Grotius Lecturer: Achim Steiner

Acting on the nomination of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the UN General Assembly unanimously elected Achim Steiner as the Executive Director of UNEP on 16 March 2006 for a four-year term, effective 15 June 2006. He is the fifth Executive Director in UNEP's history.

Distinguished Discussant: Professor Dinah Shelton, George Washington University Law School

Honoree/Speaker: Justice Unity Dow, High Court of Botswana

Unity Dow is a judge, human rights activist, and writer from Botswana. As a lawyer she earned acclaim most for her stances on women's rights. She was the plaintiff in a case that allowed the children of women by foreign nationals to be considered Batswana. She later became Botswana's first female High Court judge.

Hudson Medal Recipient: Charles N. Brower

Judge Charles N. Brower, Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, was awarded the 2009 Manley O. Hudson Medal for his nearly five decades’ leadership in international law. As judge, Partner at White & Case, arbitrator in many significant investment treaty and commercial disputes, Acting Legal Adviser of the Department of State, President of ASIL, and author of many scholarly works, his work reflects the highest qualities of “distinction, achievement, and scholarship.”

President Barack Obama and his administration have promised to chart a new course on international law. In this session, the speakers will provide perspectives from the Executive and Legislative branches about how the new administration is or should be approaching questions implicating international law.

Moderator: T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Georgetown University Law Center

Panelists:

• Joan Donoghue, (Principle Deputy Legal Adviser) US Department of State
• Former US Senator Charles Hagel, Georgetown University Law Center
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, US Department of State

Featured Speaker: Dame Rosalyn Higgins

Dame Rosalyn Higgins, Lady Higgins, DBE, QC (b. in London, 1937) is the President of the International Court of Justice. Higgins was the first female judge to be appointed to the ICJ, and was elected President in 2006. She will be stepping down from the court in early 2009.

Featured Speaker: Stephen Schwebel

Judge Schwebel is at present an independent arbitrator and counsel in Washington, DC, and a door tenant of Essex Court Chambers in London. He served as a judge on the Court from 1981 until 2000, from 1997 to 2000 as the Court's president.

• Lucy Reed, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
• Professor Ralph Steinhardt, George Washington University Law School