Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute

The Harris Institute was established in November 2000 as the "Institute for Global Legal Studies"[http://digitalcommons.law.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1546&context=wujlp "Digital Commons" WashULaw] and was later renamed as the "Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies"{{Cite web |url=http://www.fredonia.edu/org/jacksonsymposium/harris.asp |title=Freedonia |access-date=August 7, 2012 |archive-date=April 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429090651/http://www.fredonia.edu/org/jacksonsymposium/harris.asp |url-status=dead }} in honor and recognition of Whitney R. Harris' lifelong achievements in the field of international justice. Whitney R. Harris served as a trial counsel prosecuting the major German war criminals before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945 and he kept the Nuremberg dream alive through his writings and his advocacy, and later through his philanthropic generosity and support of legal education and research. In 2008, he and Anna Harris endowed the Institute’s "World Peace Through Law Award"[http://www.stljewishlight.com/obituaries/article_2effa9fe-5570-11df-a177-001cc4c002e0.html "Harris was last Nuremberg prosecutor; HMLC supporter"] STL Jewish Light, May 2010 at a ceremony during which the Harris Institute’s name was changed to the "Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute," the name it bears today.

The Harris Institute has sponsored more than 125 speakers and held or co-sponsored more than 70 conferences, workshops, and experts’ meetings and more than 120 lectures since it opened. Its work has also led to the publication of at least 6 books and 15 law review volumes. Primary projects led by the Harris Institute include the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, the Gun Violence and Human Rights Project, the annual Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Symposium, as well as numerous opportunities for students to get experience in the field of international law. It also houses an "Ambassador-in-Residence" program and hosts debates and scholarship roundtables on pressing issues in international law and policy. By drawing on a vast pool of international and national expertise, the Harris Institute fosters collaboration, continuous dialogue and exchange among scholars and practitioners engaged in international or comparative work.

In 2008, the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute launched Crimes Against Humanity Initiative{{cite web|url=http://crimesagainsthumanity.wustl.edu/ | title=Crimes Against Humanity Initiative | access-date=2023-10-28}} to study the need for a comprehensive international convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, analyze the necessary elements of such a convention, and draft a proposed treaty. The Initiative helped inspire the United Nations International Law Commission to pick up this topic, with a view towards drafting a UN treaty on Crimes Against Humanity.[https://www.ejiltalk.org/towards-a-new-global-treaty-on-crimes-against-humanity/ "Towards a New Global Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity"] EJIL Talk As of 2020, a set of Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity is being considered by the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee."United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee"{{Circular reference|date=October 2020}}

In Fall 2017, the Institute launched a new initiative on gun violence examining U.S. government responses to gun violence in light of U.S. obligations under international human rights law.[https://source.wustl.edu/2018/02/u-s-government-failure-prevent-gun-related-violence-may-violate-international-human-rights/ "U.S. government failure to prevent gun-related violence may violate international human rights"] the Source, February 2015 As part of this project, Washington University Law students and the Harris Institute Fellow conduct in-depth research articulating mechanisms to rectify the crisis and suggesting international fora that can examine the issue.[https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/human_rights/2018/04/guns-and-human-rights-.html "Guns and Human Rights: US Violates International Human Rights Law" Human Rights at Home Blog, Leila Nadya Sadat and Madaline George, April 2018] The project argues that the failure of the U.S. government to exercise due diligence with respect to preventing and reducing gun-related violence may violate the government’s obligations under several international human rights instruments.[https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/columnists/leila-sadat-and-madaline-george-protect-our-human-rights-not/article_1ace6239-6e46-5990-9b76-6d7aad34279e.html?fbclid=IwAR0oVRSQM_c_GdAakZP4RPWNjmrfG3j3tUmcSy_JTO58bHvHqM6B0IaB3Sk "Leila Sadat and Madaline George: Protect our human rights, not gun rights" Leila Nadya Sadat and Madaline George, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2019]

An article by Harris Institute Director Professor Leila Sadat and Madaline George argues that U.S. gun violence violates ten specific human rights: the Right to Life; the Right to Security of Person; the Right to Health; the Right to be Free from Ill-Treatment; the Right to be Free from Racial Discrimination; the Right to Gender Equality; the Right to Freedom of Religion, Expression, Opinion, and Belief; the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association; the Right to Special Protection for Children and the Right to Education; and the Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community.[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3396172 "Leila Nadya Sadat and Madaline M. George, Gun Violence and Human Rights, 60 Wash. U. J. L. & Pol’y 001 (2019)"] Washington University Journal of Law and Policy

Along with Washington University’s Institute for Public Health, the Harris Institute hosted the conference and experts' meeting A New Approach to the Gun Violence Crisis in America[https://7gxsl10eqdj9anba1k3swtoo-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/The-U.S.-Gun-Violence-Crisis_-Conference_Public-Agenda.pdf "The U.S. Gun Violence Crisis: An Interdisciplinary & Human Rights Approach"] Washington University Law on November 2–3, 2018, with speakers including Jonathan Hafetz of the American Civil Liberties Union, Mike McLively of the Urban Gun Violence Initiative at Brady United, Barbara Frey[https://www.hhh.umn.edu/directory/barbara-frey "Barbara Frey" University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Faculty & Staff] of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, and Philip Alpers from the University of Sydney School of Public Health.[https://ilg2.org/2018/11/20/human-rights-and-the-u-s-gun-violence-crisis-a-new-approach/ "Human Rights and the U.S. Gun Violence Crisis: A New Approach" Leila Nadya Sadat, IntLawGrrls, November 2018] This conference resulted in the symposium edition of the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy.[https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/ "Washington University Journal of Law and Policy"] Language used from this project has been utilized by Amnesty International in their Gun Violence Report[https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/arms-control/gun-violence/ "Gun Violence - Key Facts" Amnesty International] and echoed by then-candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination Elizabeth Warren during the New Hampshire 2020 Debate.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51H4UOx0w5c "Sen. Elizabeth Warren gives amazing answer on gun control during New Hampshire debate" Daily Kos, YouTube, February 2020]

The Harris Institute submitted “The U.S. Gun Violence Crisis as a Violation of U.S. Obligations Under the ICCPR,”[https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CCPR_ICS_USA_33429_E.pdf "Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee 125th Session"] Washington University Law in January 2019 as part of the U.N. Human Rights Committee’s 2019 periodic review of the United States. When the Committee began its review in March 2019, it requested information from the U.S. government based upon issued highlighted by the Institute’s submission.[http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsijKy20sgGcLSyqccX0g1nlYhE7dxYvkfnqbOgGjt0WN%2bV80Vhr%2fCeDA%2fmavqFwov8pSVO80BC2Blh%2f7I%2bUBsm%2fk7fy0hpSvAj9Af6tt5vZ9 "List of issues prior to submission of the fifth periodic report of the United States of America" United Nations Human Rights Committee, CCPR /C/USA/QPR/5, April 2019]

The Harris Institute and Washington University’s Institute for Public Health co-submitted a stakeholder report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, for the Third Universal Periodic Review of the U.S. government’s interactions with human rights.

In connection to this new project, the Institute was one of four members of civil society invited to present testimony before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during a hearing on “The Regulation of Gun Sales and Social Violence in the United States” in Bogotá, Colombia on February 27, 2018.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBTrwXLao1c "Estados Unidos Regulación de Armas"] Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Youtube The hearing highlighted that there are proven and effective measures that the U.S. government can implement to reduce the number of lives lost due to gun violence. An appropriate government response that takes a public health and human rights approach to this problem would reduce homicide and suicide rates in the United States, and reduce illegal gun trafficking that is rampant in the Americas.[http://law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/news/testimony-on-gun-violence-at-the-inter-american-commission-on-human-rights/ "Harris Institute Presents Testimony on Gun Violence at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights"] Washington University School of Law, News

In November 2019, Harris Institute Fellow Madaline George presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at a hearing dedicated to the impact of gun violence upon the United States.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oX5cnpTEMY Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos "EUA: Impacto armas de fuego"] Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, YouTube The Harris Institute spoke at that hearing as part of a coalition of civil society representatives and victims of gun violence.

The World Peace Through Law Award is bestowed upon an individual who, by his or her work and writings, has considerably advanced the rule of law and thereby contributed to world peace. Established in 2006, the Award recognizes individuals who have achieved great distinction in the field of international law and international relations. To date, this award has been bestowed upon the following distinguished individuals:

• 2018 – Her Excellency Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert, Judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and former International Criminal Court Judge
• 2015 – Benjamin B. Ferenz, former Nuremberg Prosecutor[http://mediasite.law.wustl.edu/Mediasite/Play/f990525bbb3b4a4b87d7e1651970d1561d "Former Nuremberg Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, Recipient of the 2015 World Peace Through Law Award, acceptance remarks on 9/11/15"] Washington University School of Law, Mediasite
• 2013 – Sir Christopher Greenwood QC[http://law.wustl.edu/news/pages.aspx?id=9886 "Harris Institute Honors H.E. Sir Christopher Greenwood with World Peace Through Law Award"] Washington University Law
• 2011 – Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda{{cite web|title=Fatou Bensouda receives 2011 World Peace Through Law Award|url=http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/fatou-bensouda-receives-2011-world-peace-through-law-award|publisher=The Point|accessdate=August 7, 2012}}
• 2010 – Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni{{cite web|title=M. Cherif Bassouni|url=http://www.law.depaul.edu/faculty_staff/faculty_emeritus.asp?id=22|publisher=DePaul University College of Law|accessdate=August 31, 2012}}
• 2008 – The Honorable Richard Goldstone
• 2006 – Honorable Philippe Kirsch

This annual program aims to establish a forum in which top practitioners, academics, attorneys, and students gather on an annual basis to explore sophisticated topics in international arbitration and dispute resolution; advance the development of international arbitration and dispute resolution; educate the next generation of lawyers; and provide networking opportunities.[https://law.wustl.edu/faculty-and-research/whitney-r-harris-world-law-institute/iadr-symposium/ "International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Symposium" Washington University School of Law]

The program seeks to advance conversations on international arbitration and dispute resolution by bringing together private practitioners, in-house and government counsel, academics, arbitration and mediation institutions, and engaging users of international arbitration and dispute resolution, particularly those from the Midwest.[https://twentyessex.com/mahnaz-malik-is-keynote-speaker-at-the-washington-university-international-arbitration-and-dispute-resolution-symposium/ "Mahnaz Malik is keynote speaker at the Washington University International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Symposium" Twenty Essex, 2020] CLE credit is offered to lawyers who attend this symposium. Course credit may be awarded to students of Washington University School of Law, in conjunction with courses in international arbitration and international business transactions.

• International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium: What Happens Before and After International Arbitration? (February 2020)[https://icsid.worldbank.org/en/Documents/Washington%20University%20International%20Arbitration%20Symposium.pdf "ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYMPOSIUM What Happens Before and After International Arbitration?" Washington University in St. Louis, 2020][https://www.yettercoleman.com/heaven-chee-serves-as-counsel-in-mock-appellate-arbitration-at-washington-university-school-of-law-international-arbitration-dispute-resolution-symposium-%E2%94%80-february-21-2020/ "Heaven Chee Participating As Counsel in Mock Appellate Arbitration Presentation At Washington University School of Law International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium" Yetter Coleman LLP, February 2020]
• International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium: Challenges and Controversies in International Arbitration (March 2019)[https://7gxsl10eqdj9anba1k3swtoo-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-International-Arbitration-Dispute-Resolution-Symposium-Public-Agenda.pdf "International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium: What Happens Before and After International Arbitration?" WashULaw and Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, 2020]
• International Dispute Resolution: Protecting Your Client In The Global Economy (February 2015)

• Introduction to Medicine & Global Human Rights: Annual Forensic Documentation Workshop (November 2019)
• The Role of the ICTY in Understanding the War and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina (October 2019)[https://happenings.wustl.edu/event/the_role_of_the_icty_in_understanding_the_war_and_genocide_in_bosnia-herzegovina#.XngUxJNKg1g "Symposium: The Role of the ICTY in Understanding the War and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina" Happenings at WashU, October 2019]
• International Humanitarian Law Workshop for Professionals (w/ the American Red Cross) – (April 2019)
• International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium: Challenges and Controversies in International Arbitration (March 2019)[https://7gxsl10eqdj9anba1k3swtoo-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-International-Arbitration-Dispute-Resolution-Symposium-Public-Agenda.pdf "International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Symposium: What Happens Before and After International Arbitration?" WashULaw and Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, March 2019]
• American Society of International Law (ASIL) Mid-Year Meeting (October 2017)[http://arch.law.wustl.edu/events/master/index.php/event/asil-midyear-meeting/ "ASIL Mid-Year Meeting" Washington University in St. Louis, October 2017]
• American Red Cross Humanitarian Law Unit International Humanitarian Law Workshop (April 2016)[http://sites.law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/harris-lexlata/understanding-key-concepts-in-international-humanitarian-law/ "Understanding Key Concepts in International Humanitarian Law" WashULaw Lex Lata Blog, June 2016]
• Prospects for an International Climate Change Agreement (October 2015)
• International Experts’ Meeting on the Illegal Use of Force: Reconceptualizing the Laws of War (September 2015){{cite web|url=http://law.wustl.edu/harris/IllegalUseForce.aspx5 | title=Unknown}} {{Dead link|date=February 2022|fix-attempted=yes}}
• Global Perspectives on Colorism Conference (April 2015)[http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/discrimination-based-skin-tone-global-problem-conference-here-looks-colorism#stream/0 "Discrimination based on skin tone is global problem; conference here looks at colorism"] St. Louis Public Radio, April 2015
• The Legal Challenges of Globalization: A View from the Heartland (September 2014)
• Mini-Colloquium Conceptualizing a New Institutional Framework for International Taxation (April 2013)
• The International Criminal Court at 10 (November 2012)
• Immigration Law and Family Reunification: A Comparative Perspective (March 2012)
• International Climate Change: Post-Kyoto Challenges (October 2008)
• International Criminal Law Symposium: Judgment at Nuremberg (September/October 2006)
• Promoting U.S. - China Business Relations (May 2006)

The Harris Institute recruits research assistants to support Institute Director Leila Sadat in her work as the Special Advisor on Crimes Against Humanity to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.{{cite web|title=ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Appoints Patricia Sellers, Leila Sadat and Dianne Marie Amann as Special Advisers|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/press%20and%20media/press%20releases/news%20and%20highlights/Pages/pr861.aspx}} As part of the CAH Research Project, students assist the Office of the Prosecutor with researching and analyzing active cases on crimes against humanity issues.

In September 2009, the Harris Institute concluded a Co-Operation Agreement with the International Criminal Court which began the [http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/legal%20texts%20and%20tools/legal%20tools?lan=en-GB ICC Legal Tools Project].{{cite web|title=From 2008 to 2010, TRIAL contributed to the ICC Legal Tools Project|url=http://www.trial-ch.org/en/activities/research/from-2008-to-2010-trial-contributed-to-the-icc-legal-tools-project.html|publisher=TRIAL|accessdate=August 31, 2012}} Under the Co-Operation Agreement, the Institute is responsible for collecting and uploading documents for the "National Jurisdictions" and "National Cases Involving Core International Crimes" folders in the ICC Legal Tools database.

The Harris Institute has been researching, collecting, and analyzing relevant domestic legislation and case law concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for the following States: Albania, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Georgia, Ghana, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Uzbekistan and Zambia.{{cite web|title=Responsibilities of Each External Partner|url=http://www.legal-tools.org/en/work-on-the-tools/table-of-responsibilities/|publisher=ICC Legal Tools Project}}

Founded in 2007, the Harris Institute Ambassadors Program brings foreign service professionals to the law school to share their experiences and knowledge with the law school and university community. The Ambassadors Program draws current and retired professionals from the international diplomatic corps to provide students with a first-hand description of international law and policy in action.

Former Ambassadors-in-Residence include: Ambassador David Scheffer (2014), the first US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues; Ambassador Stephen J. Rapp (2009), Ambassador Louis Susman (2012, 2015), Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice; Ambassador Charles Stith (2009), former United States Ambassador to Tanzania; Ambassador Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi (2009), the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations; Carla A. Hills (2008), former United States Trade Representative; and Thomas A. Schweich (2008), former State Department coordinator for counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan.

In 2001, Margaret Dagen–an early pioneer of the civil rights movement in St. Louis–endowed the Dagen-Legomsky Student Fellowship Program for Washington University law students to work in the field of international human rights and to study at prestigious international law summer programs during the summer recess. Research fellows have gone to the Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands;[http://sites.law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/harris-lexlata/summer-at-the-hague-academy-of-international-law-3/ "Summer at the Hague Academy of International Law" Michael Gerber, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, September 2019] Xiamen Academy of International Law, Xiamen, China;[http://sites.law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/harris-lexlata/summer-at-the-xiamen-academy-of-international-law/ "Summer at the Xiamen Academy of International Law" Dylan Davis, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, October 2019] The Netherlands School of Human Rights, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; and the UN International Law Commission, Geneva, Switzerland.

With the financial support of this program, Dagen-Legomsky International Public Interest fellows partake in summer externships at the U.S. Department of Justice; the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Arusha, Tanzania; the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Defense Section;[http://sites.law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/harris-lexlata/global-public-interest-law-fellows-provide-legal-services-around-the-world/ "Global Public Interest Fellows Provide Legal Services Around the World" Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute] the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Brussels, Belgium; the Mekong Region Law Center, Bangkok, Thailand; the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, Seoul, Republic of Korea;[http://sites.law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/harris-lexlata/summer-in-seoul-republic-of-korea/ "Summer in Seoul, Republic of Korea" Nicole Gougeon, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, September 2017] Centro de Estudios de las Americas, Santiago, Chile; Black Sash, Cape Town, South Africa; and many more.{{cite web|title=Directory of Law School Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs: Washington University |url=http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/probono/lawschools/125.html |publisher=American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the Center for Pro Bono |accessdate=August 31, 2012}}[http://arch.law.wustl.edu/harris/pages.aspx?ID=7097 "Dagen-Legomsky Fellowship Program" WashULaw]

The Harris Institute International Humanitarian Law (IHL) program provided a unique opportunity to Washington University law students interested in international law field advocacy. In spring 2012, the IHL program entered into a partnership with the Enough! Project. The Washington, D.C.–based NGO works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policymakers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve crises of genocide and crimes against humanity. Law students had a unique opportunity to aid in Enough’s Raise Hope for Congo campaign through the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative (CFCI).{{cite web|title=Raise Hope for Congo Participating Schools|url=http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/participating-schools|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212215227/http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/participating-schools|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 12, 2012|publisher=Enough Campaign}} This Initiative aimed to alleviate atrocities committed over conflict minerals in Congo by pressuring electronics companies to use conflict-free minerals in their products.

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Category:Washington University School of Law