Title: Legal Reform through UN Initiatives... A Necessity for the Attainment of the Rule of Law?

On May, 4, 2007, the ILRC co-hosted this panel with U.N. & International Institutions Coordinating Committee where discussion was led by Mr.  DeAmicis. In attendance were key international players such as Ambassador Hans Corell (Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations 1994-2004), Ambassador Nicolas Michel (Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Stockholm, Sweden), Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury (UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States).

Under the umbrella of Rule of Law, the objective of the panel was to discuss some areas in which the UN has been working towards legal reform and analyze the work done and what remains to be done. Legal reform is one of the key components of international development, but the ideologies, structures and language of the various legal systems of the world often conflict. The United Nations seeks to eliminate such conflicts and to facilitate understanding and interpretation by establishing uniform or harmonized rules. From the micro level of the status of the individual vis-a-vis social justice, economic growth, environmental protection and business migration, to the macro level of democratic governance and the coordination of international cooperation, the UN assists the formation of new rules, mechanisms and systems.

Sponsoring Committee:
U.N. & International Institutions Coordinating Committee

Program Co-Chair:
Don DeAmicis (Moderator), Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, MA
Ellen G. Yost, Fragomen, Del Ray, Bernsen and Loewry LLP, New York, NY

Speakers:
Ambassador Hans Corell, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations (1994-2004); Consultant, Mannheimer Swartling Stockholm, Sweden

Ambassador Nicolas Michel, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Stockholm, Sweden

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, New York, NY

Prof. Elizabeth Defeis, Seton Hall Law School, South Orange, New Jersey

Olav Kjorven (Invited), Assistant Secretary-General, Director, Bureau of Policy Development, United Nations Development Programme, Stockholm, Sweden

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