Hon’ble Justice (Retd .) Richard Goldstone
Topic : The Current State of International Criminal Law and the Necessity For An International Anti- Corruption Court
Date : 17th July 2020
Justice (Retd.) Richard Goldstone, Former Justice, South AfricanConstitutional Court commenced the lecture by introducing to the viewers the series of events that led to the development of international criminal law. He stated that priorto the Nuremberg trials, the modern-day concept of statutory International Criminal Law wasstill evolving, as international law existed mostly only in terms of governance but not criminalliability; apart from the Geneva Convention of 1949, which laid down basic principles ofcriminal liability but remained at a rudimentary stage of evolution. He elaborated on the processof formation of the International Criminal Court through the Rome Statute of 1998 and theAssembly of States Parties, the governing body of the ICC. Justice Goldstone then went on todiscuss with the students, the various principles that guide the functioning of the InternationalCriminal Court, illustrating their application in different cases adjudicated by the ICC. He alsospoke about the difficulties in the functioning of the court because of the non-membership ofIndia, USA, China, and Russia and spoke of a desire to see these nations enter the jurisdictionof the ICC.
Justice Goldstone thereafter shifted the focus of the lecture to the issue of ‘Grand Corruption,’also known as “kleptocracy” and brought to light his reasons for supporting and recommendingthe formation of an International Anti-Corruption Court, a proposal which has received widespread approval from the international community. In laying down the details of thestructure and principles of the proposed Court, Justice Goldstone stated that the establishmentof such a body is a necessary step towards policing and dealing with crimes of corruption. Healso highlighted the relevance of discussing the same on the 17th of July, it being the WorldDay of International Justice.
Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) John Hedigan
Topic : Reflections on a Career / Life in Law and the Judiciary
Date : 29th July 2020
Justice John Hedigan has been a judge of theIrish Court of Appeal since September 2016.Prior to his appointment, he was a judge of the Irish High Court from April 2007. On 20 th July2016, he was nominated by the Government of Ireland for appointment by the President ofIreland to the Court of Appeal.
Despite the devastating impacts of COVID-19, Justice Hedigan was able to address an audienceof over 350 students from various batches, as well as faculty members; an opportunity whichmay not have been afforded to us during our regular academic year. Justice John Hedigan hasbeen a Judge of the Irish Court of Appeal since September 2016. He eloquently described therealities of a career in the Law and the Judiciary. He discussed the role of Ireland in theEuropean Union’s Human Right Laws, and the drafting process the laws underwent before theywere finalized. Moreover, an overview of the more recent cases brought before the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights was also given. On the question of the relationship between India andIreland, Justice Hedigan showcased how Ireland contributed to kick-starting Human RightsLaw in the European Union and how India and Ireland share close links and history when itcomes to the struggle against colonialism. The principles under the Directive Principles of StatePolicy in the Indian Constitution were also acknowledged to have been borrowed from the IrishConstitution of 1937.
Hon’ble Justice Francesca Fiecconi
Topic : Civil Procedure during COVID-19 Times and Constitutional Principles
Date : 12th August 2020
Justice Fiecconi, , Judge, Supreme Court ofItaly, began her lecture by highlighting that theConstitution is the main source of the law,especially in times of crises. A tool for power, restraint and enforcement of rights, she spokeof 5 essential pillars that determine whether a Constitution is an effective one. Going on toelaborate on each pillar in greater detail, Justice Fiecconi highlighted examples of how theIndian Constitution fits the bill and how the text of Constitution cannot be betrayed by theformal powers of the State. With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, Justice Fiecconi spokeabout how these circumstances test the efficacy of international establishments geared towardsthe protection of human rights. All the factors pose a risk of government supremacy overwelfare and also put a greater responsibility on courts of law to improve the access to justice.
An example of this is the European Commission forthe Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council ofEurope, which ensures the efficiency and quality ofjudicial systems. Additionally, she spoke about theissues of cybersecurity of personal data as wecontinue to settle into the idea of digital justice andemphasized on the need for IT support requires theguarantee of security, extra training and ensuring that access to technology is available at alllevels of the justice system.
Justice Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, President, East African Court of Justice, Tanzania, set thepremise of his lecture by establishing the transgression of planetary boundaries being causedby the human race. According to him, understanding urgency of the matter is of the utmost importance as is seen through tangible proof such as the Carbon Dioxide levels in theatmosphere exceeding 350 ppm, the large-scale biodiversity and forest cover loss and theincreasing global temperatures. Considering these dire circumstances, he says that heconstantly finds himself asking the question, “What can judges do to positively impacthumanity’s life support systems?”. According to him, it is imperative that judges abide by theprinciples of Rule of Law and cited 8 ingredients to be able to make this happen. He spokeabout the need for Constitutional guarantees of environmental protection in every country andelaborated on the similarity in constitutional judgements of the Indian Supreme Court and theAfrican Court of Human Rights, both having recognised the right to clean environment as aFundamental Right.
On jurisdictional issues, he spoke about the doctrine of forum non conveniensandgave theexample of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the Southern District Court of New York State whichdid not admit a suit against Union Carbide Company. He also spoke about the Kafue riverdispute and the interpretation of the European Court of Justice which waived the doctrine andallowed a British company to be sued in UK courts despite the origin of the suit being outsidethe territory of the UK. Justice Emmanuel concluded by bringing forth the need forinternationalization of judicial integration to reinforce the environmental rule of law and thenecessity to do away with the problematic aspects of judicial proceedings causing a detrimentto the environment. He called for the newer generations of students and the legal fraternity totake on the responsibility of improving environmental jurisprudence.
Having recognised a variety of challenges pertaining to Migration in the European and Asiancontinents and in order to overcome such challenges and problems in the Partner countries ofMyanmar and Malaysia, and fill in the knowledge, legal and political gap in the forcedmigration issue, the ILFM project proposed to conduct a comprehensive research in the areaand develop an innovative and intellectually challenging Master programme in internationallaw and forced migration issues that is absent from the Partner Countries HEIs programmes.The objective of this initiative is to carry out a more in-depth analysis composed by means ofdesk research and interviews to identify and analyse existing HEI LL.M programmes in Europeand Asia in similar areas of International Refugee Law, the International framework for theprotection of Human rights law, law of the sea and its relevance to Migration, clinical lawyeringand advocacy trainings as well as investigate the needs of the academic staff in order to upgradetheir skills to be able to face the challenges of the 21 st century.
Student members of the International Cell, under the guidance of the faculty members,undertook the task of research and compilation of experts, existing courses in universities inIndia and around the globe and collated all such data into determining the gaps in each courseto best develop a programme that would address all these challenges. A dedicated student-faculty team starting from October worked over a course of almost six months in the academicsessions to formulate the list of national and international experts and submit to them theprepared questionnaires to understand the contemporary needs which the programme will needto address. The project is a work in progress and is aimed at being culminated in the creationof Masters level programme dealing with all the issues brought forth.
Deliberation Forum 1.0
Topic : Should Social Media Algorithms be regulated?
Date : 6th November 2020
The first deliberation forum presentedby International Cell, ILSA PuneChapter was kick started with theintroduction of Dharminder SinghKaleka as the keynote speaker. In his address, Mr. Dharminder Kaleka highlighted some keyissues of discussion regarding the influence of social media on politics giving examples fromdaily life. Social media is embedded in our daily livelihood, right from household to politics toworld affairs. It is not a lesser-known fact that people have become more engrained in the socialmedia influence, knowingly and unknowingly. During the beginning, social media were onlya platform where people shared their opinion about ongoing issues. As time progressed, ittransformed from being an open platform to a systematically run algorithm mainly to earnrevenue. The personalizing of content has become so normalized in recent years that requiredstrict regulations. Politics primarily gets influenced by social media when only one side of thestory is reflected. In the whole process of expressing, one’s opinions about an issue, peopletend to lose a touch of balancing. The other side of the opinion is neglected without framingone’s opinion. In the past 7-8 years, there has been a substantial boom in social media usage.This is a result of falling prices of smartphones and data packs. Even the common masses areable to afford smartphones and data packs. The very down- trodden sectors of country are alsoable to use social media. However, there is a major lack of education in the strata because ofwhich the opinions formed by them are not accurate or well- thought.
The forum began with the speaker talking about her personal experience with the Instagramexplore page showing exactly what they wish to see, pointing towards the way in which thesecontent personalization algorithms work. The three main things, i.e., technology, entertainmentand algorithms work in consonance to make the personalization work. The best way to regulatesuch algorithms is to legislate on such topics. The suggestion of placing a limit on the numberof user targeted content posts was put forth. We as consumers of social media, should startbeing more cautious about these forces and filter our searches. NETZG Law in Germany forinstance proved to be a most ambitious attempt to regulate platform contents moderationprocesses in Europe. Other speakers pointed out a relationship between Politics, ContentRegulation and Generalization which mainly impact the personalized content on social mediaplatforms.Possible outcomes arrived at the end of discussion:
In the end, the Deliberation Forum wasconcluded with closing remarks and vote ofthanks addressed by Head of the InternationalCell, Mehar Singh Dang. The forum was asuccessful initiative which turned out as a holisticand informative discussion with personal andindustrial anecdotes on the topic with a goodturnout of enthusiastic students.
Deliberation Forum 2.0
Topic : China's growing influence: Another dimension to the “New Normal”.
Date : 5th December 2020
Taresh Bakshi was the resourceperson for the second session of theDeliberation Forum. He provided ahighly informative outline for thediscussion, talking about the aimbehind bringing the phrases ‘China’and the ‘New Normal’ in the sametopic. He brought out some important themes within the topic, such as China’s new foreignpolicy in relation to soft power, it’s growing strength as an economic force internationally andthe manner in which China dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated backlashagainst it.
With these insights into the topic, the floor was opened for discussion. The debate started outwith an exchange of views on debt-trap diplomacy as a tactic employed by China. While somemembers of the Forum condemned China’s tactics, others found it an unfair condemnation.Prof. Kshitij Naikade also participated in the discussion and drew the participant’s attention tothe growing influence China exerts over not just Asian politics but international politics.Further discussion was had on the same vein, with some speakers bringing out the cognizanceof other countries in allowing China to take adominant position in international politics andtrade. Participants drew light to how China’sinvolvement in international trade andproviding loans to developing countries wasalso to the benefit of those very countries.
Participants then discussed how China insulated itself from the presumably harsh criticism it could have received over the concealment of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise of soft power through a show of charisma is what the participants agreed largely insulated the country. The well-spun narrative of efficiency in dealing with the crisis and providing aid to other countries struggling with the virus played a part in preventing extreme reactions to China over the pandemic.
Intra Mun 2020
The Intra MUN 2020 conducted on 12 th November 2020 attracted registrations from over 50 students at the college who were each allotted a country to represent as part of the simulation of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Executive Board comprised of Shivansh Ahuja and Nimisha Shukla who presided over the assembly. The agenda set for the day was “ The question of BigTech regulation and data security across boundaries.” The Intra-MUN was conducted virtually, through the online platform Zoom.
Over the cross of the entire day, the delegates discussed and deliberated upon the various aspects of the agenda and took up the discussion to a solution-based approach showcasing their critical analysis skills and research in addressing the nuances of the agenda. The delegates functioned as per the procedure told to them in the orientation session conducted for them before the registration process began.
Based on the performances of the day, the delegates were scored as per their foreign policy, research and participation in discussion among other things and a tier-based structure was formulated on the basis of which contingents were made for the various conferences in the academic session.
Sun Mun 2020
The Southeastern United Nexus Model United Nations (Online) 2020 was hosted on the 19 th and 20 th of December 2020 for the purpose of raising funds to purchase resources for the patients and staff of the COVID ward of the National Children’s Hospital in Philippines and had the following committees to offer:
Sls, Hyderabad Mun 2021
The SLS, Hyderabad MUN 2021 was hosted on 20 th and 21 st March 2021 online via the Zoom Platform. The committees simulated at the conference were, UNSC with the agenda: Review the Current Legal Framework for Deployment of Peacekeeping Operations; UNHRC with the agenda: Deliberation on the Shortcomings of the IHL and ICRC in Safeguarding the Rights of Civilians and POWs During War Crimes; the All India Political Parties Meet with the agenda: Reassessment of the Presence of Different Pressure Groups in India and Assessing the Effects on Elections; and a Continuous Crisis Committee where the delegates got to deal and solve new crises as they arise and work together as new directives from the Board force you to adopt.
A contingent of eight first years from the college participated in the conference and displayed commendable performances with Rohan Gupta winning the Special Mention in the AIPPM.
PCGT National Youth Parliament 2021
The PCGT National Youth Parliament was conducted on 10 th and 11 th April 2021 was organised by the Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) in association with the Pravin Gandhi College of Law (PGCL) via the Zoom platform. The theme for this edition was the “Era of Reforms” and the conference simulated the following:
An eight member delegation was sent for this Conference, of whom Nikhilesh Koundinya was awarded the High Commendation, Gaurangi Pande was awarded the Special Mention and Jayati Bhatia was awarded the Verbal Mention in the Rajya Sabha.
SLSPMUN’21
With the agenda for United Nations Security Council being “Assessing the Possibility and Causality of the Spread of Coronavirus as a Man-Made Biological Weapon”, the delegates released questions and discussed possible solutions about the potential deliberate use of COVID-19 as a biological weapon. The agenda for United Nations Environment Program was the “Disposal and Adverse Repercussions Of Covid- 19 Generated Biomedical Waste on the Ecosystem”. The overdrive in the healthcare industry has led to a tremendous increase in
An eight member delegation was sent for this Conference, of whom Nikhilesh Koundinya was awarded the High Commendation, Gaurangi Pande was awarded the Special Mention and Jayati Bhatia was awarded the Verbal Mention in the Rajya Sabha biomedical waste generation: the committee deliberated upon the issues and solutions regarding the same.
The All India Political Parties Meet deliberated upon “Formulating Strategies for Ameliorating the Economic Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic”. The pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the Indian economy and delegates proposed solutions to amend the situation. the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee discussed “Assessing the Ramifications of Pandemic Control Measures on Women and Vulnerable Groups”. By exploring the human rights aspect of the pandemic, the delegates of SOCHUM also brainstormed possible solutions for the same. The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis united the SAARC countries as they adopted measures to deal with the crisis quickly. The delegates explored the matter further by debating on “Adapting Existing Frameworks of Regional Cooperation in South Asia to Tackle the Emerging Challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic”. At the exhilarating War Cabinet delegates simulated the Second Chechen War – an armed conflict primarily in Chechnya between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Promoting and protecting the freedom of press is what makes a member of the international press and the IP delegates represented the importance of unbiased journalism thoroughly. Over the course of the three days from 28 th April to 30 th April, 2021, the delegated participated enthusiastically and made for a well-founded academic discourse making the conference a huge success.
EURASIA DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER PROGRAM LECTURE SERIES
The EURASIA Distinguished Speaker Program Lecture Series is a series which has evolved out of the IALS Distinguished Speaker Lectures series and aims to function on similar objectives of transparency and open dialogue. Birthed by the International Cell faculty members, the Distinguished Speakers Programme looks at the cultural issues which affect us as a global community and how parallels can be seen and understood across the Indian and European jurisdictions. The Distinguished Speakers Programme encourages and depict a wonderful example of outside-the-classroom-learning emphasised the significance of learning through in-depth understanding of matters of cultural values in any society. The Distinguished Speakers Programme elucidates the profundity of multiculturism, especially now that the world has become a “global village”. Conducted in regular intervals over the course of the academic session, the various speakers invited enlightened the audiences with their understanding and insights into a variety of areas which have been listed down as the following:
With the agenda for United Nations Security Council being “Assessing the Possibility and Causality of the Spread of Coronavirus as a Man-Made Biological Weapon”, the delegates released questions and discussed possible solutions about the potential deliberate use of COVID-19 as a biological weapon. The agenda for United Nations Environment Program was the “Disposal and Adverse Repercussions Of Covid- 19 Generated Biomedical Waste on the Ecosystem”. The overdrive in the healthcare industry has led to a tremendous increase in
An eight member delegation was sent for this Conference, of whom Nikhilesh Koundinya was awarded the High Commendation, Gaurangi Pande was awarded the Special Mention and Jayati Bhatia was awarded the Verbal Mention in the Rajya Sabha biomedical waste generation: the committee deliberated upon the issues and solutions regarding the same.
The All India Political Parties Meet deliberated upon “Formulating Strategies for Ameliorating the Economic Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic”. The pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the Indian economy and delegates proposed solutions to amend the situation. the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee discussed “Assessing the Ramifications of Pandemic Control Measures on Women and Vulnerable Groups”. By exploring the human rights aspect of the pandemic, the delegates of SOCHUM also brainstormed possible solutions for the same. The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis united the SAARC countries as they adopted measures to deal with the crisis quickly. The delegates explored the matter further by debating on “Adapting Existing Frameworks of Regional Cooperation in South Asia to Tackle the Emerging Challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic”. At the exhilarating War Cabinet delegates simulated the Second Chechen War – an armed conflict primarily in Chechnya between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Promoting and protecting the freedom of press is what makes a member of the international press and the IP delegates represented the importance of unbiased journalism thoroughly. Over the course of the three days from 28 th April to 30 th April, 2021, the delegated participated enthusiastically and made for a well-founded academic discourse making the conference a huge success.
Sr. No. | Date | Name of Speaker | Topic Covered |
1. | 20th November 2020 |
Dr Daniela Irrera |
Crime-Terror Nexus and its Implications on European Security |
2. | 21st November 2020 | Dr. Maria Stoicheva |
European Union and Inter
|
3. | 27th November 2020 | Dr. Przemyslaw Tacik | Norm Creation in EU Law |
4. | 28th November 2020 | Dr. Przemyslaw Tacik | EU and Human Rights |
5. |
1st December 2020 |
Dr. Lid King | Multiculturalism and Linguistic Identity https://www.symlaw.ac.in/assets/img/2020/i20.png" class="img-fluid col-md-5 pr-0 float-right" alt="assets 2019 image 5"> |
6. | 5th Deceeber 2020 | Dr. Vihar Georgiev | Exclusive, Shared and Supporting Georgiev Competences of the European Union |
7. | 8th December 2020 | Dr. Natasza Styczyńska | Common Foreign and Security Policy |
8. | 11th December 2020 | Dr. Nikolina Tsvetkova | Intercultural Communication and Intercultural Dialogue |
9. | 17th December 2020 | Dr. Francesca Longo | Migration and Asylum Policy of the EU between Old and New Challenges |
Guest Lecture By Dr. Umesh Kadam
Topic : Brief Overview of International Humanitarian Refugee Law
Date : 11th August 2020
The guest lecture was a brief overview of International Humanitarian Refugee Law wherein Dr. Kadam started by discussing the basic definition of Public International Law, moving unto the modern sources of International law. Before the codification of International Law, customs played an important role. Although they still hold an important role despite the birth of various conventions and laws. The jurisprudence and roots of International and Humanitarian Law was heavily discussed. Dr. Kadam encouraged students to ask compelling questions at the end of the session to prevent any doubts on the discussed topics.
The lecture brilliantly covered all the aspects of modern humanitarian law which is broadly divided in two categories: International armed conflicts and Non- International armed conflicts, although, Dr. Kadam highlighted that International Law shall not apply to internal disturbances, violence and riots and armed conflicts. Dr. Kadam further moved on to explaining the fundamental rules of International Humanitarian laws; the basic rule being, to ensure humane treatment to persons not taking part in hostilities’ and most importantly, to ensure the dignity of captured combatants and civilians and protecting them to prevent them from being killed. Detained persons shall be tried at the earliest to know their participation in insinuating violence. Dr. Kadam also covered and highlighted upon the means and methods of warfare and the principle of proportionality.
Webinar – Services Export Promotion Council(SEPC)
Topic : Aligning India’s Education Sector with Global Practices and Emerging Export
Opportunities
Date : 25th August 2020
As an International Cell activity, the students of the International Cell were made to attend a webinar hosted by the Services Council Export (SEPC) Promotion which is an organisation setup by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India to investigate the various aspects of service sector export in India. The webinar addressed the imperative concern of internationalization of the education sector which has become a contemporary issue considering the New Education Policy and the general trend towards increased cooperation in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. Organised by the SEPC in association with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the event saw a range of experienced panellists specialising in the various aspect of both education and corporate sector export fields.
The session was opened with a brief introduction about the SEPC and its vision. Madam Pro Chancellor, Dr. Vidya Yerawdekar went on to breakdown her role as Pro Chancellor of SIU, which itself was formulated with a wholistic atmosphere keeping in mind the needs of the numerous international students in Pune. The tone of the discussion was set with her comments on the need for the creation of adequate mechanisms for online education considering the pandemic and the various pre-requisites like proper analysis of socio-economic needs of students being targeted as the market for India’s path of export promotion for education. An enlightening culmination of opinions, the webinar covered all aspects of necessity regarding India’s path to internationalization in education and provided a forum for experts in the field to discuss and deliberate upon their initiatives and concerns.
Guest Lecture By Dr. Radley Henrico
Topic : The relevance of the Principle of Legality and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 in South African Administrative Law: Finding the appropriate pathway to Judicial Review
Date : 10th September 2020
Dr. Henrico, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Law & Jurisprudence Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, explained the context of the principle of legality and rule of law, and drew a comparison between the different situations that existed in India and South Africa in the 1940s. While India passed its Constitution in 1949, the National Party in South Africa had adopted the racially discriminatory practice of apartheid in 1948. This practice was in place until the Interim Constitution of 1993. The existence of this practice in South African history has led to a culture of justification in the present. Any exercise of power must be accountable and subject to the culture of justification, and anything less than that would be an impunity of the constitutional values.
Dr. Henrico then proceeded to explain the Constitutional, jurisprudential, and legislative background for the process of judicial review regarding administrative action. He analysed the development of the principle of legality through several landmark cases. He then pointed out the effect of a national legislation known as the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA) and noted that the legislation has been criticized for its complexity and for the fact that it has excluded several actions that may otherwise be deemed to be administrative actions.
Explaining further, he stated that a result of this is that the Courts have dealt with the matter of judicial review of administrative action in different ways and closed his speech with some practical advice to the students who were attending.
Dr. Radley Henrico also conducted a series of other lectures across batches in the following order:
Sr. No. | Topic | Class | Date |
1. | The relevance of the principle of legality and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 in South African Administrative Law: Finding the appropriate pathway to judicial review |
3rd Year BA/BBA LLB Course: Administrative Law | 10th September 2020 |
5 Year BA/BBALLB Comparative Constitution | |||
2. | The functus officio doctrine and invalid administrative action in South African administrative law: a flexible approach |
2nd Year BA/BBALLB (Suggested) / 3 rd Year BA/BBA LLB Course: Administrative Law |
14th September 2020 |
5 Year BA/BBALLB Comparative Constitution | |||
LLM | |||
3. | Understanding the concept of “religion” within the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom | 2nd Year BA/BBALLB Constitutional Law |
18th September 2020 |
5 Year BA/BBALLB | |||
4. | The relevance of the principle of legality and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 in South African Administrative Law: Finding the appropriate pathway to judicial review. | LLM | 5th October 2020 |
5. | The functus officio doctrine and invalid administrative action in South African administrative law: a flexible approach. | LLM | 16th October 2020 |
Guest Lecture By Dr. Clare Frances Moran
Topic : International Criminal Law and Responsibility for International Crimes, particularly in relation to Non-State Actors.
Date : 11th September 2020
Dr. Clare Frances Moran, Lecturer in Law, Edinburgh Napier University, has published widely on the concept of defences in international criminal law and responsibility for international crimes, particularly in relation to non-state actors. The lecture was specially held for the students of International Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law. This was done because of the undeniable importance that the said topic holds in this subject. International Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law apply extensively in cases of International Criminal Liability and must often be dealt with collectively. Thus, holding the guest lecture for the students of International Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law was extremely relevant and added to their knowledge about these subjects. The resource person, having wide knowledge in the field of International Criminal Law, provided important insight into the topic and its relevance in today’s context. Emphasis was laid on the application of legal theory in these areas. The lecture was an important stepping-stone into a deeper and clearer understanding of not only International Law as a whole, but also the specific disciplines of International Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law in the context of International Criminal Law. The virtually held Guest Lecture was a valuable addition to the knowledge of the students, providing an understanding-enhancing opportunity to them.
Webinar – Initiative Of Lincoln International Business School
Topic : 21st Century Leadership: Emotional LENS
Date : 12 th November 2020
As an International Cell activity, the students of the International Cell were made to attend a webinar hosted under an Initiative of the Lincoln International Business School. The webinar focused on the ‘Emotion Lens’ of leadership to explore the key traits of an emotionally connected leader in VUCA times. It covered concepts such as awakening self-awareness, inclusive leadership, strategic coaching/mentoring for success and accepting our own vulnerability as a sign of inner strength. The panel was chaired by Prof Craig Marsh, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director of the LIBS and the panel members were:
Panel Discussion – Nlsiu
Topic : Careers in International Law
Date : 27 th November 2020
As an International Cell activity, the students of the International Cell were made to attend a Panel Discussion hosted by the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Moderated by Vikram Raghavan, Lead Counsel, World Bank and Raag Yadava, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU the Panel Discussion aimed to bring together legal practitioners from around the globe in the field of International Law in one or the other aspect and by understanding their journey, understand the scope of the International Law as an area of practice. The panel constituted of:
• Nandan Nelivigi. Partner, White & Case, NY
• Gitanjali Brandon, Indian Foreign Service
• Anjoli Singh, Counsel, ICJ & ITLOS
• Neha Jain, Professor of Public International Law, EUI Florence
• Tur-Od Lkhagvajev, Transparency International, Mongolia
• Sameer Saran, International Human Rights Lawyer
SYMROLIC 2021
The 9 th edition of the International Annual Research Conference on Rule of Law in Context: Indian and Global Perspectives was held over the span of two days, 12 th, and 13 th March 2021, specially designed to discuss and deliberate on various interdisciplinary areas and core issues and suggest the way forward for the respect of Rule of Law. An important feature of the conference was the plenary session which is on “Post COVID Challenges to Rule of Law and Sustainable Development Goals”.
Besides the Plenary and Workshop sessions the conference will have paper presentations in
following Tracks:
• Law and Human Behavior (focal area - COVID 19)
• Business, Trade, Commerce, Management and Law (focal area - Vaccine and Medical
Goods)
• International Law, Policy and Governance (focal area - International Health, Climate Change, International Migration)
• EURASIA: European Studies in Law, Management, Humanities, Science, Trade and Economics (Human Rights, Health Law)
• Innovation, Science, Technology and Law (AI, Data Science, Law Tech)
• Public Law, Society and Governance (Human rights and Public Health, Labour Law, Farmers Right).
The students of the International Cell submitted entries to the EURASIA track and attended all
the other tracks along with EURASIA in a coordinated fashion. The participated intently and
contributed to the flow of discussion by putting forth their questions to the distinguished
speakers and presenters.
SCES STUDENT THINK TANK E-SYMPOSIUM
Topic : India and Poland: The Future of our Partnership
Date : 30th March 2021
As an International Cell activity, the students of the International Cell were made to attend an e- Symposium organised by the Symbiosis Centre for European Studies (SCES) Student Think Tank. The session was conducted by Michalina Seliga, Secretary in the Political-Economic Section at the Embassy of Poland in New Delhi. India and Poland have had a long history of diplomatic ties starting in 1954, sharing common ideologies based on their opposition to colonialism, imperialism and racism. India and Poland over the years, have had good exchanges at levels of heads of state and the respective governments. Poland is India’s largest trade partner and export destination in the East European region, with growing bilateral trade. This webinar is to serve as an introduction to this partnership, and future scope for cooperation for the public, especially students who will go on work in these spaces. The e-symposium addressed cooperation in Cyber Security, Smart cities, Green Technology, Fintech, Water management and Developments in Higher Education and Academic Collaboration.
Mr. Thomas Grund, Prof. Thomas Grund delivered a lecture on “Corruption Scandal and the actual investigation”. Prof. Thomas Grund is an Associate Professor at University College Dublin, Ireland. Having a strong background in Sociology, he spoke about public criminal trials and the sociological relations. He summed up that the whole is more than sum of its parts in sociology.
Dr. Hartmut Aden, Professor of German and European Public Law, Public Policy and Public Administration, Berlin School of Law and Economics (BSEL), Dr. Hartmut Aden visited SLSP between 7th March, 2019 and 16th March, 2019. He delivered lectures to the students enrolled for the European Union Legal Studies course, and conducted a seminar for the faculty. Dr. Aden also shared with the students, the opportunities for LL.M. and Summer School Exchange in BSEL.
Professor Mimi Samuel, Professor Mimi Samuel is an Associate Professor at School of Law, Seattle University. Her visit to Symbiosis Law School was to provide orientation about moot court to students. She elucidated that thinking like a lawyer involves three things; Firstly, analyzing statutes and cases, secondly, applying law to fact in order to construct legal arguments and thirdly, evaluating the strength of legal arguments.
Mr. Michael Horwitz, Assistant District Attorney, Israel, visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune between 25th February - 4th March, 2019. He delivered lectures for the European Union Legal Studies and Asian Legal Studies Programmes, and a Faculty Development Seminar during his stay.
Prof. Paul Babie, Dean of Adelaide Law School, visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 29th February, 2019. He delivered a guest lecture on 'Law and Religious Freedom.' His extensive research findings on law and religion engaged the audience thoroughly during the European Union Legal Studies Programme.
Dr. Maria Stoicheva, Professor, Functional Rector, Sofia University, came on a visit to Symbiosis Law School, Pune from 28th February to 6th March. She delivered lectures for the
EULS students and also contributed to the curriculum development of the programme.
Justice Mohan Pieris, Former Attorney General of Sri-Lanka visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune from the 27th of March 2019 to the 30th of March. He judged the final rounds of Symbiosis International Criminal Trial Advocacy, 2019 and delivered lectures for the European Legal Studies and Asian Legal Studies Programmes.
Dr. Darius Whelan, Senior Lecturer, University College Cork, School of Law, Ireland visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune from 24th April to 2nd May, 2019. With his expertise and experience in the field of research and development, he engaged Faculty Seminars, reviewed Curricula related to EURASIA project.
Judge Miriam Krause, Tel Aviv, Israel visited Symbiosis Law School between 17th to 24th January. She delivered various lectures on European Union Legal Studies and Asian Legal Studies and conducted a faculty development seminar during her visit. She was able to wonderfully connect with the audience by sharing her mother's experience of the holocaust. She also touched issues international justice.
Dr. Alexander Fischer, Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Research), Executive Director, Centre for Public Law and Jurisprudence, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune from the 29th March to the 1st April 2019. He judged the final rounds of the Symbiosis International Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition and delivered EULS lectures.
Dr. Aparajita Mohanty, Prof. Sujata Arya and Prof. KshitijNaikade attended and participated in the Workshop on European Legal Studies at Stockholm University, Sweden on 21st and 22nd. They presented a research paper titled, "Menace of Plastic Pollution: Responses from India and EU.”
Mr. Edward Choi, a Doctoral Candidate from Boston University visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 9th April, 2019 to interact with Dr. Shashikala Gurpuron Higher Education and Law.
Dr. Galina Rousseva- Sokolova from Sofia University came to Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 27th April, 2018 to further the discussion on the Eurasia Project and participated in the panel discussion on EURASIA—Common Challenges and Converging Perspectives: Rule of Law in Europe and Asia.
Prof. Lindsay Trotman visited SLS-P as a Scholar- in Residence. During his stay he delivered lectures on wide ranging issues like Comparative Corporate Law, Consumer Protection, Law of Torts and Comparative Constitution. He also engaged a Faculty Development Seminar on Misleading or Deceptive Conduct.
Mr. Vincent Oeters, Marketing Head- Asia and Middle East, Brill Publishers conducted a guest lecture on “How to Publish with an International Law Publisher”. He stated the importance of citations and the fundamental principles that a researcher must abide by while formulating his or her article.
Ms. Heather Wallick, former Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard Law School conducted a guest lecture on ‘Higher Education Abroad-Admissions and Financial Aid’ on 8th September in the Professional Development and Continuing Legal Education Hall of Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She stated how students must make informed decisions about their higher education degrees.
Attorney Rebecca Todd visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune from 14th September 2018- 1st October 2018. She imparted extensive training on Mooting Skills and Legal Writing to the students of Symbiosis Law School, Pune and Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. She also delivered guest lectures on First Amendment Rights under US Constitution and related cases pertaining to Public Schools to the students of 5th Year BA/BBALLB, ‘First Amendment Rights, Religion and Education’ to the students of LL.M. She also conducted an intensive Legal Skills Workshop on 26th and 27th September 2018.
Prof. Stephen Barnes from Penn State University, the USA visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 13th September, 2018. He conducted a lecture on Constitutional Law for the LL.M and the 5th year students and a separate session for students who were interested in pursuing LL.M at Penn.
Dr. Natasaza Styczynka, Assistant Professor at the Institute of European Studies Dean’s Proxy for Internationalization at the faculty of International and Political Studies Jagiellonian
University and Dr. Daniela Irrera, Assistant Professor of International Relations and Global Civil Society & ERASMUS Coordinator, Department of Political and Social Science University of Catania visited SLS, Pune from 25th September to 29th September 2018 under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher participating in the panel discussion on EURASIA — Common Challenges and Converging Perspectives: Rule of Law in Europe and Asia.
Prof. Dr. Clemens Arzt from Berlin School of Economics & Law attended the 7th International Annual Research Conference on Rule of Law in Context: Indian and Global Perspectives from 27th, 28th and 29th September 2018 where he presented a paper on the “Rule of Law and Police in India, Namibia and Germany - A comparative approach.
Prof. Dr. Clemens Arzt from Berlin School of Economics & Law attended the 7th International Annual Research Conference on Rule of Law in Context: Indian and Global Perspectives from 27th, 28th and 29th September 2018 where he presented a paper on the “Rule of Law and Police in India, Namibia and Germany - A comparative approach.
A delegation from Bristol University consisting of Professor Ken Oliphant (Head of the Bristol Law School) and Mr. Dominic Freda (Faculty Manager for Social Sciences and Law) visited Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 29th November, 2018 to discuss the possibilities of collaboration for Joint Summer Schools, Law Clinic Exchange, Semester Exchange for Students, Faculty Exchange Programmes and for Lectures via video-conferencing and Skype.
Dr. Jane Knight, Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto visited SLS-P on 26th December. She had a meeting with the Director Dr. Shashikala Gurpur and faculty members of the Law School. Being a renowned scholar of the eld of internationalization of higher education, the discussion veered around the following:
European Studies Revitalized Across Asian Universities (EURASIA) Project EURASIA is a capacity building project in higher education aimed at strengthening the academic ties between higher-educational institutions (HEI) in 4 program countries (Bulgaria, Poland, France and Italy) and 4 HEIs from 2 partner countries (China and India).The main coordinating University is Sofia University, Bulgaria. Symbiosis Law School, Pune (SIU) has achieved another milestone in promoting internationalization by being a part of the prestigious Erasmus Capacity Building Project.
The European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme is a funding scheme to support activities in the fields of education and training and the project activities would include the elaboration of original, innovative and methodologically grounded modules and courses on European Studies, upgrade and modernization of existing courses and developing unique ones addressing regional cooperation which will promote stronger ties between India and Europe and contribute towards knowledge generation, dissemination and cross-cultural sensitization.
30th March 2018 – 6th April 2018, Dr. Radley Henrico, Senior Lecturer, Public and Procedural Law, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg, Advocate of The High Court of South Africa visited SLS-P. He delivered lectures on:
Understanding the concept of “religion” within the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom’ to 1st Year BA/BBA LLB and LLM students of SLS-P.
Constitutional Law: The limits of transformative constitutionalism with reference to the doctrine of separation of powers / Mutual accommodation of religious differences in the workplace – a jostling of rights to 2nd Year- BA/BBA LLB & 1st Year LLB students of SLS-P.
Limits of the rule of law: ethical duties to be assumed by persons in public office to prevent corruption’ to LLM and 2nd Year LLB students of SLS-P.
Introductory Principles to South African Constitutional Law &South African Administrative Law: The relevance of the principle of legality’to LLM students.
Educating our future legal practitioners: The imperative of transformative education’ to 5th Year BA/BBA LLB & 3rd Year LLB students of SLS-P.
Faculty Seminar on ‘Understanding the concept of “religion” within the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.
25th-27th March 2018, Dr. Siobhan Mullally, Commissioner, Irish Human RightsCommission judged the SICTA Finals and delivered lectures on:
Camp for quality enhancement of Dissertation’ for LLM students on 29th March 2018.
Faculty Seminar on “Council of Europe: Human Rights monitoring on Trafficking of Human Beings
Mr. Dominic D'souza, Barrister at Law, Goldsmith Chambers, London delivered a lecture on Entertainment Law for 4th year BA/BBA LLB (Hons.) and LLM students on 17th March 2018.
Dr. Federico LupoPasini, Professor, Faculty of Law, Queens University, Belfast delivered a lecture on ‘Implications of BREXIT from the perspective of International Business Laws’ for the students of 4th and 5th Year BA/BBA-LLB on 19th February 2018.
Dr. Christiane Trüe, Professor of Public Law, Faculty of Law and Economics, Bremen University of Applied Science, Germany and Prof. Dr.MechthildSchrooten, Faculty of Law and Economics, Bremen University of Applied Science, Germany delivered a lecture on Overview of European Union Environmental Law on 22nd February 2018.
Dr. RatnaKapur, Visiting Professor, School of Law, Queen Mary University of LondonguidedLL.M. Human Rights students on their research topics.She also delivered a discourse on ‘EU and European Court of Human Rights’ on 12th March, 2018 for the students of Certificate Program, Spring School of EULS and 4th& 5th Year students of B.A.-B.B.A.-LL.B. She also delivered a lecture on ‘Camp 1- (External Expert) for Human Rights Students’ on 13th March, 2018 for LLM Human Rights students.
12th - 13th January, 2017, Mr. Chris Parsons,Chairman, India Practice, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP visited SLS, Pune. He delivered a guest lecture on Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions – the India Story to the students of IV, V Year BA. LL.B./ B.B.A. LL.B., III Year LL.B., and members of the Community Legal Care Centre. He also spoke about his 30 marathons over 30 days in India for uplifting the condition of disadvantaged women.
5th January, 2017, Prof. J.R. Swanegan, Assistant Dean, International Programs at Stetson University College of Law, Tampa Bay, Florida and Prof. Royal Gardner, Faculty of Environmental Law, Stetson University College of Law in Tampa Bay, Florida visited SLS-P.
During their stay, they discussed possibilities of future collaborations with SLS,Pune.
12th January, 2017, Prof. William (Bill) Cushley, International Dean for Eurasia and South Asia and Mr. Sanju Dominic , International Officer (India) visited SLS, Pune and discussed prospects of future collaboration in the areas of Research, Joint Publication and Joint Summer School in the field of IPR, participation in the two International Moot Courts and the Annual Research Conference.
13th January, 2017, Prof. Dario Moura Vicente, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, President of the Institute for Legal Cooperation, Lisbon paid a visit to SLS, Pune during which he discussed the possibility of an MOU with SLS, Pune with the International Cell.
9th February, 2017, Dr. Ilias Trispiotis of the School of Law from University of Leeds delivered a lecture on the 'Significance of the European Court of Human Rights in a Globalizing World' for the LLM students of SLS, Pune.
15th - 16th February, 2017, Prof. Margaret Sova McCabe, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Law, University of New Hampshire School of Law visited SLS, Pune. During her visit, she conducted a Faculty Seminar on 'Framework for Approval of Genetically Engineered Crops Inadequately Prepare for Deregulation.' She also introduced students to the Franklin Pierce IPR Centre and UNH.
Mr. Matti Gurreck, Scientific Assistant, Chair of Public Law-European Law, Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany visited SLS-P from 12th - 27th February, 2017. During his stay, he delivered lectures to the EULS Certificate Course students and conducted FDP on 'Soft Law in EU'.
10th February, 2017, Prof. Elaine Claar Campbell, Director of Graduate and International Programs, Peking University School of Transnational Law ("STL"), Shenzhen, China and Professor Ray Campbell, Peking University School of Transnational Law visited SLS-P. They introduced STL and their LL.M. degree program.
Prof. Ray Campbell delivered a lecture on 'How the Digital Age is Impacting the Practice of Law' to the students of BA/BBALLB IV Year and II & III Year LLB.
24th February, 2017, Helen Hudson, Head of Legal Development, Nottingham Trent University visited SLS-P and discussed future possibilities of collaboration, online courses and summer schools.
28th February, 2017, Dr. Anja Meutsch, Cologne University visited SLS-P. She conducted a lecture for the European Union Legal Studies Certificate Course offered by SLS, Pune.
2nd March, 2017, Hon'ble Justice Mohan Peiris, Former Chief Justice and Attorney General, Sri Lanka delivered a guest lecture on 'Judicial Review: A comparison of India, Sri Lanka and USA' for BA/BBALLB (Hons.) II Year.
Hon'ble Justice Kristi Lea Harrington, Judge, South Carolina State Circuit Court, State of South Carolina, USA visited SLS, Pune, India from 20th June, 2016 to 24th July, 2016 as a Fulbright Scholar for guest lectures, faculty seminars and conducted a Workshop on 'Judging and Judicial Training: Best Practices' on 9th July, 2016 as the resource person for 45 judges of Pune District Court.
Mr. Dawid Stanczak, PhD candidate - School of Criminology, Politics and Social Policy, Jordans town, New town abbey, County Antrim Ulster University, UK visited SLS, Pune from 5th August, 2016 to 5th October, 2016. During his visit, he undertook lectures for UG students at SLS, Pune. Further, he undertook writing joint research paper with Director, Dr. Shashikala Gurpur.
Hon'ble Justice Mohan Pieris, Former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, visited SLS,P from 20th August to 28th August, 2016. During his stay, he conducted multiple lectures for under graduate and post graduate students. Further, he conducted a faculty seminar and a capsule course on arbitration.
Prof. Kris Gledhill, AUT Law School, New Zealand visited SLS, Pune as the plenary speaker for the Annual Research National Conference held at SLS, Pune on 10th and 11th September, 2016.
Prof. Renate Kock from Cologne University, Germany visited SLS, P on 26th and 27th September, 2016 in furtherance of her research on Right to Education in Maharashtra schools: A comparative critique with reference to Germany along with Director, Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, SLS, Pune.
Ms. Claudia Kurkin, Faculty of Law-Brunswick European Law School (BELS), Germany visited SLS, Pune from 22nd to 30th September, 2016. During her stay, she conducted multiple lectures for under graduate students and also conducted a faculty seminar for SLS, P faculty.
Prof. Sandeep Gopalan, Dean, Deakin University Australia visited SLS, P on 4th October, 2016 where he addressed LLM & BA/BBALLB III Year (Hons.) students in the area of corporate laws.
Prof. Ian Walden, Professor of Information and Communications Law and Head of the Institute of Computer and Mr. Patrick Power, Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications at Queen Mary, University of London visited SLS, Pune on 9th November, 2016 for discussing further collaboration between both the institutes.
Prof. Ian engaged a lecture for the faculty members of SLS, P on Privacy and Security during the War on terrorism on 9th November, 2016.
Prof. Dr. John Tingle, Nottingham Trent University, UK visited SLS, P from 8th to 12th November, 2016. He undertook discussion regarding participation in Symhealth Conference in May 2017, Joint Summer School programme in the area of Public Health, Patient Safety and Ethics & participation of students of SLS, Pune in the Summer School Programme being offered by NTU.
Prof. Stephen Barnes, Assistant Dean for Graduate and International Programs visited SLS, Pune on 22nd September, 2016. MOU between SLS, P and Penn State Law was exchanged.
Dr. Nicolas Kang-Riou, Lecturer, Salford Law, Salford Business School, Salford, Manchester UK visited SLS, P on 5th December, 2016 and met Dr. Bindu Ronald and other faculty members for discussing collaborations and exploring areas of joint research and funding.
Prof. Chris Guthrie, Dean, Vanderbilt Law School, Prof. Yesha Yadav, Vanderbilt Law School and Ms. Cynthia Coleman met Dr. Gurpur on 12th December, 2016 for exploring possibilities of exchange and prospects of doing LL.M at Vanderbilt.