International and Comparative Law

On May 18-21, the Center on International Commercial Arbitration hosted the VII International Investment Moot Arbitration Competition in Spanish language. The event was originally scheduled for the week of March 16, and postponed to this week due to the COVID-19 crisis. Eleven teams accepted the challenge of presenting their arguments online. This moot once again showed the usefulness of moot competitions for the practical training of arbitration practitioners. 

AUWCL Professor David Hunter’s commitment to the progressive development of international environmental law was further highlighted in his support of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Mr. David R. Boyd. The Special Rapporteur had made a call for submissions from civil society to a global online “researchathon” on best practices followed by states in recognizing the right to live in a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and in implementing the procedural and substantive elements of the right. With the support of his students at the Environmental Law Program, Professor David Hunter contributed to this “researchathon” with relevant information.

During the Faculty Speaks Series, AUWCL Professors, Claudio Grossman, Fernanda Nicola, Macarena Saez, and Robert Goldman discussed the effects of COVID-19 on marginalized populations, the discrepancies in health care accessibility, and the future impact on human rights in a post-pandemic globalized world. 

On June 11, 2020, Professor Lindsay Wiley was the featured speaker for AUWCL's Faculty Speaks Series, where she spoke on the rapidly changing world of health law during the pandemic. Asked by Professor Jonas Anderson on how it feels to be the a part of currently the most sought after legal sector, Professor Wiley commented on her gratitude in the opportunity to present facts and dispel fiction related to COVID-19 and the health law sector.

Professor Juan Mendez discusses the right of prisoners to health in the midst of a pandemic.

On May 14, 2020, Renata Amaral, Co-Director of the WTO & U.S. Trade Law Summer Program at AUWCL, gave an interview with CNN Brasil on Roberto Azevêdo's decision to step down as WTO Director General, a year prior to his term expiration. Ms. Amaral commented on the decision, calling Azevêdo, "An extremely skilled director for the WTO. His diplomatic skills will be missed, especially in such challenging times for the world during the pandemic, and particularly for the multilateral trading system.”