CWRU Law Students Document War Crimes in Yemen Conflict
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v. 11 no. 1 2019 Case Global The Frederick K. Cox International Law Center CWRU Law Students Document War Crimes in Yemen Conflict Ranked in the top 20 law schools for International Law – U.S. News & World Report Case Western’s International Law Program Receives Top Ranking For the past two decades, Case Western 4 8 Reserve’s International Law program has consistently been ranked in the top 20 in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report. For the second year in a row, Case Western Reserve’s International Law Program was ranked among the best in the nation, with an A+ rating in the Winter 2019 issue of PreLaw Magazine, a publication of National Jurist. Annually ranked as one of the top International Law programs in the nation, the Frederick The ranking was based on the strength K. Cox International Law Center was established in 1991 through a multi-million dollar of CWRU’s International Law program in About the Center endowment from the George Gund Foundation. Since its founding, the Cox Center has trained 13 14 several categories, including curricular the next generation of international lawyers while making an impact locally, nationally and offerings, concentrations, certificates, around the world. The Cox Center serves as the hub of the law school’s international law journals, clinics, moot court success and program which includes the Canada-U.S. Law Institute, the Institute for Global Security Law externships. and Policy and the Henry T. King, Jr. War Crimes Research Office. Case Western Reserve has one of the This issue of Case Global Magazine begins with a special report that showcases the work of nation’s largest international law program our students who are laying the foundation for international prosecutions by providing the first endowments. We are the only law school comprehensive documentation of atrocities in the Yemen conflict. The magazine also provides with a foreign policy talk radio program news about our international trade law program, award-winning moot court teams, recent and are the most recent U.S. law school events, and the 34 international law experts on our faculty (who are pictured below.) We invite to win the world championship of the you to keep abreast of our latest news at law.case.edu/centers/cox. Jessup International Law Moot Court competition. Our war crimes research office was nominated by an international International Law Principal Faculty prosecutor for the Nobel Peace Prize. Michael Scharf Shannon E. French 19 21 Co-Dean Director, Inamori In addition, Michael Scharf, Co-Dean of International Center for the Law School and Joseph C. Hostetler— Juscelino F. Colares Ethics and Excellence Associate Dean for Global BakerHostetler Professor of Law, was Legal Studies Tim Webster among the most-cited international law Director, Joint Program in Inside this Issue faculty in the nation according to the Stephen Petras International Commercial Leiter/Sisk study, published in January Director, Frederick K. Cox Law and Dispute Resolution International Law Center 4 Special Report: Students Document War 18 Dean Scharf Featured on United Nations 2019. Other notable international law Peter Gerhart scholars on the Case Western Reserve Avidan Cover Crimes in Yemen Conflict Audiovisual Library of International Law Faculty Adviser for the law faculty include Juselino Colares, Director, Institute for Global Journal of International Law Security Law and Policy 8 Trade Law Q&A with Professor Colares 19 CWRU’s Talking Foreign Policy Radio Avidan Cover, Richard Gordon and James Johnson Program Examines the Crisis in Yemen Cassandra Robertson, whose work was Jack Turner 10 Special Report: Advocating for Refugees Director of the Henry T. King recently cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. Director, Foreign Graduate War Crimes Research Office from Cleveland to Burma 20 CWRU Expands its Reach in Asia Legal Studies LLM Program Ted Parran Frederick K. Cox International Law Center Fulbright Scholar Professor Cover Jonathan Gordon 12 21 Managing Director of the Names New Director Teaches International Law in Kenya Director, Foreign Graduate Canada-US Law Institute Legal Studies SJD Program Aylin Drabousky 13 Foreign Concurrent Degree Program 25 Law Students Intern Around the World Richard Gordon Director of Academic Leads to Elite Law Firm Employment Associate Director of the Cox Centers and CLE 26 Upcoming Events Center 14 CWRU Teams Triumph at International 27 2018-2019 Events Michael Benza, Cassandra Moot Court Competitions and Win Top Robertson, and Katy Mercer Speaker Awards News of our International Law Faculty International Moot Court 31 Team Coaches 16 International Law Curriculum: Sequence to Success 2 x Case Western Reserve University School of Law Case Global x 3 SPECIAL REPORT: STUDENTS DOCUMENT WAR CRIMES IN YEMEN CONFLICT CWRU Law Launches YEMEN ACCOUNTABILITY To Document In Fall 2018, the Henry T. King, Jr. War Crimes Research Office at Case Western Reserve University School of Law PROJECT launched the Yemen Accountability Project, a student initiative to document and map war crimes and crimes War Crimes against humanity in the Yemeni Civil War. The project has received funding from alumnus Timothy Geisse (JD ‘84) For Future and the John F. and Mary A. Geisse Foundation. Yemen has eclipsed Syria as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 deaths attributed to the conflict between March 2015 and August 2018. An August 2018 United Nations report Prosecution concluded that both sides of the conflict have committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity. 4 x Case Western Reserve University School of Law Case Global x 5 “We’ve come a long way in a short time, SPECIAL REPORT: STUDENTS DOCUMENT WAR CRIMES IN YEMEN CONFLICT first building the team and now getting into what will be a multiyear project that will give students great experience while making a difference in the world,” said Graham. The culmination of these products will provide prosecutors in a future tribunal a trial package to undertake an efficient investigation and prosecution of those most responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Yemeni Civil War. “Our goal is to build on the success of the Syria Accountability Project, which has Laura Graham ’21 produced over 27,000 pages of relevant data, analysis and reports on the Syrian crisis for In addition to serving as the clients including the UN High Commissioner executive director of the Yemen for Human Rights, The International Criminal Accountability Project, 2L Laura Court, The Commission of Inquiry for Syria, Graham was also a part of the five- the International, Independent, Impartial person CWRU team that took first Mechanism for Syria, and various interested place at the Jessup International Law States parties and NGOs,” said Johnson. Moot Court Competition in Chicago “This research will be invaluable in the on February 7-10. international community going forward and I’m so proud of the way our students have This summer, Graham was responded to this challenge.” selected by the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation for a prestigious The Yemen Crisis and CWRU’s Yemen fellowship that supported her Accountability Project were the subjects internship at the International of the May 24, 2019 broadcast of “Talking Criminal Court at the Hauge, Foreign Policy,” the quarterly radio program Netherlands, which has a mandate hosted by CWRU Dean Michael Scharf which to prosecute individuals for is broadcast from Cleveland’s NPR station, international crimes of genocide, WCPN 90.3 FM Ideastream. Johnson and crimes against humanity, war crimes Graham were guests on the broadcast, which and crimes of aggression. can be streamed online at law.case.edu/ TalkingForeignPolicy. The project, which was modeled after former a difference with respect to the growing The Conflict Narrative is a chronological and Graham’s internship involved International Prosecutor David Crane’s humanitarian crisis in Yemen.” historical documentation of relevant legal, preparing direct examination This project is the latest to be launched by successful Syrian Accountability Project “Despite the workloads geopolitical, and military events. questions for the defense witnesses CWRU’s War Crimes Research Office, which at Syracuse University, invited students to Johnson found the perfect student to serve and pressures of law and legal research memoranda for was established in 2003 and named for the work in teams in the first comprehensive as executive director in 1L Laura Graham, The legally relevant incidents will be the attorneys defending Dominic late Nuremberg prosecutor and CWRU Law effort to document atrocities and lay the who holds a Ph.D. in sociology and decided school, these students extracted and placed in the Crime-Based Ongwen, a commander of Joseph Professor Henry King. The Office, whose foundation for successful prosecutions of the to enroll in law school specifically because are volunteering their Matrix where the Geneva Conventions Koney’s Lord’s Resistance Army. work was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize responsible parties. of her interest in international conflicts. and its Protocols, the Rome Statute of the The case raises the question of by an international prosecutor, has to date Before coming to Case Western Reserve, time because they see International Criminal Court, and the Yemeni whether Ongwen can avoid criminal assisted in the prosecution of war criminals Expecting a handful of volunteers, director she was a professor at Tufts University, this as an opportunity Penal Code will be applied to each incident. responsibility for war crimes before the Yugoslavia Tribunal, the Rwanda of the War Crimes Research Office and teaching courses on genocide, human rights, because he was initially kidnapped, Tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, former Chief of Prosecutions for the Special social justice and conflict resolution. “After to make a difference Using the Crime-Based Matrix, brainwashed and transformed into a the Cambodia Tribunal, the Lebanon Tribunal, Court for Sierra Leone James C.