Individual Rights in India

Individual Rights in India: a Perspective from the Supreme Court
a lecture by
The Honorable K.G. Balakrishnan,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India

When: Monday, April 6 at 2:00 pm
Where: Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom, Hirsch Hall, School of Law (North Campus)

Presented by: The School of Law's Dean Rusk Center

Indian Supreme Court Justice to speak on individual rights
Athens, Ga. – Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan of the Supreme Court of India will lecture on “Individual Rights in India: A Perspective from the Supreme Court” on April 6 at 2:00 p.m. The talk is sponsored by the University of Georgia School of Law’s Dean Rusk Center and will take place in the Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom of Hirsch Hall (North Campus). This event is free and open to the public.

A native of India, Balakrishnan began his career in law as an advocate of the Kerala Bar Council in 1968. In 1985, he was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court. He was transferred to the Gujarat High Court, becoming its chief justice in 1998. He then served on the High Court of Judicature in Madras, where he became chief justice, before being elevated to the Supreme Court of India in 2000. He became the chief justice of India in 2007.

In addition to his courtroom duties, Balakrishnan is also president of the Indian Law Institute, which was founded in 1956 with the primary objective of promoting and conducting legal research to meet the social, economic and other needs of the Indian people. Improvement of legal education is also part of its mission.

The Chief Justice is visiting Atlanta and Athens, Ga., as part of a distinguished delegation, which also includes Supreme Court of India Justice Arijit Pasayat and several high-ranking members of the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Indian Law Institute. The group will be taking part in events in Atlanta, touring the University of Georgia School of Law and meeting with members of the law school’s Dean Rusk Center.

CITS 20th Anniversary

The Center for International Trade and Security is pleased to commemorate its 20th Anniversary on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. The event will include panels covering strategic trade control issues, nuclear proliferation and security, and the importance of continued work in the field. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other experts will participate. The celebration will include friends, colleagues and stake-holders of the Center. All events will be held in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. For more information, contact the Center at 706-542-2985.

Morning Panel

Nuclear Renaissance, Disarmament, Terrorism and Proliferation

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Masters Hall, Georgia Center for Continuing Education

This panel discussion will be moderated by Center Director, Dr. Gary Bertsch, and includes 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria), General Gene Habiger (former Commander in Chief of all U.S. nuclear forces), Joseph Cirincione (President of the Ploughshares Fund), and other national and international experts. The panelists will address the key issues surrounding nuclear energy and weapons, including the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, terrorism and disarmament.

Afternoon Panel

Controlling Weapons Proliferation and Promoting Peaceful Trade

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Room K-L, Georgia Center for Continuing Education

This panel will be moderated by Dr. Scott Jones, CITS Executive Director, and include experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, leading global companies and think tanks. The panel discussion will call attention to an international nuclear black market and discuss how countries like Iran have been able to buy technology and components aiding their nuclear weapons programs. The panelists will offer recommendations to the Obama Administration and global leaders, governments and businesses on how to promote peaceful trade and prevent the global spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The Conduct of Foreign Policy under the Obama Administration

The Conduct of Foreign Policy under the Obama Administration - a lecture (with a Q&A on careers in foreign affairs) by former U.S. career diplomats Earle and Barbara Scarlett

When: Thursday, March 19 at 12:30pm
Where: 4th Floor, Dean Rusk Hall, North Campus

Pizza and refreshments will be served

Presented by: The Dean Rusk Center in cooperation with the Department of International Affairs and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government

Career diplomats to address Obama’s foreign policy

Husband and wife career public service diplomats, who have a combined 50-plus years of experience in United States and United Nations international diplomacy, will share their thoughts on President Barack Obama’s foreign policy plans as part of an event sponsored by the School of Law's Dean Rusk Center in cooperation with the Department of International Affairs and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. A question and answer session on careers in foreign affairs will follow.

The Scarletts have served in the countries of Cameroon, Bosnia, Brazil, the Philippines, Ireland and the former Yugoslavia. Earle has represented our country or the UN in sensitive relationships with then-Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic (who was subsequently indicted for war crimes), with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos during his removal from power, and with Chinese officials during the Tiananmen Square uprising. Barbara has worked in the areas of strategic policy planning, cultural administration and media relations for the advancement of U.S. foreign policy objectives abroad.

Reminders

Two upcoming dates to remind everyone about.

First, the midpoint withdrawal deadline is Thursday, March 24. Withdrawing from a class beyond that date will result in your receiving a WF for the course. Also please note the recent change in university policy regarding withdrawals. As of fall semester 2008, students are limited to four (4) Withdraw Passing (WP) grades for the duration of your time at UGA--something to consider before withdrawing from a class.

Second, it will soon be time to "spring ahead." Daylight Savings Time begins on March 8, right at the beginning of spring break. Clocks will move ahead an hour on that day.

SPIA Excellence in Teaching Award

Congratulations to Dr. Brock Tessman, recipient of the 2009 SPIA Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Tessman has been with UGA and the Department of International Affairs since the fall of 2006, and has taught courses on international security, foreign policy, advanced political simulations. His book, International Relations in Action, was published by Lynne Rienner Publishers in 2006.

North Korea Forum

GLOBIS will be hosting its second round of North Korea Institute Forum from March 2-6. SPIA students who may be interested in attending may attend the sessions for free, and have the option of paying $20.00 for the day to stay for lunch and have the opportunity to talk with the instructors. For more information, click here.

International Commercial Arbitration

The Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law

and

The Dean Rusk Center

with support from The American Society of International Law

will proudly host

“International Commercial Arbitration:

Fifty Years After the New York Convention”

January 30, 2009,

at the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia.

Ø Keynote speaker: Gary Born, Partner, Wilmer Hale; Panelists include: Robert B. Davidson, Executive Director of Arbitration, JAMS; Anne Whitesell, Former Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; William K. Slate, II, President, American Arbitration Association.

Ø Welcome reception on the evening of January 29, 2009.

Ø Panels: (1) The New York Convention - the Next 50 Years; (2) Federal Arbitration Act Reform; and (3) Beyond Commercial Arbitration - Lessons from Other Models.

For more information, a complete list of panelists and to RSVP by January 28, please visit: www.uga.edu/ruskcenter/arbitration.html

Contact: Mercedes Ball, Executive Conference Editor, at: mgball@bellsouth.net or (706) 825-4061.

Fall commencement parking

From today's Parking Services listserv.

The University of Georgia will hold graduation ceremonies on Friday, December 19th. To accommodate our guests for morning and afternoon graduation activities around Stegeman Coliseum, parking for the South Deck (S11), Carlton St Deck (S15) and lots S10 and S12 will be reserved for graduates, participants, and their guests.

Permit holders and non-commencement visitors should be aware that parking in these areas will be reduced by commencement requirements, and they may not be able to find sufficient spaces in these areas (S10, S11, S12, and S15) all day on December 19th to support the commencement. Permit holders and visitors in these reserved areas are asked to park in decks NO6, W09,
E04, E05, and W05. In addition, surface lots, particularly W11, W06, W10, E06, and E07, will be open for parking (please see map link). Free parking, for UGA permit holders, will also be offered in the Tate Center Deck.

A map for both parking and bus transportation routes can be viewed at http://www.parking.uga.edu/maps/graduation.pdf

Please do not park on sidewalks, fire lanes, loading docks, landscaped areas, or on streets except in designated parking areas. Improperly parked cars may be towed at the owner's expense.

Parking availability in all lots, but particularly on South Campus, will be impacted. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., bus service will be available from the West and East lots, with the RED route running every 10 minutes and the SILVER route running every 7 minutes. Parking Services recognizes that your support for the commencement may cause you inconvenience. We appreciate your
patience and understanding and will "bend over backwards" to address your special concerns and meet your unique needs.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us.

**********************
Parking Services
Joe Frank Harris Commons
80 Carlton Street
Athens, GA 30602
(706) 542-7275 (p)
(706) 542-6301 (f)
www.parking.uga.edu

Good luck!

Good luck to everyone on their final exams this semester, and best wishes from the department to those of you who are graduating this semester.

UGA à Paris Informational Meeting

There will be a meeting for students interested in participating in the 2009 UGA à Paris program on November 12, from 5pm to 6:30pm in Rm 213 of the SLC. We will show a video about the program made by some students who participated a few summers ago and answer questions students may have. We will also have pizza! If you are interested in attending, it would be helpful if you could let Dr. Herod (aherod@uga.edu) know so that we know how many pizzas to order!

Election Night Event

The Law School Democrats will be holding an Election Night Event at the Georgia Theater on November 4 at 8pm to watch election results as they come in on the theater's big screen television. The event is open to everyone in the Athens community 18 years of age and older. For more information, email Jarrod Jenkins, president of the Law School Democrats, at artisj@uga.edu.

Fall behind

A reminder that clocks fall behind this coming weekend. Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 2. Don't be "that guy/girl" who shows up an hour early for their first class.

Congratulations

Congratulations to two of our graduate students, who placed in this year's ISA-South Graduate Student Paper Competition:

Mwita Chacha won Second Runner-up for his paper, "Why Belgium? Regional Attachment and Support for the European Union."

Annie Kryzanek won First Runner-up for her paper, "Bridging New Democracies: The Dynamics of Trust and Participation in African Countries."

Both students received a plaque, cash awards, and a one year membership to ISA and ISA-South.

UGA Travel, Study, and Work Abroad Fair

The 24th annual UGA Travel, Study and Work Abroad Fair will be held on Wednesday, October 15 and Thursday, October 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Learning Center Rotunda (4th floor). This year 80 UGA and external study abroad programs will be available to provide study abroad information for the UGA community. For more information, visit www.uga.edu/oie.

Mid-term reminder

Just reminder to everyone that while the midpoint of fall semester is Thursday, October 9, the midpoint withdrawal deadline is Thursday, October 23. With the new withdrawal policies in place, you'll now typically receive a WP (withdraw passing) instead of a W, though it is within the discretion of an instructor to issue a WF (withdraw failing) for drops made prior to the deadline if they feel it is warranted.

Also remember the new university policy on withdrawals; starting this semester you are allowed a maximum of 4 course drops during your undergraduate academic career at UGA. There are exceptions to this policy which include military, medical, and hardship withdrawals.

SPIA at Oxford

For anyone who's interested in the SPIA at Oxford program, please know that the deadline for applications is Friday, October 3. For more information, see their website.

We're on Facebook, too

Not to be outdone by SPIA or the Political Science department, we now have a presence on Facebook as well. If you're a current student, an alum, or just a friend of the department, you're invited to join our group. You can find it here.

New policies starting Fall 2008

There are some new university policies taking effect starting Fall 2008 that students need to be aware of. Of particular note is item number 4 and the number of course withdrawals a student can make. To clarify matters, any courses dropped prior to fall 2008 do not count against that total.

1) The Drop/Add period has changed slightly – for all courses, there is now an extra day for adding courses only. The Drop/Add dates for undergraduate and graduate level courses are below.

For registration of an undergraduate level course (courses numbered 0097-5999), the Drop/Add dates are:
Drop/Add Begins: Monday, August 18, 2008 at 7:00am
Drop Deadline: Thursday, August 21, 2008 at midnight
Add Deadline: Friday, August 22, 2008 at midnight

For registration of a graduate level course (courses numbered 6000-9999), the Drop/Add dates are:

Drop/Add Begins: Monday, August 18, 2008 at 7:00am
Drop Deadline: Monday, August 25, 2008 at midnight
Add Deadline: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at midnight

2) The Withdrawal Deadline is now two weeks after the semester midpoint. The Withdrawal Deadline for Fall 2008 is Thursday, October 23, 2008.

3) The grading system for withdrawals has changed. The W (Withdrawal) has been changed to a WP(Withdrawal Passing).

4) For undergraduate students, there is now a limit of four (4) career withdrawals at UGA before all subsequent withdrawals receive an automatic grade of WF (Withdraw Failing). The count will begin Fall 2008 regardless of when a student matriculated and of any withdrawals in previous terms. All withdrawals are included in the count except: Hardship Withdrawals, Withdrawals from Audited Courses, and Military Withdrawals.

Presentation

Dr. Loch Johnson is featured in a video of his April 2007 presentation at BYU's David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies entitled, "Spies in the Movies: Hollywood's Take on Lese Majeste." The entire video is approximately 43 minutes long.

Faced

SPIA has created a group on Facebook for its alumni. If you're a recent graduate or will soon be graduating, sign up to stay in touch with the School and current news & upcoming events. The link to the group is here. If the link doesn't work, log in to Facebook and search for 'SPIA Alumni' under the groups section.