SWIICL Newsletter
September 2022
- Editor – Brandon White
SWIICL News
58th Academy of American and International Law - SWIICL's premier event, the Academy of American and International Law, is set to return for the 58th time from May 29 - June 30, 2023. Since 1964, this multi-week program has attracted over 3,300 participants from 121 countries. The Academy is an activity-packed program designed for lawyers from outside the United States and focuses on U.S. law and international business transactions. Through its extraordinary classroom and extracurricular schedule, the Academy offers opportunities to forge valuable international relationships that last a lifetime.
Washburn University School of Law Professor Dr. Frédéric G. Sourgens Selected as New Chair for SWIICL - The Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law (SWIICL) at The Center for American International Law (CAIL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Frédéric G. Sourgens, the Senator Robert J. Dole Distinguished Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law and Director of its Oil and Gas Law Center in Kansas, as SWIICL's new Chair. Sourgens succeeds Dr. Susan Karamanian, Dean of the Hamad Bin Khalifa University College of Law in Qatar, who served as SWIICL's Chair since June 2016.
The 57th Academy of International and Comparative Law has Concluded - After a two-year pandemic caused delay, the SWIICL held its 57th Academy of American and International Law running from May 29 - July 1. Twenty-nine attorneys and legal professionals from seventeen countries attending this year’s Academy. Read more about the 57th Academy here.
2nd ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration - The Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative is an Institutional Supporter of the 2nd ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration in Singapore that runs from November 16 - 17, 2022. This conference is being presented by SWIICL’s two sister institutes, The Institute for Transnational Arbitration and The Institute for Energy Law, along with The ICC International Court of Arbitration. Speakers from around the globe and across the industry will gather in Singapore to focus on the key issues in international arbitration in the energy sector today.
Legal News
China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law: A Rule of Law Perspective
By Pedro M. Lorenti & Carlos E. Alfaro, Alfaro Abogados
This paper analyzes the recently enacted Chinese “Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law”, which empowers the Chinese authorities to retaliate against foreign people, companies and institutions, when their countries of origin threaten Chinese national security, sovereignty or interests. The law brings to the forefront the different conceptions about the Rule of Law acknowledged in Western and Chinese legal cultures.
Mexico’s Mining Law Amendment / Lithium and the Automotive Industry
By Moisés Flores Gómez & Alejandro Márquez Cabeza de Vaca, Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C.
As lithium has gained traction as an extremely important material for the production of electric batteries in the automotive industry, and as a consequence of an increase in the manufacture of electric and/or hybrid cars, this resource has become a valuable resource for our country.
In view of the above, the Mexican government made an amendment to the mining law of our country with respect to the extraction, exploitation and use of lithium, assigning these activities exclusively to the State, and excluding private participation.
This has generated several doubts as to what will happen with the existing private participation in the exploitation and extraction of this resource and whether or not Mexico is complying with the international treaties to which it is a party.
“El Bajío”: Business-Safe Sanctuaries in Radical Mexico
By Guillermo A. Moreno M. & Daniel Fernández, Santamarina y Steta, S.C.
The economic panorama in Mexico is not limited by radical political postures.
New Developments in the Battle Against Consumer Over-Indebtedness in Brazil
By Luciana Bazan Martins Bisetti, TozziniFreire Advogados
The indebtedness of the population is a problem faced at a global level, which intensified after the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem, in addition to being a social and political problem, presents legal biases, which was recently addressed through a new regulation on the subject in Brazil.
Alumni Focus
This issue we caught up with Alumnus Diego Rodríguez Ariztía, the Secretary General of the 2016 Academy Class. Diego is currently a Senior Associate at Guerrero Olivos in Santiago, Chile and a Visiting International Attorney at Morrison Foerster in Miami, Florida.
Diego Rodríguez Ariztía
Guerrero Olivos
Santiago, Chile
What was your motivation to attend the Academy of American and International Law?
Diego: My motivation was to get a proper introduction to the U.S. Law and get to know some of the best lawyers from all over the world
What stands out about your time at the Academy?
Diego: Meeting distinguished lawyers from all around the world gave me perspective, interaction, and friends for life. I totally recommend the program, the experience, and Dallas itself. Future students should not have second thoughts about this program. Take the chance and the opportunity, and you will never regret it!
Do you have a special Academy memory that you are fond of?
Diego: I have three memories that will never disappear from my life: The professors' quality, the negotiating skills, and the Addison Hotel we were all staying. That space gave us the opportunity not only to get to know each other in a living basis, but also to better understand the different cultures and opinions over the same topics.
How has being the Secretary General of your class helped you stay connected with the Academy and your classmates?
Diego: As Secretary General, and given the great elected committee Mary Hennessy (Phillip Lee, Dublin, Ireland) and Rodrigo Lepervanche (Victim Legal, Caracas, Venezuela), we started great recruiting campaigns for the 2017 and 2018 years, which ended in new students coming from all over the world. Today, we have different social media communication groups, and the fact that we become close friends makes us keep in touch every week.
Is there anything you learned at the Academy that you have used in your professional or personal life?
Diego: The negotiating skills taught by the Harvard Law professor. In a very intensive course, we learned skills, separated in teams, and negotiated terms and conditions for an investment to happen. It was a fantastic experience.
What have you been doing since leaving the Academy?
Diego: Once I got back to Chile, I became the Co-Mayor and Executive Administrator of a small county in Patagonia, where I spent two years. I continued my career as a Senior Associate to Guerrero Olivos Mergers & Acquisitions, Investment Funds, and Venture Capital teams. Today, I am working in one of the United Stated top big law firms, Morrison Foerster, for their offices en Miami, Florida, where we are constantly engaging with my former classmates.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about attending the Academy in 2022?
Diego: The 2016 Academy program was an outstanding study experience. Not only because we learned lots about international related subjects with world-known teachers from some of the best U.S. universities, but also because of the people we met.
Member News
Mohamed “Shafie” Ameermia
2001 Academy Alumnus and 2017 Storey Award winner Mohamed “Shafie” Ameermia is joining Ohio University as a Robert and Rene Glidden Visiting Professor this fall. Mr. Ameermia is currently the commissioner for social cohesion and nation building in the Republic of South Africa.
During his stay at Ohio University, Mr. Ameermia will talk to students in various political science, philosophy, religious studies, geography, international studies, and sociology classes. He will also deliver several public lectures and workshops and spend time working on a memoir detailing his life advocating for the vulnerable and disenfranchised.
Professor Evelyn Aswad
Professor Evelyn Aswad (who taught International Business & Human Rights at the 2022 Academy) recently co-authored an article with the former UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression (David Kaye) that compares global and regional approaches to freedom of expression and hate speech. The article is titled Convergence & Conflict: Reflections on Global and Regional Human Rights Standards on Hate Speech. It can be downloaded here.
Cecilia Flores Rueda
Taking the most of her more than 25 year-experience in arbitration, acting as Secretary General of CANACO, counsel and arbitrator in multiple arbitration cases, under various rules of procedure, Academy Alumna Cecilia Flores Rueda has recently launched Real Hearing, a full-service provider for arbitration hearings.
Real Hearing was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the needs of the arbitration forum, striving to adapt arbitration to the new circumstances. As a result, Real Hearing provides a wide range of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable services for in-person, virtual or hybrid arbitration hearings, including virtual platforms, hearing administrators, 360º cameras, simultaneous or consecutive interpretation, legal translations, transcripts, audio and video recordings, amongst others.
