An Eye-Opening Visit to Iran

Flag_of_Iran_svgMy work in Restorative Justice provides me with many rewarding travel experiences, and my recent trip to Iran is at the top of the list.

Professor Mohammad Farajahi, who teaches Persian law at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, invited me to attend a Restorative Justice (“RJ”) conference at its law school. I was one of seven keynote speakers from around the world, each asked to discuss how our respective country actively uses RJ processes within the criminal justice system. The conference also was an opportunity to discuss my current RJ projects as a panelist with Iranian and Iraqi lawyers and judges as well as to hear 40 scholars from Tehran present their research and findings on a variety of RJ initiatives. Professionally, the ability to interact with lawyers, judges, law students and the general public attending the conference was extremely fulfilling; personally, the cultural experience is unforgettable.

Most Americans do not readily think about traveling to Iran — especially women and, in my case, women who happen to be judges — given that the country’s Muslim laws generally limit females in society and specifically prohibit us from serving on the bench. As the only American invited to the conference, I felt both honored and admittedly apprehensive. While I have many Muslim friends in the U.S. and have been to other Muslim countries, I knew religious rules and overall “do’s and don’ts” would be much stricter in Iran, where I would be without the security of an American embassy since Iran and the U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations. This circumstance meant I could not get a visa directly from Iran, having to work through Pakistan. Receiving my visa only 36 hours before my flight, I worried about what awaited me culturally.

My clothing was a primary concern. From head to ankles, I needed to be covered despite being a foreigner traveling during the heat of summer. I stocked up on scarves for my head and shoulders and bought a montos, a knee-length coat that must be worn even when wearing pants. Only my feet could comfortably breathe as sandals are permitted. With 7,000 morality police patrolling the streets of Tehran to catch dress code violators and the Swiss embassy as my best option in case of trouble, I took no chances, donning my scarf and montos before getting off the plane.

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Applications Still Being Accepted for Study Abroad in Germany

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There is still time to join law students from Wisconsin, throughout the United States, and around the world as they come together in Giessen, Germany from July 16 to August 13, 2016 for the Eighth Annual Summer Session in International and Comparative Law. The program already has the minimum number of participants necessary to move forward, but additional participants are welcome and applications will continue to be accepted until May 27.

The faculty includes Marquette Law School’s own Professor Ed Fallone and Adjunct Professor Doug Smith, as well as Professor Heinz Klug from the University of Wisconsin Law School, Professor Thilo Marauhn of the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, and Professor Sorcha MacLeod of the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.

Participants can choose two classes from the following four courses: 1) Comparative Constitutional Law: The E.U., Germany and the U.S.; 2) International Economic Law & Business Transactions; 3) Business Ethics and Human Rights Law; and 4) Comparative Corporate Governance. The schedule includes field trips to Berlin and Hamburg, as well as free time to travel Europe on your own.

Applications can be downloaded from the “Study Abroad” link on the Marquette Law School webpage. Interested students from Marquette or other ABA accredited law schools should contact Prof. Ed Fallone at edward.fallone@marquette.edu for more information.

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Baseball Diplomacy

It has been great fun to watch President Obama in Cuba (and to get to say things like–hey, I was there!) over the last two days.  The one thing we did not get to do on our trip was attend a baseball game since we were rained out twice.  Sigh.  But we did talk about the potential impact of baseball exchanges on the economy and there is no question that both Cuban baseball and obama-cuba-baseball-300x229Major League Baseball will have much to discuss as the thaw continues.  Funnily, I was interviewed on Monday by a Swiss journalist–newspaper article here–about the impact of baseball based on my 2001 article called Baseball Diplomacy examining the controversy back then over the Baltimore Orioles playing a game in Cuba in 1999.  In what now seems like ancient history, I wrote about the Elian Gonzales affair, the Helms-Burton act, and, more pertinently to baseball, the economics of playing baseball in Cuba.  I also discussed how Cuban players are treated when they arrive in the U.S. depending on whether they come directly or via a third country.  I imagine that all of these rules will be updated and changing in the next few years.  And it will be fascinating to watch.  Here’s looking forward to more baseball in both directions!

 

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