In the spring of 1990, Fordham University established the International
Criminal Law Center to commence in the 1990-91 academic
year

Abramovsky, Abraham

Frank, Jonny

English

NSU Works

Nova Law ReviewVolume 15, Issue 2 1991 Article 7The Development, Objectives and PlannedActivities of the International Criminal LawCenter of Fordham University School of LawAbraham Abramovsky∗ Jonny Frank†∗†Copyright c©1991 by the authors. Nova Law Review is produced by The Berkeley ElectronicPress (bepress). https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlrThe Development, Objectives and PlannedActivities of the International Criminal LawCenter of Fordham University School of LawAbraham Abramovsky and Jonny FrankAbstractIn the spring of 1990, Fordham University established the InternationalCriminal Law Center to commence in the 1990-91 academicyear.KEYWORDS: planned, criminal, activitiesThe Development, Objectives and Planned Activitiesof the International Criminal Law Center of FordhamUniversity School of LawAbraham Abramovsky*Jonny Frank**In the spring of 1990, Fordham University established the Interna-tional Criminal Law Center to commence in the 1990-91 academicyear. As the first and only center of its kind in this country, the Inter-national Criminal Law Center seeks to respond to the many and vary-ing needs of the entities and individuals who effect and are affected byinternational criminal law. The International Criminal Law Center as-pires to serve the United States, state and foreign governments, mul-tinational corporations, the private bar and private citizens. Among theprojects planned for the International Criminal Law Center are confer-ences, lectures, consultations with'foreign missions and a scholars-in-residence program. In addition, the International Criminal LawCenter, commencing in September 1991, will begin to publish its ownlaw journal featuring timely articles by both members of the bar, lead-ing academic authorities in the field, as well as domestic and foreignofficials.This article traces the adoption of the International Criminal LawCenter and defines its objectives and proposed activities. The articlebegins with an explanation of Fordham University's decision to estab-lish the International Criminal Law Center and then considers the In-ternational Criminal Law Center's goals and plans for achieving itsobjectives.Development of the International Criminal CenterThe authors originally proposed the establishment of the Interna-* Professor of Law and Director of the International Criminal Law Center,Fordham University School of Law.** Adjunct Associate Professor of Law and Deputy Director of the InternationalCriminal Law Center, Fordham University School of Law; Chief, Special Prosecutions,United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York. The views expressedare his own and do not necessarily reflect any official law enforcement policy.1Abramovsky and Frank: The Development, Objectives and Planned Activities of the InternaPublished by NSUWorks, 1991Nova Law Reviewtional Criminal Law Center at Fordham University School of Law inthe winter of 1990. International criminal law is a rapidly emergingarea of the law. This is evidenced by this symposium as well as by thenumerous articles being published in the field. The increasing numberof cases, both criminal and civil, concerning the myriad of problemsraised in this area likewise demonstrates the growing importance of thisfield. The growing importance of international criminal law is furtherevidenced by the decision of the American Bar Association to form anindependent International Criminal Law Committee. ProfessorAbramovsky, who is the director of the center, is the Vice-Chair of thatcommittee.Three major problems have contributed to the heightened impor-tance of international criminal law: globalization of business, terrorism,narcotics, and its attendant issues. The globalization of business neces-sitates that both the United States government and other nations havea readily available resource. Likewise, international businesses must becognizant of the impact of the criminal laws of the various countrieswith which they do business. More specifically, in order to adequatelyrepresent these entities, members of the private bar, both foreign anddomestic, must become aware and be kept up to date with the constantevolution of legislation, treaties, multi-lateral conventions and otheragreements between nations which affect their clients.Virtually every business transaction with any foreign ramificationpotentially contains a putative violation of a United States and/or for-eign treaty obligation, statute, or regulation. As a result, internationalcriminal law is not solely the concern of the scions of the bar who re-present multinational corporations. Business has become so global thata working knowledge of the substantive as well as procedural aspects ofinternational criminal law is a requirement of any lawyer who counsels,represents, or litigates on behalf of any client - no matter how smallor large - who engages in or contemplates becoming involved in anybusiness which contains transnational components.Crime, unfortunately, like business, has become globalized. Ter-rorism is no longer just a national or regional problem. The atrocitieswreaked by international terrorists over the last two decades have out-raged the overwhelming majority of sovereign states and have resultedin numerous treaties and conventions to attempt to deal with thisproblem.Narcotics trafficking, which inevitably has international ramifica-tions, similarly has spawned nations to band together to combat thisplague. That united effort has generated a number of international[Vol. 152Nova Law Review, Vol. 15, Iss. 2 [1991], Art. 7https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr/vol15/iss2/7Abramovsky and Frankagreements ranging from memoranda of understanding to bilateraltreaties (i.e. extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties) to multi-lateral conventions. Thus, for example, the United States Senate hasrecently ratified the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Trafficin Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.'The international cooperation that has ensued from the "war ondrugs" has also resulted in an increased international effort in the in-vestigation and prosecution of other types of criminal acts. These actsrange from intricate money laundering schemes to illicit offshore taxhavens. This in turn has brought into question such issues as to whatextent United States law may be applied extraterritorially and con-versely, to what extent the laws of other countries may be used againstAmerican citizens who have not actually committed criminal actswithin the territorial boundaries of those states, but whose activitieshave impacted in a criminal or detrimental form in those states.Directly connected to the issue is the scope and extent of constitu-tional rights of American citizens who are targets of a criminal investi-gation overseas and whether these rights are applicable to residentaliens or even foreign nationals. This issue, in turn, raises the difficultquestions of which law enforcement agents of the United States mayoperate abroad, what should their role be, and whether their actionsare monitored strictly by the host state. Likewise, an ever increasingquestion which is asked domestically is to what extent and under whatcontrol may foreign law enforcement agents operate within the territo-rial boundaries of the United States.These issues have arisen because, not only have the substantivelaws expanded, but the methodology utilized to investigate, prosecuteand defend international cases has become extraordinarily complicated.Attorneys have assumed a greater role in these international criminalcases. Until fairly recently, diplomatic agencies such as the Depart-ment of State and law enforcement agencies, for example, the FederalBureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration, haveshouldered most of the responsibility for setting policy and gatheringevidence in international cases. American prosecutors (both federal,state and local) and criminal defense attorneys have become more in-volved in investigations and have increasingly relied upon relativelynew law enforcement tools, such as mutual assistance treaties, togather evidence. For example, Attorney General Richard Thornburgh's1. U.N. Doc. E/CONF.82/15 (1988) (found in 28 I.L.M. 493 (1989)).1991]3Abramovsky and Frank: The Development, Objectives and Planned Activities of the InternaPublished by NSUWorks, 1991Nova Law Reviewproposal to station federal prosecutors in foreign countries illustratesthe heightened involvement of lawyers in international criminal law.Although international criminal law had developed into an area oflegal specialty, there was no academic center actively serving the inter-national criminal law community. In the winter of 1990, the authorsproposed the establishment of the International Criminal Law Centerat Fordham University to serve that community. We chose FordhamUniversity Law School, both because of our ties there and because ofits geographic location and international graduate program. New YorkCity is this country's hub for international business and (unfortunately)for crime. Moreover, the presence in the city of the United Nations andover 100 missions makes New York City an ideal location for an inter-national criminal law center.Additionally, the authors believed that the International CriminalLaw Center would blend well with Fordham's international graduateprogram, which focuses on international business programs. Fordham'sLL.M. Program, along with its European Community Center, bothfounded by Professor Barry Hawk and currently administered by Pro-fessor Michael Malloy, attracts students from all over the world. It wasthus clear to Dean John Feerick and Associate Dean Georgene Vairothat the next component of Fordham's international program should bea center dedicated to the study of international criminal law.The university was very receptive and enthusiastic about the pro-posal, and hence authorized the creation of the International CriminalLaw Center. The law school's commitment to the study of internationalcriminal law is evidenced by the recent addition to the: curriculum ofcourses in international criminal law, inter-national criminal businesslaw, and international human rights.Objectives of the International Criminal Law CenterA primary goal of the International Criminal Law Center is tofunction as a think tank to help formulate United States policy in deal-ing with international criminal law issues. It is the authors' belief that,at present, there is no one office in the Department of Justice or De-partment of State which is solely dedicated to developing long termpolicy for international criminal law issues. Oftentimes, the UnitedStates seems to formulate its "policy" on international criminal lawissues in an ad hoc manner. Perhaps even more alarming is the factthat the policy is one of reaction rather than a well thought out and[Vol. 154Nova Law Review, Vol. 15, Iss. 2 [1991], Art. 7https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr/vol15/iss2/7Abramovsky and Frankbalanced proactive policy.'The International Criminal Law Center will seek to offer guidanceto government policy makers through conferences and symposia as newinternational criminal law issues arise. Further, the International Crim-inal Law Center will offer counsel by way of lbriefings and memorandato the courts, Department of Justice and State officials.The International Criminal Law Center will strive to serve a simi-lar role to state and foreign governments as they create policies in re-sponse to the international criminal law issues that affect their commu-nities. The Center intends to take advantage of its geographic locationto consult with the many member states and observers of the UnitedNations to ascertain the concerns and needs of the world communitythat touch on international criminal law. Yet another function of thecenter will be to serve as an information clearinghouse and educationalcenter to assist the private bar as new issues of international criminallaw emerge.Activities of the International Criminal Law CenterThe International Criminal Law Center will host conferences dedi-cated to particular concerns of international criminal law. The paperspresented at such conferences will be published independently as a pub-lication of the International Criminal Law Center and, on occasion,will be published in the Fordham Journal of International Law.In 1991, the International Criminal Law Center expects to sponsorconferences on money laundering and the role of the United Nations inresolving the problems posed by international narcotics trafficking.These are but two samples of the type of conferences which the Centerwill sponsor.In addition to conferences, the Center will offer a series of lecturesat the law school by American and foreign lawyers and law enforce-ment personnel. The Center plans to offer during the spring of 1991lectures by American law enforcement agents about the dangers, regu-lations and methodology for conducting criminal undercover investiga-2. See, e.g., Abramovsky, Extraterritorial Abductions: America's "Catch andSnatch" Policy Run Amok, U. VA. INT'L L.J. (1991) (discussing dangers inherent inusing kidnapping to acquire in personam jurisdiction over fugitives abroad); Abramov-sky, Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: The United States' Unwarranted Attempt To AlterInternational Law in United States v. Unis, 15 YALE J. INT'L LAW 121, 138 (1990)(discussing dangers inherent in extending subject matter jurisdiction beyond generallyaccepted principles of international law).1991]5Abramovsky and Frank: The Development, Objectives and Planned Activities of the InternaPublished by NSUWorks, 1991Nova Law Reviewtions in foreign countries. At present, the International Criminal LawCenter also anticipates offering a lecture by counsel to large Americancorporations about the representation of American corporations incriminal matters abroad.In addition to sponsoring the conferences and lectures, the Inter-national Criminal Law Center takes advantage of its location in NewYork City through private meetings with foreign mission personnel. Inaddition, constant dialogue is had with leading members of the domes-tic bar to ascertain which areas they feel are in need of analysis andstudy.Finally, the International Criminal Law Center is developing a"scholars in residence" program which will be composed of foreign stu-dents and their American counterparts. This program is intended tocombine the training of students from diverse backgrounds and legalsystems, which hopefully will result in creative proposals and solutionsto complex and ever-growing multinational criminal law problems. It isthe aspiration of the law school in general and the International Crimi-nal Law Center in particular that these young men and women will oneday be the leaders in their respective lands, whether they be scholars,public officials or private practitioners.For information and/or assistance contact:Abraham AbramovskyorJonny J. FrankFordham UniversitySchool of Law140 West 62nd StreetNew York, New York 10023212-841-5296[Vol. 156Nova Law Review, Vol. 15, Iss. 2 [1991], Art. 7https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr/vol15/iss2/7

The Development, Objectives and Planned Activities of the International Criminal Law Center of Fordham University School of Law

https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1904&amp;context=nlr

The Development, Objectives and Planned Activities of the International Criminal Law Center of Fordham University School of Law

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NSU Works