International Law & Diplomacy – Page 14 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

International Conflict Resolution Trip to Israel: Perspectives from a Property Law Professor

Post author:Vada W. Lindsey
Post published:April 10, 2017
Post category:International Law & Diplomacy Public

I was fortunate to have gone on the Marquette University international spring break trip to Israel with Professors Schneider and Fleury and students in their Dispute Resolution Seminar. I attended the trip as a faculty guest without the benefit of being an expert in dispute resolution like my two colleagues or studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict like the students enrolled in the seminar. Rather, my expertise is in the areas of tax and real estate law. Before embarking on the trip, I was excited to embrace the trip’s focus on dispute resolution, but I was also intent on learning as much as possible about my primary areas. I will limit my observations to real estate law.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting with professors, justices of the Israeli Supreme Court, students, lawyers, historians, and other leaders. We also had two wonderful tour guides who provided us with a wealth of information during the entire trip. During our tour of Lifta, an abandoned Palestinian village in Jerusalem, I learned that the government owned approximately 90% of Israeli land. Therefore, most homeowners build their homes on land that is leased from the government under 99-year ground leases. The leases were executed post-1948; thus, none of them had expired. I asked the professor leading our tour of Lifta what would happen at the end of the lease terms. Her response was that no one really knew. In comparison, many long-term ground leases in the United States are renewable and include options to purchase. With the “bundle of rights” that we place on property in the United States, I find this lack of clarity related to the Israeli leases to be a bit unsettling.

Deadline Extended for Study Abroad in Germany

Post author:Edward A. Fallone
Post published:April 2, 2017
Post category:International Law & Diplomacy Marquette Law School Public

The deadline for submitting an application for the upcoming Summer Session in International and Comparative Law has been extended until April 25. The program has been approved and will definitely take place. However, there is still room for an additional five (5) students from Marquette Law School or from other U.S. law schools.

Every year, the four week Summer Session in the town of Giessen provides a fantastic opportunity to receive 4 law school credits while studying alongside an international student body and experiencing German culture. Program participants can choose two courses from among four offerings: 1) Comparative Constitutional Law; 2) International Economic Law and Business Transactions; 3) Cyber Law; and 4) Business Ethics and Human Rights. Two multi-day field trips — to Berlin and Hamburg — are included in the fees.

The program takes place from July 15 until August 12. For more details, please visit the Study Abroad webpage, where you can also find more information on the tuition and fees, details on the course offerings , and where you can download an application.

Don’t delay, as the program will fill up quickly.

Photos: Above, students walk in front of the law school building at Justus Liebig University. Below, a view of the Giessen City Center, with Bell Tower and Opera House.

Human Rights Expert Says Surviving the Holocaust Motivated His Career

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:March 23, 2017
Post category:International Law & Diplomacy Public Speakers at Marquette

The last question at the “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Marquette Law School on Thursday with Judge Thomas Buergenthal went to a retired Milwaukee school teacher who painted a gloomy picture of the state of the world.

“Humanity is having a real problem,” she said. “These are horrible times right now.”

Buergenthal answered in a positive fashion: “You’re too pessimistic,” he said. “Things are happening. They’re not happening as fast as you and I would like it to happen. There are some bad things happening too. But overall, we are moving slowly, too slowly.” He mentioned efforts by the United Nations and regional human rights organizations around the world that he thought were having positive impact.

“We do more harm to these developments if we think they’re not working.” He said. “So the trick is to stay with it.“

Buergenthal has stayed with it for decades. He is an authority on international and human rights law and one of the youngest Holocaust survivors. He is an emeritus professor of law at George Washington Law School and a former judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague – among many distinctions and accomplishments. And he is author or co-author of numerous books, including a memoir, A Lucky Child, about surviving Auschwitz as a child. In his early 80s, he is, in fact, one of the youngest survivors of the notorious Nazi concentration camp.