Fall 2019 Brand-Manatt Lecture

Join the International and Comparative Law Program, the American Bar Association Section of International Law, the American Society of International Law, the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the Organization of American States, The George Washington International Law Review, and the GW Law International Law Society, as they host the Fall 2019 Brand-Manatt Lecture delivered by Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 

Agenda

2 pm: Brand-Manatt Lecture - "The Struggle for Gender Justice: My Experience in Three International Tribunals"
Jacob Burns Moot Court Room - Lerner 101

• Welcoming Remarks: Christopher A. Bracey, Interim Dean, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Law, GW Law
• Introduction of the Speaker: Sean D. Murphy, Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, GW Law

4 pm: "Prosecution of Rape and Sexual Violence as Tools of War and the Movie The Prosecutors" Panel Discussion
Jacob Burns Moot Court Room - Lerner 101

• Rosa Celorio (Moderator), Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies and Burnett Family Professorial Lecturer in International and Comparative Law and Policy, GW Law
• Laura Dickinson, Oswald Symister Colclough Research Professor of Law, GW Law
• Montserrat Solano Carboni, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the Organization of American States 
• Ralph G. Steinhardt, Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence, GW Law

5:45 pm: The Prosecutors Movie Screening
Frederick M. Lawrence Student Conference Center- Lisner 201

Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito

Elizabeth Odio Benito currently serves as one of the Judges of the Inter-American Court of  Human Rights (2016-2021). She was formerly Judge and Vice President of the International Criminal Court (2003-2012), and a Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993-1998). In Costa Rica, she has also held several government positions, including Second Vice-President, Justice Minister, Attorney General, and Minister of the Environment and Energy.

On behalf of Costa Rica, she also served as Ambassador to the United Nations, Chief of Delegation before the Vienna Conference for Human Rights, and Chair of the Working Group entrusted with the drafting of Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

She has received several awards throughout her career, including honorary doctorates from the University of Saint Andrews, the National University of Costa Rica, and the University of Buenos Aires. She was also nominated for the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize.” She is a Professor Emeritus from the University of Costa Rica.

The Brand-Manatt Lecture

The Brand-Manatt Lecture was established by Joseph L. Brand, JD ’63, and Ambassador Charles T. Manatt, JD ’62, in 2016. Mr. Brand is a partner in the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs and a former trustee of the George Washington University. The late Mr. Manatt, the founder of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips was the former U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Previous Brand-Manatt lecturers include: Alberto J. Mora (2016); Miguel de Serpa Soares (2017); and Harold H. Koh (2018).

Media Contact

Media interested in attending should contact Kara Tershel at [email protected].

Background

GW Law, long recognized as one of the top law schools in the country, pursues a distinctive research and learning mission that engages the leading law and policy questions of our time and provides students with an education that will position them to help change the world. Accredited by the American Bar Association and a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools, GW Law was founded in 1865 and was the first law school in the District of Columbia.