Homa Arjomand
Coordinator, International Campaign Against Sharia Courts
RE: Speaker Invitation to the Canadian International Law Students’ Conference
The international law societies of Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, together with the Journal of International Law and International Relations (JILIR) invite you to speak at the 12th annual Canadian International Law Students’ Conference (CILSC) on Saturday, February 26, 2005, to be held in Toronto, Canada.
The CILSC provides a forum for law students, academics, practitioners, and leaders in the field of international law to exchange ideas in a collegial atmosphere. The conference has grown to become a premiere event, and with the expansion of the conference this year, we anticipate an increased attendance, drawing participants from across Canada, the United States and abroad. The CILSC is a joint Osgoode Hall-University of Toronto initiative. The Osgoode and U of T international law societies maintain two of the largest and most active student-run organizations in the Canadian legal community and they have been growing in relevance and importance over the years.
This year, the conference has evolved into a two-day event to be held on February 25-26, 2005. The conference expansion reflects the participation of its new partner, JILIR. On the first day of the conference, JILIR will present a symposium, titled, “Threats, Challenges and Change – the Future of the United Nations.” JILIR has invited Mr. Anand Panyarachun, the Chair of the U.N. High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change as the keynote speaker. JILIR has also already confirmed the participation of New York University Professor and leading international legal scholar, Thomas Franck, and the UN Assistant Secretary General, Ramesh Takhur.
On the second day of the conference, the international law societies will present panels for which we hope you will be a speaker. Last year, John Hancock, Senior Advisor to the Director-General, WTO, delivered the opening keynote address. This year, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada, Alex Neve, and one of the leading trade lawyers in Canada, Lawrence Herman, have already confirmed their participation at the conference. In addition, invitations have been extended to Jim Peterson, Louise Arbour, Barry Appleton, Marlys Edwardh, Bill Graham, Judith Kumin, Frank McKenna, WesleyWark and Stephen Lewis, as well as many other eminent international law scholars and practitioners. Among nine different panels, the speakers will address topics in private and public international law dealing with trade, human rights, security, the environment, health law and intellectual property, international courts and tribunals, and the practice of international law.
We would be honoured if you would speak at the Conference on Saturday, February 26, 2005 to share your expertise with respect to the use of Sharia law in Ontario in civil arbitrations. Your perspective as the coordinator of the International Campaign Against Sharia Courts would make a valued and timely contribution to the panel and the conference. Among the many timely and important issues in this subject area, we would welcome your insights on the relationship between Sharia law and the Canadian legal tradition and its underlying values. Other invited speakers on the panel include Marion Boyd,Pascale Fournier, Alia Hogben, amongst others. Since the conference is a student-run initiative, we hope that you would be able to finance your travel and accommodation. However, our Finance Committee will try to sponsor your participation if financial constraints would otherwise deter you from participating. You can find more information about the conference at www.cilsc.org. Please contact me, your designated Human Rights Panel Chair, at ---. Thank you for taking the time to consider our proposal. I very much look forward to our future communications.
Sincerely,
Paul Jonathan Saguil
Human Rights Panel Chair
Sponsored by : The international law societies of Osgoode Hall Law School
The University of Toronto, Faculty of Law
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
When: February 26, 2005
Where: Toronto, Canada.
For more information call 416-737-9500
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