JASON J. CZARNEZKI

Pace Law School, in collaboration with the NY State Judicial Institute,

the Environmental Law Institute, and the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law,

is pleased to invite you to a working symposium on

Environmental Adjudication Around The World

to be held at the NY State Judicial Institute

White Plains, NY

Friday, April 1, 2011

9:00am – 5:30pm

Webcast available at www.law.pace.edu (Events, IJIEA symposium)

This symposium will explore how governments have empowered courts to do more to enforce environmental laws and enhance the rule of law, and how today more than 380 national environmental courts and tribunals are providing access to justice for citizen suits, civil enforcement actions, and criminal prosecutions around the world. This symposium will contribute toward the establishment of an International Judicial Institute for Environmental Adjudication.

Welcoming Remarks:

§ Prof. Nicholas A. Robinson, University Professor, Pace University School of Law

§ Julia Marton-Lefevre, Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

§ Dr. Sheila Abed de Zavala, Chair, IUCN Commission on Environmental Law

Key Note:

§ Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin, Supreme Court of Brazil

Presentations include:

§ Judge Merideth Wright, Environmental Court of Vermont

§ Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the Land & Environment Court of New South Whales, Australia

§ Judge Donald Kaniaru, Environment Court of Kenya

§ Scott Fulton, General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

§ Charles E. Di Leva, Chief Counsel, Environment and International Law Unit, Legal Vice Presidency, The World Bank

§ Durwood Zaelke, Director, International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) Secretariat

Space is limited. Please RSVP by March 30, 2011, to Karen Ferro at 914-422-4327 (kferro@law.pace.edu)

On Friday, April 1, Vermont Law School is hosting ocean and coastal law experts for a day-long conference on Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) and Energy. CMSP is a key component of the new “National Policy for the Stewardship of our Oceans, Coasts and Great Lakes.”   The student-sponsored conference is organized by the Oceans Committee of the Environmental Law Society and my colleague Betsy Baker.

Speakers include:

From Government

NOAA – Sally Yozell, Policy Director and Senior Adviser to Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator

BOEMRE – Rodney Cluck, Chief Scientist , Environmental Sciences

DOI Fish and Wildlife – Eileen Sobeck, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks

Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council – Grover Fugate, Executive Director

From NGOs
Defenders of Wildlife – Julie Falkner, Senior Policy Analyst of Renewable Energy and Wildlife

Pew Environment Group – Chris Mann, Senior Officer,  Campaign for Healthy Oceans

Ocean Conservancy – Shauna McCovey, Policy Manager of Marine Spatial Planning

NRDC – Sarah Chasis, Senior Attorney and Director of NRDC Ocean Initiative

From Academia

Stanford Law School – Meg Caldwell, Director, Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program, Executive Director for the Center for Ocean Solutions
Vermont Law School – Betsy Baker, Associate Professor, Senior Fellow for Oceans and Energy at the Institute for Energy and the Environment

The complete program, with links to speaker biographies, is available at this link and reproduced in part below the fold.  Registration Information is available here.
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Professor Patricia L. Farnese, University of Saskatchewan, has recently received funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to explore the legal and policy frameworks for infectious disease control. She is currently recruiting two students to undertake LL.M. studies in this area beginning in September, 2011. A stipend of $17,850 per year for two years will be provided to the selected LL.M. students.

The overall purpose of Professor Farnese’s project is to: (1) investigate the extent to which the existing legal and policy framework for infectious disease control in humans, animals, and wildlife is integrated; (2) consider reasons for any lack of integration by exploring the structural, constitutional, or other limitations and constraints to better integration; and (3) examine ways to more closely align the legal and policy framework for infectious disease control with best practices in wildlife health. The selected LL.M. students will work with Professor Farnese to complete a thesis related to these research questions.

Interested applicants are asked to send a statement of interest and curriculum vitae to Professor Farnese by email before April 15, 2011 at patricia.farnese@usask.ca. The selected students will then need to apply and be admitted to the LL.M. program at the University of Saskatchewan. Information about Graduate Studies at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law can be found at http://www.usask.ca/law/admissions/llm_program_information/index.php.

The Center for Ocean Solutions (“COS”) seeks two recent graduates who have received a JD or PhD in the social sciences in the last five years, and who have completed substantial course work and/or gained experience in ocean or coastal science, law, or policy to collaborate with researchers and experts on one or more interdisciplinary projects focused on elevating the impact of the social, physical and natural sciences on ocean policy.  See  here.

The Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan is pleased to announce its tenth annual Environmental Law Essay Contest, with cash prizes of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.  The contest is open to all students in any law school in the United States or Canada.  Entries must be submitted by June 30, 2011, so there is plenty of time to research and write a winning essay.

More details here.

Information about the sixth annual “Endangered Environmental Laws” student writing competition, sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies is available here.  Submissions are due by April 11, 2011, and should address recent developments or trends in U.S. environmental law that have a significant constitutional or federalism component.  The winner receives a $2000 cash prize and an offer to publish her article in the Environmental Law Reporter.