The American Bar Association, Section of International Law's 2014 Fall Meeting was held at the Buenos Aires Hilton, in Argentina. The International Human Rights Committee sponsored or co-sponsored four panel discussions. The IHRC's 2-part panel discussion on Freedom of the Press and the Law were the highest attended panels of the week! A short description of IHRC's Fall 2014 Programs is included below. Additional information on each panel, including the names of moderators and speakers, is located under the Programs' tab above.
Special Thanks to IHRC CO-CHAIRS Elizabeth "Liz" Turchi and Joseph "Joe" Federici; IHRC VICE CHAIRS Gregory MacKenzie (Moderator) and Catherine "Cathy" Vernon (Speaker); OTHER SPEAKERS & MODERATORS Marissa Farsi, Kevin Fandl, Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Gonzalo Smith, Thomas A. Valenti, Robert Cox, Andres D'Alessandro, Daniel Seckman, John Folks, Muria Gonzalez, Leila Mooney, Gerardo Noto, and William Black; and everyone else who help coordinate and/or participate in the ABA SIL Fall Meeting 2014. Without you, none of it would have been possible.
ABA SIL IHRC FALL 2014 PROGRAMS
Buenos Aires Hilton, Argentina (Oct 21- 25)
Being the Good Global Corporate Citizen: Dealing with the Current Business Guidelines and Standards of Conduct for Multinational Corporations
Thursday, October 23 at 9:00 am – 10:30 am
HUMAN RIGHTS; PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW / RULE OF LAW
With the recent development and adoption of guidelines and standards of conduct regulating business conduct with respect to human trafficking, labor rights, privacy, etc., including UN Guidelines, it is clear that the rules are changing for multinational corporations operating in disparate jurisdictions. The panel will present and clarify this new order of business responsibility and conduct, the risks and the best practices for dealing with the current business and regulatory environment.
Primary Sponsoring Committee: International Corporate Counsel Forum
Co-Sponsoring Committees: Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, International Ethics Committee, International Human Rights Committee, International Trade Committee, Latin American and Caribbean Committee, Transnational Legal Practice Committee, UN & International Organizations Committee
Undoing Business in Latin America: Rule of Law and the Informal Economy
Friday, October 24 at 9:00 am – 10:30 am
BUSINESS / REGULATION / COMPLIANCE; PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW / RULE OF LAW
Rule of law programs aimed at strengthening legal institutions in developing countries capture only one segment of the business community—the formal segment. The informal economy—often referred to as the gray market—is often left behind. New ‘formalization’ programs have attempted to bring informal enterprises into the legal fold but have thus far been unsuccessful. The panelists will present their research on rule of law and the informal economy in Latin America using case studies of the Colombian gray market, including an analysis of the newly enacted formalization law in Colombia.
Primary Sponsoring Committee: International Human Rights Committee
Co-Sponsoring Committees: Africa Committee, NGO and Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee
Freedom of the Press and the Law, Part I: The Prosecution of Journalists
Friday, October 24 at 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
HUMAN RIGHTS: PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW / RULE OF LAW
The killing and prosecution of journalists and human rights defenders has reached alarming proportions. The problem threatens freedom everywhere. The world has seen journalists murdered while covering the Syrian conflict; threatened and killed while covering Mexican drug cartels; and imprisoned in Sub-Saharan Africa for exposing corrupt government activities. Our experts will address the dangers journalists encounter in these regions. In particular, our experts will discuss the prosecution of journalists in Argentina during the “dirty war” and the prosecution and harassment of journalists in South America and the Middle East, among other regions. Through a moderator question and answer format, these case studies will allow the audience to develop an understanding of the legal rights and protections afforded to journalists under domestic, regional and international law.
Primary Sponsoring Committee: International Human Rights Committee
Co-Sponsoring Committees: Middle East Committee
Freedom of the Press and the Law, Part II: Freedom of Expression in a Post-9/11 World
Friday, October 24 at 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
HUMAN RIGHTS: PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW / RULE OF LAW
This panel of experts will explore the protections afforded to journalists under law. In particular, our experts will discuss foundational international instruments securing the Freedom of Expression and other relevant rights, the scope of those freedoms and a State’s ability to derogate therefrom. Our panel will discuss the impact of 9/11 on the Freedom of Expression and recommend what measures the legal community must take to ensure that journalists are able to function without illegal constraint. This panel will look at the freedoms of speech and press and the precarious balance struck by different legal systems when looking at government claims of national security, and will discuss the importance of a free and robust press to democratic societies and how, in the 21st century, that freedom-and the freedom of speech-have become increasingly vulnerable to manipulation, influence and censorship without the heavy-handed repression associated with totalitarian regimes of the past. The program will be presented in a moderated question and answer format.
Primary Sponsoring Committee: U.S. Lawyers Practicing Abroad
Co-Sponsoring Committees: International Courts Committee, International Human Rights Committee, International Judicial Affairs Committee, Latin American and Caribbean Committee, Women’s Interest Network (WIN), Young Lawyers Interest Network (YIN)
❃ ABA SIL Fall 2014 Meeting (Complete Program Guide).
❃Visit our Programs page for more information.
