Details of older News Items and Items of Interest


SARFaL Annual General Meeting 5 - 7 June 2008
The Annual General Meeting of the SARFaL partners took place this year in Leiden, The Netherlands, 5 - 7 June 2008.  As chair for the SARFaL partnership Leiden was delighted to host the meeting which proved to be very productive and stimulating.
Opening of the AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the SARFaL Network was opened by the Vice Rector of Leiden University, Professor Dr. Rietje van Dam-Mieras and the Dean of Leiden Law School Professor Dr. Carel Stolker. Following Professor Dr. Rietje van Dam-Mieras speech on ‘Talented Students and What is Important for Young Talent’, speakers from Galway, Leiden, Louvain, Geneva, Prague, Aarhus and Uppsala were invited to introduce and chair the relevant topics of the meeting.
The theme of the conference this year was: Choose for Talent
Sub topics of the main theme included:   Research Masters and/or talent programmes – their highlights and lowlights;The development of Graduate Schools – looking back and looking forward ;Education and Research - how do you combine the two in the Ba and/ or Ma;Talent Scouting – do we employ the football approach and where do we start? At school, by means of selection at the gate? In the Ba?;International Publishing – spreading the word;International Exchange – research and educational trends;Co-operation – How do we intensify the co-operation between SARFaL partners with respect to the nurturing and development of young and talented researchers.
Marie Curie Research Course 2008
Marie Curie Research Course 2008
Researchers who have been working at least 4 years and less than 10 years (full-time equivalent) on academic research in the field of public international law, human rights law, international humanitarian law, (inter)national criminal law, or researchers who possess a doctoral degree in one of those fields are welcome to apply for the Marie Curie Research Course 2008. The aim of the Research Course is to enable each researcher to write an article of excellent quality on a topic related to International Criminal Law, and to try to have it published in the Leiden Journal of International Law. 
The Research Course is designed for top researchers with excellent achievements in their international law studies and/or research, and is limited to 12 participants. 
 
* Venue: Grotius Centre, The Hague, the Netherlands
* Dates: 20 - 31 October 2008 (and a follow-up week in March 2009) 

We hereby kindly ask you to pass this information on to anyone you might consider eligible to participate in these events, and possibly to recommend suitable candidates. For more information please contact us at the Grotius Centre at the following address: 
Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies Campus The Hague - Leiden University
Lange Voorhout 44
2514 EG  The Hague, the Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)70 310 8606
Fax: +31 (0)70 310 8609
E-mail: grotiuscentre@campusdenhaag.nl
Website: www.grotiuscentre.org
International Insolvency Law Bibliography 2008
Professor Bob Wessels has placed in his own website the International Insolvency Law Bibliograph.  For those interested,  this is free for anyone to download.  You can find this under (blog 2008-03-doc3) http://bobwessels.nl/wordpress/?p=300 you can find other free downloadable materials and information regarding insolvency law also on the website of Professor Bob Wessels http://bobwessels.nl/wordpress/
Aarhus University Graduate School of Social Sciences - PhD Grants
Two types of grants are currently available from Aarhus University. Three-year PhD Fellowship - The grant amounts to approximately DKK 305,000 per annum and is awarded for a period of three years in total. Four-year PhD Scholarships - The grant amounts to DKK 116,000 per annum during the first two years.  In addition, you will receive approximately DKK 25,000 per annum for undertaking teaching assignments.  A PhD fellowship of approximately Dkk 305,000 per annum is awarded for the following two years.  
Faculty of Social Sciences Aarhus University     The Graduate School of Social Sciences at the University of Aarhus aims at attracting a greater number of highly qualified PhD students.  We therefore, invite international students to apply for admission to our three- and four-year PhD programmes in Political Science, Psychology, Law or Economics Management.   For further information on assessment criteria and download of application forms, please refer to www.socialsciences.au.dk/phd
ALI-III Global Principles Project - Call for Project Participation
The American Law Institute (ALI) and the International Insolvency Institute (III) started in 2006 a Joint project, with the title: Principles for Cooperation in International Insolvency Cases. The ALI Co-Reporters are Professor Ian Fletcher, Professor of International Commercial Law, University College London, and Professor Dr. Bob Wessels, Professor International Insolvency Law, University Leiden.
The origins of this Project are in the ALI’s Transnational Insolvency Project, conducted between 1995 and 2000, for which the Reporter was Professor Jay L. Westbrook (University of Texas, USA). The objective of that Project was to provide a non-statutory basis for cooperation in international insolvency cases involving two or more of the NAFTA countries of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Project involved the analysis of domestic and international aspects of insolvency in all three NAFTA countries. In turn the analysis led to the creation of the Principles of Cooperation among the NAFTA Countries  (the “NAFTA Principles‿) which was published as a separate volume in the four volume text of the Trans-national Insolvency Project (2003).
Having laid the groundwork for a wider dissemination of the NAFTA Principles and their accompanying Guidelines, the ALI and III considered that it would be timely and appropriate to undertake a systematic evaluation of the possibility of adapting them so as to provide a standard statement of principles suitable for application on a global basis in international insolvency cases. Hence, the Global Principles Project was conceived and approved as a joint venture between ALI and III.
The first objective of the project is to establish the extent to which it is feasible to achieve a worldwide acceptance of the NAFTA Principles together with the Guidelines, either in their existing form or, if necessary, with modifications or variations. Secondly, in addition to exploring the degree of global consensus that can be achieved in relation to the original ALI Principles (together with the Guidelines) we believe this Project provides an appropriate vehicle with which to explore what can now be attained in terms of global standards to be applied in the transnational insolvency process.  We have selected three topic. We believe to be in need of study and development from the conflict of laws aspects of (cross-border) insolvency. Also of direct relevance to the goal of promoting effective co-operation in international cases are some very practical questions, including  how best to resolve such issues as the different working languages of courts operating concurrently in different regions and time zones. In such situations, direct communication between courts may be impracticable, but it may be that some alternative means of achieving cooperation through one or more designated intermediaries could be established. Thirdly, we consider it to be both appropriate and necessary to develop principles for office holders (administrators).
During our research we take account of the considerable volume of work that has already been carried in this field in recent years. A number of projects and studies which either directly or indirectly relate to insolvency matters have been conducted by such organisations as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT and the ALI and III, and by other bodies of experts (for example, the Principles of European Insolvency Law 2003, and the European Guidelines for Co-operation between Liquidators 2007 of INSOL Europe). Collectively these documents amount to a striking demonstration of the globalisation of commercial activity in the present era, and the raised awareness internationally of the need to address the issues associated with insolvency in a cross-border context.
Some of the central issues addressed in the original NAFTA Principles (including recognition, relief, and cooperation) have since 2000 found their way into national or federal legislation. In the USA, since 17 October 2005, Chapter 15 US Bankruptcy Code is in place. It enacts virtually all of the provisions of the 1997 UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and thereby encapsulates several of the ALI’s Principles. In Great Britain amended version of the Model Law became effective as of 4 April 2006. Other countries have also enacted legislation within which the Model Law, and hence some aspects of the ALI Principles, are reflected. These countries include Mexico, Japan, Poland, Romania, South-Africa and Spain. Within the projected time frame for the project it is envisaged that more countries will follow, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Equador, India, Italy, New Zealand and Pakistan. Since 2002 a significant contribution to the process of international insolvency has been made by the EU Insolvency Regulation. Several topics dealt with in ALI’s Principles now are applicable on a compulsory basis in 26 of the 27 EU Member States. These topics include e.g. cooperation in parallel proceedings, recognition, access to court, information and communication, claims filing and avoidance actions.  Hence, as an integral part of the Global Principles Project, we believe it would be a challenging but valuable task – indeed a necessary one - to identify such core values and principles as can be discovered from a comparative analysis of the available texts, evaluated in the context of the consultative debate among the participating experts.  
In line with the applicable rules governing publications of the ALI consultative, groups have been formed. As the Global Principles Project is a combined effort with III, the following groups have been formed:
1. International Advisors, appointed by ALI and III, chaired by Professor Jay Westbrook;
2. Members Consultative Group, formed by other ALI Members with an interest in the project;
3. III Working Group, other III Members with an interest in the project, chaired by E. Bruce Leonard, chair of III;
4. International Consultants, with an interest in the project, not being member of ALI or III, chaired by the Reporters.
In all the full Advisory Group now contains around 50 specialists from 30 countries.
It is not anticipated that there would be many actual physical meetings of the Advisory Group, although it seems appropriate to take advantage of the fact that a number of members of the Advisory Group have gathered for the III’s Annual Conference in New York in June 2007 (Columbia University) and in Berlin in June 2008 (Humbolt University). 
  We aim to produce a first draft for principles of conflict of law in February 2008 and draft principles for office holders in April 2008. If you want to learn more, please consult the Manifesto, to be found on (go to weblog, document 2007-05-doc2).
  If you are interested to participate (mainly consisting of criticising the draft texts we produce), please contact me at: B.Wessels@Law.LeidenUniv.nl.
Europaeum - Winter Schedule of Events
To view the latest winter schedule of events from the e-newsletter of the Europaeum see the attached pdf file.  To view the Europaeum website  follow the link below http://www.europaeum.org/content/blogcategory/104/189/
The Future of the European Research Areas - August 2007
The European Commission has produced a “Green Paper” on the Future of European Research Area (ERA) which LERU - The League of Research Universities founded in 2002, believes “could be a dynamic and creative enterprise, capable of re-invigorating European research as a catalyst for social and economic benefit within Europe, and as a powerful contribution to development of a more just and sustainable global community”.  To read this paper please follow the link below:
Applying for the research Mosaic Grant
In September 2006 Meehea Park received one of the Mosaic research grants from theNetherlandsOrganisation for Scientific Research (NWO). She works as a PhD-candidate at Leiden University since October 2006 and she is conducting a comparative law study about the Europeanization of Financial Supervision.
  In this short article Meehea would like to share some information about the requirements and the procedure of receiving the Mosaic grant.
What can be applied for?
The grant is awarded in the form of a lump sum (personal grant). For a four-year period of doctoral research, the maximum amount will be 180.000 euro (in total for staff costs and associated research costs).
Who can apply?
There are some preconditions. Applicants must be graduates from or final-year students at a Dutch university who have received their entire university education in the Netherlands, or – if they have taken only their university Master’s degree (and not their Bachelor’s) here – have been resident in the Netherlands for at least five years. In addition, both of the applicant’s parents – or the applicant and minimally one parent – must have been born in one of the specified countries. Graduates who have already obtained a doctoral research post may not apply.
How to apply?
Applications must be written in English. Each application must be accompanied by one joint signed letter of recommendation from a professor and (optionally) a mentor, both of whom must be affiliated with one of the 13 Dutch universities. Your proposal will be discussed and you will be given the opportunity to present your ideas to the Mosaic Committee. See for more information .
Personal note
Meehea: ‘When I first applied for the Mosaic research grant, little did I know about the procedure itself. But this proved to be no obstacle since the Mosaic programme offered guidance in the form of workshops. After a first selection, all selected applicants develop their initial research proposal into a detailed research proposal. Each applicant has two informal conversations with two different advisors. They comment on a first draft of the detailed proposal and give advice on how to improve the proposal. After these rounds, the proposal is sent to the Mosaic Committee. A peer reviewer assesses the proposal and advises the commission accordingly. After this, all applicants present their proposals. Based on the advice of the peer reviewer, the presentation and personal qualities, the applications are granted or rejected. It is a nerve wrecking, but fun procedure because applicants of all sorts of discipline advise and support each other. Aside from tension because of the greater goal of financing the intended research, this process is a great learning experience and gives the applicants a head start comparing to researchers that do not receive the same support.’
For an interview that was published in the Leiden Law Faculty News Letter, please use the link. .