Duke's Center for International and Comparative Law
Duke’s Center for International and Comparative Law capitalizes on faculty’s scholarly depth and diversity
Oct. 12, 2006
Duke Law School has established the Center for International and Comparative Law to coordinate and support the School’s programs, resources, and events relating to those areas. Richard and Marcy Horvitz Professor of Law Curtis Bradley, who directs the Center, says that its establishment is a testament to the Law School’s growing strength in international and comparative law, starting with one of the largest and most diverse faculties in the country.
“Ten full-time faculty members specialize in some aspect of international or comparative law, which is an extraordinary number given the relatively small size of the School. We have experts in international trade law, European Union law, U.S. foreign relations law, the laws of war, and international intellectual property, investment, and environmental law, just to name a few, with a range of intellectual perspectives about the proper role for international law and its status in the U.S. legal system.”
The Center is an ideal vehicle for coordination and promotion of the various high level conferences and collaborations with which faculty members are involved, Bradley says. It also deepens the rich international and comparative law curriculum through initiatives such as its sponsorship of the Global Law Workshop, and enhances the intellectual life of the Law School through an ambitious roster of speakers and panel discussions.
Along with the International Law Society, the Center sponsored a provocative discussion entitled “Patents, the WTO, and Access to Essential Medicines in Developing Countries” on September 22, featuring Stanford Law Professor Alan Sykes and Duke’s Bunyan S. Womble Professor of Law Jerome Reichman. On October 27, the Center will sponsor a lunchtime panel discussion on "International Programs and the Law: Investigating the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program," featuring Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, who headed the Independent Inquiry Committee investigating the Program, and Jeffrey Meyer and Mark Califano ’88, who served as counsel to the Committee and co-authored a book about corruption and mismanagement in the Program. On November 15, John Bellinger III, legal adviser to the Secretary of State, will deliver a noon-hour address as a guest of the Center.
“This Center recognizes the astounding growth of international studies at Duke Law School, and provides the necessary organizational structure to coordinate and add to the School’s rich array of research and teaching activities,” says Dean Katharine T. Bartlett. “Professor Bradley is exceptionally collaborative and interdisciplinary, and one of the top international law scholars in the country. He is the ideal person to lead this effort.”
For more information on the Duke Center for International and Comparative Law visit http://www.law.duke.edu/cicl/.
CONTACT: Frances Presma, (919) 613-7248, presma@law.duke.edu