INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Volume 2 No. 2

Congratulations to Sung Ho and Meijin!

Sung Ho (Paul) Kim, LLM'01 and Mijin Bartholomew exchanged vows on October 21, 2000. The Reverend David Greenhaw (Professor Leigh Greenhaw's husband) presided over the ceremony at First Congregational Church on Wydown. Both Mijin and Paul's mothers flew in from Korea for this joyous occasion. LLMs joined the bride and the groom's families at a reception following the ceremony held in the Law School's W.L. Hadley Griffin Student Commons. We wish Paul and Mijin a long, happy and healthy life together.

Professor Leigh Greenhaw and Reverend David Greenhaw with the newlyweds

Halloween Fun

LLMs carved pumkins with Lorraine Gnecco (Professor Legomsky's wife) and later that night there was a Halloween party.

Judge Patricia Wald, formerly Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and now a Judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, recently met with LLM students. Alex Zgardan, LLM'01 Muskie Fellow, was especially interested in meeting Judge Wald. Alex helped to found and later worked for the Institute for Human Rights of Moldova. Judge Wald was at Washington University School of Law to give the Tyrrell Williams lecture on Friday, November 17 as part of the inauguration of the Institute for Global Legal Studies. The title of her address was, "The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Comes of Age: New Law and Old Rights."

Meet Osama Alobaidy, JSD '01

My dissertation deals with the International Criminal Court and the position of Arab States and Muslim Countries regarding such a court and how Islamic law would react to such a court.

On July 17, 1998 a treaty was agreed upon to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). This step constituted an historic development in the enforcement of international criminal law and the promotion of human rights.

At the end of World War II, the international community said "Never Again!" to war crimes, and crimes againt humanity such as the monstrous crimes committed by the Nazis. However, war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide continue to occur. Throughout history most perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity have gone unpunished. In spite of the military tribunals after the end of World War II and the two recent ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, many perpetrators continue to escape punishment. As Jose' Ayala Lasso, former United Nations High Commissioner of Human rights puts it, "A person stands a better chance of being tried and judged for killing one human being than for killing 100,000."

It is time to stop these gross violations of human rights and to to create a permanent international criminal court. The proposed international criminal court will be a permanent institution that will have jurisdiction over individuals accused of committing some to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes againt humanity.

Professor Leila Nadya Sadat, my dissertation advisor, played a key role in the establishment of the international criminal court in her capacity as the Chair of the International Law Association (American Branch) on the court. She is also a leader in the field of international criminal court and I benefited immensely from her insight regarding the court. I also benefited from the first class faculty and administration at Washington University School of Law and its excellent library.

Congratulations, Osama, on your graduation! I hope you keep in touch with us and that extends to all JSDs and LLMs. Send us updates about your work and your families. Email photos and news to Michele Shoresman at: shoresman@wulaw.wustl.edu or send by snail mail to: Washington University School of Law, Campus Box 1120, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130