Professor Milena Sterio authored a blog post on the topic of “Where are the Women? Breaking International Law’s Glass Ceiling.”  In this blog post, Professor Sterio discusses the under-representation of women at international law institutions, as well as the under-citation of women in prominent publications.  The blog post is available here.

Professor Milena Sterio presented at International Law Weekend, a prominent international law conference organized and sponsored by the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA). Professor Sterio is a member of ABILA Board of Directors and co-chairs the ABILA Committee on Teaching International Law.  Professor Sterio moderated a panel entitled “Prosecuting the Crime of ‘Ecocide’ at the ICC and Elsewhere” on October 29th.  In addition, Professor Sterio hosted a virtual session on Teaching International Law also on October 29th.  

Professor Reginald Oh has published an article in Washington Monthly titled “Asian Americans and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.” The article discusses the ongoing litigation over Harvard’s affirmative action admissions policies, as well as the pressures experienced by some Asian Americans to achieve.

Professor Oh states, “What is the path forward for young Asian Americans? One path could be working to end negative action and racially biased decisions against Asian Americans. But the aim should not be an end to affirmative action, which not only would frustrate the American Dream of racially integrated schools, it also would only intensify the hyper-focus on achievement, and the stress and pressure that comes along with it. . . . The way forward requires finding creative ways to accommodate both family and self.”

Professor Karin Mika, Senior Legal Writing Professor, has been awarded the 2022 AALS Section Award by the Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. This prestigious award recognizes professors who have made significant lifetime contributions to the field of legal research and writing.

The Awards Committee noted the following about Professor Mika’s exceptional career achievements:

“Professor Mika has dedicated the better part of her career to academia. She has advocated to improve the status of legal writing professors…. Her talent as a teacher and mentor over the past 30 or so years is undeniable…. Generally regarded as the ‘Keeper of the Flame,’ Professor Mika has been a faithful archivist and historian for the legal writing community, preserving our memories and experiences through documents, photos, and friendships…. Professor Mika is a passionate and selfless advocate who has been a backbone of the national legal writing community.” 

Professor Milena Sterio will participate as a speaker and expert in a IUSTICOM and UN Institute for Training and Research Online Executive Diploma on International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice program.  The program will take place from February- April 2022 over a series of 1-day seminars.  Professor Sterio will address the topic of “International Criminal Law and Statehood” in her lecture.  The audience will be comprised of early to mid-career diplomats as well as others.  Other program speakers include Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel; Joanna Korner, Judge, International Criminal Court, Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International Impartial Independent Mechanism for Syria, Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the International Independent Mechanism for Myanmar, etc. 

Professor Milena Sterio moderated a panel discussion on Transitional Justice on October 20th, as part of Public International and Policy Group’s training program for Ukrainian government officials.  The panel discussion was a “capstone” seminar within the larger training program, and panelists included David Crane and Jim Johnson, former Prosecutors at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Robert Petit, former Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Michael Scharf, Dean at CWRU School of Law, and Stephen Rapp, former State Department Ambassador for War Crimes and former Prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwarnda.

Professor Milena Sterio presented at the American Society of International Law Midyear Meeting, on a panel on the International Criminal Court.  Professor Sterio’s presentation, titled “Sentencing and Mitigation at the ICC,” focuses on the recent conviction of Dominic Ognwen, former Lord’s Resistance Army leader, at the ICC, and his sentence of 25 years of imprisonment.  In her remarks, Professor Sterio discussed whether Ongwen’s status as a former child soldier was a relevant mitigation factor at sentencing, and whether Ongwen’s sentence was fair and proportionate.  The ASIL Midyear Meeting was held virtually this year, and Professor Sterio’s paper was selected from a competitive call for papers.

Professor Sterio also presented at a CLE seminar on October 21th at the international law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, on the topic of “Working in Post-Conflict Settings: Lessons in Ethics.”

Professor Milena Sterio served as peer reviewer for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.  She reviewed an entry on the morality of the right to secession.

Professor Sterio also served as peer reviewer for the International Criminal Law Journal; she reviewed a manuscript on the relationship between the U.S., and in particular the Trump Administration, and the International Criminal Court.

On Sunday, October 31, Professor Doron Kalir published an op-ed in the Plain Dealer titled “Why Justice DeWine should reconsider recusal in redistricting cases.” In the op-ed, Professor Kalir calls on Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick DeWine to reconsider his refusal to recuse himself in cases challenging Ohio’s congressional re-districting. Justice DeWine’s father is Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who was a key member in the redistricting commission.

Briefly, the Opinion begins with citing of the Federalist Papers and then moves to review two U.S. Supreme Court cases where the Court instructed State Judges to recuse themselves (the first originating from Ohio). The Opinion then looks to the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, which places impartiality at the apex of judicial values. Finally, turning to the unique circumstances of the Redistricting Cases, the Opinion argues that impartiality in these cases may be reasonably called into question where a son decides a case in which his father has a substantial interest. 

Professor Karin Mika has published an article, “The Pandemic and Resisting the Lure of the 24/7 Legal Writing Professional,” in The Second Draft, the quarterly publication of the Legal Writing Institute.  The article describes how easy it is to fall out of any reasonable work/life balance during the pandemic, and how unhealthy it is to do so.