandra Bochnakova at (202) 630-7596, avocat.bochnakova@gmail.com; and Kimberly Larkin at (404) 909-5265, kimberly.h.larkin@gmail.com.

Revenue from the annual Gala helps the WFLS increase its capacity to pursue its mission of promoting discussion of and scholarship on international law and comparative legal issues through its monthly programming, at which speakers from the U.S. Government, international institutions, foreign countries, and private practice address topics of current interest in the international arena.

Please save the date and plan to join us for this very special event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.

Registrations for this event are now closed. Please submit any inquiries to: washingtonforeignlawsociety@gmail.com

The Washington Foreign Law Society wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals who have thus far committed to be sponsors at the Gala

Silver level

Debra and Michael Decker

Other Annual Sponsors

The Washington Foreign Law Society is proud to co-sponsor the following event, Women in International Law Speaker Series: Nasim Fussell, organized by the GW Law International and Comparative Law Program.

The Washington Foreign Law Society
presents
Cyber Norms, Law and Accountability: Roads to Progress?

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

From 10:00 to 11:00 AM Eastern Time

– This webinar is jointly organized with the Stimson Center – 

Diverse international events are challenging the sanctity of international law and norms, and cyberspace is no exception. Cybercrime has increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic and the digital dimensions of the conflict in Ukraine present new questions about the applicability of international law and norms, with some citing explicit violations of norms/law. In this context of upheaval and change, what impact can discussions around cyber norms, law and accountability have in today's world? Clearly, some must have hope as work is going forward on many fronts. There are efforts: in the UN to support the implementation of existing cyber norms and law, and to develop a new cybercrime treaty; internationally, to support a cooperative anti-ransomware initiative; and across borders, to cooperate in taking down cybercriminals. Join the Stimson Center and the Washington Foreign Law Society as we discuss some of these international efforts with Michele Markoff, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyber Security in the new State Department Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and Katitza Rodriguez, Policy Director for Global Privacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Featured Speakers:

-- Michele G. Markoff, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security, US Department of State.

-- Katitza Rodriguez, Policy Director for Global Privacy, Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The program will be moderated by Allison Pytlak, Stimson Center Nonresident Fellow. Michael Teodori, President of the Washington Foreign Law Society, will host the session.

Michele G. Markoff is Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security in the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Since 1998, Ms. Markoff has been the senior State Department subject matter expert overseeing the development and implementation of foreign policy initiatives on cyberspace issues.  She coordinates U.S. policy on the spectrum of cyber-related issues across the Department and develops diplomatic strategies to encourage states to join the United States in taking steps to protect their critical networks and to cooperate internationally to enhance and preserve global cyber stability.

Ms. Markoff implements those strategies through negotiations in a wide variety of venues.  Ms. Markoff has been the U.S. lead at the UN for six successive Groups of Governmental Experts (GGE) in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019, and the 2019-2021 Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG).  The GGE and OEWG reached consensus on two reports in 2021 designed to further understanding and implementation by all states of the framework for responsible state behavior in cyberspace.  In September 2019, Ms. Markoff led diplomatic efforts to engage 27 states to sign a Joint Statement on Advancing Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace which included a commitment to “work together on a voluntary basis to hold states accountable when they act contrary to this framework.”  Ms. Markoff is also the architect of two agreements on cyber confidence-building measures in the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe, and a similar initiative in the ASEAN Regional Forum.  In June 2013, Ms. Markoff’s initiatives led to the successful completion of the first-ever bilateral agreement on confidence-building in cyberspace between the United States and the Russian Federation.

An expert in Russian and Chinese military affairs, Ms. Markoff spent the first half of her career in strategic nuclear arms control positions, including State Department Advisor and then Executive Secretary to the START I Talks, and Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency’s Policy Planning Group. Ms. Markoff has a B.A. in International Relations from Reed College, an M.A. in International Relations and an M.Phil. in Political Science from Yale University, and a M.Sc. in National Security Strategy from the National War College of the United States. She attended high school in the former Soviet Union and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Katitza Rodriguez (@txitua) is Policy Director for Global Privacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation since 2010. She was an advisor to the UN Internet Governance Forum (2009-2010). In 2018, CNET named Ms. Rodriguez one of the 20 most influential Latinos in technology in the United States. Before joining EFF, Ms. Rodriguez was director of the international privacy program at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington D.C., where amongst other things, she worked on The Privacy and Human Rights Report, an international survey of privacy laws and developments in more than 6o countries. Ms. Rodriguez was the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, for which she served as the civil society liaison from 2008 to March 2010. Ms. Rodriguez was a co-founder of the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, for which she served as the civil society liaison from 2008 to March 2010.

Allison Pytlak is Nonresident Fellow at the Stimson Center and Manager of the Disarmament Programme of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She contributes to the organization’s monitoring and analysis of UN disarmament processes including those on cyber security, as well as to its research and advocacy to advance feminist perspectives on international security issues. Ms. Pytlak was closely involved in efforts to ensure civil society engagement in the UN’s first cyber OEWG and participated in all of its substantive meetings. She has worked within international civil society movements for more than a decade. Ms. Pytlak holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Toronto and an MA, also in International Relations, from the City University of New York. Her graduate research focused on interstate cyber conflict. Her subsequent research and advocacy have focused on the role of stakeholders, the militarization of cyberspace, cyber repression and gender dimensions of cyber security. She is an expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade and a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY “Champion of Change.” Also, Ms. Pytlak was closely involved in efforts to ensure civil society engagement in the UN’s first cyber OEWG and participated in all of its substantive meetings and actively contributes to the work of the new 2021-25 OEWG.

Michael Teodori is the President of the Washington Foreign Law Society. He is also a US Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Eni SpA, Italy’s largest energy company, where he focuses on energy policy and congressional affairs. Prior to joining Eni, Mr. Teodori was a Congressional Liaison Officer at the US politics and Congressional affairs office of the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, where he worked to advance relations between the Italy and the US. Mr. Teodori was also a Schuman trainee at the European Parliament, with experience at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington, DC as well as at the European Parliament Legal Service in Brussels. Mr. Teodori holds a law degree from the University of Pavia (Italy) and a joint M.A. in transatlantic affairs from the College of Europe (Bruges) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Medford, MA).

Material discussed during the event:

-- Opening Stages in UN Cybercrime Treaty Talks Reflect Human Rights Risks: https://www.justsecurity.org/81105/opening-stages-in-un-cybercrime-treaty-talks-reflect-human-rights-risks/

-- UN Committee To Begin Negotiating New Cybercrime Treaty Amid Disagreement Among States Over Its Scope: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/02/un-committee-begin-negotiating-new-cybercrime-treaty-amid-disagreement-among

-- Negotiations Over UN Cybercrime Treaty Under Way in New York, With EFF and Partners Urging Focus on Human Rights: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/03/negotiations-over-international-police-powers-agreement-must-keep-human-rights

-- On New Cross-Border Cybercrime Policing Protocol, a Call for Caution: https://www.justsecurity.org/81502/on-new-cross-border-cybercrime-policing-protocol-a-call-for-caution/

-- U.S. allies blame Russia for a cyberattack early in its Ukraine invasion: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/11/us-allies-blame-russia-cyberattack-early-its-ukraine-invasion/

The Washington Foreign Law Society

presents

Pissarro in the Courts: Foreign Sovereign Immunity Update 2022

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. EDT

– This event is co-sponsored by ASIL, the American Society of International Law –   .       

“From the Lady in Gold (Republic of Austria v. Altmann, 541 U.S. 677 (2004)) to the Guelph Treasure (Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, 141 S. Ct. 703 (2021)), claims to cultural property stolen by the Nazis during World War II have driven much of the jurisprudence under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).  A number of these cases have been pending for more than a decade. This year, we have significant new decisions in cases involving Pissarro (Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, No. 20-1566 (U.S.)) and the fabulous Herzog collection (De Csepel v. Republic of Hungary, 2022 WL 678076 (D.C. Cir. 2022)).

The Panel will discuss current issues in FSIA litigation, including

(1) the extraterritorial reach of U.S. jurisdiction, e.g., choice of law, foreign discovery and turn-over orders, and

(2) the balance between private rights and foreign relations in recent FSIA cases.

Mark Feldman will provide a drafter’s view of what the courts have done with the Act.  Peter Gutherie will present the State Department perspective, and Sally Pei will address the experience of foreign states and other litigants with this complex statutory regime.” The discussion will be moderated by Giuliana Canè.

Mark B. Feldman teaches foreign relations law at Georgetown.  As Deputy and Acting Legal Adviser (1974-81), Professor Feldman played a major role in drafting the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Iran Claims Agreement.  He negotiated the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property as well as U.S. maritime boundaries with Canada, Cuba and Mexico.  Professor Feldman issued the first State Department suggestion of immunity for a foreign official in 1976 and initiated the 1967 Alaska Treaty line as the maritime boundary with Russia. In private practice, Professor Feldman established the treaty exception to the federal act of state doctrine in the Kalamazoo Spice cases and chaired the ABA committee responsible for the 1988 amendments to the FSIA, including the arbitration exception. He advised Disney on arbitration procedures for its Park near Paris, and argued for the United States in the Gulf of Maine case at the ICJ. His work, publications and Congressional testimony are described at http://www.markfeldmaninternationallaw.com/new-page-2.

Peter Gutherie is an attorney adviser in the Department of State's Office of the Legal Adviser.  He currently serves in the Office of for Diplomatic Law & Litigation.  He joined the Legal Adviser's Office in 2004 and has developed expertise in a wide range of domestic and international law issues, including appropriations law, international law enforcement matters, counter-terrorism law, State Department authorities and legislation, and now diplomatic law.  Originally from rural Georgia, Mr. Gutherie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and New York University (J.D.).

Sally Pei is a senior associate in Arnold & Porter’s Appellate and Supreme Court group. Her practice spans a broad range of subject areas, with a particular focus on transnational disputes and foreign sovereign immunity. Ms. Pei has been the principal brief-writer in numerous cases in federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court and has argued before the Sixth and Ninth Circuits. Before joining Arnold & Porter, Ms. Pei was a law clerk to the Honorable William A. Fletcher (Ninth Circuit) and served as a Legal Adviser to Judge O. Thomas Johnson at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. Ms. Pei received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as Articles Editor for the Yale Law Journal and Yale Journal of International Law and received the Jerome Sayles Hess Fund Prize for excellence in the area of international law.

Moderator: Giuliana Cane. Giuliana Canè, an Italian national, has been appointed by the IDB Board of Executive Directors to serve as the new Executive Secretary of the IDB Group Administrative Tribunal and she took position on January 19, 2016. Ms. Canè joined the IDB from the World Bank where most recently she was Legal Counsel in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Previously, she worked for in various departments of the World Bank Group, including the Investment Climate Advisory Service and the Legal Department (2010-2014 and 2004-2007). Prior to rejoining the World Bank, she worked at the Italian Prime Minister’s Office where she was in charge of the Investment Chapter of the G8 Italian Presidency (2008-2009). She began her legal career with the law firm Baker & McKenzie in Rome (2001 – 2002). Ms. Canè holds degrees from Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M. in International Legal Studies), the College of Europe in Bruges (Master in Law in European legal studies), and LUISS-Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy (Laurea in Giurisprudenza). She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, the District of Columbia (inactive) and in Italy (inactive).

BACKGROUND READING MATERIALS:

1. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1566_l5gm.pdf

The Washington Foreign Law Society

Presents 

WFLS Series: Issues and Trends in International Anti-Corruption Law

(Part 3)

 THE 2021 OECD ANTI-BRIBERY RECOMMENDATION: THE 2.0 TOOL FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST FOREIGN BRIBERY ?

Thursday, April 14, 2022
from 12:30 to 1:30 PM ET

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2021 Anti-Bribery Recommendation introduces new sections on the demand side of foreign bribery, sanctions and confiscation, non-trial resolutions, international co-operation, protection of reporting persons, incentives for compliance, and data protection. It broadens the scope of existing recommendations on investigations and enforcement, awareness raising and training, and public advantages, including public procurement. It also updates the Good Practice Guidance for companies on internal controls, ethics, and compliance programs or measures for preventing and detecting foreign bribery.

Join the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS) on Thursday, April 14, 2022 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM ET for a stimulating hour-long panel discussion on The 2021 OECD Anti-Bribery Recommendation: The 2.0 Tool For The Fight Against Foreign Bribery?, featuring Kathryn Nickerson, Assistant Chief Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and member of the U.S. delegation to the OECD Working Group on Bribery, and Nicola Bonucci, Partner in the Global Trade and Investigations & White Collar Defense practices at Paul Hastings and former Director for Legal Affairs for the OECD.

WFLS President Michael Teodori will host the discussion, moderated by Pascale Helene Dubois, Independent International Anti-Corruption Expert, Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, and member of the WFLS Board of Governors.

Kathryn Nickerson is an Assistant Chief Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where her principal area of practice is international trade law.

Ms. Nickerson is the lead counsel in the Department on international anticorruption issues, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In this role, she provides general guidance on anticorruption issues to Commerce officials and the private sector, as well as FCPA counseling and training to the U.S. Commercial Service.

Ms. Nickerson participated in the drafting and negotiation of international and U.S. free trade agreements containing anticorruption and transparency provisions, including, most recently, the 2021 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Revised Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Antibribery Recommendation) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Ms. Nickerson assisted in the negotiations at the OECD of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Antibribery Convention) and the negotiations of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. She is a member of the U.S. delegation to the OECD Working Group on Bribery charged with monitoring the implementation of the Antibribery Convention, in which capacity she has participated in the review of numerous country reports.

Ms. Nickerson is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. She graduated cum laude from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, where she earned a B.A. in Politics and French and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Nicola Bonucci is a Partner in the Global Trade and Investigations & White Collar Defense practices at Paul Hastings, based in the Paris office.

Previously, Mr. Bonucci served as the Director for Legal Affairs for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has been one of the most prominent international voices in anti-corruption and anti-bribery, having led the OECD’s efforts in this area for more than two decades. In advising clients, Mr. Bonucci draws on his international experience with compliance programs, investigations, and anti-corruption issues across various legal systems, as well as his deep knowledge of intergovernmental and multilateral processes.

Mr. Bonucci holds a DEA in Public International Law from the University of Paris X—Nanterre (1986), a DESS in International Administration from the University of Paris II—Assas (1987), and a Master’s Degree in International and Comparative Law from the University of Notre Dame (1988).

Moderator: Pascale Dubois.  Ms. Dubois is an International Executive Advisor and Independent Expert who has been involved with anti-corruption efforts for two decades.

She recently retired from the World Bank Group (WBG) where she was the VP of the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), leading the WBG’s investigative efforts and the pursuit of sanctions in connection with allegations of fraud and corruption on WBG-financed projects, in addition to corporate compliance and prevention. Ms. Dubois previously served as the World Bank’s first ever Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer (SDO), and prior to that she managed the groundbreaking Voluntary Disclosure Program in INT and also worked as an operational lawyer advising the Africa region of the World Bank for seven years. Before joining the WBG, Ms. Dubois was in private practice in the USA and Belgium for 10 years.

Ms. Dubois served as the Co-Chair of both the International Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee as well as the American Bar Association Section of International Law’s Anti-Corruption Committee.

She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center since 2009, where she teaches a course on international anti-corruption. Ms. Dubois received her Lic. Jur., cum laude, from the University of Ghent, Belgium, and her LL.M. from New York University.

Host: Michael Teodori. Mr. Teodori is the President of the Washington Foreign Law Society. He is also a US Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Eni SpA, Italy’s largest energy company. Prior to joining Eni, Mr. Teodori was a Congressional Liaison Officer at the US politics and Congressional affairs office of the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, where he focused on US-Italy relations. Mr. Teodori was also a Schuman trainee at the European Parliament. In that capacity he worked at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington, DC, as well as at the European Parliament Legal Service in Brussels. Mr. Teodori holds a law degree from the University of Pavia (Italy) and a joint M.A. in transatlantic affairs from the College of Europe (Bruges) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Medford, MA).

BACKGROUND READING MATERIALS:

1. https://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/2021-oecd-anti-bribery-recommendation.htm

2. https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0378

3. https://www.paulhastings.com/insights/client-alerts/a-revitalization-of-global-anti-corruption-enforcement-the-oecd-issues-new