Five U.S. Supreme Court justices took part in "Democracy and the Rule of Law in a Changing World Order," an international symposium March 7-10 co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and the New York University School of Law.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist opened the conference with remarks in the Great Hall of the Jefferson Building on the evening of March 6. During the conference Associate Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer, together with judges from the International Court of Justice, the German Constitutional Court and other federal courts in Brazil and the United States, joined legislators, legal scholars and experts in various fields from 21 countries to examine the relationship between the rule of law and the spread of democracy in many parts of the world. The participants discussed how countries with differing legal traditions confront major common problems under constitutionally provided rules of law.
The symposium, held in celebration of the Bicentennial of the Library of Congress and its Law Library and the Global Law School Program of New York University School of Law, consisted of nine panel discussions held over three days in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library and one day at New York University Law School's Washington Square campus.
The first panel, "Transnational Justice and National Sovereignty," featuring Justice O'Connor, analyzed the tensions that arise between national sovereignty and international jurisdiction. Panelist Philip Allott, a professor at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, and the Global Law Faculty, New York University School of Law, took a philosophical point of view.
"It is we human beings, our human minds, that make war, injustice, exploitation, corruption — not God or evolution or our genes or the market," Mr. Allott said. By understanding what is happening and taking responsibility, human beings can make choices to "re-humanize humanity," and they can use the transformative power of the mind to "reconceive human society."
Justice O'Connor followed with "Vindicating the Rule of Law: Balancing Competing Demands for Justice." She spoke of themes to which the conference returned on several occasions, for example, accountability. "The rule of law is fundamental to the existence of a free society. To maintain the rule of law, accountability for transgressions against the law is essential. … Pursuing accountability, however, becomes more complicated in certain contexts [especially in newly formed democracies]. … Balancing the tension between international and domestic approaches to accountability is a tremendous challenge, but we must take the route that best vindicates democracy and the rule of law in each situation."
Bruno Simma, a professor at Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany, and University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, spoke on "International Adjudication and U.S. Policy – Past, Present, Future."
"Never before in the history of international relations has international adjudication — understood as the legally binding settlement of international disputes by an impartial third party — been as intensive as today. International courts and tribunals are increasing in numbers, and the caseload of some of these institutions appears to explode," Mr. Simma said.
"International adjudication derives its authority from the very sources that have made America a power based on the rule of law, which is fundamental to the existence of a free society, and separates civilization from anarchy. Therefore, further — and more active — participation of the world's only superpower in judicial settlement of international disputes is not only in the best interest of the international community but also in the best interest of the United States," he concluded.
The second panel examined "Roles of Women: Norms and Culture." Justice Ginsburg moderated. The commentator was Eva Cantarella, a law professor at the University of Milan and New York University School of Law. Panelists were Kenneth Karst, a professor at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law; Ellen Gracie Northfleet, a judge for the Fourth Regional Federal Tribunal, Porto Alegre, Brazil; and Azizah Y. al-Hibri, a professor at the University of Richmond law school in Virginia.
Ms. Northfleet observed, "The 20th century witnessed an enormous improvement in the status of women. These gains unfortunately have not been dispersed in equal shares in different cultures around the world. For the first part of the next millennium, the feminine question will remain a civil rights issue for women in developed countries … and, it will still be a human rights issue for most women in the Third World. … Bare survival for these women will continue to be their first and only worry," she said. After Mr. Karst gave a summary of the evolution of legislation concerning women in the United States, Ms. al-Hibri spoke of the original gender neutrality in Muslim law and its gradual overlay of interpretation inimical to women.
The third session examined "Political Status and Democracy in Multiethnic and Multiracial States." Stanley N. Katz, professor in public and international affairs at Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, moderated. Ann Elizabeth Mayer, associate professor of legal studies at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, served as commentator. Members of the panel were Jaydeva Uyangoda, a senior lecturer in political science, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; Kogila Moodley, professor, Department of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; and Nadezhda Mihailova, minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
Ms. Mihailova said, "The only way to strengthen the nations that have restored their sovereignty after the end of the Cold War is by establishing stable and prosperous democratic societies which already exclude ethnic opposition. Only the efficient exercise of human and minority rights guarantees the stability of the states."
The fourth session, "Natural Resources and the Environment: Individual vs. Community Interests," focussed on land uses, fisheries, and air and water pollution. The moderator was Koichiro Fujikura, law professor, Tezukayama University, Nara, Japan, and New York University School of Law. The commentator was Sidney Draggan, senior science policy adviser, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Members of the panel were Yuri Kostenko of the Parliament of Ukraine; Richard Stewart, law professor, New York University School of Law; and Antonio Azuela, attorney general for environmental protection, Mexico.
Mr. Kostenko asked: "Are we ready to build bridges between our societies and peoples and to pay back our debt to nature and to do this right away, while it is not yet too late?"
"At the moment the cardinal problem … is the ability of rich societies to balance the level of their profits and life-styles in relation to the possibilities of the ecosystems of their countries … [with] the ability of poor nations not to take a leaf from the book of previous practices in which nature was used to exhaustion."
The fifth panel covered "Religion, Culture and Governance." The moderator was Jean Bethke Elshtain, professor of social and political ethics, University of Chicago, and the commentator was Stephen Holmes, professor, Princeton University, Department of Politics, and New York University School of Law.
Panelists included Inder Kumar Gujral, member of parliament and former prime minister of India; Nur Vergin, professor, faculty of Political Science, Istanbul University, Turkey; and Alexander N. Domrin, from the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law, Russia.
"There is some considerable degree of correlation between the religious-cultural traditions of various parts of the world and their democratic experience," said Mr. Gujral.
He concluded, "A strong ethic of public service is necessary for democratic society to survive. It is important not to forget this principle now, especially when every message in today's globalized society seems to be saying that unrestricted individualism is the solution to all the problems and infirmities of a society. No society can remain free and democratic if it is built only on human selfishness. ‘Service before self' – a teaching that comes essentially from religion – is also essential for democracy to survive."
The sixth session covered "Corporate Power, National Sovereignty and the Rule of Law in a Global Economy." The moderator was Harry T. Edwards, chief judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the commentator was Robert Pitofsky, chairman, Federal Trade Commission.
The panelists were Daniel Tarullo, professor, Georgetown University Law Center; Michael John Trebilcock, professor of law and economics, University of Toronto and New York University School of Law; and Ko-Yung Tung, vice president and general counsel of the World Bank Group.
Said Mr. Tarullo: "Those who believe the global economy will require a more sophisticated framework will need first to convince states that their shared interests in structuring and regulating private conduct are at least as pressing as their divergent interests in commercial advantage and geopolitical position. One modest step down that path is to promote arrangements that accentuate the shared interests, rather than exacerbate national antagonisms."
Session seven dealt with "The State and Human Rights." The moderator was John M. Walker Jr., circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the commentator was Ratna Kapur, visiting professor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and director, Center of Feminist Legal Research, New Delhi, India.
Members of the panel were Philip Alston, law professor, European University Institute, Florence, Italy, and New York University School of Law; Robert Badinter, senator, French Senate, professor emeritus, Universite de Paris, and New York University School of Law; and Andras Sajo, professor, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and New York University School of Law.
Two plenary sessions were also held: "Democracy, Legitimacy and the Rule of Law" and "Can We Use Law to Hold the Past to Account?"
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy moderated the session on rule of law. Panelists were Thomas Franck, professor and director of the Center of International Studies at New York University School of Law; Daniel Fung, senior counsel Des Voeux Chambers, Hong Kong, and Rosalyn Higgins, judge, International Court of Justice, The Hague.
Prosser Gifford, director of scholarly programs at the Library of Congress, moderated the session on the use of law to hold the past to account. Panelists were Shlomo Avineri, professor, Department of Political Science, Hebrew University; Alex Boraine, director, Project on Transitional Justice, New York University School of Law and vice-chairman, South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and Luis Moreno Ocampo, attorney, Moreno Ocampo Abogados, Buenos Aires.
All sessions were cybercast live during the symposium — attracting an audience of 6,267 — and the archived video, which has been seen by thousands more, is available for up to six months on the Internet through these URLs for the Library of Congress sessions and the New York University School of Law sessions: www.loc.gov/loc/cyberlc or www.law.nyu.edu/dialogue/cybercastarachive.html.
In addition to support from the Library of Congress and the New York University School of Law, the symposium was funded in part through the generosity of Anthony and Beatrice Welters; William S. Hein & Co.; Court Record Services, Inc.; and the Friends of the Law Library (in association with gifts from the Fannie Mae Foundation, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, the West Group and LEXIS-NEXIS).
A book, Democracy and the Rule of Law in a Changing World Order, based on this symposium, will be published by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly Inc., in early 2001. To reserve a copy, call (800) 638-1710 or email: bookhelp@cq.com.
