Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Invitation

Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Zoom 9AM-6PM EST on November 8, 2023.  

You are invited to attend this extraordinary virtual timely conference cosponsored by the New York State Bar Association, International Section, and co-sponsored by Fordham Law School, Center on National Security; U.S. Air Force Academy, Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell; Georgetown Law School, Journal of International Law; Catholic Peacebuilding Network; Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; and the Global Security Institute.

To register, CLICK HERE. 

The conference will address the continuing and heightened dangers of nuclear war accentuated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats to use nuclear weapons. It will feature speakers with a wide range of experience in government, the military, NGOs, academia, and think tanks as well as the Ukraine’s Consul General in New York. This diversity of high-level experts will stimulate substantive and informative dialogue.

The agenda can be viewed here or accessed on the conference web page.

Topics include the risks associated with use of nuclear arms; the application of the law of armed conflict to such use, including the role of risk analysis; the law of deterrence and threat; and the role of international law in today’s world. The conference will close with a strategy session on how lawyers and others can get involved in addressing the dangers posed by ongoing reliance on nuclear weapons.

The proceedings of our earlier (2020) conference on nuclear weapons and international law were published by the Fordham International Law Journal. We commend this publication to your attention. The proceedings of the upcoming conference will be published by the Georgetown Journal of International Law.

Presenters:

Jutta Bertram-Nothnagel, Vice-President, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; Representative to the UN, International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms

Jeffrey Biller, Deputy Director, Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell, United States Air Force Academy 

John Burroughs, Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy

Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation; North American Coordinator, Mayors for Peace

Denise Duffield, Associate Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles; Steering Committee Member, Back from the Brink Coalition

Prof. John D. Feerick, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Fordham Law School

David Gibson, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture; Catholic Peacekeeping Network

Eirini Giorgou, International Committee of the Red Cross Legal Adviser

Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute; Senior Advisor, Permanent Secretariat of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates

Navy Commander Leigha Groves, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Strategic Command 

Prof. Oona Hathaway, Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith, Professor of International Law, Yale Law School

Hon. Oleksii Holubov, Consul General of Ukraine in New York

David S. Jonas, Partner, Fluet; Former Nuclear Nonproliferation Planner, Joint Chiefs of Staff; LtCol, USMC (Ret.); Adjunct Professor at Georgetown and George Washington Law Schools

Major Kenneth “Daniel” Jones, Judge Advocate, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army 

David Koplow, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center; Former Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense 

Edward K. Lenci, Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP (NYC); Founder and former Co-Chair, Ukraine Task Force of the New York State Bar Association

Richard C. Lewis, President, New York State Bar Association 

Dr. Hans Liwång, Associate Professor, Deputy Head of Department of Systems Science for Defence and Security, Swedish Defence University

Prof. Charles J. Moxley, Jr., Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC  

Gerard F. Powers, Faculty, University of Notre Dame, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; Director, Catholic Peacebuilding Studies

Colonel Theodore T. Richard, United States Air Force Judge Advocate, Staff Judge Advocate at Space Operations Command 

Alan Robock, Distinguished Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University

James Scouras, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

Seth Shelden, UN Liaison, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Partner, Farkas & Neurman; Adjunct Professor, CUNY School of Law

Mary L. Smith, President, American Bar Association; Vice Chair, VENG Group 

Dr. Shane Smith, Director, Institute for National Security Studies and Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, United States Air Force Academy

Allen S. Weiner, Senior Lecturer in Law and Director, Stanford Program in International and Comparative Law, Stanford Law School

Jules Zacher, Board Chair, Council for a Livable World; Executive Board Member, the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania

 

Agenda:

The International Section of the New York State Bar Association is proud to sponsor

Nuclear Weapons and International Law
“The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Ukraine War”

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. via Zoom
(virtual reception to follow)

CO-SPONSORS

  • Fordham Law School, Center on National Security
  • U.S. Air Force Academy, Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell
  • Georgetown Law School, Journal of International Law
  • Catholic Peacebuilding Network
  • Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
  • Global Security Institute

AGENDA

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Introductory Remarks

  • Prof. John D. Feerick, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Fordham Law School
  • Prof. Charles J. Moxley, Jr., Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC
  • Richard C. Lewis, President, New York State Bar Association
  • Mary L. Smith, President, American Bar Association; Vice Chair, VENG Group
  • Prof. Jeffrey Biller, Deputy Director, Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell, United States Air Force Academy
  • Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute; Senior Advisor, Permanent Secretariat of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates
  • John Burroughs, Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy

9:30 – 9:45 Opening Remarks

  • Hon. Oleksii Holubov, Consul General of Ukraine in New York
  • Edward K. Lenci, Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP (NYC); Founder and former Co-Chair, Ukraine Task Force of the New York State Bar Association

9:45 – 10:45 am Panel 1: Facts and Risks Associated with Nuclear Weapons Highlighted by Russia’s Threats to Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Faculty:

  • Moderator: Charles Moxley, Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC
  • Dr. Shane Smith, Director, Institute for National Security Studies and Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, United States Air Force Academy
  • Alan Robock, Distinguished Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University
  • James Scouras, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

10:45 – 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 – 12:30 p.m. Panel 2: International Law Applicable to Potential Uses of Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine and Beyond

Addressing law of armed conflict principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and precaution and the law of reprisal applicable to potential uses of nuclear weapons, along with consideration of bases for per se rules under international law

Faculty:

  • Moderator: John Burroughs, Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
  • Major Kenneth Daniel Jones, Judge Advocate, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army
  • David Koplow, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center; Former Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense
  • Charles Moxley, Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC
  • Colonel Theodore T. Richard, United States Air Force Judge Advocate, Staff Judge Advocate at Space Operations Command

 

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

12:45 – 1:15 p.m. Keynote: Role of International Law in Contemporary Times

  • Prof. Oona Hathaway, Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith, Professor of International Law, Yale Law School

1:30 – 2:50 p.m. Panel 3: The Role of Risk Analysis in the Application of International Law to Nuclear Weapons Use

Examining how, in applying LOAC to potential uses of nuclear weapons, various levels of probability of unlawful effects should be weighed and valued as to potential lawfulness.

Faculty:

  • Moderator: Charles Moxley, Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC
  • Prof. Jeffrey Biller, Deputy Director, Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell, United States Air Force Academy
  • Eirini Giorgou, ICRC Legal Adviser covering nuclear weapons
  • David Koplow, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center; Former Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense
  • Hans Liwång, Associate Professor, Deputy Head of Department of Systems Science for Defence and Security, Swedish Defence University

2:50 – 3:00 p.m. Break

3:00 – 4:25 p.m. Panel 4: Nuclear Deterrence and the Law of Threat

Faculty:

  • Moderator: Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation; North American Coordinator, Mayors for Peace
  • John Burroughs, Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
  • Eirini Giorgou, ICRC Legal Adviser covering nuclear weapons
  • Navy Commander Leigha Groves, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Strategic Command
  • David S. Jonas, Partner, Fluet; Former Nuclear Nonproliferation Planner, Joint Chiefs of Staff; LtCol, USMC (Ret.); Adjunct Professor at Georgetown and George Washington Law Schools
  • Allen S. Weiner, Senior Lecturer in Law and Director, Stanford Program in International and Comparative Law, Stanford Law School

4:25 – 4:35 p.m. Break

4:35 – 4:50 p.m. Reflections on Policy and Law

  • Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute; Senior Advisor, Permanent Secretariat of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates

4:50 – 6:00 p.m. Panel 5: Strategy Session: Things Lawyers and Others Can Do to Get Involved and Make a Difference in Addressing Nuclear Weapons Risks

Faculty:

  • Moderator: Charles Moxley, Professor (Adj.), Fordham Law School; Principal, Moxley ADR LLC
  • Jutta Bertram-Nothnagel, Vice-President, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; Representative to the UN, International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
  • Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation; North American Coordinator, Mayors for Peace
  • Denise Duffield, Associate Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles; Steering Committee Member, Back from the Brink Coalition
  • David Gibson, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture; Catholic Peacekeeping Network
  • Edward K. Lenci, Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP (NYC); Founder and former Co-Chair, Ukraine Task Force of the New York State Bar Association
  • Gerard F. Powers, Faculty, University of Notre Dame, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; Director, Catholic Peacebuilding Studies
  • Seth Shelden, UN Liaison, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Partner, Farkas & Neurman; Adjunct Professor, CUNY School of Law
  • Jules Zacher, Board Chair, Council for a Livable World; Executive Board Member, the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania

6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Virtual reception

Click here to join.