The Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia School of Law will host a one-day conference focused on the use of force principles that establish the legal framework for the U.S. use of military force.

Experts will convene in Caplin Pavilion to discuss the extraterritorial legal responses available to counter international terrorism, the approach taken by the International Court of Justice in rendering opinions dealing with the use of force, the Obama Administration’s 2016 “Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the U.S. Use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations,” and an examination, from a U.S. domestic law perspective, of the need for a new congressional authorization for the use of force. 

Lunch will be provided. Register for the conference.

Videos of the event can be viewed here.

Schedule

Thursday, March 22

Caplin Pavilion

7:45 a.m.

Registration and Continental Breakfast


8:30 a.m.

Welcome


8:40 a.m.

Keynote Address: Extraterritorial Legal Responses to Counter International Terrorism

  • Yoram Dinstein, Tel Aviv University

9:45 a.m.

Break


10 a.m.

Jus Ad Bellum and the International Court of Justice

  • Moderator: John Norton Moore, University of Virginia School of Law 
  • Retired Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap Jr., Duke University Law School
  • Mike A. Newton, Vanderbilt University School of Law
  • Edwin Williamson, Former Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State

11:30 a.m.

Lunch (Registration Required)

  • Lt. Gen. Charles N. Pede, Judge Advocate General of the Army

1:00 p.m.

The 2016 Obama Report on the Legal Frameworks Guiding the U.S. Use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations 

  • Moderator: Kenneth Anderson, Washington College of Law, American University 
  • Bobby Chesney, University of Texas School of Law
  • Ashley Deeks, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Rita Siemion, Legal Counsel, Human Rights First

2:30 p.m.

Break


2:45 p.m.

Is There a Need for a New Congressional Authorization for the Use of Force (AUMF)?

  • Laura Donohue, Georgetown Law School
  • Robert Turner, University of Virginia School of Law 

4 p.m.

Summary and Concluding Remarks

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

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