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Dear Members, "All good things must come to an end", an old English proverb tells us. As the curtain closes on this ABA year and my term as your Chair — the most exciting 12 months in my professional life — I write to thank all of you who contributed to the goodness of the experience. It was certainly a special team effort. And I look forward to watching my able successor, Aaron Schildhaus, lead this Section to new heights we have not yet imagined. We can certainly have complete confidence that no one will give more to the Section of International Law in the year ahead than he will and that our future is bright! The year definitely ended on a high note. In proceedings this week before the ABA House of Delegates, our proposal to amend the Bylaws of the Association to add a Student Associates category of membership was approved. This change eliminates an anomaly in the current membership structure and will allow individuals enrolled in college or university level post-secondary educational studies — including students abroad and LL.M. students at home — to join and participate in the ABA at an affordable cost. Our resolutions on the International Criminal Court (click here for ABA Journal coverage) and the rule of law enhancing potential of trade liberalization were adopted without opposition. An inter-country adoption resolution was adopted with the report reflecting our changes, and the resolutions that we co-sponsored on gender violence and e-commerce were also adopted. Click here for further information about the Section's recent policy initiatives. We had a record turnout at our pre-Annual Meeting 'Advance' on the Jersey Shore, and I will get over the 'roasting' that I got at the otherwise genteel Atlantic City Country Club. But I will long remember our Anniversary Dinner, celebrated by a well-dressed, sell-out crowd at the New York Yacht Club. They'll be talking about that one for a long time. Special congratulations to Homer Moyer, who received the Section's Lifetime Achievement Award for his "vision and leadership" in the words of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), who described Homer as "your generation's pioneer in rule of law reform and its foremost proponent." Congratulations also to Editors Robert Lutz, Aaron Schildhaus, Edison Dick, Lelia Mooney, Associate Director Elina Erlendsson and all the other authors and contributors to the Section's new commemorative book, The ABA Section of International Law: Leading the World's International Lawyers since 1878. For information on how to obtain this limited edition, click here. If you have not already seen a copy of this magnificent pictorial history, you will definitely not want to miss it. For a fuller report on this year's contribution to that rich history, see my Report of the Chair (FY2007-2008) to the Council. Click here. What a year. Looking back at the Section's recent past, I described the experience at our Anniversary Dinner as dream-like: "Thousands and thousands of professionals, and students aspiring to be professionals, together holding hands — metaphorically, electronically — to do together what none of them — none of us — could do individually to grow professionally and to ensure liberty and justice for all. An international community of legal professionals doing so many things, to promote the rule of law; to engender dignity for the legal profession internationally; to get for our profession more than its fair share of the best and the brightest young people, and keep them in the profession; and to help lawyers to 'give back' and to tackle important problems, although not always strictly speaking legal problems, such as poverty, disease and discrimination. Like on a magic carpet, we traveled to distant countries, to some places that I had never been — post-conflict Africa, developing markets that had once been so-to-speak 'behind an iron curtain' — and to some that I knew and loved, important far-away markets, in Asia, Europe and South America, and in all these places, people of the highest standing knocked themselves out to make us feel good about having made the trip. (My wife, who never fancied my business trips, said she would come with me on some of these.) And wherever we went, the best people, special people were there: Justices of the United States Supreme Court, Judges and Chief Justices of other high courts from around the world and even the President of the World Court. There were politicians and policy-makers. A Prime Minister of a poor country sent me a personal email, and asked if we could help, and he gave me his cell phone number. There were Nobel laureates and scholars, professors and deans emeriti, and even a pop star, and lots and lots of bar leaders. (In fact, it seemed that whenever a bar association threw a party anywhere in the world, we were invited to be a guest of honor.) We were asked important questions, like: Which candidates should be nominated for a place as a judge on the World Court? What international issues should inspire state law? And we talked, and corresponded, and took meals together, and I listened and I learned. There were so many good times, but, whenever any government or leader was naughty and tried to compromise our profession, anywhere (around the world) — Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Kenya — there was an opportunity to write, to march, to do something to make a difference. People told us we were making a difference, but, just as importantly, we thought and believed that we were making a difference. And I knew that we were 'doing good' because I wanted to tell my children about what I was doing. But you know what really made this a dream? It was full of friendships, and warmth, and positive reinforcement. There was this wonderful young and talented staff, with a special Director, and they all knocked themselves out to make your every wish their command. Never complaining. "How can I help?" It seemed that everywhere one looked, quality was the cement that bound us, thinking globally about issues was what distinguished us, and staying ahead, being on the cutting edge, is what inspired us. In fact, it was an award winning experience too, since we won a prize for our enterprise. Sometimes we let our hair down and danced — it sure is a good dancing group — or dressed down, and once we even hung out at one of my old stomping grounds, the Jersey Shore. But, more than once, we dressed up and looked great. We did it in all the right places too: Middle Temple, The Rainbow Room, The New York Yacht Club. And we even ended up with more money than we started with. So, what a dream, a fantasy really, everywhere I looked, everything around me was just as I would have it: International Law, World Class. My feet never touched the ground. But best of all, one of my children said, ‘Dad, I want to do this too.’" Once again, a sincere thank you to my Executive Committee, our Council, to all our members, past and present, for all that you have contributed to this Section's legacy. Thank you for what has for me been a dream year. Now, let's continue to live together the ABA International dream! Jeffrey B. Golden, Section Chair, 2007–2008
At the 2008 Annual Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates approved the following Recommendations from the Section of International Law: Recommendation 100: Proposed by the SECTION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LAW, the SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, the SECTION OF BUSINESS LAW, and the SECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Recommendation 108A: Proposed by the SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW and the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTION Recommendation 108B: Proposed by the SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW And the House of Delegates approved the following recommendation after revising the accompanying report to reflect comments from the Section: Recommendation 106: Proposed by the SECTION OF FAMILY LAW
Blanket Authorities Click here to read the Blanket Authorities online. In early August:
Also earlier this month, the Council approved for submission:
2008 Section Awards Presented at the ABA Annual Meeting Lifetime Achievement: Homer Moyer, Jr.
2008 SECTION RECOGNITIONS Best Committee: Antitrust Most Improved Committee: Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee, Anti-Corruption Initiatives and Compliance Issues Committee Best Policy: International Criminal Law Committee (for R&R regarding the ICC) Best CLE Program – 2007 Fall Meeting: “Jurisdiction over International Crimes: The Legacy of the House of Lords’ Pinochet Judgments” (Marilyn Kaman) Best CLE Program – 2008 Spring Meeting: “International Intellectual Property and the Art of the Appeal” (Steven Richman and Susan Brushaber) Best CLE Program – Teleconference: Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee – IEEPA, Employment Law Best CLE Program – Stand-Alone Program: Latin America Committee and Patricia V. de L. Guidi for the Sao Paulo meeting Best Project: Russell Kerr and Robert Alsdorf – Books for Africa Outreach Efforts: Russell Dumbrow, Marcelo Bombau Best Newsletter (First Year): Corporate Social Responsibility Journal (Jessica Ulm) Best Newsletter (Recurring): Europe Committee (Malika Levarlet) Best YIR Contribution: Private International Law Committee (David Stewart) Outstanding Volunteer: Bruce McDonald for pro bono services provided to the Section Unsung Member: Laurie Foster and Ken Reisenfeld – Arbitrator Disclosure Guidelines Project Best Website: Asia/Pacific Best Use of Listserves: Family Law (for sustained substantive discussion)
Chair's Special Recognition Awards 
The ABA Section of International Law: Leading the World’s International Lawyers since 1878 Hot off the presses for the 2008 ABA Annual Meeting! The ABA Section of International Law: Leading the World’s International Lawyers since 1878 chronicles the founding, seminal events, distinguished leaders, and significant accomplishments that have shaped the 130 year-history of the Section of International Law. Chapters include details of the role the Section played as a founding committee in the ABA’s early years, its evolution into a section in the early 20th century, its pivotal role in creating several sister organizations in international law, its role as counselor in the years surrounding World Wars I and II, and its leadership in the formation of today’s U.S. and international policy. The book, a beautifully bound hard-cover publication, replete with color photos, images, and historical text and suitable for conspicuous display, will retail for $125. We are offering a special pre-publication price at 15% off the list for a limited time only. Click here to order this book.
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Announcing the Section’s newest publication: a “must have” for current, past, and future Section leaders . . .