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MSU College of Law

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 2, 2012

CONTACT: Kent Love, director of communications, 517-432-6959; kent.love@law.msu.edu

MSU Law Hosts a Debate about Corporations and International Human Rights

East Lansing, MI — The Michigan State University College of Law Lori E. Talsky Center for Human Rights of Women and Children along with the MSU Law chapter of The Federalist Society present a debate on Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at noon at the Law College Building about whether transnational corporations should be, or are already, subject to international human rights law.

Jernej Letnar Cernic, professor of human rights law from the Faculty of Law at the European University Institute in Slovenia, will be answering yes. Mr. James P. Kelly, III, an attorney and expert on international affairs from the national office of The Federalist Society, Washington, D.C., will be answering no. 

Cernic completed his Ph.D. on corporate responsibility for fundamental human rights in 2009 at the School of Law, University of Aberdeen, Scotland; and his current research projects include corporate obligations deriving from economic, social and cultural rights; a study on how the memory of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes in Slovenia are dealt with in Slovenia; human rights protection in the Basque country; the application of the European Convention of Human Rights in Central Europe, and a study on regulating money laundering and tax havens.

Kelly serves as the director of international affairs for the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies based in Washington, D.C. In his capacity as director of international affairs, he is responsible for monitoring the work of international organizations in the areas of education, bioethics, and human rights and for developing Federalist Society chapters in London, Brussels, Paris, and Geneva.

The mission of the Talsky Center is to educate MSU College of Law students, as well as the broader community, about international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The Center aims to promote an understanding of the important civilizing role that this body of law so often plays in a world fraught with transgressions against human dignity and well-being. The Center promotes human rights for all people, with a focus on women and children—generally the most vulnerable and, therefore, most easily victimized members of society.

The purpose of The Federalist Society is to foster critical thought and debate about the application of conservative and libertarian principles to the law. The Federalist Society embraces the principle that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the integrity of the Constitution of the United States of America, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is - not what it should be. The Federalist Society seeks both to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities. 

Michigan State University College of Law, a leading institution of legal education with a long history of educating practice-ready attorneys, prepares future lawyers to use ethics, ambition, and intellect to solve the world's problems. As one of only a few private law schools affiliated with a major research university, MSU Law offers comprehensive interdisciplinary opportunities combined with a personalized legal education. After 100 years as a private and independent institution, the affiliation with MSU has put the Law College on an upward trajectory of national and international reputation and reach. MSU Law professors are gifted teachers and distinguished scholars, its curriculum is rigorous and challenging, and its facility is equipped with the latest resources—all affirming MSU Law's commitment to educating 21st-century lawyers.

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Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane, Room 320
East Lansing, MI 48824
www.law.msu.edu

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