International Courts Program

The Federal Bar Association’s (FBA) mission is founded on advancing the development of quality jurisprudence, and members of the organization produce a wide-range of content in the form of live and taped educational programs, and informative publications for online and in-print distribution. While FBA members run the gamut of federal practice, which is our country’s “local” law, Justice Stephen Breyer has observed, “local law is increasingly affected by what happens abroad. Lawyers, legislators, and judges to an ever greater extent must look beyond their own shores to answer questions of local law.”  The Honorable Justice Stephen Breyer, America’s Courts Can’t Ignore the World, The Atlantic Magazine (October 2018).  Mindful of Justice Breyer’s observation regarding the foundational role that international law increasingly plays in our lives, and noting the FBA’s recent acquisition of United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) “consultative status,” the FBA is leveraging its access to international bodies through two initiatives that will educate FBA members on the work of ECOSOC, its subsidiary bodies, and the human rights mechanisms of the UN.

One such mechanism is the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is charged with protecting and advancing the international rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes among States. Advancing greater understanding of the ICJ’s work, as well as that of its neighboring international courts and tribunals, will further serve the FBA’s overall education mission.  The International Courts Program takes two forms in an effort to inform the membership about the work of the ICJ and other international courts and tribunals: a) a quarterly training program for members; and b) a monthly publication and content delivery medium for law students and younger lawyers. The work of this group is guided by an Advisory Board that oversees programming efforts, including: